2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500: problems, recalls and reliability
8 recalls and 782 owner complaints on record; the weakest area is engine (38% of complaints).
Data updated weekly · 35 new complaints in the last 90 days · latest recall Feb 2026
All counts are reports filed with NHTSA in the United States - US market only, not worldwide totals.
Common problems
Computed from 782 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“The key will not release from the ignition when in park. This is all over the internet as a very big problem. People are bypassing the ignition interlock so they don't have to leave the vehicle unattended with the key in the ignition inviting theft. Therefore while driving the ignition could be cut off and the key can come out. This is a huge safety issue. This will kill people.”Owner report · Electrical System · Jul 2026
“The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 - 60 MPH, the transmission failed to shift properly, and the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the valve body needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 105,000.”Owner report · Power Train · Jul 2026
“2021 Chevy Silverado 5.3 trail boss lifters has failed on this driver two times while driving on highway engine lost power with my family in the vehicle. Dealer warranty fixed lifter the first time lifter went out at 1100 miles. The vehicle has failed again with multiple lifters going out and camshaft needing being replaced also on my extended warranty at 73000 miles. I do not want to take this vehicle back in my possession as it has put me and my family at risk twice being stuck on highway with no power.”Owner report · Engine · Jul 2026
Show 7 more owner reports
“The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while his wife was driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle lost power and stalled. The vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed with an internal engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.”Owner report · Engine · Jul 2026
“Transmission needs to be replaced at 77000 miles!! A KNOWN problem with this make/model/year and NOTHING is being done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”Owner report · Power Train · Jul 2026
“The Coolant Control Valve (DTC Code P1098) is failing and only certain trucks are covered under GMs special coverage, being as this is a common issues why aren't all the trucks covered”Owner report · Engine · Jul 2026
“An engine lifter broke in my 2021 Chevy Silverado 1500 (6.2 liter) and it bent a push rod. The truck was towed to the dealership where it was purchased. They replace all the lifters on the failed side and the bent push rod. The reason I am reporting this is because it happened at a very unfortunate time and could have resulted in a major accident if the engine would have seized. I was turning a corner, crossing oncoming highway traffic, and pulling our camper/travel trailer. I see that it has been a relatively common problem with the GM 6.2L and even some 5.3L motors and appears to be related to GM's active fuel management (AFM).”Owner report · Engine · Jul 2026
“I just got this car from a used car dealership, it has 170K miles and the engine just stopped on me today. It's very disappointing for the car to just stop like this. While I had my family in the car with a new born. Very disappointing”Owner report · Engine · Jul 2026
“I was on the highway doing 70 MPH with my family driving down I-40 through western NC (mountainous terrain) when my brakes went out and the vehicle went into limp mode. I was able to safely pull over thank God and then had my vehicle towed to the dealer. The dealer just informed me that a software update is needed, and not covered under warranty. There are multiple safety bulletins coming out for related years and issues related to the braking system of this make/model and I would like this documented as well as Chevy to cover the cost of repairing this defect.”Owner report · Service Brakes · Jun 2026
“Truck blew up driving down the road and the the Chevy app gave me a code and it was the same code it is recalled for but I was told it wasn't under recall”Owner report · Engine · Jun 2026
When filing, owners marked a crash in 19 of these complaints and injuries in 17 - self-reported to NHTSA, not verified accident statistics.
Recalls - 8 campaigns
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.
Remedy: 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. GM's number for this recall is N242454440.
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.
Remedy: 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.
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.
Remedy: 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.
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.
Remedy: 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.
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.
Remedy: 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 number for this recall is N212346510.
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.
Remedy: 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.
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.
Remedy: 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.
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.
Remedy: 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 for this recall is N252494000.
Trouble codes owners mention
OBD-II codes that appear in NHTSA complaints about this car.
How other years compare
Check your exact Silverado 1500 by VIN
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Open VIN decoderFrequently asked questions
Is the 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 reliable?
NHTSA has 782 owner complaints and 8 recall campaigns on record for the 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The most complained-about area is engine (38% of complaints).
At what mileage do 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 problems usually appear?
Half of the complaints that mention mileage were filed at 57,000 miles or less.
Does the 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 have open recalls?
8 recall campaigns have been issued, the latest concerning power train:automatic transmission:fluid/lubricant:valves/valve body. Check your specific vehicle by VIN - recall repairs are free at franchised dealers.
Source: NHTSA recall campaigns and owner complaints (public domain). Counts reflect reports on file and are not a defect rate.