2018 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine (3) · Structure:body (2) · Steering (2)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Chevrolet Silverado 3500 model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (6)
Air Bags:side/Window:curtain:inflator 2024-10-10 · campaign 24V756000 · 2,061 vehicles
Defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, GMC Sierra 1500, 2018-2019 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, 3500, and GMC Sierra 2500, 3500 Crew Cab trucks. The left or right-side roof-rail air bag (RRAB) inflator end cap may detach from the inflator or the inflator sidewall may rupture.
Risk: A separated inflator end cap or inflator rupture can allow compressed gas to escape, resulting in the end cap or other components being propelled into the vehicle, increasing the risk of injury or crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the left and right side RRAB modules, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 8, 2024. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, and GMC Customer Service at 888-988-7267. GM's number for this recall is N242474500.
Fuel System, Diesel:storage:tank Assembly 2023-02-02 · campaign 23V047000 · 22,132 vehicles
Defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, 3500, and GMC Sierra 2500, 3500 vehicles equipped with a dual fuel tank option. The rear fuel tank may collapse and prevent the fuel pump from transferring fuel to the front tank, resulting in an engine stall.
Risk: An engine stall increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the fuel tank and fuel pump module, replacing them as necessary. Dealers will also add a vent hose to the rear tank assembly. Repairs will be performed free of charge. An interim owner notification letter informing owners of the safety risk was mailed on March 15, 2023. Owner notification letters were mailed June 21, 2023. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N222368030
Equipment:electrical:engine Block Heater 2021-07-01 · campaign 21V496000 · 338,020 vehicles
Defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, 3500 and 2017-2019 GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 vehicles equipped with a Duramax diesel 6.6 liter engine and an optional engine-block heater cord. An electrical short-circuit may occur in the engine-block heater cable or in the terminals that connect the heater cable to the block heater.
Risk: An electrical short-circuit can increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will replace engine block heaters and heater cords. Vehicles that have this feature disabled as a remedy to the safety condition will be contacted and offered replacement block heaters and heater cords under a separate customer satisfaction program, free of charge. GM will provide free replacement block heaters and cords under a separate customer satisfaction campaign. For vehicles previously included in recall 19V-328, the heater cord will be replaced and rerouted, free of charge. In
Engine 2019-04-25 · campaign 19V328000 · 318,374 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 4500, 5500 and 6500 vehicles and 2017-2019 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 and 3500 vehicles and GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 vehicles equipped with Duramax 6.6 liter diesel engines and an optional engine-block heater. The engine block heater cord or the terminals that connect the heater cord to the block heater may short circuit and fail.
Risk: A short-circuit may damage the engine components and increase the risk of fire.
Fix: GM will contact owners, dealers will replace the engine block heater, free of charge. Additionally, in Chevrolet Silverado 2500 and 3500 vehicles, dealers will install a new rerouted heater cord. The recall began December 11, 2019. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-586-596-1733. GM's number for this recall is N182206310.
Fuel System, Gasoline:storage:tank Assembly 2019-02-07 · campaign 19V088000 · 18,574 vehicles
Defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2016-2018 GMC Sierra 3500 and Chevrolet Silverado 3500 trucks equipped with gasoline engines and dual fuel tanks. The fuel-level sensor in the front tank may stick in a low-level position, allowing the rear tank to overfill the front tank.
Risk: If the front tank overfills, the excess pressure may cause the front tank to expand and contact the driveshaft, possibly resulting in a hole in the tank. The hole will leak fuel, which in the presence of an ignition source, can increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: GM has notified owners, and dealers will replace the rear-tank fuel-pump module, inspect the front tank and, if necessary, replace the front tank, free of charge. The recall began July 30, 2019. GM's number for this recall is N182204190.
Seat Belts:front:retractor 2017-09-14 · campaign 17V567000 · 38,048 vehicles
Defect: General Motors (GM) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 and 3500 and GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 trucks. The front seat belt retractor assemblies were built with the incorrect torsion bar. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 209, "Seat Belt Assemblies."
Risk: The seat belt retractors may not perform as intended during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace both front seat belt retractor assemblies, free of charge. The recall began March 24, 2021. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-888-988-7267 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's numbers for this recall are 17368, 17375, and 17376.
Service bulletins (644)
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 2026-09-26 · PIP6133 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this pi was created to help address the correct repair regarding a low coolant message on the dic
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-26 · PIT5698F · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this pi provides diagnostics tips on how the lin bus works and how to diagnosis it.
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 2026-07-23 · PIT5680B · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this pi provides information to repair the door water deflector which is not sealed properly allows water into the door jam/sill area.
Unknown Or Other 2026-07-21 · PIT5099J · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
pi to help diagnose a/c concern
Unknown Or Other 2026-07-21 · PIT5509N · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this pi provides diagnostic tips for diagnosing electric trailer brakes issues.
Showing the 6 most recent of 644 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-08-24 · Fuel/Propulsion System“the high pressure fuel pump failed and sent metal particles throught the fuel system. all fuel components except for the injectors are available. the engine stalled while driving at speed forcing me to stop and call a tow truck on the side of the road. mileage at failure was 81340. preston hood chevrolet diagnosed the hp4 failure and replaced the e…”
2026-04-20 · Electrical System“recall n192265660 repair failed. dealer stated that gm refused to participate in the repair. smoke and smell of burning electrical followed by the rear window exploding. dealer quoted over $1900 to repair and suggested we go aftermarket and have the repair done elsewhere. vehicle has approximately 62k miles since last attempt to repair the recall. …”
2026-01-15 · Steering“i’ve heard all the horror stories about faulty electrical issues. i’m chasing an issue now on my 2018 with only 87,000 miles after spending a bunch of money on batteries hub assemblies random control modules to try to fix an issue of stabilitrak, traction control, abs, trailer brakes, power steering etc all going off every 3 seconds. grounds have a…”
2025-01-28 · Fuel System, Diesel“the contact owned a 2018 chevrolet silverado 3500 commercial vehicle. the contact received notifications of nhtsa campaign numbers: 21v496000 (equipment) and 23v047000(fuel system, diesel) and would like to be removed from the recall distribution list because the vehicle was totaled. the manufacturer was contacted.…”
2024-10-24 · Fuel System, Diesel:fuel Injection System · 65,000 mi“the contact owns 2018 chevrolet silverado 3500. the contact stated while driving 70 mph, the engine started misfiring and made an abnormal knocking sound. additionally, the vehicle was shuddering. the check engine warning light was illuminated, and the message "engine power reduced" was displayed. the contact was able to pull over to the side of th…”
2023-08-24 · Unknown Or Other“46000 miles and the oil pan rotting from the salt on the roads i have an extended warranty no one wants to cover the warranty it has 100000 power train warranty and no one wants to be responsible for it …”
2023-06-05 · Fuel System, Diesel · 68,390 mi“the contact owns a 2018 chevrolet silverado 3500. the contact stated that the fuel tank had collapsed. the check engine warning light was illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the fuel pump and rear fuel tank needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. the manufacturer was …”
2022-02-15 · Steering“stabilitrak system truck speeds up when braking,and pulls left or right transmission shift hard when warning lights come on intermittently …”
2021-11-09 · Equipment“the contact owns a 2018 chevrolet silverado 3500. the contact received a notification for nhtsa campaign number: 21v496000 (equipment) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. jerry haag motors (1475 n high st, hillsboro, oh 45133) and bush auto place (1850 rombach ave, wilmington, oh 45177) had both been notified about the recall…”
2021-02-19 · Unknown Or Other“reductant heater went out. known problem with these trucks yet no recall so when you are over there emmisions warranty you're out of luck truck had 60k on it and is going to cost me 1600$ between parts and labor to fix it…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.