general problems of the 2021 GMC Sierra 1500 - part 1

The contact owns a 2021 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the battery charge indicator to zero. The vehicle lost motive power, and the vehicle was unable to exceed 30 mph while driving. The vehicle was driven in limp mode. The battery saver mode message was displayed before and during the failure. The vehicle then failed to restart. The vehicle had been repaired a year prior to the failure. The contact's blood pressure became elevated due to the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.

Excessive oil consumption. I am fearful that my vehicle engine will lock up.

On [xxx], my vehicle suffered a complete loss of propulsion on the highway, displaying fault codes p0324 and p0016. The vehicle was taken to boyd's tar heel Chevrolet in roxboro, nc, where the engine block was replaced under the official gm 6. 2l engine safety recall. The truck was delivered back to me, and on the very first day I drove it—only 28 miles from my house—it suffered a secondary catastrophic loss of propulsion on the highway on [xxx]. The check engine light began flashing violently, indicating an immediate catalyst-damaging safety hazard, and the vehicle displayed fault code p0307 (cylinder 7 misfire). The dealership explicitly instructed me to stop driving the vehicle immediately, authorized the recovery, and told me to bill the tow directly to them. After towing the vehicle back to their facility, boyd's tar heel Chevrolet reversed their position. They are now attempting to hold me financially responsible for the towing fees, along with spark plugs, wiring, and fuel injector services, claiming the failure is due to routine maintenance. This represents a severe highway safety hazard, a direct failure of the manufacturer's official recall remedy, and potential dealer misconduct to avoid liability under the active NHTSA engineering analysis ea26005 for post-recall 6. 2l engine failures. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

There is an known issue with the coolant control valve that causes the truck to enter "limp mode" that dangerously reduces the engine power. The part is not recalled but there is a special extended warranty, n252508341, up to 15yrs or 150,000 miles for 2021-2022 GMC 1500 trucks but my VIN is excluded from this for some reason. I would like this investigated.

While driving 40 mph my entire dash lite up with every known light and the vehicle lost all power. The dealer stated I need an entire engine replacement, as with many 6. 2. My vehicle is 1 months out side of the recall, it has the exact symptoms and the exact damage as the recall.

The contact owns at 2021 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while driving 60 mph, the engine was overheating. The message "reduce engine power" was displayed. The contact shifted to neutral to reach the dealer. The contact associated the failure with special coverage: n252508341; however, the VIN was not included. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle with coolant control valve failure, and the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the cost of the repair was not covered under the special coverage program. The failure mileage was approximately 94,328.

Engine I believe the truck died while I was doing 78 mph on the highway dashboard stated “shift into neutral and press start” I pulled to the side of the road and did what it stated and it would not crank over. I also put it in park turned the vehicle off and back on to try to start it. The lights on the dashboard, all gauges, the ac, and everything works the truck just will not crank over. Check engine light came on but is not throwing any codes.

Catastrophic engine failure at 77357 miles. I went to the local gm dealer and my VIN is not in the l87 engine recall. Not sure how to repair my truck , but feel like the engine should not have locked up with such low miles, and I done constant engine maintenance , meaning oil changes every 5k miles.

1. I am being told that the high-pressure fuel pump (hpfp) catastrophically seized and locked up internally while driving. Because the hpfp on the 3. 0l duramax (lm2) engine is directly driven by the engine's timing system, this sudden mechanical seizure instantly destroyed the engine timing gears and snapped/skipped the timing chain. The failed components are currently intact inside the vehicle and are fully available for inspection upon request at ron’s smith GMC in merced, CA. 2. The failure occurred on busy labor day (xxx) while our family of [xxx] was traveling back home at 70 mph on a major highway. The truck violently shook, instantly lost all engine power, and forced the vehicle into a dangerous limp-mode state before completely stalling in live highway traffic at night around 10:45 pm. This sudden loss of propulsion at high speed severely compromised our ability to safely navigate out of the way of fast-moving highway traffic, creating an immediate & extreme risk of a high-speed rear-end collision. At times hazard lights didn’t work causing family panic & screaming as truck shook with passing traffic. 3. The problem has been officially confirmed by ron smith GMC in merced, CA. Their service department diagnosed the issue, confirming that the high-pressure fuel pump had locked up and subsequently destroyed the timing belt/chain and engine gears. 4. The vehicle and its failed components have only been inspected by technicians at the ron smith GMC dealership service department. No police, insurance representatives, or outside third parties have inspected the vehicle yet. 5. I had been extremely happy with my truck and there were absolutely no warning lamps, dashboard messages, or driving symptoms prior to the failure. The truck was operating perfectly normally under cruise until the exact moment of the failure, at which point a "reduced engine power" warning flashed on the dashboard simultaneously with the mechanical lock-up, shaking, and immediate stall. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of.

1. I am being told that the high-pressure fuel pump (hpfp) catastrophically seized and locked up internally while driving. Because the hpfp on the 3. 0l duramax (lm2) engine is directly driven by the engine's timing system, this sudden mechanical seizure instantly destroyed the engine timing gears and snapped/skipped the timing chain. The failed components are currently intact inside the vehicle and are fully available for inspection upon request at ron's smith GMC in merced, CA. 2. The failure occurred on busy labor day (xxx) while our family of [xxx] was traveling back home at 70 mph on a major highway. The truck violently shook, instantly lost all engine power, and forced the vehicle into a dangerous limp-mode state before completely stalling in live highway traffic at night around 10:45 pm. This sudden loss of propulsion at high speed severely compromised our ability to safely navigate out of the way of fast-moving highway traffic, creating an immediate & extreme risk of a high-speed rear-end collision. At times hazard lights didn't work causing family panic & screaming as truck shook with passing traffic. 3. The problem has been officially confirmed by ron smith GMC in merced, CA. Their service department diagnosed the issue, confirming that the high-pressure fuel pump had locked up and subsequently destroyed the timing belt/chain & engine gears. 4. The vehicle and its failed components have only been inspected by technicians at the ron smith GMC dealership service department. No police, insurance representatives, or outside third parties have inspected the vehicle yet. 5. I had been extremely happy with my truck and there were absolutely no warning lamps, dashboard messages, or driving symptoms prior to the failure. The truck was operating perfectly normally under cruise until the exact moment of the failure, at which point a "reduced engine power" warning flashed on the dashboard simultaneously with the mechanical lock-up, shaking, and immediate stall. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of.

I was notified my lifters in my 6. 2 l v8 would need to be inspected for any defects. When I purchased my vehicle from car max here in jackson, ms, I received a notification from the dashboard that the engine oil was low and to add oil. I turned around and took it back to the dealership as soon as possible. This happened on the first day of owner ship with in 5 minutes of driving off from the lot. I car max told me to just add oil and bring them the receipt and they would reimburse me. I chose not to and asked them to service the vehicle to avoid any issues with my warranty or my car max shield warranty. 2,000 miles later the same notification came across the dashboard again. I took it back to car max immediately and they ended up sending it off to my local gm dealership for service. They topped it off with oil after inspecting it for any leaks in the engine. None were discovered. After the 3rd notification about the engine oil level being low after close to 3,000 miles, they serviced the vehicle and put the vehicle under the oil consumption watch. This took place from October 2025 through September 2026. After multiple visits, they informed me they would need to perform further test to see if the lifters were failing and that I would be responsible for the labor fees estimated at around $632. 82. I informed them I have car max’s 150,000 mile warranty. Fidelity insurance company informed me they would need to send an inspector out to the gm dealership. Before this takes place, they would need the vehicle to undergo various tests and I would be responsible for the labor fees. Should the engine components be found worn down. Fidelity would not cover the repairs. Should the engine components be found defective, they would cover the replacement part but not the label. Labor costs would estimate around $2,978. 95. I asked the gm dealership to share this information with me in writing for documentation purposes. I asked for my vehicle to be parked until further notice.

Catastrophic engine failure due to lifter failure at approximately 51,000 miles driven. This has been confirmed by the dealership and reported/escalated to general motors. The truck is at the dealership for repairs. General motors offered to cover 65% of the repair as a goodwill sign. As the 60k powertrain warranty had expired. This truck has the same components that are covered under the recall for the same model year. However the recall only extends to March 1, 2021 manufacture date. My truck was manufactured a few weeks prior to that so it was not included. Gm refused even discuss this could be potentially due to a recalled issue. Multiple warning lights and error messaged were present on the dash indicating issues when it failed. Additionally, a loud metallic knocking noise was present at speed and idle. Power was significantly reduced and the engine was running very rough.

Coolant control valve failure. This vehicle year is included in a gm bulletin that extends the coolant control valve replacement coverage to 150k miles due to a faulty design. My is valve failing exactly as described in the bulletin and gm will not cover the replacement due to my VIN number. The vehicle randomly goes into reduced power whereby it is prohibited from safely keeping up with traffic. Research shows that there are a significant number of owners in my same situation where gm is denying repair and replacement coverage.

Xxx 2021 GMC seria 108,339 miles driving home from [xxx] in town and out of nowhere the lights on the dash light up I saw it say adaptive steering and something breaking. There was a lot going on as the steering was rapidly shaking limited breaking while trying to avoid a collision. The engine started a loud knocking sound and sudden smoking out tail pipes. I was able to get the truck stopped turned it off and sat there for a while trying to collect myself. Restarted the truck and slowly drove it to my home 2 miles away. It was flatbed to local gm dealer that quickly diagnosed it saying heavy smoke knocking needs new engine! they won't confirm exactly what the internal engine failure is. Other than its failed. The engine build date is 2020 day 350 my VIN is not currently in the current gm engine recall however it's certain this failure is totally related to gm's engineering design and manufacturing issues. Look deeper into the recall date ranges this failure is clearly a victim. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Driving on the highway lost proportion/acceleration, loud knocking coming from the engine.

Check engine light came on my vehicle (104,000/mi) and fans came on while truck was off. Took to dealership and techs diagnosed vehicle as having bad "coolant flow control valve". Dealership ran VIN check as there is a gm "extended special coverage program" n252508341 for the lm2 motor, which my vehicle has. However, n252508341 only applies to vehicles in CA. The dealership did not cover my repair. I filed a complaint with gm who denied it due to the program being only applicable to CA trucks. I was advised to file a complaint with NHTSA as the only avenue with recourse. I would like if NHTSA intervened and made gm honor the program in all 50 states and I be offered a refund for the $2500. 00 repair I had to pay for. Thank you.

While driving down an isolated 2 lane road in west texas, the engine in my 2021 GMC Sierra 1500 began making knocking sounds and vibrating badly. The truck's acceleration was extremely sluggish and the vibration worsened at slow speeds. I was able to slowly make my way back towards a dealership, where the diagnostic teardown revealed a bent pushrod and camshaft damage.

2021 6. 2l GMC sierra denali. Has the l87 engine that is recalled but yet my truck doesn’t fall under the recall although the recall is for 2021-2024 engines. Everything that the engine recall states is the issue with my truck, I have service report from dealership stating that there is wear/breakage of cam shaft/crank shaft amongst other things including cylinder 3 and 5 misfiring , bearings broken , filings in the oil , banging in the engine and safety lights on. My local GMC dealership recommended that the only acceptable action was to replace the engine at my cost of course. This is unacceptable of a supposed reputable large corporation not caring about the “little guy”. The truck only has 136000 kms on it and I was only going 60 km/hr when this happened. Please help as I feel gm knows this engine is faulty but somehow has managed to escape a recall on my VIN number.

Cam shaft and lifter failure. Lifters were replaced 3 times.

P1010 and p2b86 engine code, constant cooling fan on engine. Confirmed by dealership, quoted for coolant control valve. VIN not included in special coverage n252508341 for this known issue. Limited engine power alert, unable to maintain speed on highway. Dangerous condition traveling under speed limit.

The contact owns a 2021 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while driving at 60 mph, the vehicle began to shake uncontrollably. A knocking sound was heard from the engine, and the vehicle entered limp mode. No warning lights illuminated. The contact was able to coast the vehicle to the residence. The vehicle was later towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine failed and needed to be replaced. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA campaign number: 25v274000 (engine and engine cooling). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the recall, and the contact was advised to file a complaint with the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was 81,000.

Both of my upper ball joints wore out and one broke as I was driving down the road at 65 miles an hour pulling me into the on coming lane of traffic, there was no warning of this. I had both upper and lower ball joint replace. If there had been another vehicle coming in the on coming lane we would have had a head on collision. At an earlier date the motor in this same truck had a fallen lifter which cause my motor to loss power, I was able to take it to the local gm dealer and they fixed it, there was no warning this was happening either. I am worried I will have a catastrophic engine failure and gm will not cover this. I have looked up my.

I purchased this truck from a used car dealer. It had received the fix in January this year. They sold it to me I put 15,000. 00 down and financed 15,000. 00. I had the truck two weeks and was driving down the road to pick up some tools from a friends. I pulled from a drive way I heard a pop likei hit something in the road nothing was in the drive or road I could have hit. I made it two stop signs to make the turn too go pick up the tools and as I am slowing down to stop the stuck shuts off at like 45 miles an hour and leaves me comming to a stop with a truck crank crank crank no start. Cause it said shift I to neutral to restart. I did and the engine went to cranking over and o er really fast. And I was abel to get control and get stopped at stop sign blocking the stop sign and a guy with a boat behind me. My friend came with his truck and pulled me from intersection up into his yard. And I had car lot I bought it from come get it they tried to finance me a motor thru there prefers dealer. I went to them they explained that the cams and timing chain was staying still as they turned the engine over by hand. The timing chain stayed staionary. I researched the truck online figured out there is a l87 recall and had it taken to dealer they are offering good will payment on labor because it is 6, 000 miles past the 150000 dead line wich I only placed just over a thousand of the 156000 miles on this truck. I have been without this truck for 31 days as of today. And I feel they should replace entire engine. I am so frustrated with this cause I already payed 15000 and don’t have the money to fix this truck.

At 115,000 the coolant control valve has gone out. Gm acknowledges this issues in 2020 model trucks. My truck is a 21 and displaying the same characteristics. A simple google search will show this is a known issue in 2021 vehicles as well. In 2020 model trucks gm has provided a special 150,000 mile warranty to replace this part. Gm needs to step up and provide a proper warranty/recall for the affected 2021 models.

I'm not sure if they've pulled it out yet. They said two weeks to get motor. Engine started shaking and then started knocking. Had wrecker take it to GMC dealer they said it needs an engine. It is a 2021 6. 2 carbon pro 1500 sierra at4 it did not come up on recall list and I don't know why? it obviously the same problem.

I was driving and my check engine light came on a mile from my house. I drove home and the next morning, I started my truck. It was loud and pulsating like it wanted to stall out. I had it towed to a repair shop. They plugged into the truck and said it was giving code p0016. I had it towed to another place and that it is where it is sitting now. I also received a email from onstar saying "a critical issue with the engine and transmission system in your 2021 GMC sierra crew cab has been detected. P0016 was detected. I searched my VIN # and it says that there are no recalls on my truck. I do see that there was a silent recall on the engine that is in my truck.

The contact owns a 2021 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the "add oil to engine" message was displayed. The vehicle was driven to an autozone within two minutes and turned off. Upon inspection of the engine oil level, the contact observed that the dipstick was completely dry. The dealer was notified of the issue, and an appointment was scheduled for an oil consumption test. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle had been serviced for a routine oil change on April 21, 2026, at 53,590 miles. The contact related the failure to NHTSA action number: rq26001(engine). The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 56,802.

I own a 2021 GMC sierra at4 3. 0l duramax (VIN [xxx]). The vehicle has codes p1098 (coolant control valve performance) and p129f which coincides with the first code. My dealer believes this is consistent with an engine coolant control valve failure. I understand special coverage xxx exists for this issue, but I've been told my VIN is not included. My truck has the exact engine, symptoms, and diagnostic codes addressed by special coverage n252508341, but my VIN is excluded. 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 while turning the ignition on, the "service parking brake" message was displayed, and the check engine warning light illuminated. Additionally, the engine ran rough. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine lifters needed to be replaced; however, the dealer could not diagnose if there was further engine damage until the lifter repair was completed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 72,530.

Since purchase of my 1500 sierra 6. 2l on 10feb2021, the vehicle has always appeared to burn an excessive amount of oil which is consistent with gm’s 6. 2l engines and has created safety issues leading to sweeping recalls on this engine model from 2021-2024. I have been informed that the engine was consistently down 2+ qts of oil at every recommended oil change (approximately every 5000mi) although gm literature indicated that this level of consumption was usual in their 6. 2l engine. In a jan26 oil change at approximately 35,000mi I was told that my engine was down over 3qts of oil. On 17feb2026 I took my vehicle into my chevy/GMC dealership to request an oil consumption test at ~35, 089mi. On 30jun2026 I returned to the dealership for my 2000mi check-in, at ~37,800mi, and was informed that my vehicle had failed the consumption test. With over 600,000 vehicles recalled since 2024 in the 6. 2l category, my vehicle/VIN has never been associated with a recall. Despite having minimal miles on this engine, I am now financially penalized for repairs because I had just exceeded the initial powertrain warranty and my extended warranty would not cover a pre-existing condition. Gm’s 6. 2l engines have pre-existing issues from the factory and represents a danger to consumers and the driving public because of these failures.

The vehicle has about 38000. The warrantee expired about 6 months ago. About three weeks ago I started the engine, it sounded like a cement mixer filled with rocks. I had it taken to my dealer. They investigated the problem and determined that it has bad lifters and bent push rods. The dealer told me that it is a known problem but it is not covered by the current 6. 2l engine recall.

On June 25, 2026, at approximately 84,000 miles, while traveling approximately 60-65 mph on highway 121 in a posted 65 mph zone, driving my 2021 GMC Sierra 1500 at4 equipped with the 6. 2l l87 engine, multiple warning messages suddenly appeared, including “check esc,” “check parking brake,” “check brakes,” and “check engine. ” the engine began operating abnormally. I drove directly to sewell GMC because I was concerned that the engine could fail or the vehicle could lose propulsion while in traffic. There was no crash, fire, or injury. Sewell GMC inspected the vehicle and confirmed catastrophic internal engine damage. The technician found metal debris in the engine oil and oil pan, damaged internal bearings, and camshaft/lifter damage. Sewell advised that the complete engine must be replaced. The vehicle remains at the dealership, has not yet been repaired, and the engine and failed components should be available for inspection. Before this incident, I had not experienced warning lights or symptoms indicating that an imminent catastrophic engine failure would occur. Gm and the dealership advised that my VIN is not included in the current l87 engine recall because the engine was built in 2020. However, the diagnosed bearing damage, metal contamination, and catastrophic engine failure appear similar to the engine failures addressed by that recall. I am reporting this because an unexpected internal engine failure while driving creates a serious risk of loss of propulsion and a collision.

I had the l87 recall completed, and the vehicle passed inspection. The dealership completed the required protocol and replaced the engine oil with 0w-40. Approximately 6,000 miles later, while traveling at about 75 mph and six hours from home, I experienced a brief loss of power followed by an immediate return of power. My wife and I noticed it but, with no warning lights or alerts, continued driving while monitoring the vehicle. About 10 miles later, we began hearing a faint squealing noise that progressively became worse. I was able to exit the highway safely, but once I came to a complete stop, the engine shut off and would not restart. I had the vehicle towed to the nearest dealership, where it was determined that I had suffered a catastrophic engine failure. No loaner vehicle was available, leaving my family stranded six hours from home with an inoperable vehicle. It took approximately seven to eight weeks for the repair to be completed. When I received the vehicle back, I immediately noticed something still was not right. At around 40 mph and 1,000 rpm, the truck would shudder or hesitate. My local dealership diagnosed a poor spark plug connection on cylinder #3, which was causing arcing and a misfire. After the connection was repaired, the issue was resolved. My local dealership is currently working with the repairing dealership to address several minor workmanship issues, including wire clips, fittings, and missing bolts. This entire event was unexpected. There were no warning lights, alerts, or unusual noises before the initial loss of power. The only indication of a problem was the sudden power loss followed shortly thereafter by a horrific screeching noise. Thankfully, I was able to safely exit the highway and bring the vehicle to a stop. Considering I was traveling at 75 mph, the situation could have been much worse.

While driving, the vehicle experienced a sudden and momentary loss of power, similar to briefly applying the brakes, after which power resumed. This was followed by a progressively louder squealing noise. I pulled over to investigate, at which point the engine shut off and a low oil pressure warning appeared on the dashboard. The vehicle would not restart. The vehicle was then towed to a dealership, where initial inspection suggested the issue may be related to the l87 recall involving the crankshaft bearing.

My vehicle began exhibiting symptoms consistent with a failed engine coolant flow control valve. The check engine light illuminated, and diagnostic testing indicated a fault related to the coolant control valve system. In addition, I experienced abnormal cooling system operation, including the engine cooling fans continuing to run after the vehicle was shut off. Vehicle was tested few times in auto zone these symptoms affected the normal operation of the vehicle and are consistent with the condition described in special coverage n252508341. Based on the diagnostic findings and vehicle symptoms, I believe my vehicle qualifies for coverage under this program. I respectfully request that my vehicle be inspected and evaluated under special coverage n252508341 and that any eligible repairs be performed according to the terms of the coverage program.