GMC Sierra 3500 - Problems, Statistics, and Analysis

GMC Sierra 3500 owners have reported a total of 692 problems for their cars built in the 30 model years listed in the chart below. The chart shows the number of problems reported across all service years for each given model year of the GMC Sierra 3500. The 2020 GMC Sierra 3500 cars have the most problems reported (70 problems).

Table 1. Total number of problems by model year for GMC Sierra 3500

Model Year	Number of Problems
2025 Sierra 3500	22
2024 Sierra 3500	61
2023 Sierra 3500	36
2022 Sierra 3500	38
2021 Sierra 3500	27
2020 Sierra 3500	70
2019 Sierra 3500	19
2018 Sierra 3500	20
2017 Sierra 3500	14
2016 Sierra 3500	26
2015 Sierra 3500	39
2014 Sierra 3500	10
2013 Sierra 3500	15
2012 Sierra 3500	16
2011 Sierra 3500	24
2010 Sierra 3500	2
2009 Sierra 3500	7
2008 Sierra 3500	26
2007 Sierra 3500	19
2006 Sierra 3500	16
2005 Sierra 3500	28
2004 Sierra 3500	28
2003 Sierra 3500	10
2002 Sierra 3500	26
2001 Sierra 3500	33
2000 Sierra 3500	24
1999 Sierra 3500	16
1998 Sierra 3500	10
1997 Sierra 3500	3
1996 Sierra 3500	7

🔍 Common problems of GMC Sierra 3500

The following chart shows the 25 most common problems for GMC Sierra 3500 cars. The number one most common problem is related to the vehicle's service brakes, hydraulic (129 problems). The second most common problem is related to the vehicle's power train (85 problems).

Table 2. Common problems of GMC Sierra 3500

Problem Category	Number of Problems
Service Brakes	129
Power Train	85
Electrical System	77
Engine And Engine Cooling	72
Air Bag	51
Equipment	45
Steering	38
Other Fuel System	37
Tire	25
Structure	22

Gasoline Fuel System	16
Exterior Lighting	15
Visibility	13
Forward Collision Avoidance	9
Vehicle Speed Control	9
Suspension	8
Diesel Fuel System	8
Wheel	6
Back Over Prevention	5
Lane Departure	4
Parking Brake	4
Latches/locks/linkage	4
Seat Belt	4
Seats	4
Electronic Stability Control	2

📉 Compare Reliability Across Model Years Using PPMY Index

It would not be fair to compare the GMC Sierra 3500 of an older model year to newer model years since older vehicles have been in service longer and thus are expected to have more problems. In order to compare the reliability across Sierra 3500 model years, we use the PPMY index which is defined as the problems reported per thousand vehicles per Year. A smaller PPMY index indicates greater reliability of the given model year cars.

PPMY = P / S / Y * 1000,

where P = total problems reported during the life of a GMC Sierra 3500 model year; S = total units sold of the model year; Y = years since the debut of the model year (the age of the vehicle).

The results are shown in Table 3.

Table 3. Use PPMY Index to Compare Reliability Across Sierra 3500 Model Years

Sierra 3500 Model Year	Problems	Sales [1]	Vehicle Age	PPMY Index
2022	38	21,545	4	0.44
2021	27	16,428	5	0.33
2020	70	18,185	6	0.64
2019	19	15,503	7	0.18
2018	20	2,280	8	1.10
2017	14	3,415	9	0.46
2016	26	4,769	10	0.55
2015	39	5,646	11	0.63
2014	10	1,401	12	0.59
2013	15	3,507	13	0.33
2012	16	2,856	14	0.40
2011	24	2,925	15	0.55
2010	2	1,241	16	0.10
2009	7	2,767	17	0.15
2008	26	2,486	18	0.58
2007	19	4,014	19	0.25
2006	16	4,277	20	0.19
2005	28	13,616	21	0.10
2004	28	10,512	22	0.12
2003	10	8,876	23	0.05
2002	26	8,492	24	0.13
2001	33	12,117	25	0.11
2000	24	24,746	26	0.04

📊 Number of Problems Reported During the First Year

Another way to measure the reliability across the model years of the GMC Sierra 3500 is to use the total number of problems reported during the vehicle's first year in service, as shown in the Table 4.

Table 4. Number of problems in vehicle's; first service year

Model Year	Problems Reported
2025 Sierra 3500	14
2024 Sierra 3500	23
2023 Sierra 3500	3
2022 Sierra 3500	10
2021 Sierra 3500	7
2020 Sierra 3500	10
2018 Sierra 3500	8
2017 Sierra 3500	2
2016 Sierra 3500	4
2015 Sierra 3500	9
2011 Sierra 3500	1
2009 Sierra 3500	2
2008 Sierra 3500	4
2007 Sierra 3500	1
2006 Sierra 3500	2
2005 Sierra 3500	3
2002 Sierra 3500	4
2001 Sierra 3500	7
1996 Sierra 3500	2

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