35 problems related to engine and engine cooling have been reported for the 2026 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2026 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 based on all problems reported for the 2026 Silverado 1500.
I have been having issues with my vehicle for the last 1,000 miles or so where it appears to be losing power while accelerating normally, I'm not sure if the issue lies with the engine or powertrain/transmission. I took to dealer last week and they were unable to reproduce. The issues have been getting more frequent and intially were only occuring after the vehicle warmed up, now it has started while vehicle is cold. Feels like the power drops (rpms drop) during a normal acceleration. As of 7/16 I now have a check engine light on, onstar indicates an issue with my engine, transmission, electrical. This is putting myself at safety risk along with others as during my normal drive the engine is losing power and could either leave me stranded or cause an accident.
On xxx I was driving from [xxx] to my sister's house in [xxx]. I was relocating to [xxx] for a job. I was pulling a u-haul trailer (6x12) that contained significantly less weight than the truck can handle. About halfway there, on back roads, the truck suddenly slowed significantly and the gas pedal was unresponsive. The light in the dashboard read reduced acceleration - drive with caution. Pulled over, turned off truck, opened driver side door, to reset the truck (read this on google). We had to do this a couple times, because it would just go back to that behavior after a bit. We made it to my sister's house to stay the night. In the morning, xxx, I called the local chevy service dept in [xxx] and asked if I could bring it in, I described the problem. During the drive to the shop, the same issue occurred. Upon arriving at the service dept, the trailer app was giving a warning that the load may be heavier than max. Which cannot be true. The dealer techs said they had never seen anything like it before, but they seemed to know what to look for. They then informed me that they could not loan me a car because I was traveling out of state. I had a deadline, so my only option was to rent a u haul box truck, unload the back of my truck into it, hitch the trailer I already had to it, and drive to [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).
A. The engine is stalling while driving. This has happened four different times. Three times while towing, and one time while backing up a small hill. This is a scary situation because three of the four times almost caused an accident. 1. We were driving to texas, pulling a pontoon boat. While exiting the highway, we were entering into an intersection at a speed of about 10 miles per hour, and the truck shut down. The truck said, “start the motor and place it into gear. ” or something similar to that. 2. We were in stop-and-go traffic on the highway, and the truck shut down. Once again, I had to restart the motor and shift into gear. 3. We were entering a parking lot from the main road, and the truck shut down. Again, I had to restart the motor and shift into gear. 4. The three times above are during a time when we were towing. The fourth time is when we were backing up a small hill. The rear tires lost traction and spun for a second or two, and then the truck shut down and started to roll forward. Once again, I had to restart the motor and place it into gear.
While driving my truck returning from a camping trip I received the following warnings in the dash: service esc, service traction control, forward collision system unavailable. Check engine light was flashing. I made the assumption that the check engine light was due to the warnings listed above. I continued to drive the vehicle until I began to feel a very noticeable shudder at idle, at low speeds, and also loss of power at higher speeds. The truck has the 5. 3 ecotec engine with dfm. After researching the symptoms, I found that these symptoms are identical to the know lifter problem with that engine. The truck is a 2026 Chevrolet silverado trail boss with approx. 3454 miles on it. It's currently at the dealership waiting for them to "diagnose" the problem. I was told that it may just be a "faulty sensor", but after reading other people's experience with this engine I believe that the real problem is a damaged lifter/lifter pin due to the poor design and engineering of the dfm system.
At approximately 3,000 miles, the engine began making a loud knocking noise that became progressively worse while driving. The truck was diagnosed as needing a complete engine replacement. No warning lights, no check engine light, nothing. For someone inexperienced with vehicles, you could easily be in big trouble on the highway and a potentially life threatening situation. My primary concern is that there was no warning that such a major engine failure was about to occur. An engine that fails with so few miles raises concerns about the possibility of sudden loss of power, loss of acceleration, or engine seizure while driving in traffic, on highways, or while towing. A failure under those conditions could significantly increase the risk of a crash. The vehicle has been out of service while I continue making loan and insurance payments on a brand-new truck that I cannot use. The replacement engine is on national backorder, leaving me without a clear repair timeline. After researching this issue, I found numerous reports from other owners describing similar failures involving the 6. 2l v8 engine. Based on the volume of owner complaints, there appears to have been a significant increase in reported engine failures involving 2026 model-year vehicles. This suggests the problem may not be an isolated incident but instead could indicate a broader defect that deserves investigation. As a result of this experience, I no longer feel confident or safe driving this vehicle, even if the engine is replaced. I purchased a brand-new truck expecting long-term reliability and peace of mind, but instead I experienced catastrophic engine failure at only 3,000 miles. I respectfully request that NHTSA investigate these engine failures to determine whether a safety-related defect exists and whether further action is necessary to protect consumers. I have requested a buyback, but gm completely denies it. Such a horrible expy with manufacture.
On Monday, June 29, 2026, I was getting off the new jersey garden state parkway. I was halfway down the exit ramp and the engine and the engine just stopped. I coasted to the bottom of the exit ramp and luckily had just enough shoulder to pull over to get out of traffic. Once stopped, I attempted to start my 2026 chevy silverado, but all attempts at starting the engine were fruitless, as the engine would not even turn over when tried. I contacted on star and a tow truck was sent to tow my truck to burke, the gm dealer I purchased the truck from. It was confirmed by burke gm on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, that the truck needed the engine replaced. The truck is currently at burke gm and I have been there to get belongings out of the truck so yes, I would say it’s safe to assume that it is available for inspection. There were no warning signs of any problem with the motor at all.
This incident occurred 24, June 2024. Time was approx 1745hrs and temperature was 93 and humid. Was stopped at a stop sign, attempted to make a phone call and reached to temporarily turn off the air conditioner by pushing the on/off button. When I pushed the button, it turned off the vehicle engine completely! when I was startled as to what had just happened, I pushed the air conditioner button a second time; it started the truck's vehicle engine! I repeated this test three times in the presence of my spouse who was also in the truck. We then drove approximately one mile and at a second stop again was able to duplicate the engine turned off/on by pushing the air conditioner on off again! it was if the air conditioner on/off button was the vehicle start stop button. I did not try to duplicate this under roadway speed, fearing if the engine did in fact turn off, simply by pushing the on/off air conditioner button. It would most assuredly result in the complete loss of driver inputs for steering, brakes and control.
Service brake assist warning came on the day before a severe audible engine knock started. Drove to nearest dealer and they immediately diagnosed as a probable engine failure/engine bearing/connecting rod. 6. 2 liter engine 9500 miles.
Auto wash truck quit, dead would not restart, tow service disconnected battery and reset. Okay after. Visit to dealer service they said nothing wrong. Driving yesterday in the rain quit 4 times on the road driving, it would restart each time. Warning on the dash would flash at times "hands on the wheel" while driving ? this is a serious safety issue. Intermittent when it gets wet, new truck, 1,800 miles, no alterations. Dealer service no help, it has hard codes, can bus communication issue, water intrusion likely cause, we are afraid to operate on the road, help please.
The contact owns a 2026 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving 25 mph and attempting to depress the accelerator pedal, the vehicle lost motive power, the contact attempted to start the vehicle, and the vehicle operated as intended. The check engine warning light was illuminated. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed; however, the diagnostic result was unknown. The dealer cleared the codes, and the vehicle was then taken to another dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the ground strap needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the part was on back order and might take six months for the part to do the repair to be available. The approximate failure mileage was 4,000.
Defect: engine failure caused by lifter and camshaft failure at 114 miles (5. 2 engine hours). The vehicle is at the dealership undergoing warranty repairs. The service department confirmed a seized lifter, necessitating the replacement of all lifters and the camshaft. The incident occurred at highway speeds on the interstate when the engine suddenly began knocking loudly. Immediately after the knocking started, the check engine light illuminated, followed by consecutive "service anti-collision system" and "service esc (electronic stability control)" warning messages.
I started the vehicle in the morning, and noticed a knocking noise from deep inside the engine. Took the vehicle to the dealership, the knocking be turned into squealing and grinding and banging, check engine light came on, and vehicle died in front of the service department door. I’m an experienced auto technician and know that that was a connecting rod bearing knock. And now need a new engine on a vehicle with 919 miles on it.
The contact owns a 2026 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving at 70 mph, there was an abnormally loud pinging sound coming from the engine. The vehicle lost motive power, the brakes and the steering wheel became inoperable. The message "depress start" was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was initially diagnosed that the battery failure was unsoldered. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. While being test-driven by the mechanic, the vehicle stalled. After further investigation, it was determined that the engine needed to be replaced due to the main bearing failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, opened a case and informed the contact that a case worker, near his location, would contact him in 24 hours. The failure mileage was approximately 9,025.
Normal driving then heard a knocking and squealing. Was told it was a spun main bearing on the crack shaft.
2026 silverado engine blowed up at 6,413 miles. This is the 6. 2 l87 engine. .
Vehicle purchased new December 2026 and vehicle experienced loss of power and abnormal shifting while driving at only 9000 miles. Engine produced clicking noises and was immediately brought to the closest dealership. Vehicle has been out of service since may 8, 2026, with no repair completion date due to parts availability. Owner continues making payments and insurance payments while without use of the vehicle. Owner has not been given a comparable vehicle which is a huge hardship for the family, especially during farming season. Concern exists regarding ongoing reliability and reports of similar failures involving gm 6. 2l engines.
Engine failed on 5/8/26 with 1794 miles. Sounds like possible main bearing failure, engine had 18psi oil pressure. Signs were, knocking, banging, screeching/squealing internally from engine. No codes or check engine lights appeared. Was driving approximately 35-40 mph on mountainous paved road. Managed to limp truck to safe pull off area and turned off engine. Had truck towed to dealership. If truck would have died on road I was driving on, it could have been bad. Road is very narrow with numerous blind spots.
Purchased truck in may of 2026 from chevy dealer. Truck had around 1500 miles on it. Within 1 week the truck was shifting, very roughly, for no apparent reason making it lurch. I brought it to a local chevy dealer, who ran it, showing a fault. I got the truck back from the dealer, who said tech had looked at it, and cleared the "fault" that was showing up. Less than 1 week after that, the truck started doing the same thing, and I am bringing it back to the local chevy dealer this week. The dealer I purchased the truck from said it was a trade in because the owner didn't like the truck. I'm concerned the dealer I bought the truck from may have known about the problem when I purchased the truck, and this may be the 3rd time that the truck has been back to a chevy dealer for this problem. I looked on line and found chevy has has hundreds of thousands of recalls on this 6. 2 liter l87 engine, and there is a class action suit involving this engine from previous years, as well as hundreds of complaints regarding the 2026 version of this engine.
My vehicle has 3416 miles on it. I was at a stop light, busy intersection, and it just died. It would not restart or go into neutral to push it to the side of the road. I had it towed to the dealership, and found out theres a bulletin on these motors. [xxx] . Why would I buy something when its been a know issue with the manufacturer since 2025. I feel as if the manufacturer is selling these units and once this happens its the consumers loss. I cannot believe the manufacturer has not issued a recall. If that were too happens there would be a lot of lemon laws and there lawyers know not to go down that road. There fix is to give me a refurbished engine!! how can that be constitutional knowing there's been a problem with this engine and now my resale value just went down. If I knew what I know now I would of purchased used because thats what im getting in return which is consumer robbery. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).
On April 11, 2026, my 2026 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 experienced a catastrophic engine failure while traveling on a public highway. The sudden loss of power created a significant safety hazard and could have resulted in a serious accident. I was able to maintain control and avoid a crash. The vehicle was towed to a dealership and diagnosed as requiring a full engine replacement. The vehicle has been inoperable for over 19 days, leaving my wife and me stranded far from our home in texas. This failure occurred without warning at highway speed and presents a serious safety concern that should be investigated.
The contact owns a 2026 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 10 mph, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was reversed to the residence and parked, but the sound was heard longer. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the accelerator pedal was depressed, and the sound from the engine compartment returned. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and it was determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 3,134.
Truck has less than 1800 miles. Was at a stop light and the vehicle started shaking and making metal tin rattling sounds. Stopped for gas, started the vehicle all noises went away. Got onto the freeway and about 1 mile down the road the truck lost power at 70 mph. I slowed down and the vehicle continued to lose power. I put my flashers on and started to pull over and the truck died, all dash lights went black and the truck was off. I rolled to a stop and parked the truck. Called a tow truck. The vehicle wouldn’t start. It turned over at first and then nothing. I was not able to shift the vehicle into neutral. The tow truck asked me to assist while we dragged the entire truck into the flat bed trailer. Dealer called late after noon the next day. Saying the motor was seized and had to be replaced entirely. The service technician said this has been happening to the 2021-2024 6. 2l engines as well and they’ve seen plenty of them. They recalled those a used a band aid fix of replacing the oil with heavier weight and a new drain plug. He said it’s not working and all those trucks are having the same issues. He said, this was not his first 2026 motor seized in a 6. 2l. He’s had another one recently low mileage that seized also. I asked for a different motor. I was told not to worry we will give you a 3 year/100,000 mile warranty. The truck was $100,000! and now they only want to warranty it for the same 3 years, just higher mileage… the motor is on back order and no telling when I’ll get my truck back. This is my 3rd silverado and my 2017 is still going strong with 100,000 miles on it. They have a serious consumer issue on their hands and should be buying these trucks back as we will not be able to rely on the new motors. Some people have had 3 and 4 motors replaced for the 2021-2024, 6. 2l engines.
Driving at 70 mph when I tried to accelerate. Heard a loud bang from the exhaust and immediately started to lose power. I had zero warning that anything was wrong. Warning messages flashed and I lost propulsion. As I was pulling over the engine died completely and shut off. Purchased the vehicle on 11/25 and had 4100 miles on it. 6. 2l Chevrolet zr2. Dealer confirmed that that the crankcase failed which resulted in catastrophic engine failure. Currently waiting on new replacement engine. .
2026 chevy 1500 high country 6. 2l with 6032 miles, engine stalled twice 3/11/2026 in one day, no check engine light no signs of anything catastrophic just simply stalled early morning commuting from work at a street light then later on same day driving with my 3 kids engine knocking/binding noise coming from engine while driving on highway stalled again leaving us stranded with engine blown on a busy offramp exit with kids under 8 in vehicle, officers arrived to guide traffic around us in a high risk environment from potentially rear ending us while waiting for roadside to recover us, truck has been towed to dealership and will most likely need new engine. No warning lights no check engine, just mysteriously and unexpectedly damaged from one minute to the next.
Truck has 2600 miles. Driving down road at 55mph and heard loud squeeling noise coming from front of truck, lost power and knocking noise coming from engine. Towed to dealer and needs complete engine replacement.
At about 800 miles I noticed ticking from the engine and random and intermittent jerking. Some of which were very severe that felt like someone rear ended me. I took into the dealer with my complaints. They kept my vehicle for 2. 5 days and didnt give me a loaner. The my were unable to reproduce the jerking and said the ticking was normal. They showed me the ticking and said its normal and will go away after it warms up. They did a vehicle update and said it will help. They said theres nothing else they will do. I knew something was still wrong but felt like they wouldnt do anything and I couldn't give up my vehicle for days at a time. I continued to drive it and was planning on taking it to a other dealer for a check up. But at about 3500 miles. One day the truck began squealing and grinding. I attempted to drive the truck home and the truck just died on the freeway. Luckily I knew something was wrong so I stayed in the slow lane so it was easy for me to get off. Thats the first time the check engine light came on but it was too late. I had it towed to the dealer and they checked and it was catastrophic engine failure.
On Tuesday 01-20-2026, I was driving from dallas fort worth to oklahoma city, ok. I was driving down the highway I-35 at about 80 mph. Suddenly I felt a loss of power and my truck started to bog down. As I pulled over, the engine stalled out and would not start up again. It would crank but it would not start. My truck was towed to a dealership in norman, ok. "landers Chevrolet". I was contacted by the dealer the morning of 01-21-2026 informing me that my engine is going to need replaced. My truck is a 2026 Chevrolet silverado lt trail boss with 6. 2l and 6,457 miles on it. At this time, I don't have any paperwork or a copy of the repair order because the vehicle is still in the shop. The dealer told me that the motor is on order and should be here in 4-6 weeks. I purchased this vehicle on October 16, 2025.
At 4400 miles on new truck started a random cylinder misfire which engine jerking and causes esc, emerg breaking and adaptive cruise control to turn off. Will reset itself then do it again. Little over 100 hours on new engine. It happens on longer trips on of off the highway.
Vehicle has less then 700 miles. Upon driving vehicle, the dashboard started losing information, no speedometer. When I tried to pull the truck over to the side of the road, the power steering was lost. It was nearly impossible to turn the wheel, then the engine stopped. I was unable to turn on blinkers or hazard warning lights. When I put the vehicle in park to try a restart the engine would not turn over. The transmission was locked in park and unable to shift to neutral to try to push vehicle to safe spot. At this point I was blocking the road. Called for roadside assistance, two hours later vehicle was towed to Chevrolet dealership, were it is being assessed.
The 6. 2l v8 engine on my new 2026 chevy silverado zr2 bison blew up around 8000 miles. While driving on highway the car shutoff and shifted to neutral while I was rolling, where I then could put it in park and restart the car to move to a safer location. Truck was towed to dealership where codes cleared during the time getting it to the dealership, and was told it was good to go. About 2 miles leaving the dealership the engine had shutoff again except did not turn on. Dealership said the camshaft had cracked and wanted to replace the whole engine under warranty.
Driving down a single lane road at aprox 30-35 mph, when without any warnings the engine began to make a noise (like it was eating rocks), smoke began billowing out the tail pipes, the dash cluster lit up with error codes (unable to read due to attempting to get vehicle off the road), engine completely stopped, dash cluster would only show the check engine light, when attempting to get the vehicle towed it could not be put in neutral and the parking break had engaged and would not release. Vehicle was towed to nearest dealership and they confirm the engine had "seized" and would need to be replaced. Existing engine has 4190mi. If this had occurred on the highway or busy street I dont feel I could have safely gotten the vehicle out of harms way.
Engine derated when towing travel trailer putting us in an unsafe situation during heavy traffic. No warning other than display on dash reading “reduced acceleration - drive with care”. Took immediately to dealer and they confirmed “thrust bearing failure” manufacturer defect and showed us field service bulletin 25-na-307 dated 9/30/25.
November 28th 2025 we were coming down logan canyon in utah at 50 miles an hour when I was passing another vehicle on the left I felt a hard shift and a prompt came on the dash that said reduced acceleration. So as I was passing the vehicle I was pulling in front of them and lost the ability to accelerate or even hold speed. I passed the vehicle got in front of them and slowed down rapidly without any ability to control the speed of the truck. At this point when I would push the gas nothing would happen so I pulled off the side of the road. While we were sitting, there was suddenly a burning smell in the cab so we rolled down the windows and made sure the doors were unlocked in case we had to jump out. We sat there for a minute everything seemed fine I checked the accelerator and it was working again so we drove home. I immediately took the truck down to john watson Chevrolet to have it looked at. I told the service writer what had happened and she said there was a code that had been thrown however there was nothing now and since everything seemed fine I shouldn’t worry about it because the computers trip pretty easily on these new trucks. I insisted on making an appointment so she scheduled me for Tuesday the second of December. I took the truck in just before 730 today the second of December. Christina from john watson checked me in and told me she would let me know when my truck is ready. She called me at 12:34 but I missed so she called again at 1:18 to tell me that she had some news on my truck and that it was going to need a new engine. I took her the dealership rental back and she sent me to enterprise for a 45 day rental. They have had the car for just over two weeks at john watson Chevrolet in ogden utah.
I purchase a brand new 2026 silverado zr2 with a 6. 2 engine. A little over a week later at 511 miles it left me stranded on the side of the road. Towed it to the dealership and the dealership advised there was a misfire and cylinder number eight. However, they were unable to find a solution and had to contact gm engineers. I had to replace it with another new vehicle and lost money on the “trade”. Dealership only advised that “it needed extensive repairs”. It’s clear that the 6. 2 issue had not been addressed properly.
Pulling a trailer down the freeway and the vehicle went into limp mode. After getting to the closest dealer for inspection, it was determined that the vehicle needed to have the engine replaced.
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