2021 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train (28) · Service Brakes (11) · Electrical System (10)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Chevrolet Silverado 2500 model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (6)
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.
Latches/Locks/Linkages:tailgate:latch 2024-02-01 · campaign 24V060000 · 570,434 vehicles
Defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2024 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, 3500, GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 vehicles equipped with power-unlatching tailgates. The tailgate's electronic gate-release switch may short circuit due to water intrusion, which can result in the tailgate inadvertently unlatching while the vehicle is in park.
Risk: An unlatched tailgate may open while driving and result in a loss of unsecured cargo, creating a road hazard and increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Owners are advised to check that the tailgate is closed and latched before driving. Dealers will replace the exterior touchpad switch assemblies, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 17, 2024. 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 N232426400.
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:power Assist:electric:control Module 2021-09-29 · campaign 21V758000 · 3,241 vehicles ⚠ PARK OUTSIDE
Defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, GMC Sierra 2500, and Sierra 3500 vehicles with electronic brake control modules (EBCM) replaced during vehicle assembly. The bolts that attach the brake pressure modulator valve (BPMV) assembly may not be properly tightened, which could fail to seal the two sub-assemblies and allow water intrusion.
Risk: Water in the BPMV may cause an electrical short circuit and increase the risk of fire.
Fix: Owners are advised to park outside and away from other structures until the recall repair is completed. Dealers will replace the BPMV assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on October 20, 2021. 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 N212349181.
Tires:temporary/Emergency Spare Tire 2021-07-29 · campaign 21V578000 · 86 vehicles
Defect: General Motors, LLC. (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 and GMC Sierra 2500 vehicles equipped with a 17" spare tire (RPO ZHQ or ZXT) and either the 20" accessory road tire (RPO REM) or the 18" accessory road tire (RPO Q2V). Operating the spare tire with other 20" or 18" tires can prevent the Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) from engaging.
Risk: An ABS system that cannot control the rear wheels independently increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will provide the appropriate spare tire and apply a new spare tire information label, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on October 18, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212329780.
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.
Service bulletins (1,074)
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 2026-09-26 · 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 2026-08-27 · PIP6127A · 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 2026-08-20 · PIC6551C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communicates to dealer to perform a mec reset for wireless projection issues
Unknown Or Other 2026-08-07 · PIT6031B · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communicates an issue where an aftermarket autostop device or rear taillights is causing a dead battery.
Showing the 6 most recent of 1,074 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-27 · Fuel/Propulsion System“when leaving work my truck would crank but not start. started searching fixes on the internet. i found many people talking about a known issue with the fuel pump control module. called the dealer and the dealer already knew of this issue in my year model truck. i purchased the fuel pump control module and fixed the problem. i purchased this module …”
2026-10-06 · Power Train“vehicle braking does not work- since new- dealer said it was funcitioning- sometimes you will get the warning and other times it does not and it never brakes. transmission- i received a letter to bring truck in to have a software update for modulator valve wear....which was performed...since that time the stator and the torque converter were replac…”
2026-09-29 · Engine · 121,000 mi“the contact owns a 2021 chevrolet silverado 2500. the contact stated that while driving 15 mph, there was a knocking sound coming from the engine. the vehicle was taken to the local dealer, and the contact was informed that the engine was blown causing complete engine failure. the engine was replaced under warranty, but the failure reoccurred. the …”
2026-09-29 · Structure:body“i opened my passenger front door to load and the tailgate opens and closes by itself but doesn’t and remains open. i physically shut the tailgate and it opened again by itself. i started my truck to see if it would stop. it didn’t stop until i put my truck in reverse to back out of the garage. after i backed out and the tailgate stopped open. i cl…”
2026-09-23 · Power Train“pulling out from a stop sign, a loud bang came from the transmission, and rear wheels momentarily locked up then truck acted like it was in neutral. truck was able to drift to side of road. we called our gm dealer, and they told us that our warranty had expired. we had the truck towed to our certified repair shop. after review of truck, the mechani…”
2026-07-22 · Power Train“my 10l1000 transmission had a catastrophic failure internally which caused it to rough shift, sudden down shifting, not want to shift into gear at all, and high engine rpm prior to roughly shifting. i took it to the chevy dealers mechanic the very next business day, only to find out that from the mechanic that this is a common occurrence with chevy…”
2026-07-16 · Tires“wrangler trailrunner at lt275/65r20 were on the truck when i purchased my new 2021 chevy 2500. i only have 25k miles on it. i was driving on the interstate and the tread came off the tire tore my wheel base apart and damaged back of truck along with scratches on the side by wheel also tore wheel trim off. …”
2026-05-28 · Latches/Locks/Linkages · 47,000 mi“the contact owns a 2021 chevrolet silverado 2500. the contact stated that the electronic tailgate door had erroneously opened and closed and also, moments after turning the vehicle off the door had erroneously opened. the cause of the failure was not yet determined. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the contact was informed that the vin…”
2026-04-01 · Service Brakes“what component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? - the parking brakes were engaged and would not release / yes, it is available for inspection how was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? i was in traffic stopped at a train track and could not move. has the problem been reproduced or con…”
2026-03-19 · Power Train“operator of this vehicle was commuting and truck started to slow down and chug. vehicle hesitated when operator applied gas pedal. -transmission cooler inlet/outlet pipe as per chevrolet known issues. -safety of driver at risk as failure happened in heavy traffic, unable to pull to safety -yes confirmed by authorized repair facility -part inspe…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.