FaultScore

Worst years for a GMC Sierra 1500

Owners have filed 11,357 complaints about the GMC Sierra 1500 with NHTSA across model years 1994 to 2026. More of them are about the engine & cooling than anything else.

Avoid

2019 GMC Sierra 1500

892 complaints — the highest FaultScore of any year, mostly engine & cooling.

Cleanest on record

1994 GMC Sierra 1500

15 complaints — the lowest FaultScore of the graded years.

Every GMC Sierra 1500 year, graded

The grade compares each year against the rest of this model's own run — never against another car. Click any bar or row to open that year's report.

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded
Year Grade Complaints Crashes Fires Median miles Most reported
2026 B 118 0 0 4,110 Engine & Cooling
2025 B 151 7 0 16,500 Engine & Cooling
2024 C 461 6 0 19,650 Engine & Cooling
2023 D 582 9 4 21,000 Engine & Cooling
2022 D 729 14 8 40,000 Engine & Cooling
2021 D 741 7 12 46,000 Engine & Cooling
2020 D 661 15 6 20,000 Engine & Cooling
2019 D 892 19 9 11,090 Engine & Cooling
2018 C 420 16 3 33,000 Transmission & Drivetrain
2017 C 473 22 5 38,934 Transmission & Drivetrain
2016 C 445 14 18 47,417 Brakes
2015 D 928 30 15 46,000 Brakes
2014 D 1,031 39 9 59,000 Steering
2013 A 147 2 1 72,000 Other & Unspecified
2012 A 149 7 0 60,000 Airbags
2011 C 364 9 4 56,000 Airbags
2010 B 216 2 4 60,000 Airbags
2009 B 280 5 4 65,614 Airbags
2008 C 440 13 7 75,000 Airbags
2007 C 313 14 2 67,500 Airbags
2006 C 182 12 5 54,400 Brakes
2005 B 218 6 16 73,150 Electrical System
2004 B 253 12 2 57,384 Electrical System
2003 B 210 15 4 72,075 Brakes
2002 B 192 20 0 76,741 Brakes
2001 B 171 14 0 98,000 Brakes
2000 B 215 15 0 93,000 Brakes
1999 B 182 10 0 108,894 Brakes
1998 B 68 6 2 80,500 Brakes
1997 A 100 0 0 80,000 Steering
1996 7 1 1 143,828 Brakes
1995 3 0 1 Engine & Cooling
1994 A 15 0 0 129,775 Windows, Mirrors & Wipers

What breaks on a GMC Sierra 1500

Across every model year on file. Follow a row for that part's complaints and the year it was worst.

Engine & Cooling 2,108 18.6%

Worst in 2021

Brakes 1,775 15.6%

Worst in 2015

Worst in 2019

Electrical System 1,178 10.4%

Worst in 2014

Airbags 947 8.3%

Worst in 2008

Worst in 2014

Steering 605 5.3%

Worst in 2014

Body & Structure 561 4.9%

Worst in 2022

Worst in 2021

Lights 338 3.0%

Worst in 2014

Worst in 2022

Suspension 217 1.9%

Worst in 2014

Worst in 2015

Worst in 2009

Exactly what failed on a GMC Sierra 1500

The named sub-assemblies behind those complaints, across every model year.

Body 455 50.0%
Instrument Cluster/Panel 114 12.5%
Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip 95 10.4%
Automatic Emergency Braking 55 6.0%
Adaptive Cruise Control 40 4.4%
Automatic Transmission 38 4.2%
Hoses, Lines/Piping, AND Fittings 37 4.1%
Warnings 30 3.3%
Warnings 24 2.6%
Frame AND Members 22 2.4%

Complaints filed over time

Every complaint about every GMC Sierra 1500, by the month it reached NHTSA.

Mar 1997 peak 283 Aug 2026

GMC Sierra 1500 problems by state

Where owners filed from. Heavier states are usually just bigger markets, but a part that fails in heat or salt shows up here first.

Compare the GMC Sierra 1500

Side by side on complaint history. Remember that raw totals track how many were sold as much as how good they were.