Driving at highway speeds, the check engine light comes on. Engine power drops from 63mph to 30mph. I exit the highway right away. I take back roads to the nearest Chevrolet dealer near Brewster, NY.

Service rep calls me and says code 307. Engine misfire due to the AFM not working properly causes the lifter to fail. This is lifter in cylinder 7. This cylinder is one the V4 cylinders that are always working, since the AFM switches between V4 and V8 all the time to save gas. Sure saves gas but it cost me $498.00 to fix the failed lifter. OK, so the lifter needs replacing or $2,400 before tax. ALSO, he adds, when the tech gets inside the engine, the camshaft could be damaged. If that is determined, the total would be $4,200 plus tax to complete the repair including the lifter and camshaft.

I tell the service rep, who is a really professional person, that I am really angry that the vehicle just passed 100,000 miles and BAM the lifter fails. PLEASE, I need a lot of help from the factory to fix the problem. They tell me 20% or $480.00 is the best they can do. The truck is in his shop, so I take the offer of $480 to fix a job with a retail cost of $2,400.

The service rep tells me the problem could have happened at any time. I do not believe this was a problem that was from just 400 miles before. I believe this was problem from 3500-4500 miles before.

OUTCOME: Chevrolet knows the issue of failing lifters due to misfiring caused by a faulty AFM. In a sense every Chevy truck with AFM could be a 'ticking time bomb'. Think twice about buying this truck.