GMC Sierra Limited Reliability by YearBest & worst years, problems & recalls — NHTSA data
Comparing used GMC Sierra Limited options? We analyzed 2 model years (2019–2022) using real NHTSA complaint and recall data so you can spot stronger years, avoid riskier ones, and know what to inspect before buying.
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- Accident & damage history
- Odometer rollback records
- Open recalls & title brands
Based on NHTSA complaint data, the GMC Sierra Limited has 405 owner complaints and 0 safety recalls across model years 2019–2022. The most reported issue area is ENGINE.
- Make
- GMC
- Model
- Sierra Limited
- Model years analyzed
- 2019–2022 (2 years)
- Total NHTSA complaints
- 405
- Safety recall campaigns
- 0
- Crash-related complaints
- 10
- Fire-related complaints
- 3
- Worst model year (by complaints)
- 2019 (405 complaints)
- Top reported issue area
- ENGINE
- Reliability signal
- Poor
Crash test ratings
NHTSA NCAP crash test ratings
New Car Assessment ProgramNCAP crash tests measure how well a vehicle protects occupants in controlled frontal crash, side crash, and rollover scenarios. Stars are awarded per category (5 = safest). These laboratory results are independent of owner complaints and are performed by NHTSA engineers on new production vehicles.
NCAP crash test ratings for this model are not yet loaded or this vehicle was not tested in the years analyzed. NHTSA tests a subset of new vehicles each year. Check nhtsa.gov/ratings directly for the latest results.
What the complaint data suggests
PoorThe GMC SIERRA LIMITED has 405 NHTSA complaints and 0 recalls on record. 10 complaints involve crash-related incidents. This data reflects owner-reported issues submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- 405 total complaints filed with NHTSA
- 0 federal recall campaigns
- 10 crash-related complaints on record
- Review NHTSA complaint history for the most-reported components
- Check recall completion status at nhtsa.gov/recalls
- Verify service records for frequently complained components
Consult the by-year breakdown to identify model years with elevated complaint rates.
Consult the by-year breakdown to identify model years with fewer reported issues.
- Run a VIN check on the specific vehicle you are considering
- Verify all open recalls are completed at nhtsa.gov/recalls
- Request service records for the most-reported complaint components
- Have a certified mechanic inspect the vehicle before purchase
Problems by model year (best vs. worst)
Source: NHTSA public complaints database. Updated: Sep 2026
Safety recalls
NHTSA safety recalls
0 recalls foundSafety recalls are mandatory repair campaigns ordered by NHTSA when a vehicle defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety. Manufacturers are required to fix recalled vehicles free of charge. Always verify open recalls before buying a used car.
No NHTSA recalls were found in our database for this model. Always verify open recalls using your specific VIN on NHTSA.gov.
Source: NHTSA Recalls Database. Data covers model years 2019–2022. Always run a VIN-specific check below for the most up-to-date open recall status.
Common problems
What goes wrong most often
The vehicle systems owners complain about most, ranked from all 405 NHTSA complaints — these are the areas to inspect first on a used car.
Owner complaints
NHTSA complaint reports
405 totalThese are consumer-submitted safety complaints filed directly with NHTSA. Each complaint describes a real owner's experience. Complaints flagged as crash-related or fire-related are highlighted.
The contact owns a 2019 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the message "Battery Saver Alert" was displayed on the instrument cluster. The contact stated that the battery gauge was reading 9V on the 12V battery. The vehicle was driven to a dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined that a battery tender was needed. The contact asked the dealer to check the 12-Volt battery which was replaced 2 years prior by the same dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the alternator needed to be replaced. The contact was later informed that the battery fuse also needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V888000 (Electrical System); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was 43,742.
The contact owns a 2019 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would intermittently hesitate upon depression of the accelerator pedal. The contact also stated that the check engine warning light had flashed on the instrument panel. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic, where the mechanic informed the contact that there was a miscommunication between the engine and the transmission. Two dealers were notified of the failure, and each informed the contact that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The contact was also given a diagnostic fee to determine the cause of the failure; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Component/System that failed: The issue appears to originate from the transmission or drivetrain, specifically resulting in the rear wheels locking up and dragging at low speeds. It feels like something is seizing inside the drivetrain, making the truck very difficult to move. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. How safety was put at risk: This failure presents a serious and unpredictable safety hazard. The vehicle begins locking up randomly when slowing down, such as in parking lots or residential areas. If this occurred at higher speeds or in traffic, it could easily result in a crash, loss of control, or pedestrian injury. It’s completely unreliable and unsafe to operate in this condition. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or service center? The issue is part of a well-known transmission defect affecting GM’s 8-speed automatic transmissions. There are multiple class action lawsuits and thousands of consumer complaints documenting identical symptoms. GM is fully aware of the defect but has refused to issue a recall, instead allowing the time-based warranty to expire even when the mileage is still well within the 60,000-mile limit. My local GMC dealer refused to offer a loaner or goodwill repair and quoted over a week just to diagnose it despite knowing that this is a known failure point. The symptoms are consistent with the known defect GM continues to avoid addressing. Has it been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance? No outside inspection has occurred yet. Given the widespread documentation of this defect and the consistency of symptoms, it should not be necessary to involve other parties. Were there any warning lamps or messages? No. There were no warning lights, messages, or alerts of any kind. The failure occurs randomly, and without any prior indication. That unpredictability makes the issue even more dangerous.
While traveling on the freeway at freeway speeds and with the cruise control on, on 7/22/2025, my vehicle abruptly start making an odd noise, the steering wheel started to vibrate / move as if I had a flat tire. I safely existed the freeway and pulled over to investigate, there was no flat tire yet the vehicle still made the noise and experienced issues when the throttle was applied. I proceeded to call a tow truck, and have the vehicle towed from Alpine, CA to Temecula and Temecula Valley GMC. While there the dealership gave me an initial diagnosis of "Miss fire in cylinder 8". We left the vehicle, and awaited more information. The next day I received a phone call stating that they needed to do an engine teardown to completely diagnose the issue, to the tune of approx. $1,500. In the dealers words, they needed to do the teardown to determine if "They could salvage the engine, or if it had to be condemned". The following day I received another call stating that the engine needed to be completely replaced due to a collapsed cylinder. The estimate for this work is over $13,000. the truck is 6 years old with 58,XXX miles.
Yates GMC Replaced my engine a couple of years ago under warranty and my truck has never been the same. I’ve been to the dealer multiple times. The drive, the way it operates always making cranking snapping sounds.
Had to have transmission rebuilt found metal shavings and was shifting bad and shuttering. Vehicle Has 63,000 miles and is well maintained. Vehicle was taken to GMC but said their transmission person was on vacation for 2 weeks. Also parts dept Said they had no transmissions in stock and were back ordered. Truck was taken to AAMco and transmission was rebuilt And torque converter replaced . This is a common issue with GMC trucks.
Read 14 more owner reports
Power Steering failure. Loss of power steering while driving the vehicle made any turns nearly impossible. Dealership identified root cause and a problem with a grounding strap. They reported that in addition to our vehicle, another GMC Sierra 1500 had come in the same day with the same problem. Loss of power steering while driving can lead to collision. This should be a safety recall.
On or around July 12th 2025 at low speed of 2-4 mph my rear end locked up sending everyone in the vehicle hard stop forward. The vehicle wouldn't disengage leaving me no choice but to have it towed for the second time 1st time happened exactly the same about month and a half prior. Gmc service department department claims they couldn't find anything wrong after it sat for two days in there lot after having it towed they were closed weekends and looked at it that Monday morning finding no signs of anything wrong. After picking up my vehicle I strongly feel like if at higher speeds or even environment this issue will endanger myself passengers and bystanders. I need help with resolving this safety issues asap please. Gmc hasn't been much help service department nor Gm support options.
On 7/17/25 vehicle was taken to Star Buick/GMC in Easton PA for rear brakes and an oil change. This vehicle has 49,981 miles on it. I was told after the oil change the tech took the truck for a test drive. I was told he made it about 20 feet and the engine seized. Either the tech forgot to refill the crank case or it is another GM 6.2 disaster. Please advise as the dealer is quoting over 12K to replace engine.
My 2019 GMC Sierra 1500 truck exhibiting all the same signs as the recent call for the same 2021 truck recall according to the dealership. This is for the L87 V8 engine. The 2021 engine was used in the 2019 trucks but again the 2019 trucks are not a part of the recall. My repair bill is upwards of $10,000 and diagnostics is upwards for $4,000 even though all are aware of the recent recall and my truck having the same engine.
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH, there was an abnormally loud sound coming from the engine compartment before the vehicle lost automotive power. The vehicle was towed to the local mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle with engine failure. The contact was advised that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 126,000.
The contact owns a 2019 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while driving on the highway at 60 MPH, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was advised that the camshaft and lifters were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 73,000.
Vehicle motor suddenly stopped working. Vehicle was pulled into a driveway safely then wouldn’t crank anymore.
- 6.2 engine lost propulsion & warninng light on dash flashed about 3-5 times. After that the trucks engine completely malfunctioned. When this happened i was traveling at 70mhp on interstate I-69 when the the truck lost power to the engine, steering and power braking. The truck was inspected by a GM dealer and they found the engine had blown & with that it caused damage to the coolant system & to the catalytic converterin which all was replaced at full customer cost. Prior to the engine failure 2 other times it lost power and had a rough ilde and trouble starting . 1st time the dealer could not replacate the issue the next time found a camshaft postioning sensor was bad which was placed at customer cost.
Truck is at the Jim Gauthier GMC dealership on Mcphillips in Winnipeg, Canada. Engine endured catastrophic failure and is currently waiting for a new engine.
I was driving with my wife about to merge into traffic on the interstate when I had a huge power loss. It was a busy part of the interstate where I could have been ran over. There was a lot of traffic and was fortunate the Semi driver was alert and slowed down. I was not aware of any failures of this motor or received any notices from GM. After conducting research I found that this was a know issue that GM failed to report. My truck has been serviced regularly and until that point had not given any signs of a upcoming failure, I have read that GM is looking into other years such as 2019 which mine is. I have had no luck with GM customer care with the only response being I need to crunch the numbers from my claim advisor. I have the 6.2 L87 motor and know of the clip failure do to poor assembly and parts and debris getting into the motor causing the failure. I am looking to report this and request any assistance available. My first stop was the dealership, then GM customer care
The contact owns a 2019 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that the “Service Rearview Camera” message was displayed on the navigation display screen. The camera failed to activate while reversing. There were watermarks on the rear inside glass. The following day, the camera was operational. The contact was concerned about running over a pedestrian due to the camera being inoperable. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 29,000.
The contact owns a 2019 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormal ticking sound. The contact stated that the failure also occurred upon starting the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the camshaft and lifters were replaced, and other unknown required repairs were performed. The vehicle was repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Action Number: PE25001. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 52,029.
Driving down the highway at approximately 65mph, when I accelerated to 70mph my truck began to shake violently flashing a check engine light, service parking brake light, and service ESC light, the engine began to violently shake and make a rough knocking noise Had the vehicle towed to the mechanic where I was informed that the lifter on cylinder 2 had collapsed and that it would be $12,500 to replace all 16 lifters as well as the cam shaft on my engine My safety was at risk as my truck went into a “limp” mode and essentially shut off on the side of the road, others were at risk due to my truck becoming a hazard, the tow operator was at risk having to pickup my truck on the side of a 70mph freeway The only check engine code I had was a misfire on cylinder 2 Dealership stated that it was a known issue but that my truck was outside of warranty, and not apart of recall so there was nothing they could do Had truck towed to different shop that is repairing the problem Requested that all parts be kept in case of inspection request
The contact owns a 2019 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the road. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with metal shavings in the oil pan and engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to an unknown recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but no assistance was provided. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the safety failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.
Showing 20 of 405 total NHTSA complaints. Source: NHTSA Complaints Database
Check the exact car
Before you buy, check the exact GMC Sierra Limited
These pages show model-year patterns across 2 years. Enter a VIN to verify the exact vehicle's accident history, title brands, odometer records, and open recall status before purchase.
The basics
How to read this data
Complaints, recalls, investigations — here’s what each number actually tells you about a used GMC Sierra Limited, in plain English.
What is an NHTSA Complaint?
An NHTSA safety complaint is a report filed directly by a vehicle owner or driver describing a safety-related issue. Anyone can submit a complaint at NHTSA.gov. The number of complaints is a signal of how common a problem is — but complaints per model-year matter more than raw totals, since popular vehicles naturally receive more reports. The GMC Sierra Limited has 405 complaints on record across 2 model years.
What is a Safety Recall?
A safety recall is a mandatory campaign issued by NHTSA when a vehicle component poses an unreasonable risk to safety or does not comply with federal motor vehicle safety standards. Unlike complaints (which are owner-reported), recalls are formally investigated and confirmed by regulators. Manufacturers must fix recalled vehicles free of charge. The GMC Sierra Limited has 0 recall campaigns in the NHTSA database.
What Are Crash Complaints?
Crash complaints are NHTSA filings where the owner indicates a crash occurred as part of the incident. 10 of the GMC Sierra Limited's 405 complaints involved a crash. This metric is particularly important because it indicates how often defects resulted in actual collisions — a key safety signal beyond general reliability.
How Is the Reliability Verdict Calculated?
The reliability verdict (Poor) is generated by analyzing the vehicle's total complaints, recall history, crash complaint ratio, fire complaint ratio, and top component failures relative to class averages. This verdict gives buyers a quick interpretation before they review year-level details and VIN-level history. It should be treated as one decision input, not a substitute for a VIN-specific report.
Why Do Newer Years Have Fewer Complaints?
Newer model years appear to have fewer complaints because there has been less time for owners to file them. Complaints accumulate over years of ownership. A 2020 model year vehicle will typically show fewer complaints than a 2015 model year even if it is less reliable — simply because fewer owners have had time to report issues. Focus on complaints per year of market presence when comparing across model years.
Fleet Data vs. Individual VIN
Everything on this page reflects aggregated data across all GMC Sierra Limited vehicles on the road — not any specific car. Two GMC Sierra Limited vehicles of the same year can have very different histories: one may have been in three accidents and have an open recall; another may be clean. A VIN check gives you the individual car's history: accidents, title brands, odometer records, service history, and real-time recall status.
What Are NHTSA Investigations?
When NHTSA receives a pattern of related safety complaints, it opens a formal investigation. A Preliminary Evaluation (PE) is the first stage — NHTSA determines if a safety defect may exist. If evidence is strong, it escalates to an Engineering Analysis (EA), which can result in a mandatory recall. The GMC Sierra Limited has 0 investigations on record (0 active). Investigations listed above may have already led to the recalls shown on this page.
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By state
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Title-branding rules, flood-damage exposure, and salvage laws vary by state. Run a free VIN check or explore state-specific vehicle history guidance before buying a used GMC Sierra Limited.
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GMC Sierra Limited reliability — frequently asked questions
Is the GMC Sierra Limited reliable?
Poor. The GMC Sierra Limited has 405 NHTSA owner complaints and 0 recall campaigns across model years. A commonly reported issue area is ENGINE. Use year-level data as a pattern guide, then verify the exact car with a VIN check before purchase.
Which GMC Sierra Limited years to avoid?
Years with the most NHTSA complaints: 2019 (405 complaints). Use these years as a shortlist for deeper inspection, and always run a VIN check on the exact vehicle before purchase.
What are the most common GMC Sierra Limited problems?
Top reported issues: ENGINE (134 complaints); SERVICE BRAKES (107 complaints); POWER TRAIN (91 complaints).
Does the GMC Sierra Limited have recalls?
No NHTSA recall campaigns are currently on record for the GMC Sierra Limited. Always verify with a VIN check as recalls can be added at any time.