Problems with 2002 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

On 01/10/2010 at 2:45 a.m. we were awakened by a passer by who noticed our truck was on fire. by the time the fire department was able to put the fire out it had completely destroyed our truck, our car ,our grandsons truck and $66,000.00 damage to the house we were renting. we lost our vehicles and 90% of everything we own. it was determined to be the engine block heater in our 2002 chevy silverado 2500 hd. we have been in contact with general motors. we gave them all the fire reports from both west valley city fire department as well as the report and pictures provided by the investigator. they do not claim any responsibility for the fire and will not compensate us for our loss. *tr

I own a 2002 chevrolet silverado 2500 hd, 8.1 liter, v8. in the past 4 months, the vehicle completely would lose power and shut off. after a few minutes, the vehicle would restart. it did not matter the speed of the vehicle, nor distance driven. there was no dash board lights on indicating any problems. i stalled several times in traffic, nearly missing/causing accidents. the dealer had vehicle for 3 days and said there was nothing on diagnostic showing problems. i refused vehicle stating i was not going to endanger myself or family till resolved. it was determined, after the gm blog and personal internet search of this vehicle complaints, the crankshaft position sensor was bad. the dealer replaced for a charge of $288.38 parts/labor at my expense. this vehicle needs a recall for this part and someone is going to be seriously hurt, especially when there is no indication of a problem showing. case #71-71437694 filed with chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 chevrolet silverado 2500 hd. intermittently, while driving various speeds, the contact noticed that the battery warning indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. afterwards, the vehicle stalled. normally after the failure occurs, the vehicle is able to be restarted. in addition, the vehicle exhibited a no-start condition. the contact took the vehicle to the dealer on several occasions and they replaced the alternator, on-board assembly in the computer system, throttle plate, and reprogrammed the pcm. the remedies have not corrected the failures. the failure and current mileages were 138,000. updated 07/24/09. *lj

My 2002 chevy 2500 hd silverado with 8.1 engine quits running while driving. does not matter what speed i'm going, it just stops running. after i pull over put truck in park, turn key off for a few minutes it will usually start up. *jb

2002 chevrolet 2500hd w/ 8.1l gasoline engine: the failure of the crankshaft position sensor on these engines appears to be a very common problem. this sensor failed on my truck at only 30k miles! i know of two other '02 trucks w/ this engine that also had the sensor fail and many others have been discovered while doing research on this problem! the seriousness of the problem lies in the fact that the truck suddenly stops running for no reason and you lose all power for the brakes and steering. at times it will restart without any problems once you shift to neutral, but other times it may not restart for a day or more. this was a huge safety issue for me since i tow a 10k lbs. fifth-wheel with the truck! my truck stopped running four times over the course of two weeks as a result of this problem. everytime was while traveling in traffic, with only one of the times while being stopped at a light! my truck is no longer under warranty due to the time limit of 36 months expiring. to have such a part fail with only 30k miles on the engine is outrageous. one of the other trucks i know of had the sensor fail around 55k miles. same problem, it would just stop in traffic or when pulling out of a light or stopped turn. again, a huge safety issue!!! the costs to me to repair my truck follow: ac delco replacement crankshaft sensor - $69.26 tow charges to tow to joseph chevrolet, cincinnati, oh - $58.85 labor due to the original sensor breaking in the block! - $336.54 total cost to replace the sensor after only 30k miles! = $464.65 again, i have to repeat how large a safety issue this is on these trucks!!! the engine just stops for no reason at any time, highway, slow moving, stopped, etc. it may restart, but then again it may not for many hours! the trucks with these engines in them are generally towing large trailers behind them. this compounds the safety aspect of the problem. *jb

Vehicle was parked when neighbor noticed smoke coming out of the engine area. consumer used fire extinguisher to put out the fire. *ak *ph