2016 GMC SIERRA — Complaint #1790121
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM:HEATER CORE filed January 25, 2022
NHTSA complaint #1790121 (ODI reference 11448788) concerns a 2016 GMC SIERRA and was filed on January 25, 2022. The owner reports the failure occurred on January 24, 2022. The vehicle had 64,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Pennsylvania based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as visibility:defroster/defogger/hvac system:heater core, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: yes, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. A complaint that flags a crash, fire, or fatality is escalated on NHTSA's internal review queue and factors more heavily into any Preliminary Evaluation decision on this make and model. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same GMC SIERRA cohort independently describe similar visibility:defroster/defogger/hvac system:heater core failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2016 GMC SIERRA shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The contact owns a 2016 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while driving at 20 MPH with the defroster engaged, she noticed smoke on the rear electric sliding glass window and smelled a burning odor. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road, disengaged the defroster and the smoke gradually faded away. The contact continued to drive the vehicle. The contact notified the dealer of the failure and scheduled an appointment for diagnosis. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 64,000.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1790121 |
| ODI Number | 11448788 |
| Date Filed | January 25, 2022 |
| Failure Date | January 24, 2022 |
| VIN | 3GTU2MEC3GG |
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.