1995 Chevrolet C1500 W/T 4.3L

Summary:

The Chevy Work Truck is ready to work for you!

Faults:

The clutch plate went out when I first purchased it at 114000 miles.

The manual door handles on both sides would stop working until I reseated the metal bar.

The tail lights needed replacing every few months.

Water pump went out at 180000.

General Comments:

This is a nice truck, I would purchase another one in a second.

I used it for work, and it never let me down except for the time when the clutch fork snapped on me in the middle of the drive, but it had 114000 miles on it, and I don't know who drove it before me.

The interior was nice, but not really built for a tall or chubby person. It got about 17 miles per gallon city.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 1st April, 2011

2nd Apr 2011, 06:45

The most reliable long lasting trucks have always been Chevrolet and GMC; together they are the top seller in numbers of all trucks by far.

Got to love the Ford ads, which state they are number one in truck sales... while they use separate Chev and GMC numbers... talk about misleading!

Just check the frame on 1994 and 1995 Chev/GMC trucks in areas where they use road salt.

Check under the driver's feet area, and just before the frame turns upward in front of the rear wheels. Those are the spots to check.

Mine has over 1 million kms on the same engine, with just 2 timing chain replacements!

1995 Chevrolet C1500 W/L 4.3L V6

Summary:

It is a very nice truck!

Faults:

The last owner replaced the alternator and battery and it needs a new parking brake cable.

General Comments:

1995 Chevy C1500 W/L, Terminator Vortec V6. My wife and I just bought it used yesterday with 208000Km, it's getting its safety done today. It was a work truck with regular maintenance done, it runs great, sounds great and still goes like snot. As far as I can tell the only thing it will need is a new parking brake cable... I'll post again if there is anything major required...

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 19th May, 2006

1995 Chevrolet C1500 Silverado 5.7 V8

Summary:

A great choice among full size trucks

Faults:

Alternator went out at 89,000 miles.

Starter went out at 93,000 miles.

Throttle position sensor went out at 94,000 miles.

The air conditioning recently quit, but I think it's just low on refrigerant.

Currently, it needs ball joints (they aren't excessively worn, but the rubber seals on them are all ruptured). The oil cooler lines need to be replaced.

General Comments:

I really love this truck overall. I use it for its intended purpose as a truck, for example hauling stuff and towing a camper. And I use it as a daily driver occasionally (my wife and I work in the same place so we travel together and alternate between the car and the truck). It's ten years old, so I expected some of the issues to crop up, and most of them are quite typical for a vehicle in this age/mileage range.

This is our first truck and I don't know how we ever got by without it. It's such a handy vehicle! It's an extended cab, short box 2 wheel drive model, which is exactly what I wanted. Thankfully, my wife leaves all of the vehicle purchasing decisions up to me, which prevents a lot of arguing! I was originally looking for a Ford F-150, but I couldn't find one that fit my requirements (I'm not knocking Fords here, just for the record, just couldn't find the "right" one). Then we came upon this Chevy one Sunday afternoon. The next day we test drove it and bought it. We've never regretted buying it!

The dashboard is laid out fairly well, and it's the newer style dash, which is certainly nicer to look at in my opinion than the odd, blocky looking dashboards in the 1988-1994 models. There's a lot of nice convenience features inside, like cup holders aplenty, little storage bins, and a huge center console with lots of storage space, which all makes up for the small glove box. My only real complaints about the interior are that most of the interior panels are plastic, which squeak and rattle, and there's no comfortable place to rest my left foot when I'm driving. The seats are pretty comfortable though, and there's lots of glass area so visibility is excellent.

It does have its drawbacks, too. Parking it is a real pain because of its length and wide turning radius. The ride is smooth on the highway, but it gets mighty rough on bad roads. And of course, it's got a healthy appetite for gas. But I can't hold those things against it too much; it is a truck, after all.

The acceleration is decent and the engine has plenty of power for hauling and towing. The automatic transmission shifts nicer than some cars I've driven, very smooth. The brakes do an excellent job of stopping such a large vehicle.

The next truck we buy will probably be another Chevy (or GMC, which is very similar).

As a side note, I chose "not applicable" for previous vehicle owned, because even though we've owned many cars before, this is our first truck.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 15th October, 2005

21st Oct 2007, 04:11

Original reviewer here...

Since I wrote this review, some more issues have come up. The starter gave out again at about 105,000 miles. That starter was a rebuilt unit... who knows, maybe I just got a bad one. The coolant temperature sensor went bad not long before that, resulting in rough running, constant stalling and extreme difficulty in getting it started. Now, at 110,000 miles, the throttle position sensor acted up again. Service engine light was on, engine idling really fast, and rough shifts (sometimes no shifts) just like the last time. This time I unplugged the wire harness from the sensor, then plugged it in again and now it's fine. Go figure. I still like the truck very much, but it's not as reliable as my 1991 Buick LeSabre. I'd still recommend a Chevy/GMC truck, but if you go for one of these, be on the lookout for these issues. Then too, it's 12 years old now, so I don't expect it to be perfect.

20th Mar 2010, 04:05

Original reviewer here with another update...

The truck is currently close to 128,000 miles. The starter acted up yet again at about 120,000 miles or so. It just wouldn't turn the engine over at all. I got lucky this time - it was just a loose terminal on the starter. I tightened it and the wire on it, and it's been fine since.

The radiator was damaged somehow (may have been my fault, but that's another story). Had a new one installed and replaced the leaky oil cooler lines at that time.

Recently, it completely died on me - no starter, lights, engine, nothing - DEAD. Thankfully, it was in a parking lot and not on the road. Turns out it was a bad connection on the positive battery terminal. Someone had "fixed" it once before I got it and did a poor job. I got it running by wiggling the clamp (and it was so hot it burned my finger!) Had it fixed, cost me around $60.

It's still running good, doesn't use much oil. It's still doing what I need it to do. The bottom of the cab is beginning to rust through. Not surprising given its age.

I do currently have a couple of issues that need to be addressed: it leaks coolant until the engine is warmed up; it only seems to happen in cold weather.

The other issue is the brakes. The right front brake makes a "rubbing" noise and pulls the truck to the right while stopping. I also need to get the transmission fluid changed soon, as it's overdue.

5th Dec 2013, 22:40

About your brake problem, the caliper might be stuck all the way out; that would cause your truck to pull to that side. Have you checked your brakes?