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2020 GMC Sierra 3500HD

Heavy-duty pickup
0 EPA-rated configurations
Data refreshed 2026-09-11
F
Safety Signal
39 / 100 from the NHTSA recall record
Recalls1 critical8
Complaintsowner reports to NHTSA51
Crash ratingNHTSA overall—
20262025202420232022202120202019201820172016

The 2020 GMC Sierra 3500HD is a heavy-duty pickup; vehicles over 8,500 lb GVWR are not certified for fuel economy by the EPA, so this page is built from NHTSA's recall, complaint and investigation records. NHTSA lists 8 recall campaigns for this model year, 1 rated critical, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of F. Owners have filed 51 complaints, most often about the power train.

Specs & fuel economy

Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov

No EPA fuel-economy record: the EPA does not certify vehicles over 8,500 lb GVWR. Recall, complaint and investigation data below come from NHTSA.

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The 2020 GMC Sierra 3500HD is in the years where transmission, electronics and drivetrain repairs land on the owner. Compare extended-coverage quotes in about two minutes.

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Recalls (8)

Source: NHTSA recall database
○minor

Power Train

N252516560
1,055 vehicles
ProblemGeneral Motors, LLC is recalling certain 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, 3500, GMC Sierra 2500, 3500, and 2020-2022 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles that may have been repaired incorrectly under recall 24V797. The transmission control valve may fail and cause the rear wheels to lock up.RiskRear wheel lock up increases the risk of a crash.FixDealers will inspect the vehicles and update the transmission control software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 6, 2026. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N252516560. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on February 12, 2026.
NHTSA campaign 26V083000reported Feb 12, 2026General Motors, LLC
○minor

Power Train

N242454440
463,295 vehicles
ProblemGeneral Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, 2500, 3500, GMC Sierra 1500, 2500, 3500, 2021 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles equipped with diesel engines. The transmission control valve may fail and cause the rear wheels to lock-up.RiskRear wheel lock-up can increase the risk of a crash.FixDealers will install new transmission control module software, free of charge. GM will provide a special coverage program to cover the repair of transmissions that are identified by the remedy software as containing a defective control valve. Owner notification letters were mailed December 12, 2024. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-888-988-7267, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, GMC customer service at GMC 1-800-462-8782 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020.
NHTSA campaign 24V797000reported Oct 24, 2024General Motors, LLC
▲high

Latches/Locks/Linkages

N232426400
570,434 vehicles
ProblemGeneral Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2024 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, 3500, GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 vehicles equipped with power-unlatching tailgates. The tailgate's electronic gate-release switch may short circuit due to water intrusion, which can result in the tailgate inadvertently unlatching while the vehicle is in park.RiskAn unlatched tailgate may open while driving and result in a loss of unsecured cargo, creating a road hazard and increasing the risk of a crash.FixOwners are advised to check that the tailgate is closed and latched before driving. Dealers will replace the exterior touchpad switch assemblies, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 17, 2024. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N232426400.
NHTSA campaign 24V060000reported Feb 1, 2024General Motors, LLC
▲high

Seat Belts

N202314670
624,216 vehicles
ProblemGeneral Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2019-2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500, 2021 Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe and GMC Yukon XL and 2020-2021 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 and 3500 and GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 vehicles. The seat belt brackets may not be secured to the seat frame in the front-row center seating position.RiskIf a seat-belt bracket is not secured, the seat belt may not properly restrain an occupant in the front-row center seat position, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.FixGM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect left-side and right-side front-row center seat-belt bracket attachments and reassemble it correctly as necessary, free of charge. The recall began January 26, 2021. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N202314670.
NHTSA campaign 20V792000reported Dec 17, 2020General Motors, LLC
▲high

Air Bags

N202305380
769 vehicles
ProblemGeneral Motors, LLC. (GM) is recalling certain 2020 Buick Enclave, Cadillac XT5 and XT6, Chevrolet Blazer, Silverado 1500, 2500 and 3500 and Traverse and GMC Acadia and Sierra 1500, 2500 and 3500 vehicles. The diffuser component of the Roof-Rail Air Bag (RRAB) inflator may not have been properly crimped to the inflator and could separate from the inflator during air bag deployment.RiskIf the diffuser separates from the inflator during deployment, RRAB performance may be degraded, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.FixGM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the suspect RRAB modules, free of charge. The recall began September 3, 2020. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-630-2438, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-333-4223, or Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300. GM's number for this recall is N202305380.
NHTSA campaign 20V446000reported Jul 30, 2020General Motors LLC
▲high

Latches/Locks/Linkages

N202306490
272 vehicles
ProblemGeneral Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 and 3500 and GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 vehicles previously recalled under 20V-142. Some of the vehicles in 20V-324 were not part of Recall 20V-142 but received defect parts during another service (typically during collision repair). The hood-latch striker wires on replacement hoods installed for Safety Recall 20V-142 may not have been heat-treated properly, possibly causing them to fracture.RiskIf a striker wire fractures, the hood may open unexpectedly while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.FixGM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the hood assembly, free of charge. For hoods sold over the counter, dealers will contact customers with instructions for hood replacement. The recall began July 7, 2020. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or GMC customer service at 1-888-988-7267. GM's number for this recall is N202306490.
NHTSA campaign 20V324000reported Jun 4, 2020General Motors LLC
▲high

Latches/Locks/Linkages

N192284960
1,909 vehicles
ProblemGeneral Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 and 3500 and GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 vehicles. The hood-latch striker wires may not have been heat-treated properly, possibly causing them to fracture.RiskIf a striker wire fractures, the hood may open unexpectedly while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.FixGM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the hood assembly, free of charge. The recall began April 13, 2020. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or GMC customer service at 1-888-988-7267. GM's number for this recall is N192284960.
NHTSA campaign 20V142000reported Mar 12, 2020General Motors LLC
!critical

Seat Belts

N192270600
556,399 vehicles
ProblemGeneral Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500, and 2020 Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Sierra 2500, and Sierra 3500 vehicles equipped with carpet floor covering. When the front seat belt pretensioners deploy, hot gas may vent through an opening in the pretensioner bracket, possibly igniting the carpet.RiskA vehicle fire could result if materials ignite inside the vehicle.FixGM will notify owners, and dealers will close off the opening in the pretensioner bracket, free of charge. The recall began December 13, 2019. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or GMC customer service at 1-888-988-7267. GM's number for this recall is N192270600.
NHTSA campaign 19V814000reported Nov 14, 2019General Motors LLC

NHTSA defect investigations

Air Bags:Srs Malfunction Warning Lamp/Light — Air Bag Malfunction closed

On April 9, 2021, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened PE21-010 to investigate instances of air bag malfunction indicator light (MIL) illumination and potential for frontal air bag non-deployment in several vehicles manufactured by General Motors (GM). The vehicles included model year (MY) 2020 through 2021 CT4 and CT5 passenger cars, Sierra and Silverado trucks (1500/2500/3500 models), XT4 and MY 2021 Escalade, Suburban, Tahoe, Yukon SUVs.Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 21-NA-005, issued in March 2021, addresses air bag MIL illumination with diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) B0001-1B or B0012-0D. It cites rust particles in the connection terminal interface of the driver air bag

Opened Apr 9, 2021 · closed Aug 24, 2023 · action PE21010

Owner complaints

Source: NHTSA complaint database
51complaints filed

4 involved a crash · 2 a fire · 4 injuries · 0 deaths reported

Filed per year: 2019: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2021: 5 · 2022: 8 · 2023: 5 · 2024: 13 · 2025: 15 · 2026: 2

Most-cited components

Power Train19
Electrical System9
Service Brakes7
Unspecified6
Engine6
Fuel/Propulsion System5

What owners describe

“driving 65mph when vehicle attempted to downshift itself for no reason when instead the rear axles locked up and made a massively loud bang as if axle fell off, let off gas, smoke pouring from rear tires, skidded about 8 feet, it released then locked up 2 more times within 30 secs before I could get off road out of tra…”Jul 2, 2024 · Power Train · NHTSA owner report
“I was driving approximately 60mph pulling a trailer when the back tires locked up for approximately 2 seconds. This happened 3 times within 30 minutes. I've taken it to the GM repair shop. They have seen this happen to 3 or 4 vehicles. Due to not being able to replicate the fault it has been difficult to diagnose. They…”Apr 29, 2024 · Power Train · NHTSA owner report
“Vehicle will not start due to known GM issues. This failure left my family stranded in cold dark unsafe area once already. If we were in the flow of traffic or had to leave an area immediately we would have been unable too. Known GM issue, engine fault code P12A6 fault code. Bulletin: PIP5719A discusses this issue. I a…”Feb 6, 2024 · Electrical System · NHTSA owner report

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Crash ratings

Source: NHTSA NCAP

NHTSA has not published 5-Star crash ratings for this model year.

Compare the 2020 Sierra 3500HD with

2020 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD →2020 Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD →

Other Sierra 3500HD model years

B

2026 GMC Sierra 3500HD

2 recalls · 4 complaints

A

2025 GMC Sierra 3500HD

1 recalls · 16 complaints

C

2024 GMC Sierra 3500HD

3 recalls · 44 complaints

A

2023 GMC Sierra 3500HD

1 recalls · 28 complaints

C

2022 GMC Sierra 3500HD

3 recalls · 31 complaints

F

2021 GMC Sierra 3500HD

5 recalls · 20 complaints

F

2019 GMC Sierra 3500HD

7 recalls · 13 complaints

F

2018 GMC Sierra 3500HD

6 recalls · 14 complaints

F

2017 GMC Sierra 3500HD

7 recalls · 13 complaints

F

2016 GMC Sierra 3500HD

6 recalls · 19 complaints

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

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