2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Engine is the leading concern among 827 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 5th highest complaint count among 19 Silverado 1500 model years with reports.
Of the 2021 reports, 20 involved a crash and 12 involved a fire. 17 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Power train, automatic transmission, control module, softwareFeb 12, 2026
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.
Rear wheel lock up increases the risk of a crash.
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.
Campaign 26V083000 on NHTSA.gov
Engine and engine cooling, engine, hard parts internal/mechanicalApr 24, 2025
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.
Engine failure increases the risk of a crash.
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.
Campaign 25V274000 on NHTSA.gov
Power train, automatic transmission, control module, softwareOct 24, 2024
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.
Rear wheel lock-up can increase the risk of a crash.
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.
Campaign 24V797000 on NHTSA.gov
Tires, temporary/emergency spare tireDec 16, 2021
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.
An ABS system that does not function properly can increase the risk of a crash.
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.
Campaign 21V985000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bags, frontalJul 1, 2021
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.
The missing tabs may prevent the air bag from deploying properly, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.
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.
Campaign 21V495000 on NHTSA.gov
Seat beltsDec 23, 2020
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.
If a seat belt assembly is not properly attached to the vehicle, the seat belt may not properly restrain an occupant in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
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.
Campaign 20V811000 on NHTSA.gov
Seat beltsDec 17, 2020
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.
If a seat-belt bracket is not secured, the seat belt may not properly restrain an occupant in the front-row center seat position, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.
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.
Campaign 20V792000 on NHTSA.gov
TiresNov 5, 2020
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.
Overcured tires may experience a carcass break in the sidewall resulting in a sudden air loss or could develop a belt edge separation which could lead to partial or full tread/belt loss. Either condition increases the risk of a crash.
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.
Campaign 20V684000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: power train
237 reports, newest first. Show all
Power train, Engine, May 12, 2025
this is 6.2 l l87 engine that is being recalled but this vin is not on list. already had lifters and rods replaced while back. coming home from trip truck made awful noise and I lost power on the interstate. thankfully was able to get out of traffic but waited 3.5 hours for tow. at dealer but cant tell me when they can look at it. 60,200 miles and they are saying well we will see what we can do but your powertrain warranty ended at 60k. i have had numerous problems and these are all known by gm especially 2021 6.2l.
Engine and engine cooling, Power train, May 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving on several occasions at various speeds, the temperature gauge remained at hot (Hot) location, with a dinging warning notification. The check engine and "Transmission idle temperature high" messages were displayed. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road each time and turned off for approximately 45 minutes to allow the vehicle to cool down. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic where it was determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000.
Power train, Electrical system, Other or unspecified, May 7, 2025
I purchased this truck 3/20/2025. I have since realized it wasn't me doing something wrong. The truck hesitates and shakes during shifting upon acceleration from a stop and when putting it in park and attempting to turn the truck off it has a message on the display saying "shift to park" and it will not turn off until you repeatedly restart it and play woth the gear shift to get it to register that it's in park. I have made an appointment to take it to the dealership to be looked at. The truck has 75,000 miles on it.
Power train, May 6, 2025
The engine rods went bad in the engine and damaged the cam shaft. The vehicle only has 71000 miles on it. The resulting repairs cost approximately $8000. We have been told by the Chevy dealer doing the repairs and also the dealer we bought the truck from that this is a known problem and they have had several vehicles with the 5.3L engine that have needed this same repair.
Power train, May 2, 2025
While driving about 75 miles an hour, when the gear was shifting back-and-forth between about seven and eight, there was a loud bang. It happened again with a bang that was not as loud. Something with the transmission. Only have 36k miles on it.
Power train, May 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving 35-40 MPH, the engine revved; however, the vehicle failed to respond as intended, with the transmission slipping. The message "Engine Power Reduced" was displayed. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The contact was able to drive to the residence at slow speeds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the automatic transmission valve needed to be replaced. The dealer replaced the transmission valve. Additionally, the dealer replaced the rear and front differentials and the transfer case. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 79,882. The VIN was not available.
Power train, Apr 30, 2025
Transmission would not select gear then without warning would engage. Loud thuds when changing gears. 10spd automatic.
Power train, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Apr 30, 2025
The engine light is blinking while driving on the highway, it comes and goes, I have a video for that. Also it has a ticking noise and I’ve had the noise since I bought the truck and took it multiple times to the dealership, first it was the pump they replaced for free but the ticking never went away, I took it back and they said that all the trucks tick like that, and all that should be documented. Also while sitting still it sounds like the truck is shacking just a little. I have an appointment to which I have to pay $250 for them just to look at it. I think that my truck should be up under the new recall for the 2021 Chevy Silverado because my truck is knocking and also throwing off a blinking engine light.
Power train, Engine, Apr 30, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated, and the rear wheel seized. The contact was able to coast to the side of the road. The vehicle was taken to Auto Zone; however, no cause for the failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, while driving 15 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal and the vehicle stalled. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart; however, reverse(R) was the only operational gear. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. However, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that weeks before the failure, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 8,000. .
Power train, Apr 28, 2025
8 speed transmission issues Hesitation, shifting hard, noise
Power train, Apr 28, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle briefly lost motive power before slamming into gear. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, while driving at an undisclosed speed, an abnormal sound was coming from the transmission. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer; however, no cause for the failure was found. After test-driving the vehicle, the dealer diagnosed that the fuel injectors had failed, and there was a misfire in cylinder #6 had, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The fuel injectors were replaced. The dealer test drove the vehicle and the failure persisted. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and stated that the lifter rocker arm had seized. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 64,000.
Power train, Apr 14, 2025
Transmission jerking violently while driving at low RPM 1000-1500 RPM. Occurs daily. Shudder and vibration as vehicle is slowed approaching stops. Effect and feeling is unsettling to driver and passengers. Can be recreated but is also intermittent at times. Dealer has avoided fixing as it is not 100% consistent. Asking me to drive until failure which is unsafe and could lead to accident or stranding.
Power train, Apr 11, 2025
The transmission either shifts hard or momentarily locks up when downshifting and then shifting back up into high at 50+ mph. Check engine light comes on, tow haul mode is not available, engine rpm's increase dramatically. Transmission will begin shifting normally after a engine stop, but check engine light stays on, and tow haul mode is not available. Cycle continues. The hard shift before the check engine light comes on and transmission upper gears are locked out is very unnerving, especially with a travel trailer behind you at 65 mph. I no longer fell safe driving the vehicle. I am requesting assistance from the dealership on this truck with less than 49000 miles. The "flash for the transmission" recall was done several thousand miles ago. It only masks the situation. This is not acceptable, nor safe.
Power train, Other or unspecified, Apr 7, 2025
Transmission isssues hard shifting and no shifting at times. I informed the dealership about the recall on this issue and they are saying it doesn’t fall under the recall which isn’t true because my vehicles is showing all of the symptoms under the recall #N242454440.
Power train, Apr 2, 2025
Transmission issues, rough shifting, hesitation and shuddering.
Power train, Wheels, Mar 30, 2025
Transmission sometimes does not change out correctly, when I show down it shifts really hard, and and now the rear wheels are locking up which increase the likelihood of an accident
Power train, Mar 21, 2025
The transmission valves failed and torque converter clutch slipped causing the truck to have harsh shifting issues, acceleration issues, and wheel-lock up. I've had to replace my full transmission and receive a new torque converter clutch, reprogrammed.
Power train, Mar 20, 2025
The transmission on my truck failed. My truck now requires a new transmission. A repair costing over $7000. The transmission gave out while pulling into a street with my wife and child in the car. The truck would struggle to go into gear and lurch violently. The dealer was able to replicate these problems.
Power train, Mar 20, 2025
The transmission is the problem. The truck shudders. I took it to a mechanic, David Gessel's Auto Service 863-401-2860. The mechanic serviced the transmission and informed me that the transmission will need to be replaced eventually and that the torque converter is coming apart. It seems like the same issues 2019 transmissions in Chevys were having. My transmission is an automatic 8speed. The service performed fixed the problem of shuddering but now the truck is doing it again.
Power train, Mar 16, 2025
The automatic transmission appears to be going out. Hard shifting occurs when speeding up or slowing down along with loud thuds and jerks. No warning lamps have come on, I will be taking it to a shop to have the transmission fixed.
Power train, Engine, Mar 11, 2025
Vehicle feels like it's hitting a bump down the road 65 miles an hour. There is no bump it's the transmission. My truck has 80240
Power train, Engine, Mar 5, 2025
Engine Seized up on me while driving on the freeway. Four of the crankshaft bearings seized up and one of those four completely melted. good thing the freeway I was on was not too crowded, my dash just all of a sudden lit up saying shift to neutral to restart engine. I was able to get to the shoulder. I tried re starting the engine and nothing happened. I had it towed to Simpson Chevrolet in Irvine CA. they reported back to me and said Engine has seized and I will need a new engine, cost of $16,893. I cannot afford a new engine right now and have been left without a vehicle. GM has taken no responsibility for this failure even though all maintenance has been performed on time every time.
Power train, Feb 27, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that during cold starts, the transmission was slipping, jerking, and banging. The failure eventually worsened and began to occur after the vehicle was driven and was warmed up. Additionally, while decelerating, the vehicle erroneously lurched forward. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the transmission valve body was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 6,000.
Power train, Feb 22, 2025
Transmission Overheating and Jerking
Power train, Feb 20, 2025
While coming to a stop at the end of the exit ramp my vehicle bucked when trying to go from a stop into 1st gear. Eventually the truck continued in a forward motion. Then came to a stop light and once again from a stopped position by truck bucked and eventually went into gear and continued forward motion. Parked the car where it sat for 1.5 hours then went to drive the vehicle and it bucked again into 1st gear. Drove to a parking lot were we parked to get lunch. Came out started the vehicle backed out of the parking spot and drove forward to the exit of the parking lot. When trying to exit the vehicle failed to move forward. The car acted as if it was in neutral and only revving to high RPM's. Removing the fuse for the Transmission Control Ignition allowed the vehicle to move forward but only in gears 1,2,3. I brought the vehicle to GMC dealership and they recommended a fluid service to determine if metal chips are in the fluid. That service was performed and issue remained. The Dealer has recommended a complete transmission replacement. My vehicle never displayed a warning lamp or shown symptoms prior to this failure. My vehicle has a 8 speed transmission which is known to be a failing part with Chevrolet and GMC. A new transmission is costing me $7900 plus tax on a 2021 with low wear and highway use.