40 of the
769 complaints filed about the GMC Sierra 3500
are about the other systems —
5% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2020.
Randomly when the truck is turned on, the turn signals will stop working, no noise, nothing. When this happens, the infotainment system also stops working. It is unsafe to be driving and not knowing if your signals are working or not. This has been happening since the truck was purchased from the dealer.
NHTSA complaint #11722798 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I was driving in the high way and the vehicle started having issues and then it completely shut off and wouldn’t drive or anything in the middle of the highway and the dash said it was reducing power.
NHTSA complaint #11714077 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Our Dash board cracked very badly from the top next to the speaker to the passenger side air bag. We purposely use a dash board cover and never place heavy things on it. This is a safety issue as if getting in an accident wouldn’t be bad enough flying shrapnel would be worse. We just had it fixed at a dealership to the tune of $2500. This is not okay as I see this is a constant problem.
NHTSA complaint #11709666 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Approximately Nov 15, 2024 is when the issue started. At approximately 44,000 miles the truck experienced a catastrophic oil coolant failure causing oil and coolant to mix. It is available for inspection. The incident happened suddenly as the truck was being driven. When pressing on the accelerator, the truck hesitated to move on several occasions. The issue was confirmed by an authorized GMC service center. The truck has been inspected by the authorized GMC service department. The warning light came on after the damage was done. There was no other sign of an issue. It wasn't until the next day when the truck was started, that the warning light appeared. No leaks of any kind.
NHTSA complaint #11705942 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The integrated wirless phone charger when charging my phone always the phone to get very hot and puts my phone into overheating protcol. The safety concern is that this charger could overheat my phones battery and cause a fire with in the cab of the vehicle. This could cause an imminent threat to the safety of all persons in the vehicle. The issue was reproduced to the dealer that does my regular service. The component has not been inspected by the manufacturer. There is no warning signs produced by the installed device.
NHTSA complaint #11701718 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I tried to honk the horn when a car started to come into my lane and discovered that it was not working. I took it to the dealership, and they said it needed a new steering wheel as the contacts that operate the horn were faulty. they told me that the steering wheel airbag would not be operational due to this problem until it was fixed. This is a 2022 pickup with only 10,000 miles on it. I’ve never had to use the Horn before I, so to discover that the issue is pretty serious was disconcerting, and of course my 36 month bumper-to-bumper is used up. This vehicle is basically brand-new, and there should be a recall on this vehicle.
NHTSA complaint #11689848 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Front wheel well liners keep falling out of place like they are melting. happens when towing and engine gets hotter than normal. Trailer is well below limit for vehicle. Liners fall onto the tire while in motion. This is the 4th time this issue has happened to my vehicle. Dealer replaces them and says it happens all the time.
NHTSA complaint #11687412 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Tailgate opens when in park. Caused damage when parked in the garage. The tailgate hit the garage door. Recall under N242469160, but not attached to my VIN
NHTSA complaint #11669849 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
There is a known issue with these trucks with the infotainment screen blacking out, which renders the backup cameras inoperative. This is a huge safety risk and its astounding to me that this hasn't been recalled yet.
NHTSA complaint #11660333 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Windshield issues. Small debris creates significant chips and cracks on windshield. In 30 years of owning vehicles I have never had a chip. Had this vehicle one year and 3 significant cracks and three chips. Anything that hits the windshield does damage. Very dangerous issue that needs addressed. A windshield is a safety issue and one that cracks so easily is completely unsafe!
NHTSA complaint #11660454 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Vehicle is put into park after driving. Shift to Park warning comes on while vehicle is in park. Vehicle will not shut off due to this warning and must be left running unoccupied.
NHTSA complaint #11647125 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The other day approximately 5 minutes after leaving my house I noticed a smell and saw some slight smoke coming from my rear window. I immediately turned off the rear defrost and my rear window shattered. The next day I discovered other Chevy/gmc vehicles have a recall for a short circuit in the rear defrost. Unfortunately the dealership will not help me until there is a recall with my vin as there is not an open recall on my vehicle.
NHTSA complaint #11643748 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Breaks and/or drive train. It is available for inspection. 1) Breaks sink causing slowed break time and decreased breaking ability. If the breaks are "pumped", more often than not, they will come back up to full pedal. However, in an emergency breaking situation, there is not time to "pump" the breaks. I was nearly in an accident recently when the break pedal would not stop the truck in time, due to the soft break pedal. I literally had to steer to the shoulder of the road. 2) When placing transmission in Drive or Reverse from the park position, then taking foot off of break pedal, there is about a 1 - 2 foot roll, then the truck stops as if the e-break has been engaged (but it is not engaged). By tapping the accelerator, it will "break free" (with a popping sound and a slight "jerk" in the truck) and then roll fine. This does not always happen ~ guestimate of about 10% of the time. 3) I don't know if this is related, but when I set the Drive Mode to "Normal", it automatically goes to "Off Road" ~ this happens no matter the driving conditions. This isn't safety related necessarily, however, it may be a part of the total problem.... It also decreases my fuel economy. I took the truck to the local GMC dealer/shop. They said the truck had 2 recalls and they took care of those. They believed one of the recalls would help solve the "sticking" when placing in Drive or Reverse ~ it did not. They also (supposedly) checked the breaking system and took it for a test drive. They said the breaks were fine. I doubt this happened as the soft break pedal and the need to "pump" the breaks to bring them to full pedal is completely obvious. I took the truck home after the inspection and recall. The same issues continued, so I took it back to the shop where it was inspected again. Again, I was told everything was in working order ~ it is NOT! There are no warning lights that I can find to indicate there is an issue. I'm begining to think that I should have bought a Ram Truck...
NHTSA complaint #11630713 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Multiple instances of diesel engine emissions system parts and software failure. While driving, towing or not, the DIC would randomly display a message that the DEF level is low and reduced speed will occur in x-amount of miles and that mileage would then begin a visible countdown on the DIC, sometimes much more quickly than the actual speed I was traveling. In other words, it might at first state 500 miles remaining, but then be counting down from 500 miles by one mile per second of time, or faster. Each instance, I would park and attempt to refill the DEF tank, only to discover that the tank is already full or near full. My truck’s DEF tank has now been replaced twice under warranty with the latest tank being installed at only 35,460 miles on the odometer. During the latest replacement, the technician also diagnosed and replaced the electrical wiring harness related to the DEF tank, stating that one of the connector pins was not reading the required voltage. There was also a faulty diesel particulate sensor that was replaced under warranty. This emissions system is problematic, and it is unsafe to due to the drive ability restrictions it imposes due to faulty software and equipment. I use my truck to tow, and it would make for a very unsafe condition to have my vehicle’s speed become limited as if the vehicle ran out of fuel. Mountain grades. Two-lane highways. Passing through bad neighborhoods. Driving in uninhabited areas, sometimes late at night. Family of 6 in the vehicle. Unacceptable. General Motors Corp. must create a permanent and fail-safe fix for this emissions system and implement the parts. The emissions system warranty should be extended from 80k miles to Lifetime to cover the vehicles affected.
NHTSA complaint #11623109 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
When towing our 5th wheel RV we started getting messages on the computer that the trailer brakes were not working due to an issue with the brake controller. Trailer brakes would come and go. The only time we got notification was when towing. Only 20 minutes after getting the first notification we were involved in an accident due to the trailer brakes not working. We thoroughly had the trailer brakes and plugs checked and they are not the problem .
NHTSA complaint #11612567 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.