2017 GMC Sierra 2500: problems, recalls and reliability
6 recalls and 37 owner complaints on record; the weakest area is power train (19% of complaints).
Data updated weekly · latest recall Feb 2023
All counts are reports filed with NHTSA in the United States - US market only, not worldwide totals.
Common problems
Computed from 37 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“The contact owns a 2017 GMC Sierra 2500 Denali. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a failure of the #8 glow plug. The contact was informed that all eight glow plugs were replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the failure was a known failure with the vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 63,800.”Owner report · Engine · Feb 2026
“The pigtails to the injectors are prone to failure. The vehicle without warning throws multiple codes and immediately limits power and speed while shaking. This can cause a dangerous driving situation. This is a known problem and is on many online forums as a common failure. The repair shop gets so many of these that they were able to diagnose the issue over the phone and noted that it usually happens around the 200k mile mark. However many reported this as an issue while under warranty. The issue is with the metal connector material being prone to failure and arcing.”Owner report · Fuel/Propulsion System · Dec 2023
“The contact owns a 2017 GMC Sierra 2500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the transmission was slipping. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The vehicle was diagnosed with transmission failure and the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was being repaired by an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 46,000. The VIN was unavailable.”Owner report · Power Train · Sep 2023
Show 7 more owner reports
“Service Trailer Brake System warning will not stop dinging and alerting. this happens constantly with or without a trailer . I dismiss the alert and it continues to sound off. I have trouble thinking or talking. Very Very distracting. Took my vehicle to the dealer and they did not know how to fix it.”Owner report · Unknown Or Other · Aug 2023
“The contact owns a 2017 GMC Sierra 2500. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist, and the brakes failed to stop the vehicle immediately. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle coasted to the side of the road. When the contact arrived on the scene, he noticed that the generator pulley had detached. The contact then purchased a new generator, which he replaced himself. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 55,756.”Owner report · Electrical System · Jul 2023
“The def heater gm part#84162464 has broken on my truck. There are many owners with the same problem on their duramax diesels. This has been an issue since def tanks were mandated by the federal government. The replacement cost is estimated to be $2000. from my local dealership. The truck had 50,000 miles on it when the heater first started working intermittently. I'm reporting this so it can be logged in as another incident for failing, poorly engineered parts.”Owner report · Fuel/Propulsion System · Jun 2022
“Service trailer brake system warning blinking while driving, it happened couple of time on highway, I couldn't take a pic, this is a headache”Owner report · Service Brakes · Mar 2022
“I auto started my truck. We jumped in and I put the key in to start and turned down the heater and pushed the rear defroster off and the passenger side rear window blows up like a shot gun blast. It shaders into a million pieces. Our 2 year old in a car seat right in front of it rear facing. If I was driving with the amount of noise it produced I could of crashed. I see there is a bandage recall but not for the hundred of thousand of the 2014/2020 for back windows just blow out.”Owner report · Unknown Or Other · Dec 2021
“Ok my issues is the same recall on many other 2017 gmc 2500HD but not my VIN. Recall number N172120230 (rear wheel hub but loose). In my situation I was driving at low speed went to stop and abs light came on from oil on my rotator, I also heard a knock from the rear wheel. I pulled over and looked under the truck to find my axel seal leaking fluid all over my tire and breaks. I looked into the Facebook form on this problem and found many people with the same issue. Had the truck towed to the dealer where the are refusing to repair and not coving under warranty for 1" bigger tires. My truck only has 39,000 miles and a axel seal should not be going out, and if so should be covered”Owner report · Power Train · Nov 2021
“When connect my trailer i get a service trailer brake system, then the stability waring start to show up and the brakes on the vehicle seem to act funny. Very unsafe while towing a trailer and kids in the truck. VERY UNSAFE”Owner report · Electrical System · Nov 2021
When filing, owners marked a crash in 2 of these complaints and injuries in 1 - self-reported to NHTSA, not verified accident statistics.
Recalls - 6 campaigns
General Motors (GM) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 and 3500 and GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 trucks. The front seat belt retractor assemblies were built with the incorrect torsion bar. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 209, "Seat Belt Assemblies."
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace both front seat belt retractor assemblies, free of charge. The recall began March 24, 2021. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-888-988-7267 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's numbers for this recall are 17368, 17375, and 17376.
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015-2017 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD, 3500 HD, Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Sierra 2500 HD and 3500 HD, GMC Yukon, GMC Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade and Cadillac Escalade ESV vehicles and 2014-2017 Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500, Trax, Caprice Police Pursuit Vehicle, GMC Sierra 1500, Buick Encore, and 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse, Chevrolet Spark EV and SS vehicles. In the affected vehicles, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) software to activate a diagnostic test. During this test, deployment of the frontal air bags and the seat belt pretensioners would not occur in the event of a crash.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on October 13, 2016. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 16007.
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, 3500 and 2017-2019 GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 vehicles equipped with a Duramax diesel 6.6 liter engine and an optional engine-block heater cord. An electrical short-circuit may occur in the engine-block heater cable or in the terminals that connect the heater cable to the block heater.
Remedy: Dealers will replace engine block heaters and heater cords. Vehicles that have this feature disabled as a remedy to the safety condition will be contacted and offered replacement block heaters and heater cords under a separate customer satisfaction program, free of charge. GM will provide free replacement block heaters and cords under a separate customer satisfaction campaign. For vehicles previously included in recall 19V-328, the heater cord will be replaced and rerouted, free of charge. Interim owner notifications were mailed on August 13, 2021. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed on April 4, 2022. Customers may call GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 212329840.
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse and Chevrolet Spark EV, Caprice PPV and SS vehicles, 2014-2017 Buick Encore and Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles, 2015-2016 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Tahoe, Trax, Suburban and Silverado 2500 and 3500 and GMC Yukon and Yukon XL vehicles, and 2015-2017 GMC Sierra HD 2500 and 3500 vehicles. While being previously remedied for recall 16V-651, the affected vehicles may not have received the complete software update necessary to remedy the recall condition. Without the update, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) software to activate a diagnostic test. During this test, deployment of the frontal air bags and the seat belt pretensioners would not occur in the event of a crash.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on August 4, 2017. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 17287.
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, 3500, and GMC Sierra 2500, 3500 vehicles equipped with a dual fuel tank option. The rear fuel tank may collapse and prevent the fuel pump from transferring fuel to the front tank, resulting in an engine stall.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the fuel tank and fuel pump module, replacing them as necessary. Dealers will also add a vent hose to the rear tank assembly. Repairs will be performed free of charge. An interim owner notification letter informing owners of the safety risk was mailed on March 15, 2023. Owner notification letters were mailed June 21, 2023. 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 N222368030.
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 4500, 5500 and 6500 vehicles and 2017-2019 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 and 3500 vehicles and GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 vehicles equipped with Duramax 6.6 liter diesel engines and an optional engine-block heater. The engine block heater cord or the terminals that connect the heater cord to the block heater may short circuit and fail.
Remedy: GM will contact owners, dealers will replace the engine block heater, free of charge. Additionally, in Chevrolet Silverado 2500 and 3500 vehicles, dealers will install a new rerouted heater cord. The recall began December 11, 2019. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-586-596-1733. GM's number for this recall is N182206310.
How other years compare
Check your exact Sierra 2500 by VIN
Recalls and equipment differ between individual vehicles. Decode your VIN to see what applies to yours.
Open VIN decoderFrequently asked questions
Is the 2017 GMC Sierra 2500 reliable?
NHTSA has 37 owner complaints and 6 recall campaigns on record for the 2017 GMC Sierra 2500. The most complained-about area is power train (19% of complaints).
At what mileage do 2017 GMC Sierra 2500 problems usually appear?
Half of the complaints that mention mileage were filed at 28,000 miles or less.
Does the 2017 GMC Sierra 2500 have open recalls?
6 recall campaigns have been issued, the latest concerning seat belts:front:retractor. 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.