GMC Sierra 2500

Which GMC Sierra 2500 years should you avoid?

Going by 1,836 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the GMC Sierra 2500 years to avoid are 2003, 2004, 2002 and 2001.

• 2003160 complaints, 2.7× a typical Sierra 2500 year, most often about the brakes.
• 2004143 complaints, 2.4× a typical Sierra 2500 year, most often about the brakes.
• 2002134 complaints, 2.3× a typical Sierra 2500 year, most often about the brakes.
• 2001134 complaints, 2.3× a typical Sierra 2500 year, most often about the brakes.

Better bets: among years old enough for a low count to mean something, the 2014 and 2013 drew the fewest complaints without an unusual share of serious ones.

Too new to judge: 2025 and 2026. Complaints take a few years to arrive, so a new model year looks better than it is.

How this is worked out: each year is compared with a typical year of the same model, which takes most of the difference in sales out of it, and its share of serious failures is compared with every other car of the same model year, because older cars were complained about differently. A year needs 25 complaints to be judged at all. Complaints are unverified owner reports. Full method →