all vehicles · every Sierra year · method

GMC Sierra 2019

Safety complaints filed by owners in the first three years, per 1,000 sold.

0.80 per 1,000

1.7 times this nameplate’s own median · from 181 complaints filed in the first three years, of 721 ever. 95% lower bound 0.68.

Against its own model years

The model year carries far more information than the badge, so this is the comparison that matters.

Model year	Per 1,000	Complaints
2008	0.23	38
2009	0.19	27
2010	0.13	16
2011	0.24	33
2012	0.16	25
2013	0.19	33
2014	1.33	264
2015	1.13	247
2016	0.41	92
2017	0.52	114
2018	0.48	106
2019	0.80	181
2020	0.58	141
2021	0.45	113
2022	0.73	178
2023	1.22	328

What owners describe

Phrases over-represented in these complaints compared with the same component on every other vehicle. Counts are complaints containing the phrase.

Engine 321 complaints

truck	123	38%
lifters	52	16%
lifter	48	15%
camshaft	35	11%
catastrophic	30	9%
engine seized	26	8%

Power Train 146 complaints

truck	43	30%
shifts	17	12%
feels	14	10%
feels like	13	9%
camshaft	10	7%

Service Brakes 128 complaints

service esc	36	28%
service trailer	32	25%
system top	28	22%
top speed	28	22%
steering assist	28	22%
assist reduced	27	21%

When it breaks

60% of reported failures happened before 30,000 miles (median 13,000 miles, from 263 complaints that recorded one).

Failures cluster early, which is the signature of how the car was built rather than of wear. A low-mileage example has not yet passed the risk window.

What NHTSA did

2 investigations covering this model year, 1 of which list a recall campaign.

Loss of motive power due to engine failure

What owners and forums say

Not built yet. This panel is meant to carry community sentiment beside the filed-complaint data, so the two can be compared. Showing something weaker here would defeat its purpose.

Check this yourself

Example records behind this page:

11160622 · 11163136 · 11163550 · 11164092 · 11170130 · 11171309

Limits of this figure. It counts safety complaints filed with the federal government, which is a floor on failures and not a census: problems that only cost money are under-reported. Complaint rates also reflect how likely a brand’s owners are to file, which cannot be separated from how often the car fails. Sales are calendar-year and the denominator for this nameplate is automated checks only, not verified against an external source.