2018 GMC SIERRA 1500 — Complaint #2061138
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM:REAR WINDOW filed January 30, 2025
NHTSA complaint #2061138 (ODI reference 11639603) concerns a 2018 GMC SIERRA 1500 and was filed on January 30, 2025. The owner reports the failure occurred on January 29, 2025. The vehicle had 60,952 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to New Mexico based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as visibility:defroster/defogger/hvac system:rear window, 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: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. 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 1500 cohort independently describe similar visibility:defroster/defogger/hvac system:rear window 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 2018 GMC SIERRA 1500 shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The contact owns a 2018 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH with the rear window defroster activated, there was a burning rubber odor inside the cabin of the vehicle and there was smoke coming from the rear window area. While inspecting the rear window the contact discovered that the rear window connector cover had melted, and the wire connections were a burning amber color, but no flames were present. After disconnecting the electrical connections, approximately 30 seconds later the rear glass panel on the passenger side suddenly shattered. No injuries were reported. The contactâs young daughter was seated in the rear during the failure. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, but the cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 60,952.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 2061138 |
| ODI Number | 11639603 |
| Date Filed | January 30, 2025 |
| Failure Date | January 29, 2025 |
| VIN | 3GTU2PEC4JG |
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.