Complaint volume
729 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
729 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2021 Chevrolet Silverado, grouped by component category.
729 Total complaints
16 Crash reports
11 Fire reports
11 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 16 crash reports, 11 fire reports, 11 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 160 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 55,255 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?
16 Crash
11 Fire
11 Injury
0 Fatality
62 Towed
6 Medical attention
What are the most common 2021 Chevrolet Silverado complaint categories?
ENGINE 211
POWER TRAIN 126
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 41
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 36
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 36
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 21
STRUCTURE 19
STEERING 18
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 14
SERVICE BRAKES 14
729 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2026 | SUSPENSION | On 2-23-2026, while traveling at highway speeds on the freeway, the front upper and lower A-arms (control arms) suffered a complete structural failure. This caused an immediate loss of steering control, forcing the vehicle off the road. By sheer luck and reactive maneuvering, I was able to avoid a multi-vehicle collision; however, the failure resulted in over $4,000 in mechanical and body damage. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | POWER TRAIN | On a very cold day in January I left work to head home in 4-high. Just before I got on the highway, the truck did a hard shift from 1st to 2nd and I felt kind of a clunk. Truck immediately threw a check engine light and went into limp mode (didn't seem to shift at all). Pulled into a parking lot and tried to go in reverse, but truck would not go into reverse. Truck was towed to local dealership where they diagnosed it with a failed valve body on the transmission. Dealership told me the valve body was on back order so I then towed the truck to a local transmission shop who changed out the valve body. Transmission had no issues before this. The morning this happened it was very cold (below zero) and I got a message in the truck that said, "heater performance mode active". Thought that was weird, but dealer did not seem to think it had anything to do with the failure. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Warranty issue the p1098 code | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | STEERING,POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | Belt tensioner/idler pulley began chirping during warm up after starting engine. Noticed serpentine belt was beginning to fray on edges. Dealership confirmed the pulley failed prematurely and caused the serpentine belt to be damaged. Dealership replaced pulley and belt. It was just after warranty expired. The belt is supposed to be replaced at 100,000 miles as routine maintenance, but the failure of the pulley, which the dealer informed me was also premature, but common, was not covered under warranty. Power steering was lost one time in park and a message showed on the dash, but went away after restarting the vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY/WIPER | Window switch failed and I was unable to roll down the window. Dealer confirmed and performed repairs. Problem occurred on a dry day with no previous issues and the dealer stated it was manufacturing defect with the switch. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | POWER TRAIN | Transmission began shifting hard over between 60500 and 62000 miles. Dealership test drove and confirmed it was not normal. The transmission pan was dropped and contained metal shavings and bits. Dealer replaced transmission. During late February 2026, I began noticing some hard shifts again, but am hesitant to pay another $699 diagnostic fee and replacement transmission cost because I feel I am wasting money on a poorly designed and unreliable transmission. I don’t feel confident relying on this vehicle for transportation to medical appointments anymore. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | SUSPENSION,SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. While driving 43 MPH, the message "Brake Failure" was displayed. The contact then lost control of the vehicle, and the vehicle drove from the right side to the left side of the road, the vehicle drove off the road and crashed into a ditch before coming to a stop. The driver had not sustained any injuries. There was no property damage. The air bags did not deploy. The check engine, the ABS and several unknown warning lights were illuminated after the failure. A tow truck driver who was also a mechanic inspected the vehicle and informed the contact that the driver's side front suspension had fractured from the upper ball joint and the wheel was folded in underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was being diagnosed. A Police Report was filed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | 98,000 |
| Feb 2026 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | At 62000 miles, I was having a transmission problem but had no check engine lights associated with the issue. The day I took it to the dealership for the transmission, the check engine light came on for the first time ever when I started the vehicle. The dealership first said it was a faulty solenoid on the purge valve, replaced that part, but it didn’t fix the problem. The dealership then said it needed a new fuel pump control module, which was heavily back ordered due to demand. I needed the vehicle because it had already been at the dealership for a transmission replacement for many weeks and is my only transportation. The dealership told me other vehicles were there for the same problem, parts were on a national back order and being rationed to dealerships around the country. They could not provide an estimate for when my vehicle would be ready and pushed me to trade in my vehicle as a solution. The sales manager offered a very low trade in value, told me I couldn’t get the part faster by purchasing it myself, and was very pushy. She said my vehicle was devalued because it didn’t have the fuel pump control module needed for the check engine light to turn off, and had a history of transmission problems (even though it just got a new transmission). I got frustrated and ordered the new GM part from summit racing and had it on my doorstep in two days. I took it to the dealership and all of a sudden they had received a shipment of this part, and replaced the faulty one in my vehicle. Their repair resolved the problem, but I still had reliability concerns. Despite all repairs being completed, the sales manager said the vehicle trade in value remained unchanged. It was a complete nightmare and I felt my vehicle was being held back from repair resolution to convince me to trade it in for a new truck. I kept my vehicle and extra part I ordered in case this happens again. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | AIR BAGS | The vehicle involved is a Chevrolet Silverado 1500. During a collision, the vehicle sustained a front-left (driver-side) impact which caused it to spin and subsequently strike the rear. Despite the severity of the initial impact and secondary rear collision, the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS), including the front and side airbags, did not deploy. The failure of the airbag system increased the risk of injury to all occupants, including a minor child. Without deployment of the front or side airbags during a front-left impact and secondary rear collision, occupants were exposed to direct impact forces that airbags are designed to help mitigate. There were no airbag or SRS warning lights, dashboard messages, or other indications of a malfunction prior to the collision. The concern regarding the airbag system arose only after the incident occurred. Following the collision, the vehicle was inspected by law enforcement and insurance representatives, and documentation is available. The issue has not been reproduced, as it occurred during the collision event. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 2 Towed Medical attention | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | P1098 engine coolant control valve Engine light comes on and truck says reduced power. Then went off. Back on again | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | I bought this Truck in December 2023 from Honda of Ocala as a used vehicle it had 59,000 miles when I bought it. In October 24 it started smoking from the exhaust one morning as I was leaving work. I have always changed the oil on time and taken good care of the truck. I found out the lifters had failed and Honda of Ocala replaced all of my lifters on both sides around $4,000 in repairs the truck was at 73,000 miles at this time. A few months after getting it fixed the truck started smoking again and going into limp mode at 81,000 miles. I still owe $30,000 on this truck but can’t afford to keep fixing it and can’t afford to trade it in and go negative on it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | I just bought this truck off a used car lot certified dealer and I noticed the engine light on then the truck would hesitate to start and I know the battery is dying so I looked it up and I got a recall on 2021 Chevy Silverado just like mine just wondering why mine is not under recall or why won’t mine get fixed but everybody else is the same year in the same problems can get fixed. I think mine should be fixed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | POWER TRAIN | A recall repair was performed on my vehicle at approximately 157,000 miles. Approximately 4,000–5,000 miles later, the transmission failed. The vehicle entered reduced power mode and became stuck in gear while driving. The dealership is recommending full transmission replacement but will not provide written explanation for why the failure is not related to the recall repair. I am concerned the recall remedy may have failed and that this condition poses a safety risk. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. While driving approximately 30 MPH, the contact heard an object being dragged underneath the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact pulled over and heard an abnormal clicking sound coming from the vehicle before the vehicle stalled. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle, and the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The mechanic diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the engine had seized and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V274000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 100,000 |
| Feb 2026 | POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | Good morning, While driving and starting my Chevy Silverado 1500 with 3.0 durmax it will suddenly go into a “limp mode” reducing speed and power. Recently while driving on a highway it reduced engine power causing the vehicle to slow down suddenly with many cars speeding by. This caused me to try and pull over the vehicle and avoid hitting other vehicles. When pulling codes off the vehicle there is a p1098 which refers to the engine coolant control valve. This will cause the vehicle to do the described power reduction. Upon researching the issue Gm has recognized and released a special coverage to fix the issue. N252508341. However my vehicles VIN does not pull up the coverage. All the characteristics of the coverage seem to fit the model and issues I have. It’s the same year, model, engine, etc. I’ve attached a DOT report of the special coverage. I’m hoping this will help fix my vehicle and others with this same issue. Although it’s not specifically listed as a safety recall, I feel the cause of the sudden power reduction is known by Gm and warranty issued and the problem should be resolved for all vehicles with this issue. Thank you! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | POWER TRAIN | 2021 Chevrolet Silverado Z71 Sherrod truck with the 6.2 engine came apart (blew up) driving down the interstate at 65 mph. Had truck towed to dealership and was told needed a new motor. Truck has 89,000 miles on it. I was told truck does not meet recall because of the date it was manufactured but was acknowledged that what happened to it is what the recall is for. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | Check engine turned on and at the same time the vehicle turned into safety mode abruptly, it slowed down to 10 miles an hour while on the high way and receiving a message stating that the "engine power reduced", the issue was presented to the dealership and they believe to be fixed with a sensor issue, the light came back on a few days after the initial repair and once again the engine lost power while driving the vehicle, the vehicle was then taken back to the dealership for repair once again, both times I mentioned the service bulletin, which they did not consider in their repair, stating that the issue was specific for a code (which all codes present are in the service bulletin) the 2nd repair was done on a actuator, which they stated should fix the issue, and did not, a 3rd time the vehicle lost power while hauling a trailer, this time I brought up the concern of them not reviewing the service bulletin, this time they confirmed that the service bulletin was the issue causing the check engine light (GM service bulletin no: 21-NA-149) now they are looking to slowly start repairing the issue and wait for the check engine light to turn on again to then go back and forth and review step by step the instructions in the bulletin. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | As I was driving my 2021 Chevrolet z71 pick up I had a warning light appear on the dash indicating the safety traction control system was faulty, at the same time my truck had a loss of power as if it was not operating on all cylinders. I could hear some strange noises that were not normal, at the same time my transmission was shifting abnormally. I managed to drive to a dealer and was told it was a collapsed lifter on cylinder #5 this occurred out of no where, I was informed what took place could have damaged the camshaft and I could be looking at a repair cost upwards of $5,000.00 and the service writer indicated this has been an ongoing issue with the 5.3 liter engine. My truck has been serviced at the dealership it was purchased from, and all oil changes have been performed within a reasonable window from when oil changes and service inspection has been recommended by General Motors. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The vehicle has an electric tailgate lock switch failure/defect. The tailgate unlocks on its own and pops open while driving, at stop lights, in drive-thru restaurants, and while parked which causes a safety hazard to the driver and passengers in the vehicle, as well as other drivers around the vehicle. Even after closing the tailgate, it will unlock and pop open on its own again. Then, I tested the closed, locked tailgate by shacking and pulling it open from the top edge which caused the tailgate to unlock and open on its own. This causes a thief risk of personal belongings and vehicle parts. There are no warning lamps or messages about the component failure. Since no recalls for the vehicle's VIN number are listed, it has not been confirmed by the dealer. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | See attached document for complaint. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | POWER TRAIN | Transmission Shuddering, trembling and rough shifting | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | POWER TRAIN | On January 3, 2026, I started the truck, but it would not go into gear when I put into drive; I then attempted to put into reverse and same problem. I had to have it towed to the dealership, McCluskey Chevrolet, Kings Automall, Cincinnati Ohio, on Monday, January 5, 2026, this is where I purchased the vehicle on May 14, 2022, with 16,594 miles at time of purchase (estimated), it was towed on a flatbed, and arrived at McCluskey with 60,072 miles. Truck was looked and they found that it needed a valve body. At which time they told me GM warranty expired, over 60,000 miles, really by 72 miles. Ok there is a powertrain warranty then I had to prove oil changes, guess what I'm human and I missed two oil changes so the "extended warranty" McCluskey "gifted me" was void. I then complained I only drove the vehicle 43000 miles and for a 2021 with 60,072 miles this is an issue. Service advisor then went to management and they reduce the cost from est. 4000.00 to 585.00 plus tax through a program that GM offers. Picked up repaired vehicle on 1/30/2026, 2/1/2026 engine light came on went to have a veriscan and it found solenoid 3 stuck off & solenoid 4 (the one that was replaced) stuck on. This is an issue on gas 2021 Silverado 1500 and I wanted to report my experience because this is not "primarily" a diesel problem any longer. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | ENGINE | 6.2L L87 V8 engine experienced catastrophic engine failure do to lifter failure and a cylinder 8 misfire. Causing additional damage to camshaft. The dealership has inspected the vehicle and refuses to acknowledge the problem as there own. I have invoices for the work if I choose to proceed. Incident occurred while driving on the freeway, complete lose of power and control. This engine is known for this exact problem yet I never received a recall. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Noticed when pressing tailgate release button manually it would not open but would if fob used. However tailgate opens continuously on its own. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | ENGINE | At 46000 miles the motor was replaced because of an internal oil consumption issue after the motor was replaced at 1500 miles the motor locked up while traveling down the road they rebuilt this motor. I went to go pick it up. Drove it 20 miles and oil was blowing out the rear main seal. after this, I sold the truck back to Gwatney Chevrolet and purchased a 2024 model with a 6.2 L I have not had any problems yet. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |