Complaint volume
767 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2021 Chevrolet Silverado Complaints
767 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2021 Chevrolet Silverado, grouped by component category.
767 Total complaints
18 Crash reports
11 Fire reports
12 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are engine, power train, engine and engine cooling. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 18 crash reports, 11 fire reports, 12 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 162 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 55,888 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to engine, power train, engine and engine cooling?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2021 Chevrolet Silverado?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2021 Chevrolet Silverado
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2021 Chevrolet Silverado complaints?
18 Crash
11 Fire
12 Injury
0 Fatality
64 Towed
8 Medical attention
What are the most common 2021 Chevrolet Silverado complaint categories?
ENGINE 226
POWER TRAIN 130
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 43
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 40
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 39
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 24
STRUCTURE 19
STEERING 18
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 14
SERVICE BRAKES 14
767 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2024 | POWER TRAIN | The transmission jerks from time and time. There is a lag between shifting and first and second gear | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2024 | STRUCTURE | Unwanted inadvertent tail gate opening. The tailgate is opening without human interaction causing a safety issue and potential loss of cargo. Damage to tailgate from striking objects due to inadvertent opening | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2024 | STRUCTURE | The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact became aware of a stain on the rear driver’s side interior of the roof of her vehicle and became aware that the source of the leak was the edge of the window. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer to be inspected, and the contact was informed that there would be no assistance with repairing the vehicle since the vehicle was out of warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 25,900. | Crash: No Fire: No | 25,900 |
| Nov 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Vehicle attempted to do an 'over the air' update to the infotainment system. This prompted an error message, stating the update failed and return to the dealership. Took vehicle to GM dealer, diagnostics were run, and dealer stated that an update was not available, and the module for the infotainment system was bad. Quoted me $1600 for replacement and install. Have read multiple reports with owners' having the same issue. Infotainment system attempts to do an update, and it fails. The owners are left paying out of pocket for something that was not their fault. This needs to be a recall. Not only are you paying a hefty amount for a repair that is not your fault, but the entire Infotainment system doesn't not work (stereo, cooling/heating info, back up camera etc) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2024 | ENGINE | While driving down the highway on 11/03/2024, the engine warning light started to flash, I heard a clicking & Clanging noise so I pulled over as soon as I could find a safe place. Turned the ignition off & on again & engine warning light did not come back on, but still heard noises coming from engine. When driving home, the engine warning light came on again. I stopped again & turned the ignition off. When I turned it on again, the warning light quit flashing. I drove to the local GM dealer the next day, and they said it was a lifter problem. I did some research and found there were many lifter problems for a 2021 Silverado that I owned. I was hoping the dealer would replace both sides of lifters as they told me there was an issue & they were reengineered. Service department employee said they could only replace one side as that was all GM would approve. I told the employee that I did some research & there was a bulletin that said if mileage was less than 16,000 miles, both sides should be replaced. The employee said you surely have more miles than that & I showed her my odometer reading of 14,528. Again the employee told me that was all that GM would approve. I believe this is a safety issue if there is not a safe place to pull over. Also there should be a recall to replace these lifters with the reengineered lifters or extended warranty so us consumers are not stuck with a huge bill in the future as GM is aware this is a chronic problem. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2024 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH and passing another vehicle, the rear wheels inadvertently locked-up momentarily, causing the vehicle to momentarily shudder and to downshift to second gear while the RMPS revved significantly. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to continue driving. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times. The dealer replaced the knock sensor; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where the failure recurred while the vehicle was being test-driven; however, the dealer was unable to diagnose the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact later became aware that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V097000(Power Train), which the contact related to the failure; however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 106,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available. | Crash: No Fire: No | 106,000 |
| Nov 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The tailgate activates on its own, whether the truck is on or off, in motion or parked, the tailgate will activate and open at random times. There is no button that is pressed down, and no user error making this happen. When driving the vehicle, the tailgate will slam open and if you are pulling a trailer, the tailgate will slam into the trailer hitch and cause damage. Also, contents falling out of a truck bed is also a serious concern for other drivers. The truck was read for codes, and the code U0140 came up for the body control module that is malfunctioning. The truck has not been inspected by the manufacturer as of yet, but if need be, it can be arranged. The first time this error was noticed was in August 2024, and has been happening on & off since then. There were no dashboard lights on showing an issue was present when it first started and even now there are still no warning lights. Please consider issuing a recall, this is a major safety issue for other drivers. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | POWER TRAIN | Vehicle began to lose power on the highway almost causing a collision due to the low speeds I had to travel. My vehicle was taken to a local Chevrolet Dealership and was told I had bad lifters and a bent rod. I was told this is a common issue with newer mold Chevrolet Silverado’s . | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | STEERING | When I started my car there was an error message that said "Service Power Steering Drive with Care" and "Service ESC" when I went to back out of the driveway I had no power steering at all. I could barely move the wheel and had trouble pulling back into the driveway. I turned off the car and restarted a few times, but received the same error messages and had no power steering. When I started the car about an hour later all error messages went away and power steering was restored, but I am afraid to drive it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | When I started my truck in the morning a group of warning lights came on. This included check engine, ECS control, Parking Brake service I took truck to dealer that said I had bad or broken lifter in cylinder # 6. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that when the driver's door was opened the tailgate opened inadvertently. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V060000 (Latches/Locks/Linkages). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 29,364. | Crash: No Fire: No | 29,364 |
| Oct 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The inner tailgate on my 21 Silverado is not functioning properly. The upper electronic button on the tailgate operates the inner tailgate and will release when opening the vehicle. It will continue to release by itself and can cause damage to the vehicle or to other vehicles while carrying a load. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Fuel pump module failure while driving causing vehicle to stop abruptly while driving at highway speeds. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES | While leaving work I started the truck like normal and the dash lit up like a Christmas tree. Saying service ESC, service power steering,and service brake system. The ESC light was on as well as the check engine light. There was no forewarning about this. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | STRUCTURE | The way I can best describe it is my vehicle falling apart, either due to cheap parts. Or poorly being put together. I was driving down the highway at about 65 miles an hour, when suddenly I hear something smack what seemed to be my headlight, then again snack into my drivers side mirror. I had not seen anything on the road previous to this or anything in the air so it seemed strange to have “hit” something. I was about an hour from my destination still so when I arrived I checked out my headlight. I then discovered I hadn’t hit anything, a piece of the fascia of my truck had blown off in the wind, which was the first sound I heard, then proceeded to impact my drivers side mirror. I’m not sure how long it was in the air or if it had impacted any vehicles on the highway behind me. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | STRUCTURE | The tailgate on my 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 opens randomly. Initially, it was not often, but progressively happening. I had to pull over in rush hour traffic this morning to shut the tailgate after it opened randomly. The only reason I knew, was checking the rear camera. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | Lifter failure of the right bank in 2021 at 19,000 miles. At the time of failure engine was 2.5 quarts low on oil. Ever since, this truck has been using oil excessively. I am currently involved with an oil consumption test. Of which over the last 5k miles I have had to have more oil added by the dealership. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | Multiple times at varying speeds my 2021 Silverado has produced engine misfire codes. I have never been able to get to it quick enough to see what cylinders are misfiring so it always gives me a general P0300 code. The following first two times it was confirmed by Widrick truck and diesel in Carthage, NY. The last time it happened, the code disappeared before I would take it to the Chevy dealership. Widrick said they can’t fix the problem because they don’t know what it is, and Chevrolet denies there is a problem at all. The truck still has less than 50k miles on it | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | I took my car to the dealership four times because the engine light and the ESC light kept coming on. It kept saying there was a misfire so they changed the spark plugs and did a gas treatment after I left the dealership the light came back on so I returned the next day. They change one wire that’s what they told me. The problem was so I left engine light came back on. I returned the next day then they changed the wires I left the facility again. The next day I got them started the car, the same problem, engine light, and the ESC light and now they have the car in the shop and they need to break the engine down to see what’s causing the misfire and to find out if I need a new engine or not. Who is all that shit right now? | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle, the transmission was shifted into reverse(R) and the contact became aware that the tailgate had opened while driving. The contact stated that he closed the tailgate however, the tailgate independently opened again. The contact drove the vehicle to a dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the tailgate electrical switch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact had researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V060000 (Latches/Locks/Linkages). The contact contacted the manufacturer and was informed that the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 34,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 34,000 |
| Sep 2024 | ENGINE | driving on [XXX] in Idaho stopped at rest area went to restroom came out my truck was smoking lifted the hood fire started on top left of engine got safely from truck and called 911 truck burnt to ground. Since i was stopped i was not in truck but if i did not stop it could of been fatal. My insurance has the truck now waiting on them for their investigation. there was no warning of any kind no dings going off no engine lights on since it burnt to the ground dont know if it can be determined what caused it but it would be nice to know why a 2021 chevy silverado with 43000 miles on it would just start on fire just had it serviced a week before this happed at a chevy dealer their is no recalls on my vin number writing this so maybe if this happens again that they will find the problem before some fatalitiy. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: Yes | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | ENGINE | Cylinder 5 misfire due to collapsed lifter and bent pushrod. 3rd time this has happened. Dealer replace half of engines lifters at 4K miles, the other half at 19K miles and now it’s occurred again even with all the lifters replaced in the engine. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | My lifters gave out on a brand new engine with 4000 miles on it. Truck was currently at 60,000 miles on odometer. I was traveling 75mph when everything locked up and all my lights on my dash board lit up. Causing multiple cars to swerve around as I guided the limping truck off the highway. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | STRUCTURE | While pulling a trailer down the highway the tailgate of my truck dropped all by itself causing considerable damage to the tailgate. If I had been carrying material in the bed of the truck it could have blown out and became a safety hazard for other motorists. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | ENGINE | The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the valve lifters, resulting in damage to the camshaft. The vehicle was repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin Number: 19-NA-219. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 160,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 160,000 |