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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 4
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
53,653 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.

2008 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 electrical problems

electrical problem

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2008 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 Owner Comments (Page 2 of 3)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #28

May 152014

Silverado 3500 8-cyl

  • 86,000 miles

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

Vehicle was stopped, waiting to enter road, dashboard lit up like a christmas tree and smoke started pouring from under the hood. Turned vehicle off, called a tow truck and it was taken to our mechanic. The sealed internal fuse box and wiring harness conections had caught fire and burned, damaging the main fuse panel that costs $450 to replace and the main wiring harness connected to the fuse box. I have read several complaints filed by other Silverado owners for the same reason but their vehicles completely burned to the ground. How many people have to injured or killed by this before there is a recall? please help!

- Hopewell Junction, NY, USA

problem #27

Jan 112012

Silverado 3500

  • 80,000 miles
The cab to operator communication started slowly diminishing. Eventually all audible beeps, dings and music on the left side of the cab were shutoff. The speed control cruise was not activation, but the button would light up. Currently the left side of the truck, in the cab, is out of power. I am concerned, does this affect the air bag system too? the truck does a self diagnostics monthly and no issues were noted, but they were obvious issues that a diagnostic should have picked up a notable change. The lighting issue I experienced were with each taillight. I would randomly blow tail light bulbs. A closer look showed corrosion and obvious shorting, but no fuse was faulted. Bulb was burned at the connectors. Further review it was noticed that each tail light had water in the bottom. Traveling caused the water to short out and damage the bulb, leaving me with no rear lighting randomly. I have since drilled holes in the bottom of each tail light as there is not way to remove the moisture. I have also inspected the bulb seals and find they are firmly pressing on to the sealing surfaces, which are clean and free from road dust and grime...plus they are hidden inside the body of the truck. In summary, I would like to receive some level of detail regarding the electrical issue, focusing on how it can be repaired. Regarding the lighting, this is concerning and should be a consideration for risk assessment during design.

- Belmont, NH, USA

problem #26

Apr 192012

Silverado 3500

  • miles
2008 Silverado crew cab - door actuator failure with all four doors.

- Fuquay Varin, NC, USA

problem #25

May 282009

Silverado 3500 8-cyl

  • 20,960 miles

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

Door lock broke and door would not open. This is the fourth time and has occurred on all four doors at different intervals.

- Laurinburg, NC, USA

problem #24

Nov 152013

Silverado 3500 8-cyl

  • 102,000 miles
Driving at night at 55 mph, the truck intermittently lost power but did not completely quit; the low beam headlights blew and went off.

- Frankfort, KY, USA

problem #23

Nov 012012

Silverado 3500 4WD 8-cyl

  • 15,000 miles
3 of 4 door lock actuators have failed. Called Chevy and had me bring to dealership to have tested and dealership did confirm that was actuators. Chevy not willing to cover cost of replacing faulty parts. I am unable to use door locks on 3 of my 4 doors.

- Manchester, NH, USA

problem #22

Oct 012013

Silverado 3500 4WD 8-cyl

  • 27,000 miles

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

3 of 4 electric door locks do not work. Multiple message boards with people complaining about door lock actuators no longer working on this model/year. Safety concern as I have to climb into back seat to unlock doors when my children are in the back.

- Manchester, NH, USA

problem #21

Sep 302013

Silverado 3500 8-cyl

  • 72,125 miles
My truck stayed parked for 10 days while on vacation. It was running fine when I parked it. Upon returning from vacation I tried to start it and nothing! it wont even try to turn over. After having a private mechanic look at it he said the fuse block under the hood has a short in it. How can it short out just sitting there? this could be a fire hazard & a safety issue!! I have 2 small children & if I were driving & it caught on fire we all could be injured!!!!!! this should open GM's eyes to have a recall on this vehicle.

- Lewisburg, KY, USA

problem #20

Sep 222013

Silverado 3500

  • 86,741 miles
My gauges are going haywire...while I'm riding on the road...my truck dont start sometimes and also my alarm dont work...

- Crowley, LA, USA

problem #19

Aug 052013

Silverado 3500 8-cyl

  • 59,000 miles
Went to get out of the car and the door wouldn't open or the window wouldn't roll down...........seems very unsafe............in case of a fire or accident I couldn't unlock the door for my passenger or roll down the window.

- Saint Albans, WV, USA

problem #18

Jan 072012

Silverado 3500 8-cyl

  • 28,000 miles

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

Loss of power door locks going up and down speedometer and tachometer going up and down all dash lights blinking.

- Stonewall, OK, USA

problem #17

Jan 012010

Silverado 3500

  • 30,000 miles
The dash cluster intermittently loses electrical power. Freezing the all gauges where they are at the time. The engine light is the only light that seems to work. After returning the airbag warning light would will remain lit until the ignition switch is cycled off then on again. While under warranty it was only twice as a momentary condition and would return normal before I could get to a dealership. Now at 140,000 miles it can last several days and very frequently.

- Somerset, VA, USA

problem #16

Oct 312012

Silverado 3500 8-cyl

  • 60,000 miles
Off and on vehicle locks into anti theft mode......sat overnite at walmart..sat overnite at groc store...went to dealer 300 later not fixed they may try this or that $$$$$$$$$$$ each visit is expensive.....called customer support at GM they told me they new nothing about this happening.....googled internet a lot of people are dealing with this....called customer service back they told me not to google internet because many vehicles can break down they do not last forever.....in the meantime I should return to service because they only hire top notch techs who can fix the problem.....they are not fixing it they are guessing and each time they guess the problem exits but my wallet shrinks.........this passlock even has it's own facebook page.......this is bad and dangerous and expensive....the only solution is to buy a kit and then try to find someone to install to override the system.........this is ridiculous tired of looking at service seatbelt..little car with lock on it and turning key to nothing happening all because passlock failure.

- Conway, SC, USA

problem #15

Sep 012010

Silverado 3500 6-cyl

  • 50,000 miles
With heater on after a few moments it says ac turned off and fans continue to run after disconnecting positive wire it resets as long as heater is left off.

- Naples, FL, USA

problem #14

Feb 082012

Silverado 3500 6-cyl

  • 90,000 miles
Time on radio stopped working also speakers and chimes for turn signal and keys in the ignition stopped working they work every once in awhile I noticed when the keys in the ignition are turned just right sometimes everything will work but most of the time it does not.

- Naples, FL, USA

problem #13

Jul 132011

Silverado 3500 8-cyl

  • 45,594 miles
7-13-2011 replaced door latch-right--4-19-2012 replaced door latch left and left window regulator.

- Saint Clair Shores, MI, USA

problem #12

Mar 042011

Silverado 3500 8-cyl

  • 76,590 miles
1 to 2 months after purchase the oil was completely out on my truck. They have attempted to fix the oil consumption is 3 to 4 times. Now they are wanting to replace the piston that they have already ordered not knowing what kind of damage has been done.

- Lucedale, MS, USA

problem #11

Dec 142011

Silverado 3500 8-cyl

  • 78,000 miles
Evap vent value malfuntions.

- Aurora, NE, USA

problem #10

Nov 252011

Silverado 3500

  • miles
Power door locks on my 2008 Chevy Silverado crew cab quit working on both drivers side doors. I only have 25,000 miles on the truck and have not returned it back to the dealer yet as the problem just started this weekend. I have checked the web and of course this is a very common occurance that Chevy has tended to sweep under the rug and had not made a recall for this. This is a major inconvience and is a major safety hazard as well. I have my fingers crossed that the dealer will fix this problem but I have my doubts. My 3 year bumper to bumper warranty ran out in August. I purchased a new truck to avoid these types of aggravations and now regreting that decision.

- Murfreesboro, NC, USA

problem #9

Jan 122011

Silverado 3500 8-cyl

  • 44,000 miles
All 4 lock actuators failed and with that, the body control module cannot properly work the security system. The power locks inside the vehicle work intermittently and seem to randomly unlock one of my doors. The automatic door lock when you put the car in gear does not work. This causes multiple safety risks. 1) failure of auto lock could result in carjacking and passenger ejection during a wreck 2) failure of security system to arm and alarm could lead to theft 3) intermittent and random unlocking of one door when unexpected results an unsecured vehicle despite deliberate owner effort and expectation of security and can result in theft and ejection4) since only the driver door has a key lock mechanism, I have to crawl through the cab to unlock back doors resulting in body strain and injury. Do this*** google "2008 Chevy Silverado lock actuator failure. See how many thousands of vehicles this is happening to. I have never had one actuator fail, and in this vehicle it has been all 4 and that is happening to thousands. The cost is $1000 to repair and there is a "national back order" so they have to be aware of the problem. Please help us little guys and make this right.

- Monroe, LA, USA

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