While driving on the highway, the truck, for an unknown reason, shut down causing me to loose power steering and brake capability. I was able to shift into neutral and turn the key off and then back on again to re-start the truck. It has now happened several times and I have done the same thing each time to correct the problem. It happened once in 2009 and twice in 2010. Since then it has happened a few times per year at random times. Gm has told me in the past that they don't know what would cause that issue. I could not get my local chevrolet shop manager to give me a straight yes or no answer regarding whether my problem is consistent with the issues being experienced by effected gm models with ignition problems. I believe it may be due to the recalled ignition switches as I have had the electrical system looked at and no one can seem to find an issue that would cause the truck to shut off randomly at highway speeds and then turn right back over after shifting to neutral!! I believe that the current recall does not cover all of the vehicles that are truly affected. I have had my family in the truck on several occasions when this has happened and have been fortunate to not have had an accident to this point.
2002 Chevrolet Silverado engine problems
62 complaints (9% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 34,000.
- owner complaints
- 62
- of this car's complaints
- 9%
- typical mileage
- 34,000
- crashes
- 0
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Engine20
- Engine: gasoline14
- Engine: diesel3
- Exhaust system: manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe2
- Exhaust system2
- Cooling system2
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Chevrolet Silverado engine problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2002 Chevrolet Silverado engine
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Crank position sensor failure - stall
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation (pe06-016) on may 4, 2006 based on eleven vehicle owner questionnaires (voqs) and early warning (ewr) data alleging sudden engine shutdown while driving as a result of crank position sensor failures in my 2001-2002 general motors c/k platform vehicles equipped with 8.1l engines.in response to an information request letter sent by odi, general motors (gm) provided owner complaint information, field reports and warranty claim data based on a population of 108,338 vehicles. The data was categorized by engine stalls while driving, engine stalls with an unknown driving condition, no start conditions and claims where it was indeterminate if an engine stall occurred while driving.general motor's response included 1,213 owner complaints and field reports of which 289 were categorized as engine stalls while driving allegedly caused by crank position sensor failures. General motors also submitted warranty claims from its regular warranty (5 years/50,000 miles) and from its extended warranty database. From the regular warranty database there were 3,140 claims of crank position sensor replacement of which 147 claims were from consumers alleging engine stall while driving.gm stated that 2,841 of the claims were indeterminate if an engine stall occurred while driving.from its extended warranty database, gm submitted 1,561 claims of crank position sensor failure that it also stated were indeterminate as to whether an engine stall occurred while driving.in total, gm reports 4,701 claims of crank position sensor failure combining regular warranty and extended warranty.similar to gm's statistical analysis, odi's analysis showed that the failure rate for warranty claims of engine stall while driving at three years in service is low (less than 1%).however, further analysis determined that the my 2001 vehicle build period from may 2000 through october 2000 had significantly higher (more than four times) crank position failure rates in both consumer complaint data and warranty claim data than in the build period from november 2000 through july 2001.adding the claims of known engine stall while driving and claims where engine stall was indeterminate, the failure rate at three years in service for this population is over 6%.an engineering analysis (ea06-016) has been opened to further assess the frequency and potential safety consequences associated with the alleged defect in vehicles built from may 2000 through october 2000.
PE06016
What 2002 Chevrolet Silverado owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Engine stalls occasionally while driving, and put me in a dangerous situation. Fortunately I live in a small town has little freeways. Also the driver side seatbelt is stuck and I can not pull it out.
Cylinder heads malfunctioned creating a coolant leak.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 chevrolet silverado. The contact stated that while driving, the engine began making a clicking noise. The contact noticed that one exhaust manifold bolt was broken. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who advised that two exhaust manifold bolts were fractured. The contact stated that if the vehicle continued to be driven, the catalytic converter would be damaged. The failure recurred because the bolts were defective. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The current and failure mileage was 69,000.
Exhaust manifold bolts breaking leaving studs in the heads, heating up engine compartments, releases carbon monoxide, affects o2 sensor and catalytic converter. Will not pass emissions in some states. Gm not standing behind this 1999-2008 issue. It is a safety issue and is expensive to fix. Gm mechanics denying any such issues. Please check- in to this. Our whole fleet and our personal trucks affected by this.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 chevrolet silverado. While driving various speeds, the check engine light illuminated on the instrument panel and the vehicle would stall. An independent mechanic could not duplicate the failures; therefore, the issues continued to persist. The gm dealer discovered that the crankshaft sensor was faulty. There were no repairs made to the vehicle. An investigation was opened in regards to the crankshaft sensor failures (the federal safety agency action number pe06016), but there were no recalls. The failure and current mileages were less than 77,000. Updated 6/22/09 *cn the consumer stated the engine shut down on him whild driving on the highway. Updated 06/25/09.
The engine keep crashing down, the indicator say low engine pressure, check engine pressure, then the hole truck will shut down in the middle of producing. This happen three time already. Im on the highway driving 80mil and the truck will shut down, cant move the wheel, cant change lines, cant restart the truck or anything. This has almost coast me life three time. What kind of safety shut down is that. I think it is very unsafe and needs to change or fix. I spent over 2,500.00 on my truck thinking the problem is fix, but it keep recurring. The chevy engineers guys just say that the prob cant be fix and my best bet is to get a new truck, or engine. I don't have money for that.
Engine will cut-off while driving without warning at both high and low speeds. Immediate engine restart may or may not be possible. Problem has occurred for approximately one year w/o permanent failure and w/o useful diagnostic codes. Frequency of failure has increased to 2-3 times per week. Several accidents have been narrowly avoided while in heavy, high-speed traffic. No discernible failure pattern has been identified, to date. Engine cut-off can occur at any time. This vehicle is a silverado 2500hd truck w/8100 vortec engine and allison automatic transmission.
Dt*: the contact stated the ABS engages at low speeds of 20 MPH and below. As a result, the stopping distance was increased. There is a the federal safety agency recall, # 05v379000, regarding the ABS. The vehicle has the same problems as indicated in the recall; however it is not included in the recall because of the VIN. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection. The dealer cleaned the wheel speed sensor, replaced the pads and rotors. However, those replacements did not correct the problem. Additionally, a knocking noise was heard in the engine. The dealer inspected the engine although, no repairs were made. The passenger sie window was inoperative. Updated 03/28/06.
Cold engine start-up knock. I own a 2002 silverado z71 with the 4.8 engine. The engine has had cold start-up knock since I have owned it. I have asked dealers about it and have been told it is normal. I build engines for and own to drag cars. One is an et footbrake car with a mild 350 ci small block chevy. The other is a 48 fiat altered with a 434 ci small block chevy stroker. Both have forged pistons and neither has the cold piston noise that this bone stock 4.8 has. I currently have 39,139 miles on my truck and want it to last as long as possible. Under the current circumstances, I don't think it will last much longer before it cracks a piston skirt or severely damages the cylinder walls. It is my intention to contact chevrolet in the next couple of days but after reading the complaints on this site, I am prepared to be told the same as the dealer told me. I am also looking into the class action suit approach to get a remedie to the problem. Another issue is the brakes. The truck has 4 wheel disk and stops like it has four wheel drums without power?? I owned a 97 sivlverado that had brakes that worked the same. You would think that a truck that cost 30,000 dollars would be a little better constructed.
Questions about the 2002 Chevrolet Silverado engine
Does the 2002 Chevrolet Silverado have engine problems?
Owners have filed 62 complaints about the engine of the 2002 Chevrolet Silverado, 9% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2002 Chevrolet Silverado engine problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 34,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2002 Chevrolet Silverado engine?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Chevrolet Silverado have bad engine?
The Chevrolet Silverado model years with the most engine complaints are 2001 (95 complaints), 2000 (91 complaints) and 1999 (64 complaints).
Other 2002 Chevrolet Silverado problems
Brakes 350Transmission 70Steering 39Body 36Airbags 30Suspension 29Tires 27Electrical 25Fuel system 23Acceleration 22Visibility 19Seat belts 16Lights 12Locks 9Seats 7Wheels 4Driver assistance 1
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