Complaint volume
765 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
765 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2021 Chevrolet Silverado, grouped by component category.
765 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 225
POWER TRAIN 130
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 43
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 40
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 39
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 23
STRUCTURE 19
STEERING 18
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 14
SERVICE BRAKES 14
765 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2026 | SEAT BELTS | I am submitting a safety complaint regarding a vehicle restraint system failure. I was involved in a collision with a deer. During the incident, the seat belt pretensioner activated; however, the seat belt did not properly restrain me. I experienced forward movement despite the pretensioner activation. The airbags did not deploy. Because pretensioner activation is intended to lock and tighten the seat belt during a collision, I am concerned that the restraint system failed to function as designed. This raises concerns about occupant safety and the ability of the seat belt system to provide protection in future crashes. I am submitting this complaint to document a potential safety defect and request review of this restraint system failure.“After reporting the seat belt restraint failure to General Motors, I was informed that because I was not injured, no action would be taken and no further review would occur.” Thank you for your attention to this matter. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | ENGINE | Dealer did the L87 6.2 Recall (basically changed the oil to 0w-40). Based on the “clean bill of health” we towed our Imagine trailer to Tucson. Stayed for 3weeks over Thanksgiving and then started back home. We then towed it back home to Fort Collins and when we reached Denver the check engine light came on and within seconds the engine stopped. We had to coast off the freeway and ended up on an interstate interchange ramp (blind and dangerous). The motor was seized completely. Oil pressure and temps were all normal before the engine stopped. Oil was super HOT when I checked it. After a big adventure dealing with getting the truck and trailer to a safe place via a tow from OnStar, they towed the truck to the nearest dealer. I had to rent a UHaul truck to tow the trailer home (another 80 miles or so) with wife, two dogs and myself crammed in the cab. The dealer got Chevy to cover the engine replacement but I was out $200 for the trailer tow to safety and another $200 for the U-Haul rental. Chevy would not cover that. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | ENGINE | Warning lights came on at approximately 46000 miles. Brought to dealer for faulty lifters. One week later they decided that the lifters had damaged the cam and now the dealer wants to replace the motor.. Unfortunately for us the dealer has no car that we can use, so we had to rent a vehicle. Hopefully it will be ready in 2 weeks. That will make it four weeks with out a vehicle | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | ENGINE | I have a 2021 Chevy Silverado 6.2 engine. The recall that has been sent out for most of those engines I have experience the same damage to my truck engine. Connecting rod/ crankshaft engine failure. But my vin is not in the system for the recall. Can someone have a engineer look into more of these engines especially my engine vin. I was driving and all of sudden my dash lite up saying I have reduce steering. Took it to the shop and I was told that my engine needs major repairs. I have a really nice truck and it can be a show truck and for the engine to just go out because of bad manufacturer parts is not right I also had my kids with me. Please help | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | POWER TRAIN | The powertrain transmission system, specifically the torque converter, failed on my 2021 Chevrolet Silverado at approximately 66,000 miles. The vehicle was taken to and inspected by a GM-authorized dealership, Pellegrino Chevrolet, on January 7, at which time the dealership diagnosed a failed torque converter and formally recommended a full transmission replacement due to the risk that metal debris from the failed converter may have contaminated the transmission; the vehicle and affected components are available for inspection upon request. This failure presents a safety risk due to the potential for loss of power, unpredictable drivability, delayed or failed acceleration, or sudden transmission malfunction, and this vehicle is my family’s primary transportation and is used to transport three child car seats. The problem has been confirmed by the GM-authorized dealership and additionally reviewed by four independent mechanics, all of whom advised that replacing only the torque converter would be insufficient. The vehicle has been inspected by the dealership and documented under General Motors Case #87048318; it has not been inspected by police or insurance representatives at this time. Prior to diagnosis, the vehicle exhibited abnormal transmission behavior and drivability symptoms consistent with torque converter failure, which prompted inspection and worsened leading up to the dealer diagnosis. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | ENGINE | Most mornings after starting truck and driving off, it appears to be a hesitation or brief loss of power. Issue has been present for several years. It's hard to determine if it's engine or transmission issue. Truck is available for inspection. It usually occurs when leaving house in the morning so there is no safety issue because it happens within the first minute of driving. No warnings, cannot recreate issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | ENGINE | On 4/19/24 I was driving at highway speed. The engine started to knock and the check engine light came on. I was fortunate enough to be extremely close to my local Chevrolet dealership and made it there before the engine failed. The truck had 38633 miles on it. They found damaged engine components and repaired only the broken parts. Was under warranty. Truck is still ticking to this day. Took it in for this noise and they said nothing was wrong. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1- Tailgate keeps opening by itself. It has opened while driving down the highway and things fell out of back of my truck almost causing an accident. It has opened while sitting in my driveway after I have turned the truck off and gone inside. I have reported this to a dealer they said my vin is not on the recall list. I would like my VIN added since it is obviously an issue with the Silverado's. 2- I recently has to bring my truck to the dealer for the transfer case sounding like there were bolts in a blended and a pinging sound by the bell housing while in park. They stated it was the front axle and fixed it saying it was a power train thing. The noise is back and now out of warranty. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | ENGINE | Complete engine failure and it just outside the recall. This is unacceptable and needs fixed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | ENGINE | The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. While the contact's wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine seized. The low engine power warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine failure was the result of no oil in the vehicle. The contact was informed that there was no oil on the dipstick when checked. The contact stated that the failure had occurred shortly after an oil change was performed on September 9, 2025, at Walmart. In addition, the contact stated that there was no evidence of an oil leak. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact referenced an unknown recall with a similar failure description; however, the VIN was not associated. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 62,248. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 62,248 |
| Jan 2026 | LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the tailgate became inoperable and unexpectedly unlatched and lowered. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 65,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 65,000 |
| Jan 2026 | POWER TRAIN | Not sure of exact date I believe it was right before Thanksgiving. The truck started shuttering and vibrating. It feels like we are driving on a gravel road. the manual said to change transmission fluid between 45,000 and 60,000 so we took it to the dealer. that is what we did hoping that would fix the problem. but it did not so we took it back and they kept it for 3 weeks they said no codes came up and they said the tires needed balancing so we let them do that but the problem is still there. they say there is no recall on it . we did some research and found information stating Chevy is having problems with the transmission. as of now we only have 45,608 miles on it. It is riding worse now. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | ENGINE | I have a Chevrolet Silverado 1500 with the 6.2L engine. I received the recall notice about the loss of propulsion due to a crankshaft issue. The safety of myself, family, friends and coworkers who ride with me on an everyday basis were put at risk because of the faulty engine. I brought my truck in for an oil change in August 2025. I had the Team Chevrolet dealership in Las Vegas Nevada do a telescopic inspection to see if my particular engine had the recall issue. It was discovered the engine did have the recall issue and was kept by the dealership for roughly two and a half months. Chevrolet has confirmed this is a major issue and is affecting roughly 600,000 people. There was no sign of the issue before the telescopic inspection but since the engine has been replaced I have now had three separate issues with misfiring cylinders on the new engine. The plugs and wires have been replaced twice and has not resolved the issue. When the misfires have occurred there were error codes, check engine light notification, and engine sputtering. This again has endangered the safety of myself, family members, friends, and coworkers who ride in my truck on a daily basis. This is now going on four months of issues that keep persisting and I am very concerned that both the manufacturer Chevrolet and the Team Chevrolet dealership are not taking the proper steps in order to solve this very serious issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | ENGINE | The coolant control valve has failed, my vin isn’t a part of the special coverage for this bad part ( though the same part and model is covered) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact received notice of an unknown recall in approximately July 2025. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to a dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced, and the failure was associated with the recall. The contact was also advised that the parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the vehicle remained with the dealer for three months and was repaired when the parts became available. The contact stated that two days after the repair, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle vibrated and hesitated. The vehicle was taken back to the same dealer where it was diagnose,d and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and three cases were filed. The failure mileage was 81,000. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 81,000 |
| Jan 2026 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 2021 Silverado 19,000 miles no indication of failure at a busy intersection about to go thru intersection and engines started knocking, multiple check engine lights on. Luckily got thru the intersection and to my place of residence which was very close by. Truck was towed to Chevy dealer. Dealer found 3 bent push rods, 3 bad valves. This engine had the lifters fail completely out of the blue. Oil changed at the dealer, meticulously maintained. Dealer only replaced the faulty bank of lifters due to mileage, seriously if it was under 16,000 they would replace all of them. This is unacceptable. This truck left me almost stranded in a busy intersection, lucky I knew well enough to keep going versus getting T-boned. I just think GM needs to do something about this. Now fast forward to 41K and I'm at the dealer same symptoms except this time my warranty is running up soon and being forced into an extended warranty. There are plenty of online claims, chat rooms, posts, etc to warrant this as a safety issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that since the purchase of the vehicle, the transmission had failed three times. The transmission had been replaced three times in the past. The second time the transmission failed at approximately 40,000 miles. The contact related the most recent failure of the check engine warning light to the fuel pump driver control module. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 169,800. | Crash: No Fire: No | 169,800 |
| Jan 2026 | POWER TRAIN | CEL on. Lifter failure on cylinder 1. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | ENGINE | The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. While the contact's husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started chugging and the engine seized. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with engine failure. The contact was informed that a rod had detached and was sticking out of the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced an unknown recall with a similar failure description; however, the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 50,000 |
| Jan 2026 | ENGINE | The engine failed while driving down the road at night in single digit temperatures. After further investigation, there is a connecting rod sticking out of the engine. I looked to see if there was a recall or anything. Sure enough there was. 2021-2024 Silverado 6.2 liter engines for crank shafts and connecting rod malfunction. I'm curious how my 2021 6.2 liter Silverado that has a connecting rod sticking out the side of the block is not part of this recall? | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | AIR BAGS | I was in an accident that resulted in being hit on the passenger side and then colliding with a traffic light pole. My concern is I hit the pole head on and my airbags never deployed | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | STRUCTURE | APPARATUS USED TO HOLD HOOD UPRIGHT, (2 STRUTS), FAIL WITHOUT WARNING. STRUTS HAVE BEEN REPLACED FOUR (4) TIMES IN PAST TWO (2) MONTHS WITH TWO ( 2) OEM PARTS AND ONE (1) AFTER MARKET PART. LAST OCCURANCE, 12/26/2025, CAUSED A MINOR HAND INJURY. IF NOT PREPARED FOR SUDDEN CLOSING OF HOOD, POSSIBLE SERIOUS INJURY COULD RESULT. THE VEHICLE AT PRESENT HAS 19,775 MILES AND HAS BEEN EXAMINED BY THREE (3) SERVICE TECHNICIANS FROM DEALERSHIPS AND CAN NOT EXPLAIN WHY IT IS OCCURING OR HOW TO REPAIR IT. | Crash: No Fire: No Injuries: 1 | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS | A week or two before I took my truck into decorah Chevy isr because tailgate was going up and down all by itself while I was driving or parked without me by it. They said it was just the latch button . So they fixed it they said and still my blinker lights would just come on and then I hit a deer and my seatbelt did not latch and my airbags didn't deploy even though my app says they did. I'm wondering if all three are connected with electrical . Either way my air bags did not deploy and my truck has extensive damage and my seatbelt didn't lock , | Crash: Yes Fire: Yes Towed | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | ENGINE | The truck has 61000 miles on it I got it in August there is engine knock which sounds like a bearing might’ve went and now the rod is loose in there. There is a large recall already regarding the same make and model of my truck for this exact issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS | I was in an accident my seatbelts did not lock and OnStar was called , it says my airbags were deployed I could smell a smell but nothing deployed | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |