What 405 owners told NHTSA about the 2019 GMC Sierra Limited 1500

My transmission keeps on jerking all the time when we are driving

NHTSA ODI 11642826

Took truck to dealership for transmission issues such as hard shifts and shuttering on highway. Waiting 2 months for parts that didn’t fix the issue. Now waiting on another transmission which I’m being told is on back order!

NHTSA ODI 11642084

Unknown mostly. Water pump ended up cracking while running. Power failure notice had come up on dash and then vehicle shut off while running. Dealership made repairs but unable to identify root cause.

NHTSA ODI 11640036

Transmission has had shifting, shudder and failure to go into gear from day 1 of owning the truck. Has been to the dealer on several occassions for the same issue just to be told that they either could not reproduce the issue or it was normal. On another occasion the dealer was able to notice some shudder and shifting issue and replaced the valve body under warranty. Now that the vehicle is out of warranty I’m being told the vehicle needs a complete transmission rebuild and torque converter at an out of pocket cost to me of $8500. I know of many others with the same issues from the onset of owning these vehicles.

NHTSA ODI 11638322

The transmission is experiences periodic rough shifting, a shudder and droning noise between 1,000 and 1,500 RPM. An independent transmission specialty shop states the transmission is starting to fail. The transmission, differentials and transfer case fluids were changed at 53,000 miles and again at 104,000 miles.

NHTSA ODI 11637036

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated while driving at approximately 25 MPH, an abnormal sound was coming from under the floorboards. No warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission oil pump had failed and the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 158,000.

NHTSA ODI 11635090

My truck has had two lifters fail at different times which ended up ruining the camshaft Now my truck feels like it’s going over a rumble strip on the highway at low rpm’s. During this speed the trans is slipping and can not pick a gear. Other gmcs had a service bulletine to change trans fluid but my did not. I have emailed twice to gm and have not heard anything back. I have close to 10000 in repairs and my truck has been down for 4 months.

NHTSA ODI 11634992

Subject: Potential Issue Related to Recall N202314870 for GMC Sierra 1500 Problem Description: I own a 2019 GMC Sierra AT4 (VIN# [XXX] ) and have identified a potential issue related to the drive shaft. Although my VIN does not appear in the official system as affected by recall N202314870, the vehicle exhibits the following symptoms: 1. Unusual and consistent vibrations in the drivetrain while the vehicle is in motion. 2. Noises coming from both the front and rear differentials. 3. Concern regarding the integrity of the drive shaft, as these issues align with the details described in the recall. Given that this issue potentially affects the safety of the vehicle, I kindly request a review to determine if my unit should be included in recall N202314870 or any other related campaign. I appreciate your consideration of these symptoms for a proper evaluation. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11631981

Issue 1: Driver side front seat airbag connector separated disabling the airbag. (repaired at my cost) Issue 2: Transmission (10 speed auto) developed stutter and skip consistent with complaints resulting in recall of 2020 (next model year truck) due to risk of rear wheel lock up. GM needs to include the 2019 models that were built as 2019 (as 2020) in one of the plants while they continued to build the 2018 as 2018 "classics" during the changeover. My cost to repair will be $3600 and there is not guarantee that the new valve body is any better or if GM is simply giving me another 46k miles to wait for another failure.

NHTSA ODI 11627438

My end of year 2019 produced GMC Sierra 1500 5.3 V8, 4WD X31 4 door truck had a serious malfunction that could have caused great harm. I was driving down my driveway at approximately 20 mph when the truck's rear wheels locked up, stopping the truck instantly, sending me into the steering wheel narrowly missing the windshield with my face. After a moment, I attempted to drive again to move the truck out of the travel path. When I did, the truck back wheels completely locked up again (when I reached 6mph). I had the truck towed to my local shop and was told that it was the transmission locking up making the wheels lock up. The part (transmission) that was ordered for repair was on national backorder and took over two months to get my truck repaired and functional again. I was fortunate to have a warranty (now expired) and pay a percentage of the repair fee, however, the total repair fee was near 12,000. This was paid for by myself and my warranty company. Considering the part was on national backorder, I know that these types of problems are occurring with many of these trucks. I learned of the recall for this same problem that my truck had and checked the recall for my vin. To my complete surprise, my truck was not listed as being recalled, even though the EXACT same problem occurred with my truck. I would like to get the cost of the repairs refunded considering it took GM so long to recall the problem leaving me to pay for their errors. This is not a cheap automobile and was expected to be built well. I am very fortunate that I was not on a major highway or traveling at a high rate of speed when this happened. It was a very scary ordeal being propelled into the windshield of your vehicle when driving due to abrupt, extremely unusual 100% mechanical failure of no fault of your own. This recall should be expanded to include ALL vehicles that have the faulty transmission, including mine. Repair receipts can be provided. I appreciate your time and consideration.

NHTSA ODI 11626850

When the transmission downshifts the rear wheels lock up and the truck skids out of control. I have to be very careful with gas pedal pressure to not allow the transmission to downshift by 2 or more gears. This is virtually impossible in mountain terrain, where I visit routinely.

NHTSA ODI 11626464

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Sierra. The contact stated that while shifting gear, there was an abnormally loud banging sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle failed to shift into gear properly. The wheels were slipping and pulling while driving at various speeds. While driving on the road, there was an abnormal rumbling sound. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was taken to another local dealer, Joe Ball GMC (1750 William Flinn Hwy., Glenshaw, PA 15116); to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be drained and flushed. The dealer informed the contact to drive for 200 miles. The dealer also recommended replacing the transmission. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was contacted and referred to the NHTSA Hotline. The approximate failure mileage was 30,000.

NHTSA ODI 11624141

Truck showed check engine light and popup message to Service ESC, vehicle disable traction control. Before being able to have the vehicle scanned for error codes (after sitting parked turned off for a while, all errors cleared. Several days later when turning vehicle on traction control warning light, parking break warning light, and stability control warning light all turned on, service ESC message popped up again, PRNDL position indicator light turned off and vehicle began to have a clicking noise in the steering column when break was pressed. There is a multiple year long thread on this topic on the silveradosierra forum entitled "service-esc-and-service-power-steering" it appears that dealer and GM help are limited and the issue often goes away and recurs.

NHTSA ODI 11617659

While driving the vehicle caught engine fire later exploding within seconds.

NHTSA ODI 11615204

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle was vibrating and shaking abnormally. The contact pulled over to the side of the roadway and turned off and restarted the vehicle and the shaking ceased. The contact stated that the failure became a persistent failure. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the vehicle had experienced transmission failure however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 84,000.

NHTSA ODI 11611446

Right lifter went out & damaged the CAM Shaft which in turn damaged the engine The vehicle has been sitting at the dealership since August 1, 2024 & confirmed on August 9, 2024, stating that a new CAM shaft would need replaced or a new engine, which ever we choose. NOTE: Vehicle only has 40,298 miles on it I was driving to work on August 1, 2024, service engine light came on & was blinking & the breaking system lights came on, this was the only warning that I received.

NHTSA ODI 11608154

Check Engine Light came on while driving system scan states misfire cylinder 6 but resulted in the lifter being damaged as well as the cam shaft on a vehicle that has 108,000 miles. Prior to this I reported multiple times that it seemed that the transmission would slip and stuttered when on a incline and put in reverse. I was told it was a computer program issue and was charged for a software update which obviously did not fix the issue but ruined the engine.

NHTSA ODI 11590962

While driving down a road in the moring hours, lost complete power and Truck shutdown. Thank God, I was able to pull off the road,since it was a Sunday Moring. Truck was not able to restart. If this had happened on a busy interstate. My wife and I could have been hurt or killed. Had the truck towed to dealer. Replaced the Transfer Case Module. Still don't know if what they put in truck was correct since mine was different than what was shown on computer specifications.

NHTSA ODI 11575472

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the shift to park message was displayed. After turning off the vehicle, there was an abnormal beeping sound heard. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 86,018.

NHTSA ODI 11566204

I have had frint driver and passenger ball joints go out 3 times all together.

NHTSA ODI 11549389

The torque converter of transmission went out on my 2019 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali with only 62072 miles. My safety has been put at risk daily, from intermittent shuddering and loss of power. My vehicle underwent a multi point inspection at Earnhardt Buick GMC confirming I will need a complete transmission assembly estimated to be around $7100. There were no indications or dash lights, the only reason I brought it in is from hard shifts, and intermittent shuddering.

NHTSA ODI 11549469

When shifting to Park the vehicle shuts down but message comes up to Shift to Park and electronics stay on. Vehicle is off but unable to exit vehicle and lock it since the Shift to Park messages keeps dinging.

NHTSA ODI 11537167

Transmission has created shuttering at speed and jarring total stop decelerating from 2nd into 1st gear. Beyond the transmission this vehicle completely stopped and lost power at 55 mph due to faulty valve lifters and pitted cam lobe. These were two separate incidents. Transmission cause lose of power on incline. Valve lifters cause lose of power at high speeds. The dash board read outs no longer worked and I was on a Highway without the ability to maintain speed.

NHTSA ODI 11535523

The transmission causes the vehicle to shudder, lurch from a stop, at times it won't move forward (from a stoplight etc), it won't reverse other times. When driving down a freeway, the transmission allows the engine RPM to surge wildly as if I had put it in neutral and pressed the accelerator. This started at 85k miles approximately. It's into 90k now. The transmission had to be replaced at a cost of $6000

NHTSA ODI 11533073

Oil cooler line detached from crimp while driving at highway speeds forcing the vehicle to an emergency stop on the side of the road. All oil pressure was lost immediately and entire underside of vehicle including tires, brakes, and wheels were all coated in oil. Known issue for same year, make, and model that has already been listed from NHTSA. But, apparently this VIN was not in the affected range.

NHTSA ODI 11531861