2021 Gmc SIERRA 1500

Problems, Recalls & Reliability Report

Avoid This Year

Quick Summary

The 2021 Gmc SIERRA 1500 has 693 owner complaints filed with NHTSA — that's 8.7x the segment average of 80. The most common issue is engine problems (43% of all complaints), specifically: the vehicle was bought brand new and was only driven for a week. it was in motion on the freeway when the engine started to sound noisier than usual, like that of an older truck. it was hard to notice on higher speeds on the freeway, but upon slowing down on curves, it got more obvious that someth. ⚠️ 11 fire reports filed.

11 fire reports 3 crash reports

693

Total Complaints

Recalls Issued

—/5

Safety Stars

8.7x

vs Segment Avg

Known Problems

ENGINE

300 complaints

43%

• THE VEHICLE WAS BOUGHT BRAND NEW AND WAS ONLY DRIVEN FOR A WEEK. IT WAS IN MOTION ON THE FREEWAY WHEN THE ENGINE STARTED TO SOUND NOISIER THAN USUAL, LIKE THAT OF AN OLDER TRUCK. IT WAS HARD TO NOTICE ON HIGHER SPEEDS ON THE FREEWAY, BUT UPON SLOWING DOWN ON CURVES, IT GOT MORE OBVIOUS THAT SOMETH
• WHILE DRIVING DURING WINTER CONDITIONS WITH TEMPERATURE AT 3 DEGREES ON A RESIDENTIAL STREET WITH LIMITED TRAFFIC, THE DIESEL FUEL IN THE FUEL FILTER GELLED UP WHICH CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO DISPLAY REDUCE POWER MODE AND THEN IMMEDIATELY SHUT OFF AND WOULD NOT START. THE VEHICLE COASTED TO A STOP IN TH
• TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2021 GMC SIERRA 1500. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 60 MPH, AN ABNORMAL NOISE APPEARED UNDER THE HOOD. WITHOUT WARNING AN EXPLOSION OCCURRED. THE CONTACT MANAGED TO VEER TO SHOULDER OF THE ROAD GET OUT THE VEHICLE TO CHECK AND SEE WHAT THE NOISE WAS. THE CONTACT NOT

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 5 fire reports

“THE VEHICLE WAS BOUGHT BRAND NEW AND WAS ONLY DRIVEN FOR A WEEK. IT WAS IN MOTION ON THE FREEWAY WHEN THE ENGINE STARTED TO SOUND NOISIER THAN USUAL, LIKE THAT OF AN OLDER TRUCK. IT WAS HARD TO NOTICE ON HIGHER SPEEDS ON THE FREEWAY, BUT UPON SLOWING DOWN ON CURVES, IT GOT MORE OBVIOUS THAT SOMETH”

— NHTSA complaint filing

TRANSMISSION

123 complaints

18%

• TRANSMISSION SHIFTS HARD WHEN SHIFTING UP AND WHEN DOWNSHIFTING. VEHICLE JERKS WHEN GOING SPEEDS <40 AFTER COMING OFF HIGHWAY AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS >70.
• THE CONTACT'S FATHER OWNS A 2021 GMC SIERRA 1500. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HER FATHER WAS DRIVING AT AN UNDISCLOSED SPEED, WHEN THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE VEHICLE STALLED THREE TIMES ON THREE SEPARATE OCCASIONS AND WAS TAKEN TO THREE DIFFERENT DEALERS. THE VEHICLE WAS FIRST TOWED TO Bill Kay Buick GMC
• Prior to this incident I had lifter failure on my 2021GMC SierraAt 8464 miles, I was on my way to work and I heard a loud bang and I had to pullover off the highway, my dad had to come all the way out To get the vehicle because it had major engine damage and it was on a holiday so no one would come

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500

“TRANSMISSION SHIFTS HARD WHEN SHIFTING UP AND WHEN DOWNSHIFTING. VEHICLE JERKS WHEN GOING SPEEDS <40 AFTER COMING OFF HIGHWAY AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS >70.”

— NHTSA complaint filing

ELECTRICAL

70 complaints

10%

• STARTED VEHICLE EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL SHIFTED VEHICLE INTO DRIVE PROCEEDED FORWARD. WHILE DRIVING VEHICLES STEERING SEIZED I WAS UNABLE TWO MOVE THE STEERING WHEEL. IT WAS ALSO VERY DIFFICULT TO STOP THE VEHICLE BRAKES WERE NOT WORKING PROPERLY. MESSAGES CAME UP ON TO DISPLAY READING SERVICE POWER S
• RETURNED HOME AFTER SOME SHOPPING. PARKED TRUCK IN DRIVE WAY. APPROXIMATELY 5 MINUTES AFTER RETURNING HOME MY WIFE SAW TRUCK SMOKING FROM UNDER THE HOOD. WITHIN ANOTHER MINUTE OR TWO THERE WERE VISIBLE FLAMES COMING FROM THE BACK EDGE OF THE HOOD. WE CALLED 911. WITHIN 5 MINUTES THE ENTIRE FRONT END
• THE AUTO STOP FEATURE ON MY TRUCK IS DANGEROUS! THERE IS NO WAY TO PERMANENTLY DISABLE IT. WHEN PULLING INTO TRAFFIC FROM A STOP, THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT DELAY FOR THE CAR TO RESTART AND GET MOVING! I HAVE ALMOST BEEN IN SEVERAL ACCIDENTS BECAUSE OF THIS. FORGET THE $20 IN GAS THIS JUNK MIGHT SAVE SO

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 3 fire reports

“STARTED VEHICLE EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL SHIFTED VEHICLE INTO DRIVE PROCEEDED FORWARD. WHILE DRIVING VEHICLES STEERING SEIZED I WAS UNABLE TWO MOVE THE STEERING WHEEL. IT WAS ALSO VERY DIFFICULT TO STOP THE VEHICLE BRAKES WERE NOT WORKING PROPERLY. MESSAGES CAME UP ON TO DISPLAY READING SERVICE POWER S”

— NHTSA complaint filing

OTHER

38 complaints

• The only way to get the heater to work on your feet is to turn off defrost, turn on only feet, turn on AC and sync both sides. I live in North Idaho and when you do this your windshield fogs up and freezes. I have taken this to the dealership and was state "Works as designed by GMC". To me this i
• My truck shakes/shutters at random times. while steadily driving at constant speed and/ or shakes/shutters even more when I try to accelerate.
• The driver-side mirror on my 2021 GMC sierra is unusable at freeway speed. When traveling at freeway speed the glass moves due to wind and causes the reflection in the mirror to be blurry. The reflection from the mirror is blurry to the point that I'm unable to identify objects in the mirror and it

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 1 fire reports💥 1 crashes

“The only way to get the heater to work on your feet is to turn off defrost, turn on only feet, turn on AC and sync both sides. I live in North Idaho and when you do this your windshield fogs up and freezes. I have taken this to the dealership and was state "Works as designed by GMC". To me this i”

— NHTSA complaint filing

STEERING

31 complaints

• STARTED VEHICLE EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL SHIFTED VEHICLE INTO DRIVE PROCEEDED FORWARD. WHILE DRIVING VEHICLES STEERING SEIZED I WAS UNABLE TWO MOVE THE STEERING WHEEL. IT WAS ALSO VERY DIFFICULT TO STOP THE VEHICLE BRAKES WERE NOT WORKING PROPERLY. MESSAGES CAME UP ON TO DISPLAY READING SERVICE POWER S
• BRAND NEW 2021 SIERRA AT4. KEEP LANE ASSIST HASN'T WORKED SINCE DAY ONE. LANE DEPARTURE WARNING EITHER. IT'S BEEN TO THE DEALER TWICE AND STILL NO SOLUTION. IT WON'T TURN ON
• Driving the car it started backfiring and then the ESC light came on and the car engine seemed to become erratic as well as steering and braking error messages and the check engine started blinking. Very scary before I got it pulled over and very thankful I wasn’t on the highway etc. I’m seeing al

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500💥 1 crashes

— NHTSA complaint filing

Estimated Repair Costs

ENGINE(~50K mi)

$500

TRANSMISSION(~50K mi)

$500

ELECTRICAL(~50K mi)

$500

OTHER(~50K mi)

$500

STEERING(~50K mi)

$500

Estimates based on average reported repair costs. Actual costs vary by location, shop, and severity.

🔍 Pre-Purchase Inspection Checklist

Based on 693 owner complaints for this specific year, here's what to check or ask about:

☐
ENGINE: THE VEHICLE WAS BOUGHT BRAND NEW AND WAS ONLY DRIVEN FOR A WEEK. IT WAS IN MOTION ON THE FREEWAY WHEN THE ENGINE STARTED TO SOUND NOISIER THAN USUAL, LIKE THAT OF AN OLDER TRUCK. IT WAS HARD TO NOTICE ON HIGHER SPEEDS ON THE FREEWAY, BUT UPON SLOWING DOWN ON CURVES, IT GOT MORE OBVIOUS THAT SOMETH
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
TRANSMISSION: TRANSMISSION SHIFTS HARD WHEN SHIFTING UP AND WHEN DOWNSHIFTING. VEHICLE JERKS WHEN GOING SPEEDS <40 AFTER COMING OFF HIGHWAY AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS >70.
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
ELECTRICAL: STARTED VEHICLE EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL SHIFTED VEHICLE INTO DRIVE PROCEEDED FORWARD. WHILE DRIVING VEHICLES STEERING SEIZED I WAS UNABLE TWO MOVE THE STEERING WHEEL. IT WAS ALSO VERY DIFFICULT TO STOP THE VEHICLE BRAKES WERE NOT WORKING PROPERLY. MESSAGES CAME UP ON TO DISPLAY READING SERVICE POWER S
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
OTHER: The only way to get the heater to work on your feet is to turn off defrost, turn on only feet, turn on AC and sync both sides. I live in North Idaho and when you do this your windshield fogs up and freezes. I have taken this to the dealership and was state "Works as designed by GMC". To me this i
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
General: Get a pre-purchase inspection from an independent mechanic ($100-$200)