2018 GMC Sierra 2500

Routine

Owners filed 35 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the engine. It has been recalled 5 times.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Electrical System6
020
Fuel/Propulsion System4
000
Exterior Lighting4
000
Equipment4
000
Engine4
000
Visibility/Wiper2
000
Unknown or Other2
000
Tires2
000
Power Train2
000
Wheels1
000

5 safety recalls

Part 573 reports
Air Bags › Side/Window › Curtain › Inflator24V756000
Filed Oct 10, 20242,061 vehiclesGeneral Motors, Llc

Defect. General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, GMC Sierra 1500, 2018-2019 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, 3500, and GMC Sierra 2500, 3500 Crew Cab trucks. The left or right-side roof-rail air bag (RRAB) inflator end cap may detach from the inflator or the inflator sidewall may rupture.

Risk. A separated inflator end cap or inflator rupture can allow compressed gas to escape, resulting in the end cap or other components being propelled into the vehicle, increasing the risk of injury or crash.

Remedy. Dealers will replace the left and right side RRAB modules, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 8, 2024. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, and GMC Customer Service at 888-988-7267. GM's number for this recall is N242474500.

Fuel System, Diesel › Storage › Tank Assembly23V047000
Filed Feb 2, 202322,132 vehiclesGeneral Motors, Llc

Defect. General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, 3500, and GMC Sierra 2500, 3500 vehicles equipped with a dual fuel tank option. The rear fuel tank may collapse and prevent the fuel pump from transferring fuel to the front tank, resulting in an engine stall.

Risk. An engine stall increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy. Dealers will inspect the fuel tank and fuel pump module, replacing them as necessary. Dealers will also add a vent hose to the rear tank assembly. Repairs will be performed free of charge. An interim owner notification letter informing owners of the safety risk was mailed on March 15, 2023. Owner notification letters were mailed June 21, 2023. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N222368030.

Equipment › Electrical › Engine Block Heater21V496000
Filed Jul 1, 2021338,020 vehiclesGeneral Motors, Llc

Defect. General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, 3500 and 2017-2019 GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 vehicles equipped with a Duramax diesel 6.6 liter engine and an optional engine-block heater cord. An electrical short-circuit may occur in the engine-block heater cable or in the terminals that connect the heater cable to the block heater.

Risk. An electrical short-circuit can increase the risk of a fire.

Remedy. Dealers will replace engine block heaters and heater cords. Vehicles that have this feature disabled as a remedy to the safety condition will be contacted and offered replacement block heaters and heater cords under a separate customer satisfaction program, free of charge. GM will provide free replacement block heaters and cords under a separate customer satisfaction campaign. For vehicles previously included in recall 19V-328, the heater cord will be replaced and rerouted, free of charge. Interim owner notifications were mailed on August 13, 2021. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed on April 4, 2022. Customers may call GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 212329840.

Engine19V328000
Filed Apr 25, 2019318,374 vehiclesGeneral Motors Llc

Defect. General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 4500, 5500 and 6500 vehicles and 2017-2019 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 and 3500 vehicles and GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 vehicles equipped with Duramax 6.6 liter diesel engines and an optional engine-block heater. The engine block heater cord or the terminals that connect the heater cord to the block heater may short circuit and fail.

Risk. A short-circuit may damage the engine components and increase the risk of fire.

Remedy. GM will contact owners, dealers will replace the engine block heater, free of charge. Additionally, in Chevrolet Silverado 2500 and 3500 vehicles, dealers will install a new rerouted heater cord. The recall began December 11, 2019. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-586-596-1733. GM's number for this recall is N182206310.

Seat Belts › Front › Retractor17V567000
Filed Sep 14, 201738,048 vehiclesGeneral Motors Llc

Defect. General Motors (GM) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 and 3500 and GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 trucks. The front seat belt retractor assemblies were built with the incorrect torsion bar. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 209, "Seat Belt Assemblies."

Risk. The seat belt retractors may not perform as intended during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy. GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace both front seat belt retractor assemblies, free of charge. The recall began March 24, 2021. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-888-988-7267 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's numbers for this recall are 17368, 17375, and 17376.

What owners reported

Newest filings
Electrical System
Filed May 9, 2026NV

GM Duramax L5P diesel engine electrical connector for #4 fuel injector. This failure caused the Diesel exhaust brake, which controls downhill speed, to disengage, extreme shaking of the vehicle, emissions system warning and speed limiting. This occurred while descending a steep grade while towing a 34 feet long, 10,000 pound trailer. This is a known issue with this diesel engine and documented in GM Technical Service Bulletin 23-NA-027. Inspection and repair at a GM dealership confirmed a known issue with the #4 injector pigtail connector caused by improper wire routing and interference wit the Sound Shield and Valve Cover Heat Shield This was a sudden failure of the #4 pigtail connector with no advance warning. In addition to violent shaking of the vehicle, multiple warnings on the DIC indicating that the Diesel Brake was disengaged, the emission system had an issue, and speed would be limited.

Visibility/Wiper
Filed Mar 10, 2025FL

The component that failed is the rear glass. Yes, it is available for inspection. The rear glass defogger stopped working and melted the tabs off of the glass and burned the tabs cover. The problem has been confirmed by the dealership and i was advised there is already a recall for this but apparently my vin does not fall under the recall.

Electrical System
Filed Nov 10, 2024TX

Service Trailer Brake System Warning From time to time, this warning goes off in the vehicle and when it does, it does it constantly. When the warning is dismissed, it does it again seconds later. If it is not dismissed, it does it again seconds later. It is a persistent three ding double chiming that is not only constant, the vehicle is doing it without a trailer connected to it. The GM dealerships we have been to regarding this issue do not know how to fix it since the warning is as intermittent as it is persistent. Once one of the dealerships was finally able to observe the warning themselves, we were told because it does not cause the check engine light to come on, they are not given a code, therefore, they do not know how to address the issue. The Service Engine Brake System warning is not only a persistent auditory nuisance. The warning chime overrides any other audio capability of the vehicle and it will be the only thing the control panel shows. If the warning is dismissed, it comes right back. This means we cannot hear anything else in the vehicle, such as turn signals, and we cannot see anything else on the control panel, such as speed. We can only surmise this issue is some sort of an electrical system malfunction since we do not have a trailer connected to the vehicle when the Service Trailer Brake System warning is coming on. The vehicle has been presenting this persistent warning since we purchased it from a dealership in August of 2022 and the vehicle continues

Fuel System, Diesel
Filed Oct 9, 202448,000 milesLA

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Sierra 2500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was determined that the fuel pump control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 48,000.

Fuel/Propulsion System
Filed Nov 7, 2023HI

Metal in the fuel filter and throughout the fuel system, 38 codes on the computer just in 2 weeks after a full service again at the dealer. All service has been preformed at A GMC Dealer since truck was serviced. 1. P026D - Fuel injection Quantity “A” Higher then expected 2. P06CC - cylinder 8 incorrect 3. P133F - cylinder 8 glow plug offset exceeding learning limits None stop this is happening since [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Fuel/Propulsion System
Filed Nov 2, 2023HI

Constant issues with glow plug failures, fuel rail failure, fuel pressure failure. Truck has been in the Gmc service regarding these issues constantly for the last year with a total of five repairs and replacement of glow plugs with releaning learning new plugs and now the 6th return to the shop they’re tearing down the fuel system. Malfunction and engine light consistently come on with the same occurring problems generating from the fuel system and glow plugs. Fuel mileage is absolutely terrible and lose of power hazardous to safety!!! Gmc has issued an extended warranty for 15 years and 150,000 miles, but cant and hasn’t found a repair for vehicle and just replaces the glow plugs just so they can fail again and again!!! They need to replace everything that needs to be done and if no fix they need LEMON Law The vehicle. This is ridiculous going back to the shop every two weeks I have my truck in the shop for a month to get it back, to put it back in the shop two weeks later, to have it back in the shop for a month. Since this start 17months ago I’ve only been able to put less then 7000 miles on the vehicle because GMC constantly has the truck! The is ridiculous when you’re paying $800 a month for your payment and insurance on your vehicle that you can’t drive because the manufacturer is constantly having to repair and replace the same thing over and over again

Wheels
Filed Sep 12, 2023NC

Driving at 70mph, thread from tire blew.. That was in July, I went and purchased another tire from Bob King GMC Wilmington, NC. The first tire that blew was now discontinued so I purchased another Good Year . On Friday I noticed that another tire on my truck had a bubble along the threads again. It was also getting ready to blow like the first tire. I went to the dealer and they told me the tire I purchased (Good Year) was also discontinued... Please look into this matter.. They have faulty tires and this matter could have turned out with a death.. It isn't the dealers fault it is Good Year .... I have also read on line this isn't the first time people are complaining about the threads coming apart....

Electrical System
Filed Aug 21, 2023NM

While braking ( after being on the highway) all dash gauges turn black, radio shuts off, AC shuts off. Service Stabilitrak light comes on when dash flashes back on. While driving AC turns off, Radio turns off same stabilitrak warning flashes, speedometer turns off. Power steer control went out while trying to turn. Truck put itself in 4 wheel drive when I turned on the trailer assist. Parking assist periodically turns itself off.

Engine
Filed May 30, 2023IN

Low coolant warning light came on. I was towing a travel trailer on a very busy roadway with no place to pull off while pulling a trailer. I had to pull over to the shoulder to check the coolant level and make sure I didn’t cause major damage to my engine by letting it overheat. While waiting to let the engine cool down, I researched and found that this is a very common issue with L5P Duramax Engines in GM trucks and it is specifically related to a faulty coolant level sensor. As it turns out, my coolant level was fine and there was no issue. The danger posed by me pulling over and waiting for well over an hour on the side of the busy backroad with my son in the truck was not a necessary one. It appears that this is a well known issue that is not being addressed by GM.

Exterior Lighting
Filed Feb 23, 2023ID

I have a 2018 GMC Sierra Duramax Quad-Cab and when it is connected to either my boat, stock trailer, or cargo trailer the lights and electric trailer brakes on the trailers do not work. and the chime from the "Service Trailer Brake" indicator sounds and doesn't stop until I unplug my trailer harness from my truck making it a distraction and an unsafe situation when trying to navigate through traffic(changing lanes, stopping, and other functions needed when hauling trailers). The dealership said it was a module and specified which one and so I elected to replace it myself and it wasn't the issue. I choose to do the work myself as they quoted me a price of $700.00+ to repair the problem.

Electrical System
Filed Nov 2, 2022WA

Water leak, known in other years of the same model vehicle, caused the rear defrost to fail and smoke when in operation nearly causing a fire in the vehicle as it was being operated.

Power Train › Automatic Transmission
Filed Jul 15, 2022NJ

2018 GMC SIERRA 2500. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO TRANSMISSION COOLER LINES RECALL. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE BEGAN LEAKING FLUID. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER TO HAVE THE VEHICLE REPAIRE, WHICH COULD NOT BE DONE THE SAME DAY. THE CONSUMER WAS SEEKING REIMBURSEMENT FOR THE HOTEL EXPENSE, SINCE THE CONSUMER WAS TRAVELING OUT OF STATE WHEN THE FAILURE OCCURED.

Fuel/Propulsion System
Filed Apr 15, 2022OH

Faulty pigtail connector for fule injectors. Cause The vehicle to shut down even while going down the highway possibly causing injury by immediate deceleration wich could cause an accident. For me on this vehicle I’ve had this happen three times and it has cost me anywhere from $800 to 1000 per injector especially if damage is done to one of the fuel injectors.

Engine
Filed Feb 14, 2022MD

2018 GMC SIERRA 2500 HD. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO ACCELERATION ISSUES. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE DISPLAYED WARNING LIGHTS. AND BEGAN SHAKING. THE VEHICLE BECAME DIFFICULT TO ACCELERATE. THE DEALER INFORMED THE CONSUMER THAT NUMBER 4 INJECTOR WAS THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. SHORTLY AFTER, THE GLOW PLUG FAILED AND THE COMPUTER REQUIRED AN UPDATE. THE CONSUMER REQUESTED TO REIMBURSED FOR THE RENTAL VEHICLE AS WELL AS REPAIR COSTS.

Equipment
Filed Feb 9, 2022PA

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Sierra 2500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V496000 (Equipment) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted and it was confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Unknown or Other
Filed Dec 8, 2021FL

Diesel exhaust fluid systems limited to slower speeds causing traffic back up. Issue is these components are failing on these trucks. Mine failed with in 3 yrs of manufacture date.

Equipment
Filed Nov 12, 2021CO

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Sierra 2500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V496000 (Equipment) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Visibility/Wiper
Filed Oct 13, 2021CO

Both the outside mirrors are loose and will fold while driving. At night if I am not aware and it is dark the mirror fails to identify vehicles in the visibility area because they vibrate closed to the door from the driving air on the mirror. I will have to pull over and push the mirror back. I have brought it to the dealer and they say they all do it. It is normal. The issues has been confirmed by the dealer. It has been present on the car for about 1 year. The internet is filled with this safety complaint. They are starting to fold when you close the door.

Equipment
Filed Oct 4, 202130,600 milesCA

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Sierra 2500. The contact received a notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V496000 (Equipment) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The dealer had been notified about the recall; however, the contact was informed that the part was not yet available. The manufacturer had been notified of the recall. The contact recently stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact also stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The failure mileage was 30,600. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Equipment
Filed Sep 30, 2021TN

The contact owns a 2018 GMC Sierra 2500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V496000 (Equipment) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and informed the contact that parts were not available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts are not available.

20 of 35 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 2003
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
202610110Routine
202526100Routine
2024103400Routine
202332100Routine
202243320Routine
202151610Routine
202074930Routine
201932730Routine
2018 — this page35520Routine
201737610Routine
201659500Routine
201589650Routine
201430210Routine
201346300Routine
201231301Fatalities reported
201163410Routine
201010500Routine
200931500Routine
200863300Routine
200783310Routine
200666330Routine
2005115460Routine
2004143441Fatalities reported
2003160340Routine
2002134411Fatalities reported
2001134520Routine
200048310Routine
199936211Fatalities reported
199815300Routine
199714400Routine
19941000Routine

Compare every Sierra 2500 year →

Reading this record

No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.

Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Recall repairs are free for as long as the recall stands. Check whether a specific car still has open work at NHTSA's VIN lookup.

Most recent recall on file: Oct 10, 2024. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.