2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine (270) · Power Train (207) · Engine And Engine Cooling (48)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Chevrolet Silverado 1500 model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
181 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (8)
Power Train:automatic Transmission:control Module:software 2026-02-12 · campaign 26V083000 · 1,055 vehicles
Defect: General Motors, LLC is recalling certain 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, 3500, GMC Sierra 2500, 3500, and 2020-2022 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles that may have been repaired incorrectly under recall 24V797. The transmission control valve may fail and cause the rear wheels to lock up.
Risk: Rear wheel lock up increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the vehicles and update the transmission control software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 6, 2026. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N252516560. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on February 12, 2026.
Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:hard Parts Internal/Mechanical 2025-04-24 · campaign 25V274000 · 597,571 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Suburban, and Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles equipped with a 6.2L V8 gas engine. The connecting rod and/or crankshaft engine components may have manufacturing defects that can lead to engine damage and engine failure.
Risk: Engine failure increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the engine, and as necessary, repair or replace the engine. For vehicles that pass inspection, dealers will add higher viscosity oil, install 6 oil fill cap, replace the oil filter, and update the owner's manual. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 18, 2025. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-333-4223, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number
Power Train:automatic Transmission:fluid/Lubricant:valves/Valve Body 2024-10-24 · campaign 24V797000 · 463,295 vehicles
Defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, 2500, 3500, GMC Sierra 1500, 2500, 3500, 2021 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles equipped with diesel engines. The transmission control valve may fail and cause the rear wheels to lock-up.
Risk: Rear wheel lock-up can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will install new transmission control module software, free of charge. GM will provide a special coverage program to cover the repair of transmissions that are identified by the remedy software as containing a defective control valve. Owner notification letters were mailed December 12, 2024. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-888-988-7267, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, GMC customer service at GMC 1-800-462-8782 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020.
Tires:temporary/Emergency Spare Tire 2021-12-16 · campaign 21V985000 · 626 vehicles
Defect: General Motors (GM) is recalling certain 2019-2021 GMC Sierra 1500 and Silverado 1500 vehicles equipped with certain accessory road tires and a 17" spare tire. The 17" spare tire provided with the vehicle is not compatible for use with the accessory wheels, which can cause the anti-lock brake system (ABS) to not function properly under certain conditions.
Risk: An ABS system that does not function properly can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will provide a new 17" spare tire and wheel assembly that is compatible with the accessory wheels, free of charge. Dealers will also apply a new spare tire information label, and provide owners with an owner's manual insert clarifying which spare tire to use with the accessory road tires and with the 17" original tires. Owner notification letters were mailed February 7, 2022. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-462-8782 or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's num
Air Bags:frontal 2021-07-01 · campaign 21V495000 · 12 vehicles
Defect: General Motors, LLC. (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 vehicles. The front driver's side air bag module may be missing one or more metal tabs that secure the plastic air bag cover to the housing.
Risk: The missing tabs may prevent the air bag from deploying properly, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the driver frontal air bag, and replace it if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed August 16, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N212336560.
Seat Belts:critical Fasteners 2020-12-23 · campaign 20V811000 · 470 vehicles
Defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV and 2021 GMC Canyon and Sierra 1500, 2500 and 3500, Yukon, Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV and Chevrolet Blazer, Camaro, Colorado, Equinox, Silverado 1500, 2500 and 3500, Suburban and Tahoe vehicles. Incorrect bolts may have been used at one or more fastening locations to secure the seat belts to the vehicle. If an incorrect bolt was used, the seat belt may not be properly attached to the vehicle.
Risk: If a seat belt assembly is not properly attached to the vehicle, the seat belt may not properly restrain an occupant in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the suspect bolts, free of charge. The recall began January 29, 2021. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8785, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N202322230.
Seat Belts:critical Fasteners 2020-12-17 · campaign 20V792000 · 624,216 vehicles
Defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2019-2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500, 2021 Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe and GMC Yukon XL and 2020-2021 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 and 3500 and GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 vehicles. The seat belt brackets may not be secured to the seat frame in the front-row center seating position.
Risk: If a seat-belt bracket is not secured, the seat belt may not properly restrain an occupant in the front-row center seat position, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect left-side and right-side front-row center seat-belt bracket attachments and reassemble it correctly as necessary, free of charge. The recall began January 26, 2021. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N202314670.
Tires 2020-11-05 · campaign 20V684000 · 7,516 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020 Buick Enclave, Cadillac XT5, GMC Acadia and Chevrolet Traverse vehicles and 2020-2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles. The vehicles may have been manufactured with Continental tires that were overcured.
Risk: Overcured tires may experience a carcass break in the sidewall resulting in a sudden air loss or could develop a belt edge separation which could lead to partial or full tread/belt loss. Either condition increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect vehicles and replace tires that have DOT number and production mold number combinations identified by Continental, free of charge. The recall began December 17, 2020. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-888-988-7267, Buick customer service at 1-866-608-8080, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N202319030.
Service bulletins (1,464)
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 2026-10-26 · GM Update N25-250552 · Over The Air
• improvements to onstar functionality.
Unknown Or Other 2026-10-05 · PIP6127B · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this document assists gm dealer technicians with diagnosing torque converter concerns to ensure torque converter replacement is necessary. the torque converter part number will be placed on order restriction, and the technician will be asked to follow 25-na-148 before requesting a part through pqc.
Unknown Or Other 2026-10-05 · PIT6477D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary pi was created to advise techniians in the field that they will not be able to perform a gds automated bleed with the scan tool dues to a issue with the software in the scan tool
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 2026-09-21 · PIP5700H · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this pi communicates the proper part numbers for transmission connectors and internal harness to prevent confusion when ordering
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.
Showing the 6 most recent of 1,464 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-29 · Power Train“the lifter on my cylinder one is failing. this is a known issue with the chevrolet 5.3l 8cylinder engine and 2021 models are known for being notoriously bad with lifter issues. my safety and the safety of other drivers that own 2021 chevrolet models is impacted due to this issue can cause the engine to completely fail and shut off while driving whi…”
2026-10-28 · Engine“i bought this vehicle 9/2023. on 02/23/2024, i started my truck, and heard a very loud knocking noise upon starting it. i turned it off. called the dealership to come pick it up. they were able to repair it, by repairing some of the lifters on one side. fast forward to 10/25/2026, i started my truck and heard the same knocking noise. called t…”
2026-10-27 · Engine · 79,000 mi“the contact owns a 2021 chevrolet silverado 1500. the contact stated that while driving the vehicle at highway speeds, the vehicle shut off and lost power. the vehicle failed to accelerate and coasted off the interstate to a safe stop. the contact stated that several warning lights were illuminated on the instrument panel while the vehicle was losi…”
2026-10-27 · Engine“on october 18, 2026, i was driving my 2021 chevrolet silverado 1500 with the 5.3l v8 engine at highway speeds with my wife and two young daughters in the vehicle when the engine suddenly lost power and the truck began shaking violently. the check engine light flashed, and "service esc" and "service parking brake" warnings appeared on the dashboard.…”
2026-10-26 · Engine“my truck experienced a sudden catastrophic engine failure at highway speeds. it is directly related to the current recall on l87 gm engines and has the same symptoms but is not covered under the current recall. the crankshaft failed thus causing the timing chain to break completely destroying the engine. …”
2026-10-23 · Engine“i was cruising down the highway at 55mph when the engine suddenly shut off. i took it to a mechanic who said the engine suffered a catastrophic failure and would need replaced. the truck only has around 93,000 miles on it and should definitely be looked into. the vehicle has always been very well maintained. …”
2026-10-22 · Engine And Engine Cooling · 85,000 mi“the contact owns a 2021 chevrolet silverado 1500. while driving approximately 35 - 40 mph, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle lost automotive power. the contact parked and restarted the vehicle; however, the rpm fluctuated and the failure persisted while driving. the vehicle then failed to restart and was towed to the deale…”
2026-10-22 · Engine“my 6.2l is experiencing engine knocking. sounds like ball bearings rolling around at idle and acceleration. its been seen by gm dealer and they notice "something" isnt right but say its not part of recall at this time. they want it to fail more before pursuing. …”
2026-10-19 · Suspension“last october 2025 while going a slow rate of speed my passenger front ball joint severed and this past 17 oct 2026 my driver side ball joint broke also going a slow rate of speed after turning onto a highway.…”
2026-10-19 · Engine And Engine Cooling · 77,000 mi“the contact owns a 2021 chevrolet silverado 1500. the contact stated that while driving 60 mph, the check engine warning light illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine coolant control valve had failed and required replacement. the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was not included in special coverage …”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.