I know this thread is a year old but I'll post this here instead of creating a new one.
Since I've started towing my boat now that the weather is getting better, I've been playing with the tow/haul mode and exhaust brake. So far, the exhaust brake has not impressed me. The owner's manual is vague on it's usage.
Coming from the Colorado 2.8, the exhaust brake on the Silverado is nonexistent. On the Colorado, tapping the brakes resulted in downshifts and increased exhaust braking. Tapping the brakes on the Silverado 3.0 does nothing except kick out cruise (if activated). No downshift, no braking. Coming off the highway at 70, pressing and holding the brake only results in downshifts to the lower gears when coming to a stop. And when using Cruise, the Silverado will not hold a downhill speed. It downshifts fine but will run the RPMs up toward 4k while continuing to increase speed (cruise set at 65, speed increased to 70 before I applied the brakes to slow down). The Colorado exhaust brake was much more aggressive which is needed at times, helped normal stopping greatly and held downhill speeds pretty well.
Playing with the different modes, there is no difference in braking (IMO) between Normal, Sport and Tow/Haul modes. The downshift points appear to be the same with no decrease in stopping distance with Tow/Haul engaged. What am I missing?
