general problems of the 2021 GMC Sierra 1500 - part 1

Experience a automatic ota update to the info system on my 2021 GMC sierra(I did not iniciate) which burnt out the radio module which controls the info system. I am being charged $1,300+ for repair due to vehicle being out of warranty(52,000 miles) and no recall on this vehicle model for this issue. GMC does have a recall for this exact issue on the 2021 GMC tahoe models, but not the GMC sierra. If the GMC utilizes the same componets for both models of vehicle how doe the recall#n202319250 not cover the exact same issue on both models?.

I am an active u. S. Air force member. My 2021 GMC Sierra 1500 failed gm recall n252494003 on sept 29, 2025 (l87 engine loss of propulsion). Gm states this defect can cause sudden engine failure and loss of propulsion, increasing crash risk. Despite the confirmed failure, ocean Cadillac (miami, FL) told me to keep driving the unsafe vehicle and refused all courtesy transportation. The service manager admitted in writing that the engine failed, the defect can cause loss of propulsion, and the replacement engine is delayed under gm national control for up to 3 months — yet they still denied me a loaner or rental. His statements contradict the gm documents he attached: • gm bulletin dcs7222 says courtesy transportation can be provided during l87 recall downtime and dealers must consider loaners/rentals. • gm faq n252494002 says courtesy transportation is available for this recall. • gm faq lists recall symptoms (check engine light, hesitation, high rpm, reduced power) — not battery drain. • gm states: “if the engine fails, the vehicle will lose propulsion. ” ocean Cadillac ignored these rules and put me back on the road in a known unsafe vehicle. As an american manufacturer, gm has a responsibility to protect american drivers. Their failure to follow recall procedures placed me, my family, and other motorists at risk. I request NHTSA investigate whether gm/ocean Cadillac are complying with recall safety requirements and whether customers are being told to drive unsafe vehicles after confirmed failures.

I am experiencing a recurring issue with my 2021 GMC sierra where the dashboard displays a “shift to park” warning even though the vehicle is already in park. This typically occurs when I attempt to shut off the vehicle. The doors unlock as expected, confirming the truck is in park, but the warning prevents me from turning off the ignition immediately. After a few seconds, the warning usually disappears, allowing me to shut off the truck. This issue is more frequent in cold weather, suggesting a temperature-sensitive electrical or mechanical fault. Based on research and community reports, this appears to be a known issue across multiple gm vehicles, often linked to a faulty micro switch or wiring harness in the shifter assembly. I am concerned about the safety implications, especially if the vehicle fails to shut off properly or if the issue worsens over time. Gm has not issued a recall for this problem, and I believe it warrants further investigation due to its widespread nature and potential risk.

I took my truck through a car wash and then parked at my parents house. While the vehicle was parked, the trunk latch kept releasing. The trunk popped open. I left it open but you could hear the latch continually releasing and the lights blinking. This went on for an hour and I was unable to drive home because my trunk kept unlatching! a recall was released for other sierras but not mine. Please investigate my VIN and others that may be affected.

2021 GMC Sierra 1500 [xxx] miles 36,500. My childs seatbelt does not work and the lane keep assist does not work information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The contact owns a 2021 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that there was an abnormal change with the rpm. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 25v274000 (engine and engine cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The dealer received an email from the manufacturer, but the verbiage was incorrect to move forward with the repair. 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 failure mileage was approximately 39,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Gm has has a known issue with a switch/sensor placed at the base of the shifter that causes the “shift to park” error message that prevents the electrical system from shutting down when the vehicle is physically in park and the engine is turned off, in fact, gm has issued a recall for several different models in which a “shift to park” error message is displayed because of the poor design; however, they continue to see the same issue occur but claim it is not a warranty issue (unless it occurs within 3 year/36,000 mile time frame. This is not an issue that can be caused by owner misuse, and I believe that gm should be held liable for repairs given that the issue is, and has been, known for several years now.

Esc error parking break not releasing dashboard lights started flashing check engine light came on.

This truck, along with many others, has had wiring harness issues. My truck has fought this issue within the first six months of owning the truck. Since Jan 2025 it has left me stranded 3 times to be towed, and in the shop a total of 6 times for wiring harness issues. Rubbing that gm is 100% aware of how its designed. This has caused the truck to hesitate, shake, lunge, go in and out of gear severely hard then shut off while driving. All three time this happened to me recently I was on the interstate. Gm has work orders out with all the codes and symptoms but wont do anything about it. Yes, I am out of warranty, but I am now paying over $5,000 for a new harness to be installed by a different dealer. The dealer that had always worked on this truck requested $8,100 so I called a new gm shop. This is a large issue and they keep turning their back and not addressing the issue and putting drivers at risk! can provide last diagnostics and can request all notes from stoops Buick GMC in muncie indiana, I have a rather large file there on this truck.

Multi functional tail gate will open on its own while driving. I have had this repaired by gm 3 times and still have issues. This problem is currently on the recall list for 2500 hd series trucks and the 1500 series trucks in canada but not on recall in united states. This problem poses a life threatening problem while on the road due to contents of truck possible becoming projectiles to other drivers due to tailgate opening on its own .

The contact owns a 2021 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the contact attempted to turn off the vehicle; however, the vehicle remained running. A message was displayed to shift to park(p). The contact stated that the lights, radio, and other functions remained operational. On another occasion, the vehicle jerked, and the steering was difficult to turn. The dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle had not been taken to be diagnosed or repaired. The contact also stated that the trunk failed to fully close. The message that the trunk was open was displayed. The contact attempted to close the trunk and message on the displayed was turned off; however, the trunk remained slightly open. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 63,315.

Assure guard (877-831-3077) contract number [xxx] GMC customer care melissa (866-790-5600 ext [xxx] ) case#[xxx] dealership: phil moore GMC (601-956-0150) my truck is barely 4 years old. I should not have this problem . Why is it no one guarantee the product they make? I paid too much money for this vehicle financing it as a new truck. I paid 766. 95 to replace/install the shark fan antenna on the roof of my truck because it literally came loose on his own. No one (dealership, GMC, assure guard) would assist with repairs. The shark fin antenna started leaking water and it was wobbly where, it was no longer sealed on the body of the truck. Water leaking through out the ceiling/roof. I didn’t do anything to cause this! GMC customer care refused to refund nor, help with the cost of repair. I tried to file a claim with my extended warranty company(assure guard) contract number [xxx] - they refused to cover the antenna. I have owned several 1500 truck models, and none of them has had the antenna to fall off the vehicle. I had to return to phil moore, GMC a second time because they did not properly seal the antenna. This caused the whole interior of my truck to be drenched with rainwater. I am upset with the dealership, GMC and my extended warranty(assure guard) because I spent too much money on my vehicle to have this happen and I would like to be refunded. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Transmission recall was performed at a GMC dealership. Vehicle has been the the shop repeatedly since. Coolant control valve crank case position sensor new catalytic converter and dpf system. New low temp coolant loop pump. In the shop now for another low temp coolant pump that’s been shorted out. Seems to have on going electrical issues since recall was performed.

The contact owns a 2021 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission slammed into gear and the rear wheels locked up. In addition, the vehicle decelerated independently. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the road and turned off. The vehicle was restarted, and the contact noticed that the vehicle was independently reset. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed wiring harness. The contact was informed that the wiring harness needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA hotline and report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,129.

The contact owns a 2021 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the tailgate opened unintendedly. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer informed the contact that the VIN was not included in gm campaign number: n232426401. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 57,000.

When accelerating and shifting into drive, the vehicle is experiencing a lag when moving forward. The rear wheels are not latching into the designated gear. When vehicle comes to a complete stop, it will not accelerate and does not want to move. The problem has been reported and there are multiple recalls on similar vehicles of the same make and model. There were no warning symbols or notifications generated at the time of inspection.

The electronic tailgate switch is malfunctioning and opening on own. We brought in and paid 2 times to have repaired and now the third time has happened. It’s appears this model is recalled in canada but not us. Why is that when it’s the same parts used and the hd models have also been recalled. Why is our truck not recalled for this?.

See attached vehicle repair orders/carfax/vehicle registration. The trucks transmission has been slipping/jerking hard since I pulled off the lot at dealer ship. Its burning oil no leaks has been doing so since the day I drove off the lot at dealership. I have asked to fix or address and problem still exist. They sold vehicle as everything was working the left head light wasn’t working the day I drove off the lot didn’t notice until I got home I reached back out to dealer to explain and said light had a short in kept truck for almost a week said the were going to replace the head light and never did. The remote start wasn’t working the same day I purchased the truck but sold it as everything is working. I went to try it as I was getting ready to leave dealership and did nothing. Then I discovered the fog lights were missing, and dealer said OH there was never any in the truck but if you read the service paper work there was lights in truck. Took truck back to address the issues the next day or so after purchase I was told to bring truck back the following week. All the conditions still exist and I should not be having any of these issues as the sold vehicle nothing wrong. They even had an October inspection saying everything was sat but I get in truck no fog lights and left head lamp is not working but they performed an 360 inspection…. Yeah no way… this truck is doing the same as my 2021 chevy silverado but there is nothing wrong with vehicle according to dealership. Sold a lemon if you asked me… ***highlighted in yellow is a recall that the dealership has not done nor can they find anything on the recall**** *****power train**** recall date 2024-10-24 recall no. 24v797000 general motors, llc (gm) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Chevrolet silverado 1500, 2500, 3500, GMC Sierra 1500, 2500, 3500, 2021 Cadillac escalade, escalade esv, Chevrolet tahoe, suburban, GMC yukon, and yukon xl vehicles equipped with diesel en.

My vehicle was issued an ota ( over the air update ) automatically, and the update failed, leaving the screen in my vehicle inoperable, with a message displayed stating " update failed return to dealer" my vehicles radio/information system is now inoperable. The blue-tooth calling capability is also inoperable. This is a safety issue due to the fact that I am a resident of minnesota and we have a law that states it is illegal to use your phone while driving. In addition, I am unable to receive severe weather alerts via the radio and do not have the ability to make phone calls in my vehicle in the event of an emergency since it is illegal to use my phone in mn while driving. This is a serious safety hazard the GMC dealer (mills GMC in baxter, mn ) that the vehicle is currently at has stated this is not a warrantable repair, even though my vehicle is under warranty. I have also contacted gm service directly and was told they would be willing to offer me "rewards points" there is an active recall for the same issue for other gm models of the same year. Recall # n202319250 essentially, gm is pushing updates to vehicles without the owners consent, giving the owner no choice but to bring the vehicle to the dealership for a repair which they are calling "wear and tear" this is highly unethical and is making customers vehicles unsafe.

My truck keeps having this same issue since [xxx], always take it to team gillman second August 26 same reason they replaced the battery but is a manufacturing defect while I am driving stops out of sudden and this is the third time they supposed to call me I havent receive no call is at team gillman same reason only has 18000 miles my name is [xxx] cell [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Radio screen will go blank randomly after turning the truck off the I can here the radio but can not see any screen. After turning the radio of an exiting the truck radio still plays all of the sudden the radio will go off and restarting the truck radio is working again . At any random time the radio will go blank again.

The inner tailgate continually releases the upper tailgate, which then opens when the vehicle is driven. When latched, the tailgate immediately opens again. This is reproducible. I gather the switch is shorted closed, leading to the release of the tailgate. This poses a risk to items in the bed of the truck leaving the vehicle unexpectedly while in motion. The truck has not been to the dealer yet, there has been no inspection of the vehicle by any authority. The vehicle displays a warning “inner tailgate open. ”.

The component that has failed is the engine coolant flow control valve ac delco part number 55516369. Unfortunately the part is still installed on the vehicle. It has been taken to a dealer and this is a known issue but no recall has been issued. The check engine comes on sometimes but not always, sometimes the pickup has plenty of power to drive and sometime it will barely pull itself, all in the same trip without shutting the ignition off. The symptoms first started in December of 2023, but were sporadic, now it is nearly everytime the pickup is started. It is extremely dangerous to drive this vehicle when it has a problem. You cannot tell if it will accelerate normally or is you will push the pedal and it does nothing. The part to repair the problem is on backorder and no release date is yet available. We have been waiting for 3 months and still no word on when this will be repaired.

While driving down the road at random times of the day, random days, random drive periods, random locations, the dic and touch screen along with radio will shutdown and restart, like rebooting the system or just starting the truck. I loose the mph, gauges, navigation, everything on the dash and touch screen the it will come back on like nothing happened. I have contacted 2 dealers and they say I need to download updates but when I go to update it is not required or needed.

My 2021 GMC 1/2 serria slt 4x4 crew cab short bed, v-8 gas engine with automatic transmission. I bought this pickup used with apprx. 41k miles on it. I had it about 2 months when I went out to start it and the battery was completely discharged, it would not even click or any lights come on. I hooked it up to a battery charger and got it started, took it to a shop and had the battery and alternator check which both were ok. Drove back home and went out the next morning and the battery was completely drained again, got it started and went an put in a new battery. 16 days later it did the same thing this time it smelled like wires burning when I opened the hood. Called the dealer I bought it from and they put it on a diagnostic machine for over 3 hours could not find anything. Then next morning the battery was again completely drained. Got it started and took it to another shop to get it checked out and after almost 3 hours there they found nothing. Came back home an it sat for just over 40 hours and again the battery was completely drained. I could smell what I think is plastic or rubber when I opened the hood again. My main concern is that this may be a fire hazard and could not only burn up my pick up but my house as well. The check engine light has came on but goes off so I am at a complete loss on this and seems as if gm is not concerned either. I have tried contacting gm but so far nothing other than a note from gm canada that I need to contact the gm USA, and again that is the only thing I have gotten from anyone. Perhaps this is just a odd thing, I don't know but I do know it is not a safe thing.

Tailgate drops without warning, lower button on tailgate doesn't work.

My son got into the car to drive it and saw a black screen with a message that states “update failed, see dealer” and had multiple languages. Since that date, he has no gps or backup cam, which he relies on as a new driver. Nothing at all in the info system works.

Less than 5 minutes after my husband and 2 children parked the car and came inside, a neighbor walking rang our doorbell to let us know there was something on fire in our driveway. We ran to the back to find his truck engulfed in flames coming from the engine. We quickly called 911 and exited the house/property. The truck continued to burn with 20-25 foot flames and very black smoke for about 40 minutes until the fire department was able to control the fire. The fire was hot enough that the entire engine was significantly burnt, the seats and steering wheel were gone, the glass shattered and melted, and the tires exploded and melted. Thankfully, everyone was out of harms way and safe through this incident. However, it has been extremely traumatic on my family and neighbors and has taken a lot of time and energy to try to deal with this. The car sat in our driveway for over 2 weeks with a very potent smell causing headaches until gm and our insurance finally investigated. There is damage to our siding, driveway, landscaping, basketball hoop, trampoline, and neighbors fence. The car was only 2 years old and scares me how quickly it went up in flames and how much worse this could have been either 3 minutes earlier or if it was parked in our garage.

It started year and a half ago involving my tailgate. The buttons to operate by upper and lower tailgate failed to operate on the rear of the truck, but cab button and remote button would open the full tailgate. Returned truck to dealer and they replaced the rear control. It worked for approximate 4 or 5 months the the total tailgate button failed, half tailgate button worked no problem. About 6 mths ago I went to drive to work and hit a bump felt like something bounced but really didn't think of tailgate being open. Drove on interstate for 7 miles at speed of 70 to 75 mph. I had my structural firefighting equip in the bed. Stopped at a drive thru for coffee then drove 5 miles to other side of town to my workplace put truck in reverse and my camera showed the ground, my tailgate was open. Thank goodness nothing fell out of the bed. 2-3 days later left for work, hit bump and felt the rattle in the rear again, stopped and tailgate down, closed tailgate and it opened again immediate after closing. This has occurred numerous times, now the half gate now unmatched along with entire tailgate and opens hitting hitch, scratched paint off. Thought it was me hitting keys in my pocket but continued to occur with key in cab. My mileage warranty passed so I was waiting to get some extra cash to fix the tailgate latches. Have not seen any recalls for GMC Sierra 1500 denali, thought I would file a "complaint".

Tail gate failing from water intrusion. Wont stay up while driving. Already a recall for it in canada but nothing in the USA where I see others have the same problem.

The contact owns a 2021 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that whenever they were pulling a trailer with electric brakes with the their vehicle a warning light stating to check the trailer would illuminate on their instrument panel. The warning light would also state that the electric brakes had disconnected and then had reconnected shortly after. The failure would occur on a consistent basis. The main control computer system in the center where the radio is located would flash the message that the trailer brake gain not recalled. The contact contacted the dealer who confirmed that the computer system was known to have an issue due to the interference between the electric brakes and the lad lights on the vehicle, however, there was no recall. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 21,000.

The console radio dash has gone completely black while both driving and while using it for the speaker/phone system. The incident resulted in the entire system restarting.

Less than 300 miles on the vehicle and it has thrown an error code p2b60. Relating to the engine coolant flow control valve position sensor. I have taken it to my local gm service center and they cannot see me for weeks. As of this morning the check engine light has disappeared but my fuel economy has severely decreased. It seems suspicious and possibly dangerous that it showed a check engine light with a warning of reduction in engine power the night before and disappeared in the am.

Started vehicle up in public parking lot and it had service power steering and esc messages. Vehicle could not turn and had to be towed to dealership. The problem has been confirmed by the dealer but they have had the vehicle for 2 days and cannot fix the problem. Dealer states code keeps coming up in bcm but they are not sure why or how to confidently fix it. There were not warnings or any symptoms of this problem as it drove to work fine that same morning.

Tailgate opens when driving and when parked. I thought something must of hit the button on the dash the first time it happened but now it is constantly doing it on its own. It has damaged the hitch.