Total Complaints
906 filings
GMC SIERRA 1500 · model year
906 NHTSA complaints, 29 crash reports, and 9 active recalls for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
5 / 5 ★
New Car Assessment Program
The 2015GMCSIERRA 1500 carries 906 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 29 crashes, 13 fires, 13 injuries, and 0 fatalities. For crash performance, NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gave this cohort an overall 5/5 rating, with 5/5 front crash, 5/5 side crash, and 4/5 rollover scores derived from standardized barrier and dynamic tests.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2015 SIERRA 1500 is service brakes with 216 filings, followed by power train (93) and exterior lighting (89). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability. This model year has 9 active recall campaigns, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.
NHTSA currently has 2 investigation files overlapping the 2015 SIERRA 1500. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
906 filings
Crashes Reported
29 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
Above median complaint volume — review patterns below.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES | 216 |
| POWER TRAIN | 93 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 89 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 86 |
| ENGINE | 80 |
| STEERING | 79 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 65 |
| AIR BAGS | 35 |
| STRUCTURE:BODY | 24 |
| VISIBILITY/WIPER | 18 |
| SUSPENSION | 15 |
| SEAT BELTS | 15 |
| FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 13 |
| ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) | 13 |
| SEATS | 9 |
AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW:CURTAIN:INFLATOR
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2016 GMC Sierra 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and 2015 GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500, and Chevrolet Silverado 2500 and 3500 trucks. The roof-rail air bag (RRAB) inflator end cap may detach from the inflator.
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP:WHEEL SPEED SENSOR/TONE RING
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2020 Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, and GMC Yukon, and 2014-2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles equipped with a 5.3-liter engine, a 3.08-ratio rear axle and four-wheel drive. If a wheel-speed sensor fails, while the vehicle is tra
SEAT BELTS
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 trucks manufactured January 29, 2013, to January 21, 2015. While entering the vehicle, the seat belt tensioner cable may be positioned such that the driver slides over it. This movement m
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse and Chevrolet Spark EV, Caprice PPV and SS vehicles, 2014-2017 Buick Encore and Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles, 2015-2016 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Tahoe, Trax, Subur
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015-2017 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD, 3500 HD, Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Sierra 2500 HD and 3500 HD, GMC Yukon, GMC Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade and Cadillac Escalade ESV vehicles and 2014-2017 Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500, Trax, Caprice Poli
SEAT BELTS:FRONT
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2014-2016 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, 2015-2016 Chevrolet Tahoe, and 2014-2015 GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles that may have received an incorrect replacement tensioner cable assembly as part of a previous recall remedy or a subsequent repair. The flexible steel
STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Tahoe and Suburban, GMC Sierra 1500 and Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade vehicles. Electric power steering (EPS) assist may be lost momentarily, followed by a sudden return of EPS assist.
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:POWER ASSIST:VACUUM
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Cadillac Escalade, 2014-2018 Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, 2015-2018 Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon vehicles. The amount of vacuum created by the vacuum pump may decrease over time.
AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW:CURTAIN:INFLATOR
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2016 GMC Sierra 1500, 2500, 3500, and Chevrolet Silverado 1500, 2500, and 3500 trucks. The roof-rail air bag (RRAB) inflator end cap may detach from the inflator, or the inflator sidewall may rupture.
During day to day driving when the truck is accelerating from a stopped position there's a massive clunk or hard shift from either 1st to 2nd gear. have also heard similar complaints from other 2015 sierra 1500 owners saying the transmission is having a hard shift on acceleration from a stop. Have seen possible issues with the TCCM
The contact owns a 2015 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was firm and unresponsive, and the vehicle was difficult to stop. The vehicle eventually came to a stop with the ABS warning light illuminated. The vehicle was driven back to the residence. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 132,235.
Mileage: 132,235
Tranmission is shuttering and not wanting to shift right
The contact owns a 2015 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while at a complete stop and attempting to shift into reverse(R), Drive(D) or park(P), the gear shifter was stuck, and the contact had to go underneath the vehicle to move the shifter cable into the intended gear. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the upper and lower shifter cables were replaced. The contact stated that upon returning to the residence and attempting to park the vehicle, the gear shifter failed to remain in the intended gear and was moving unintendedly. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer and the manufacturer were not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 225,740.
Mileage: 225,740
I remote started my truck. I got in about 5 minutes later. When I shut the door the rear window, passenger side of the power sliding window blew out. GM says my VIN is not affected by the recall but my truck shows that it should have been part of the recall or customer satisfaction program. N192265660 Rear Window Defroster Thermal EventS
The engine seized up traveling about 40MPH in the middle lane on a busy road with my child in the passenger seat. I was able to get off the busy road but part of my truck was still intruding into the lane. The truck is parked at my house. The vehicle has not been inspected by anyone and is still in the same condition as the day the engine seized. The only thing that indicted any issue was a couple popping noises right before the engine seized. It all happened while I was driving in traffic and I did not notice any indications on dash. I was more concerned about getting off the road and out of traffic before I got rear-ended or involved in a pile up.
The GMC Sierra 1500 started a knocking sound. The collapsed lifter on a AFM cylinder bent a push rod which led to cam failure. Metal fragments are throughout the oil system.
Loses power steering when vehicle is low speed or stopped. Same details as safety recall 14743 for 2015 gmc sierra.
The contact owns a 2015 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost power steering functionality and shut off. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road even though the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after several attempts. The contact stated that the failure had recurred while driving. The contact stated that the message "Service Stabili-trak" might have been displayed. The local dealer and another dealer were contacted and confirmed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V586000 (Steering). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,379.
Mileage: 130,379
While driving the vehicle at approximately 40MPH the motor made a tapping sound, I was able to pull into a parking lot and have the vehicle towed to the dealer. The dealer told me that the vehicle was out of warranty and appeared that under initial inspection the would have to rebuild the motor due to a lifter failure at the estimated cost of $18,000. I had the vehicle towed to a reputable repair shop and after the did a tear down to the small block they determined a bent push rod and broken lifter, all pushrods and AFM lifters were replaced at the cost of $10,754. dollars as invoice shows. The issue occurred again on 10/25/25 causing catastrophic failure that will cost me a complete engine replacement.
This occurred 5+ years ago. Coming home one night I had a sudden loss of power with the truck and barely made it home. Was able to limp the truck to the dealership the next day and was told that one side of the engines lifters had failed. Prior to the failure I had noticed a ticking sound coming from the engine that was becoming increasingly more prominent. It was several thousand dollars to repair. Fortunately the failure occurred near home, not on the freeway where I could have been dodging cars while trying to limp the truck to the shoulder. Some online research while the repair was being done revealed that several other owners with the 6.2L engine had the same problem. When I mentioned it to the dealer the response was that they had no bulletins from GM on the issue and I was stuck with the bill. Got the same response a year or two later when the torque converter on the transmission went out. The reason I am reporting it now is I saw that GM is recalling 6.2L vehicles with li
The temperature sensor in the transmission is faulty leading to hard/delayed shifting, shuttering, and vibration
The temperature sensor in the transmission is faulty leading to hard/delayed shifting, shuttering, and vibration
Transmission failed at 110k miles roughly. Safety was put at risk due to this happening on a highway. Yes, transmissiom was replaced by a local repair shop, the means of failure was identical to thousands of vehicles in this model year failing prematurely. No it wasnt inspected by the dealer. No there was no warning light, we were going up a hill and it failed.
The contact owns a 2015 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated the front passengerâs seat belt was difficult to buckle, and it recently started unbuckling while a passenger was seated in the passengerâs seat with the seat belt buckled. The contact stated that when the seat belt was unbuckled, the seat belt warning light was illuminated. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.
Mileage: 170,000
Lifter and camshaft failed
Push rod failure in #4 cylinder at 104,000 miles. Bent push rod. Possibly due to AFM.
I have owned 4 of these trucks in my lifetime ranging from 2007-2015 all equipped with the same drivetrain. 5.3l engine and 6l80 transmissions. All have had the same failures. The engine afm system particularly the lifters fail which in turn destroys the camshaft and destroys the engine. More importantly the transmission torque converter fails sending debris through the whole system causing a sudden loss of drive. This happened while driving down the road and was a safety concern for myself and others. This time it costed me $6500 to replace the transmission. All of the trucks I have owned experianced the same failures how is this not a problem?
I have owned 4 of these trucks in my lifetime ranging from 2007-2015 all equipped with the same drivetrain. 5.3l engine and 6l80 transmissions. All have had the same failures. The engine afm system particularly the lifters fail which in turn destroys the camshaft and destroys the engine. More importantly the transmission torque converter fails sending debris through the whole system causing a sudden loss of drive. This happened while driving down the road and was a safety concern for myself and others. This time it costed me $6500 to replace the transmission. All of the trucks I have owned experianced the same failures how is this not a problem?
Headlights on this vehicle, since purchased, have not cast enough light in order to see in unlit backroads, or extrememly dim areas. I have to drive with my brights on constantly, in order to get enough light thrown onto the road, for the left and right sides, as well as the front. These were not working well since purchase. I took my child to a friends house in rural PA, and I literally could NOT SEE THE street signs, let alone far enough down the road. I nearly hit a stone wall.. My eyes keep asking to see more, but truck does not produce enough headlight. I even went to the eye doctor, after that situation, thinking it was my vision dimming, but was told I have 20/20. There needs to be a formal recall. I am not the only one complaining about these HORRIBLE projection headlights. To replace these headlights would cost over 1000K, out of pocket, which is not something I should have to fix. I am complaining now, because with the light getting darker earlier, am noticing how lous
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.