2019 Chevy Silverado versus Winter: Investigating a Cold-Weather Issue in the New Silverado (Video)

The new 2019 Chevy Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 have been having some problems in the cold weather, so we grabbed one to investigate.

What do we mean by problems? We have received a number of e-mails from TFLTruck readers explaining that the all-new GM trucks have a number of electronic issues when the temperatures dip below freezing. It has been reported that a trailer connected/disconnected warning will continually flash on the screen along with a number of other warnings.

SEE ALSO: Chevy Silverado Turbo 0-60 MPH Run

Normally, these situations can be tough to report on, because it is hard to prove that any number of isolated incidents equals a larger problem. But in this case, GM knows about the issue and is working to correct it. We know that thanks to a Technical Service Bulletin issued by the brand which was updated at recently as Feb. 12, 2019. The bulletin states:

Some customers may comment on a ‘Trailer Disconnected Check Connection’ message being displayed on the DIC without a trailer ever being connected,  message shown below.  In addition to this message, there may also be the following messages depending on the vehicle content.

– Rear Park Assist Off 
– Lane Change Alert System Off
– Rear Cross Traffic Alert Off

This condition is more likely to occur with colder ambient temperatures. GM Engineering is working on the root cause.

For now, GM technicians have been instructed to inspect and clean the trailer connections, but there is still no complete fix yet for the problem.

What happened with our Silverado? We lived with the truck during a winter week in Southern Ontario where the temperatures dipped to about -12C at the coldest. During out time with the truck, we did have one issue, but not the same problem as described by the TSB.

After starting the truck one morning, the camera system decided not to work, displaying a message that read “service rear display system.” This issue persisted for nearly the entire day. The next morning, the problem mysteriously went away and never came back.

Besides that, we never had any other problem with the truck in the cold weather. This once again just makes it harder to say how big of a problem this is. It could be a certain batch of trucks affected, or maybe an intermittent issue.

We also filmed a cold start of the big V8, so make sure you watch our video below which was published over on TFLoffroad.