Is your defective Chevrolet Silverado 1500 actually a LEMON?

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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
1,598 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 engine problems

engine problem

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2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Owner Comments (Page 1 of 4)

problem #80

May 032024

Silverado 1500

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Leaking radiator with no ETA on parts availability and this is also an issue with the coolant valve being on back order and both have many reports of this failing as well with some google searches. The dealership has my vehicle and has been inspected by them. I also do not understand why radiators are not apart of the powertrain when it cools the most critical part the engine. If the Radiator fails the engine fails.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #79

Apr 162024

Silverado 1500

  • 9,000 miles
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact observed an excessive amount of condensation on the interior of the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the lifters resulting in misfires in the engine. The dealer also determined that cracks in the rear windshield glass guides resulted in excessive condensation in the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: 18-NA-383. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 9,000.

- Ukiah, CA, USA

problem #78

Sep 152021

Silverado 1500

  • 6,000 miles
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while his wife was driving on two occasions at approximately 20 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and failed to exceed 20 MPH. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the #2 lifter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure reoccurred a few weeks later. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle stalled on three occasions while stopping and using the Auto START/STOP feature. The vehicle was not able to be restarted. On the last occasion, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to stop as needed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that another lifter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 6,000.

- Grover Beach, CA, USA

problem #77

Feb 242024

Silverado 1500

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

A couple of days ago, noticed some coolant under my truck. Took it to a dealer who informed me that the radiator has a crack in it. The truck has just over 53,000 miles on it and the warranty doesn't cover the radiator after 36,000 miles. We keep it serviced as normal and there hasn't been any extreme weather here in Oklahoma lately to explain the this away. Just irritating to pay the kind of money you pay for something that has this kind of issue already.

- Shawnee, OK, USA

problem #76

Jan 192024

Silverado 1500

  • miles
1. Trucks start/stop delays. When in traffic or crossing over lanes the truck fails to turn back on/start. When the truck does turn back on, the truck jumped forward almost sending me and my family into on coming traffic. 2. When trying to start the truck the starter will turn over constantly not turning on the truck (motor is turning over). The starter will time out after about 20+ seconds. The starter does this when auto start/stop is activated, so we get stuck in traffic almost causing accidents.

- Kahului, HI, USA

problem #75

Jan 172024

Silverado 1500

  • miles
Lifter failure on bank 4. 23000 miles.

- Hogansville, GA, USA

problem #74

Nov 142023

Silverado 1500

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

"Cylinder 4 misfire" was the diagnostic code - the vehicle is currently at Millennium Chevrolet in Hempstead, NY. First attempt at a fix was the fuel injector - second fix is replacing the rocker arm. Emissions is still showing as an error. I was traveling to the dealership for repairs when the misfire became so bad that multiple alerts illuminated on the dash. I was in stop and go traffic at the time going 30 mph. Thankfully I was near a place to pull over out of the flow of traffic. I tow with my vehicle and just returned from a cross country trip - if this happened while towing up a grade in the western half of the country, I don't know what I would have done. Yes, the dealership confirmed the problem and it is under the powertrain warranty. I do not know if GM Engineers have inspected the engine, however, it has been in the care of a GM dealership and service center since [XXX]. [XXX] the check engine light illuminated for the first time, yet went off after.2 of a mile when I turned around to return home. I made an appointment with service at the dealership the next morning ([XXX]) and was on my way there when I no longer felt safe driving it and called for a tow truck. [XXX] - check engine came on and went off. [XXX] - check engine came on again. [XXX] - check engine - on the way to the dealership - service parking break, anti-traction control. This is when I pulled over because the vibration from the misfire of the engine became much worse. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Port Washington, NY, USA

problem #73

Jan 232024

Silverado 1500

  • miles
On the evening of Dec 19th, our 2021 Chevy Silverado 1500 DuraMax with 19K miles on it caught fire, burned, and was declared a total loss. We were on our way to go pick up our travel trailer as were we leaving for a trip on Xmas with our 2 dogs and my brother-in-law. Smoke started billowing out from under the hood and within minutes the front end was engulfed in flames. I have pics/videos. We-??re ok but that was a scary situation that could have had a different outcome. We could have been on the highway towing our trailer with our 2 dogs and bro-in-law and who knows how long it would have taken the fire department to arrive on scene on the highway. There were no warning lights etc. to notify us. The truck gets driven, taken care of and I had just driven it the day before. We-??re not aware or have seen any recalls. All info is on our Chevy app. We filed a claim with our insurance, and it has been paid off now, but in reality, "our fault" in insurers eyes. No cause was determined. That being the case, GM has closed claim and say not liable for personal property lost in fire, as insurance didn't contact GM with any mfg defects and insurance has already paid off the truck. We are repeat Chevy customers. This was our 4th leased Silverado and we also have a Traverse. The lease on the burned-up truck was coming due May 2024. We way overpaid on the milage. We're not filing a homeowners claim for lost personal property as insurance has paid off the truck and we don't want to be dropped. My question is wouldn't this be under warranty" Should the truck not be replaced" We didn't cause the fire. Much more damage could have occurred. People and pets could have possibly been injured or worse. If we were towing our travel trailer, that would be another big loss. The truck is no longer "available". Insurance told me today it's being sold for parts, which honestly kind of scares me. I wouldn't want a truck part that was in a fire, damaged or not. Videos not attached.

- Carol Stream, IL, USA

problem #72

Oct 022023

Silverado 1500

  • miles
On October 2, 2023, the check engine light starting flashing and loss of power while driving. I was not far from the dealership where I purchased the truck on September 12, 2023, with 29.000 miles. They did diagnostics on it and found that the engine/powertrain computer/module needed factory reset. Then on October 17, 2023, I started my truck and heard what sounded like a knocking sound in the engine. It quit after about 1 minute during cold start. The next day it sound got worse, so I drove it into the dealership to have them look at it. There were no warning lights or any other warning signs. Was told by the service advisor after showing them the video I took of the noise that the lifters have failed. The repair was done a week later and that did not fix the issue. I was told the truck needed a full engine replacement. I'm very fortunate that I was not driving at the time when this failure happened, or I could have had an accident. It is now almost a month later and I'm still waiting on the engine to arrive for replacement.

- Victoria, TX, USA

problem #71

Oct 232023

Silverado 1500

  • 31,500 miles
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, an abnormal, pinging sound was coming from the vehicle before the vehicle started to lose motive power while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that several unknown messages had flashed on the instrument panel during the failure. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the contact was informed that the cause of the failure was due to the lifters. The lifters were replaced, and the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 31,500. The VIN was not available.

- New Holland, PA, USA

problem #70

Aug 042023

Silverado 1500

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Engine lifters failed at 36000 miles, causing the vehicle to misfire. Engine lifters failed a second time at 42000 miles after being repaired, again causing the engine to misfire.

- Granby , CT, USA

problem #69

Aug 052023

Silverado 1500

  • miles
Vehicle began to shudder on the highway, managed to pull off at next exit and drive to nearest gas station approximately 3 miles away from the highway. Vehicle was towed to neared GM dealership. Dealership has determined that the fault is caused by a failed or multiple failed Camshaft Lifters inside the engine. This has been reported to be a common issue with the GM 5.3L Engine with no active recalls. The vehicle shudder began on a highway during construction where the highway was restricted to one lane. There was an accident with bumper to bumper traffic where an ambulance required way. The vehicle was not in stable condition and could have caused safety risks to other drivers on the high way as well as my passengers and myself. There were no symptoms prior to the vehicle shudder, the Check Engine Light did not come on until about 3 miles of driving closer to the gas station. The Service is being warranted by GM. There are active GM tickets open. Vehicle is being serviced by Stickland Cadillac Buick GMC Chevy in Brantford Ontario Canada

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

problem #68

Jul 182022

Silverado 1500

  • miles
July 18th 2022 16,059 miles engine issues again. This time was 21 hours from home. Cause reported was oil pump failed. New engine to be installed. Asked if previous engine issues was resolved aka lifters but couldn-??t get a 100 precent yes or no. Truck now has little over 30k and from time to time makes noises like lifters chattering. I pray it-??s been addressed but fell it may still fail again. Just will it be under warranty or out of warranty next time.

- Bloomington, IN, USA

problem #67

Nov 082021

Silverado 1500

  • miles
Lifters failed 7,588 miles November 2021. Dealer replace both lifter banks since trucks mileage was less than 8k miles.

- Bloomington, IN, USA

problem #66

Mar 062023

Silverado 1500

  • miles
I was driving one day and my truck started to misfire. I figured since it had 95,000 miles it was time for a tune-up. So I took my truck to the Chevrolet dealership and they originally quoted me $2,200. The rep and mechanic said they have seen many trucks just like mine having the same issue. They said it starts with something called a -??rocker arm-?? breaking and then that leads to more severe issues. After a month of my truck sitting they came to me and said it will cost $8,100 to fix it. Basically they replaced the engine. My complaint is I-??ve had many vehicles and none of them needed an engine replaced after only 95,000 miles. I later found out that the engine that-??s in my truck is a 4 cylinder which is a very low power/small engine which is expected to handle the weight of the truck along with towing. I just believe it was a poor design and that engine is ill equipped for a truck and the dealership/manufacturer should bear responsibility for that.

- Smithville, TX, USA

problem #65

May 172023

Silverado 1500

  • miles
I was cruising down the freeway at around 60 miles an hour when the vehicle started stuttering and shaking and I could not accelerate. The truck couldn-??t get out of its own way and was a danger to my family. I took the truck to the dealer where they told me I had a lifter failure. They replaced the bank of lifters on the one side of the engine where the failure occurred and sent me on the way. I-??m hearing the lifters is a common issue from multiple dealers. I-??m not sure I feel confident in my vehicle any longer. I would prefer the dealer or manufacture to buy it back at this point.

- Wichita Falls, TX, USA

problem #64

Apr 012023

Silverado 1500

  • miles
The first incident that happened to the vehicle was two weeks after the purchase the engine light came on and the pressure dropped and the truck was riding rough and driving slow on a main street 35 miles from my house. The 2nd incident had around three weeks after being in the dealership for a few days with the same code and symptoms as the first incident. The third incident happened three weeks ago while on the highway the engine light came on engine pressure dropped and it drove rough and slow during consistent traffic and I had to pull over. I contacted the dealership and made an appointment. My vehicle wasn`t driven for two days until it was taken to the dealership. The engine light has come on many times through my ownership of the vehicle. I don`t feel safe driving this vehicle

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #63

Apr 102023

Silverado 1500

  • miles
Lifter failure at 24,500 miles

- Bay St Louis , MS, USA

problem #62

Aug 162022

Silverado 1500

  • miles
The transfer case has locked up several times causing me to wreck once. The engine misfires and does not give the MPG advertised. The life of my family has been put at risk with little to no care from the dealer after several attempts for service.

- Vail, CO, USA

problem #61

Apr 022023

Silverado 1500

  • miles
While driving at approximately 60 Miles per hour, two engine valve lifters on Cylinder 8 suddenly failed reducing the speed of the vehicle suddenly and stalling the vehicle out on a freeway. This mileage of this vehicle at failure was 16,996 miles.

- Cordova, TN, USA

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