Chevrolet Silverado Reliability by YearBest & worst years, problems & recalls — NHTSA data

At approximately 3,000 miles, the engine began making a loud knocking noise that became progressively worse while driving. The truck was diagnosed as needing a complete engine replacement. No warning lights, no check engine light, nothing. For someone inexperienced with vehicles, you could easily be in big trouble on the highway and a potentially life threatening situation. My primary concern is that there was no warning that such a major engine failure was about to occur. An engine that fails with so few miles raises concerns about the possibility of sudden loss of power, loss of acceleration, or engine seizure while driving in traffic, on highways, or while towing. A failure under those conditions could significantly increase the risk of a crash. The vehicle has been out of service while I continue making loan and insurance payments on a brand-new truck that I cannot use. The replacement engine is on national backorder, leaving me without a clear repair timeline. After researching this issue, I found numerous reports from other owners describing similar failures involving the 6.2L V8 engine. Based on the volume of owner complaints, there appears to have been a significant increase in reported engine failures involving 2026 model-year vehicles. This suggests the problem may not be an isolated incident but instead could indicate a broader defect that deserves investigation. As a result of this experience, I no longer feel confident or safe driving this vehicle, even if the engine is replaced. I purchased a brand-new truck expecting long-term reliability and peace of mind, but instead I experienced catastrophic engine failure at only 3,000 miles. I respectfully request that NHTSA investigate these engine failures to determine whether a safety-related defect exists and whether further action is necessary to protect consumers. I have requested a buyback, but GM completely denies it. Such a horrible Expy with manufacture.

A.The engine is stalling while driving. This has happened four different times. Three times while towing, and one time while backing up a small hill. This is a scary situation because three of the four times almost caused an accident. 1.We were driving to Texas, pulling a pontoon boat. While exiting the highway, we were entering into an intersection at a speed of about 10 miles per hour, and the truck shut down. The truck said, “Start the motor and place it into gear.” Or something similar to that. 2.We were in stop-and-go traffic on the highway, and the truck shut down. Once again, I had to restart the motor and shift into gear. 3.We were entering a parking lot from the main road, and the truck shut down. Again, I had to restart the motor and shift into gear. 4.The three times above are during a time when we were towing. The fourth time is when we were backing up a small hill. The rear tires lost traction and spun for a second or two, and then the truck shut down and started to roll forward. Once again, I had to restart the motor and place it into gear.

I have been having issues with my vehicle for the last 1,000 miles or so where it appears to be losing power while accelerating normally, i'm not sure if the issue lies with the engine or powertrain/transmission. I took to dealer last week and they were unable to reproduce. The issues have been getting more frequent and intially were only occuring after the vehicle warmed up, now it has started while vehicle is cold. Feels like the power drops (rpms drop) during a normal acceleration. As of 7/16 I now have a check engine light on, onstar indicates an issue with my engine, transmission, electrical. This is putting myself at safety risk along with others as during my normal drive the engine is losing power and could either leave me stranded or cause an accident.

The forward collision warning is excessively sensitive to vehicles and pedestrians. I've had the alert go off recently for something so simple as pulling into a parking spot. It goes off frequently just driving past pedestrians and throughout what I consider to be normal driving where I am not coming close to a collision with a vehicle. It is very unsettling and startling when the alert goes off indicating that I am coming close to a collision with a vehicle or a pedestrian. I had a 2023 Silverado 1500 LT/2.7 Turbomax engine and it was not this sensitive. I fear that this may actually cause an accident at some point or if the emergency braking were to activate with another vehicle behind me.

On Monday, June 29, 2026, I was getting off the New Jersey Garden State Parkway. I was halfway down the exit ramp and the engine and the engine just stopped. I coasted to the bottom of the exit ramp and luckily had just enough shoulder to pull over to get out of traffic. Once stopped, I attempted to start my 2026 Chevy Silverado, but all attempts at starting the engine were fruitless, as the engine would not even turn over when tried. I contacted On Star and a tow truck was sent to tow my truck to Burke, the GM dealer I purchased the truck from. It was confirmed by Burke GM on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, that the truck needed the engine replaced. The truck is currently at Burke GM and I have been there to get belongings out of the truck so yes, I would say it’s safe to assume that it is available for inspection. There were no warning signs of any problem with the motor at all.

On XXX I was driving from [XXX] to my sister's house in [XXX]. I was relocating to [XXX] for a job. I was pulling a U-haul trailer (6x12) that contained significantly less weight than the truck can handle. About halfway there, on back roads, the truck suddenly slowed significantly and the gas pedal was unresponsive. The light in the dashboard read Reduced Acceleration - Drive with caution. Pulled over, turned off truck, opened driver side door, to reset the truck (read this on google). We had to do this a couple times, because it would just go back to that behavior after a bit. We made it to my sister's house to stay the night. In the morning, XXX, I called the local Chevy Service Dept in [XXX] and asked if I could bring it in, I described the problem. During the drive to the shop, the same issue occurred. Upon arriving at the service dept, the Trailer app was giving a warning that the load may be heavier than max. Which cannot be true. The dealer techs said they had never seen anything like it before, but they seemed to know what to look for. They then informed me that they could not loan me a car because I was traveling out of state. I had a deadline, so my only option was to rent a U Haul box truck, unload the back of my truck into it, hitch the trailer I already had to it, and drive to [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

2026 SILVERADO ENGINE BLOWED UP AT 6,413 MILES. THIS IS THE 6.2 L87 ENGINE..

While driving my truck returning from a camping trip I received the following warnings in the dash: Service ESC, Service traction control, forward collision system unavailable. Check engine light was flashing. I made the assumption that the Check engine light was due to the warnings listed above. I continued to drive the vehicle until I began to feel a very noticeable shudder at idle, at low speeds, and also loss of power at higher speeds. The truck has the 5.3 ecotec engine with DFM. After researching the symptoms, I found that these symptoms are identical to the know lifter problem with that engine. The truck is a 2026 Chevrolet Silverado Trail boss with approx. 3454 miles on it. It's currently at the dealership waiting for them to "diagnose" the problem. I was told that it may just be a "faulty sensor", but after reading other people's experience with this engine I believe that the real problem is a damaged lifter/lifter pin due to the poor design and engineering of the DFM system

The contact owns a 2026 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH and attempting to depress the accelerator pedal, the vehicle lost motive power, the contact attempted to start the vehicle, and the vehicle operated as intended. The check engine warning light was illuminated. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed; however, the diagnostic result was unknown. The dealer cleared the codes, and the vehicle was then taken to another dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the ground strap needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the part was on back order and might take six months for the part to do the repair to be available. The approximate failure mileage was 4,000.

This incident occurred 24, June 2024. Time was approx 1745hrs and temperature was 93 and humid. Was stopped at a stop sign, attempted to make a phone call and reached to temporarily turn off the air conditioner by pushing the on/off button. When I pushed the button, it turned off the vehicle engine completely! When I was startled as to what had just happened, I pushed the air conditioner button a second time; It STARTED the truck's vehicle engine! I repeated this test three times in the presence of my spouse who was also in the truck. We then drove approximately one mile and at a second stop again was able to duplicate the engine turned off/on by pushing the air conditioner on off again! It was if the air conditioner on/off button was the vehicle start stop button. I did not try to duplicate this under roadway speed, fearing if the engine did in fact turn off, simply by pushing the on/off air conditioner button. It would most assuredly result in the complete loss of driver inputs for steering, brakes and control.

Service brake assist warning came on the day before a severe audible engine knock started. Drove to nearest dealer and they immediately diagnosed as a probable engine failure/engine bearing/connecting rod. 6.2 liter engine 9500 miles

The contact owns a 2026 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while reversing, the back over prevention camera failed to function as needed. The contact stated that there was no image displayed while shifted into reverse. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 3,000.

Normal driving then heard a knocking and squealing. Was told it was a spun main bearing on the crack shaft.

Defect: Engine failure caused by lifter and camshaft failure at 114 miles (5.2 engine hours). The vehicle is at the dealership undergoing warranty repairs. The service department confirmed a seized lifter, necessitating the replacement of all lifters and the camshaft. The incident occurred at highway speeds on the interstate when the engine suddenly began knocking loudly. Immediately after the knocking started, the check engine light illuminated, followed by consecutive "Service Anti-Collision System" and "Service ESC (Electronic Stability Control)" warning messages.