# Silverado with Active Fuel Managent?



## OMAS (Jun 20, 2012)

Looking to buy a new truck and went to look at a Chevy Silverado with a 5.3l engine with AFM. In researching engines with AFM there seems to be a lot of issues with the system, high oil consumption, lifter problems, and hesitations problems. However, I know that you have to be careful with the info you get off the net. I would like to hear from any of you that have a GM truck with AFM and get your experience and opinions (good or bad).
Thanks


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## Hunter11 (Jun 26, 2008)

My wife has a 2014 1500 with the 5.3 and at 9k miles so far none of those issues (knocking on wood). If we do have any issues with it I plan to get a Range AFM Delete and do away with it.


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## TheGoose (Jan 22, 2006)

I personally know several people who have experienced issues with AFM. Mostly the vehicle using excessive oil. They have some kind of add on you can buy to disable it.


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## Lsube0555 (Dec 10, 2012)

the problem with all the info eveyone is saying will come from old engines 08-13 with AFM...i have a '10 with 120k on it and uses no oil between 5k mile oil changes, i do notice a slight switching between v8/v4 around 50 but other than that its been good, my buddy has a 09 with 60k and his uses about 1/2 qt every 5k, but gm says thats within spec, my new SS camaro used a qt the first 5k kinda sucks but that is spec according to gm but im running the catchcan now istead of that oil goin into the intake. anyways the new 14 have a diff platform and i drove one for a week and i didnt notice it at all and was alot smoother than mine


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## Tator Salad (Apr 13, 2008)

My son has a 2010 GMC with afm .When he got it he noticed the hesitation also . It was like between afm and the electronic shift trany it was searching for what to do.But the Diablo tuner took care of the problems.


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## Y-Not (Sep 14, 2012)

The more moving parts you have in an engine the odds are greater you will have problems.


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## ROCKSPRINGS HUNTER (Dec 14, 2008)

I have a 08 GMC Sierra 4X4 with 95K that has the AFM.

I personally hate it. Does no good.

I haven't had any problems with the AFM acting up.

I really don't see it using up too much oil either.


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## gds (May 22, 2004)

I just traded off a 2008 Chevy Vortex Max with almost 142,000 on it, I changed oil when the computer said to which was usually between 8 and 9,000 mi. and it never used a drop. I used Mobil One from the first oil change.


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## revag12 (Jul 5, 2005)

My wife's '07 Tahoe used a quart every 2000 miles. We used Mobil One exclusively. It also had the cracked dash and peeling steering wheel that pretty much all from 2007 to 2010 or 11 had. That said, I'm pretty certain the issue with the AFM was corrected in 2011, or 2012.


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## SB09 (Feb 17, 2015)

There is def. a problem on the trucks with AFM. Unless you're going to get one of their new(2014+) direct injection models. Which are supposed to be cured of this problem but there's still not enough eveidence to fully say this is true.


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## SSST (Jun 9, 2011)

I've done 3 oil changes on my '14 so far and pretty much right at 8 qts come out, i do remember the '09 losing some oil between changes, but never more than a quart. Looks like they have that glitch fixed.


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## SB09 (Feb 17, 2015)

SSST said:


> I've done 3 oil changes on my '14 so far and pretty much right at 8 qts come out, i do remember the '09 losing some oil between changes, but never more than a quart. Looks like they have that glitch fixed.


That's good to hear. They made a couple of changes to combat the problem that Chevy says is "normal."


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## C.Hern5972 (Jul 17, 2009)

Search on here for my post a few years back. My 2007 was horible at burning oil. Afer everyoil change, righ about midway thru my oil life, my oil light would come on. They repaired allot of things and never wen away. Lovd the truck but hatd knowing it was burning so much oil. Its been a problm


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## Lucky (Sep 1, 2005)

AFM is junk. I have a 2011 1500 5.3L with the 6-speed and the transmission surges, slips, clunks, etc. The AFM does nothing to improve fuel economy, either. There are 3 people that I work with that have the same issues, and GM will do nothing. My friend has trouble with his pulling his boat, but again GM won't help. Normal characteristics with the 6-speed and the AFM. 

Buy you an Ecoboost. My wife has one and it is sweet.

P.S. my truck is in the parking lot with me at work and I barely made it here. These trucks are notorious for a lifter noise at start up and apparently mine is more than that now. All the lights on, on the dash, and it will barely run.


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## BrianJ28 (Apr 22, 2008)

*I wonder....*

I wonder exactly what caused the AFM equipped motors to burn oil. I have a 2008 Silverado extended cab AFM 5.3 and have never burned a drop. I do know that there are some that do but surely GM has figured out why there are some 5.3's that burn oil, the exact cause and how to repair/prevent it. Other than a door lock actuator that was replaced under warranty, my truck has run 100K trouble free miles.


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## Hunter11 (Jun 26, 2008)

Just buy a Range AFM Delete, plug it in and it will shut the AFM off. If my wife's 2014 ever gives us any trouble because of the AFM that is what I intend to do.


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## TxMav (Feb 6, 2015)

I bought an '08 with AFM brand new. Mobil 1 every oil change on time or before. It used a small amount of oil, probably less than a quart per 5000 miles. It did start the lifter ticking/tapping sound that many complain of. I had a few other issues as well that the dealer would never address. They called it normal engine sound. My truck never got the advertised mpg's on the sticker. All things considered, I didn't really like the truck as it began to degrade over the 5 years I owned it (and I babied it). I traded it in with 85,000 miles for a slightly older Ford diesel F250 with higher miles. My F250 gets better mpg's than my AFM ever did (by about 2-3mpg's). Of course, the higher price of diesel cancels it out, but I didn't buy it for the mpg's necessarily. Just pointing out that the AFM couldn't get me better mpg's than a heavier, older diesel powered truck. Overall, I'm happier with my current truck. If I was buying a brand new or slightly used truck today, it probably would not be a GM product. I'm sure GM has it's share of great vehicles, but my last 2 GM's were disappointing. 
Good luck.


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## SSST (Jun 9, 2011)

Just curious if there will be any negative feedback on the 14's and newer. The '13 i had was an absolute dog pulling, sometimes i would be down in 4th gear getting 6 mpg. Traded for a '14 and have yet to be under 11 mpg towing the boat, AFM works so much better with this motor, it's in V4 alot more than the other truck. Mileage is a true 5 mpg better going from the '13 to '14.


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## Momma's Worry (Aug 3, 2009)

*2008 chevy 1500 5.3L,bought used 2/2013*

my engine just lost compression on the #4 cyl ...valve(s) not working cause 
the notorious AFM lifter will not lock...absence of oil pressure from AFM manifold solenoid ,controlled by ECM, leaves locking pin engaged,valve moves..pressure releases locking pin deactivating valve operation .....128K mls ...never driven over 60 mph....and yes at under 60mph hwy the truck will get 20mpg with the AFM working... 15 without it ...I bought the 4x4 4 door truck to tow our 9K lbs all up weight Grady-White....which it has done a superb job of *8mpg at 55/60...all GM 5.3 have AFM after 2007 ..now the 6.2
has it

got to decide what to do about it now!... I like the truck a lot


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## Copano/Aransas (Dec 18, 2011)

Momma's Worry said:


> my engine just lost compression on the #4 cyl ...valve(s) not working cause
> the notorious AFM lifter will not lock...absence of oil pressure from AFM manifold solenoid ,controlled by ECM, leaves locking pin engaged,valve moves..pressure releases locking pin deactivating valve operation .....128K mls ...never driven over 60 mph....and yes at under 60mph hwy the truck will get 20mpg with the AFM working... 15 without it ...I bought the 4x4 4 door truck to tow our 9K lbs all up weight Grady-White....which it has done a superb job of *8mpg at 55/60...all GM 5.3 have AFM after 2007 ..now the 6.2
> has it
> 
> got to decide what to do about it now!... I like the truck a lot


My mom had a '08 GMC 1500 with the AFM 5.3 that had 4k on it when it was bought. Truck was awful towing anything and had ECM trouble & other problems which made it keep going into reduced engine power mode, from around 40K till 70K when it got traded in. Dealer could never figure out what was causing it so they just kept slapping on parts trying to fix it. It was very well likely all caused by the AFM engine. She has a 2014 chevy now, and it has the 5.3 AFM engine but it seams to be a lot stronger and more fine tuned than the pre '14 ones were. So far no problems with it at 25k miles. If you don't want another AFM engine get a Ford with the 3.5 V-6 Ecoboost or 5.0 V-8, the 3.5 Ecoboost has a lot more power then the 5.3 V-8 in the Chevy. It's a lot more responsive then the 5.3 in the Chevy, with a lot less lag IMO, i have one & love it. Good luck!!


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## Pocketfisherman (May 30, 2005)

I thought all the oil burning issues have nothing to do with AFM and everything to do with the coated super short skirted pistons GM uses, and failure of the coating causing scuffing. Anyone else hear this?


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## biged412 (Mar 8, 2005)

*'08 Avalanche 5.3*

Dropped a lifter at 194,000. Completed a AFM delete with all new LS lifters . Runs great at 228,000 still going. Also replaced my steering wheel because the leather failed on top. Found a new one on ebay , out of Seguin Tx, easy and cheap.


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## Niktator (Jul 2, 2009)

Had 2007 Z71 Tahoe 4x4, 5.3 with AFM, 3.73 gears, was a hoss towing. Recently traded it with 185,000 miles. It would on occasion consume a quart of oil around 4k mark but not every oil change. Only used Mobil 1. The 5.3 was smooth running and strong. Never had any issues. I did have an after market AEM air filter, shorty headers, and a magna flow exhaust...mpg were not great but not bad either... 

For the record I've been a CHEVY man most of my life (2 tahoes, 1 SS Camaro, 1 silverado) still a bit ****** about Government Motors...so gave Ford a shot and tried new F150 - pretty impressed so far...but honestly never had any major issues with my Chevys.


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## Slim-N-None (Sep 16, 2005)

Pocketfisherman said:


> I thought all the oil burning issues have nothing to do with AFM and everything to do with the coated super short skirted pistons GM uses, and failure of the coating causing scuffing. Anyone else hear this?


When our 07 was chugging oil, they told us it was undersized pistons and rings. Dang thing barely made enough power to back up our driveway when they decided it was time to fix. Made the switch to ford 4 years ago after the local dealer decided not to honor a we owe ticket, ran the issue all the way up the ladder and corporate wouldnt help us out either, and have never looked back. If you want to disable afm, they have a plug in that locks out afm and doesn't void warranty like a tune would, or at least they couldnt see it on the service system when i was looking at them.


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## Ditto (Apr 18, 2005)

Just had the oil changed in my 2014. First time it was a quart low. The first three changes were normal. 

I don't have any problem pulling my 22' center console. Gets 13 mpg towing the boat. Just went to New Orleans and back and got 20.9 MPG doing 75 most of the way. Wasn't pulling the boat of course.


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