2012 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Fuel/Propulsion System (6) · Air Bags (6) · Power Train (5)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Chevrolet Silverado 2500 model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
36 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (3)
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2021-02-05 · campaign 21V051000 · 284,645 vehicles
Defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2012 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." These
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 22, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 11, 2021. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2021-02-05 · campaign 21V054000 · 1,778,128 vehicles
Defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of AL, CA, FL, GA, HI, LA, MS, SC, TX, PR, AS, GU, the MP, and VI or "Zone A." Additionally GM is recalling certain 2011-2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 25, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed to 40 VIN owners on May 11, 2021. A second owner notification letter was mailed to all other owners on January 24, 2022. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-8
Equipment 2018-04-26 · campaign 18V267000 · 6,154 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2009-2014 Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD, 2009 GMC Topkick 5000, 6000, 7000 and 8000 Series and Isuzu F Series, and 2009-2018 Chevrolet Express, and GMC Savana vehicles, equipped with certain Plastic-Handle Fire Extinguishers or Push Button 'Pindicator' Fire Extinguishers. These extinguishers may become clogged, preventing the extinguisher from discharging as expected or requiring excessive force to activate the extinguisher. Additionally,
Risk: In the event of a fire, if the fire extinguisher does not function properly, it can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: GM will notify owners, instructing them to contact Kidde to get a replacement fire extinguisher, free of charge. The recall began June 11, 2018. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782, and Isuzu customer service at 1-866-441-9638. GM's number for this recall is 18146.
Service bulletins (1,726)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-04 · PIP4902W · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email gds2 session logs into technical assistance.
Unknown Or Other 2026-04-01 · PIT3271Q · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communicates information about how to determine if a wheel and tires size change is available.
Unknown Or Other 2026-03-09 · PIP6104 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communicates the steps on how to save a gds2 session log and upload to a technical assistance case in cx connect.
Unknown Or Other 2026-03-09 · PIP4902V · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email gds2 session logs into technical assistance.
Unknown Or Other 2026-02-16 · PIT4506J · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician that some owners of heavy duty trucks and utilities may ask if they can lower their tire pressures. tire pressures being set to the "tire and loading label" will ensure the safe handling and ride characteristics of the
Unknown Or Other 2026-01-16 · PIT6400A · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this pi communications information on an alternative product dealers can use to perform 19-na-255: wax coating on frame peeling, metal shows corrosion/rusting due to issue with getting product from current supplier listed in the bulletin.
Showing the 6 most recent of 1,726 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-07-08 · Electrical System:instrument Panel:speedometer/Odometer · 456,903 mi“odometer fraud. the contact purchased a 2012 chevrolet silverado 2500. it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy upon obtaining a vinlo vehicle report. the vehicle was a private sale. at the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 93,000; however, the vinlo report listed the mileage at 456,903 in 2023. the contact called the missouri…”
2026-03-09 · Electrical System:instrument Panel:speedometer/Odometer · 216,000 mi“odometer fraud. the contact purchased a 2012 chevrolet silverado 2500. the contact stated that the vehicle seller advised the contact that the mileage was 196,000 prior to the purchase. upon purchasing and driving the vehicle, the contact noticed that the odometer was inoperable. the vehicle was a dealer sale. the vehicle was taken back to the deal…”
2025-09-30 · Electrical System:instrument Panel:speedometer/Odometer · 250,000 mi“odometer fraud. the contact purchased a 2012 chevrolet silverado 2500. the contact discovered a mileage discrepancy after the purchase. the vehicle was a private sale. at the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 147,209. it was later discovered that the mileage on the title was unknown. the contact paid for a full vehicle report, and he discov…”
2025-04-15 · Power Train“the vehicle's tcm has apparently failed as evidenced by cel code "u0101", low power ("limp mode"), hard shifting, no gear selection indicator, and extremely slow acceleration. vehicle is currently available for inspection, but will be receiving a replacement tcm soon. myself and others' safety was put at risk due to my the vehicle's inability to co…”
2025-02-17 · Wheels“day after driving to n a snow storm the vehicles stabilitrak and traction control light and message to service those came on the dash and a sudden lose of power. i pulled over and put it in park noticing the gear indicator on the dash was gone. i put in drive and could barely move. so i shifted to 1st gear then back to park and into drive and t…”
2023-12-08 · Fuel/Propulsion System“was driving the truck doing 65 on the highway and the cp4 ruined the whole fuel system. that includes the fuel rails injectors and pump! ended up costing me around $8,000 i believe!…”
2023-10-31 · Fuel System, Diesel · 22,000 mi“the contact owns a 2012 chevrolet silverado 2500. the contact stated while driving at various speeds, a message indicating that the def system had failed was displayed. the contact stated that the vehicle was taken to several unknown dealers, where the o2 sensor, a diesel injector, and other unknown repairs were performed; however, the failure recu…”
2023-09-22 · Electrical System“the transmission control module went out on my chevy duaramax. gm is aware of this problem in the years of 2009-2015 and has yet to fix the problem. …”
2023-09-02 · Power Train“my tcm went out in my truck while towing which made the vehicle not be able to move putting my family in jeopardy while on the road.…”
2023-08-04 · Power Train“transmisión control module stopped working while driving on the highway. it went from going 70 miles per hour on the highway to 15 miles per hour. very scary and dangerous.…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.