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GMC Sierra

Every model year 2016–2026: recalls, owner complaints, NHTSA crash ratings and EPA efficiency side by side, each value traced to the file it came from.

11 Model years 2016–2026

72 Recalls NHTSA campaigns, all years

4,658 Complaints owner reports, all years

D Newest grade 2026 Safety Signal

2017 Best on record cleanest filed year

The 2026 Sierra →Which years to avoid Compare it

GMC Sierra — photograph via Wikimedia Commons — GMC Sierra · Photo: Ethan Llamas · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Active NHTSA advisory on 2 model years of the Sierra — park outside or do not drive. The year rows below carry it.

Every GMC Sierra model year

Source: NHTSA · EPA · one row per year

Year	Powertrains	Safety	Recalls	Complaints	Crash	Best efficiency
2026	Electric Gas Diesel	D	5	150	★★★★★	410 mi
2025	Electric Gas Diesel	B	2	133	★★★★★	390 mi
2024	Gas Diesel	C	4	377	★★★★★	25 mpg
2023	Gas Diesel	B	3	496	★★★★★	26 mpg
2022	Gas Diesel	F	6	598	★★★★★	26 mpg
2021	Gas Diesel	F	7	596	★★★★★	26 mpg
2020	Gas Diesel	F	12	492	★★★★★	26 mpg
2019	Gas	F	10	684	★★★★★	21 mpg
2018	Hybrid Gas	F	7	322	★★★★★	20 mpg
2017	Hybrid Gas	D	6	431	★★★★★	20 mpg
2016	Hybrid Gas	F	10	379	★★★★★	20 mpg

Which model year the record favours

Source: recalls and complaints per year on the road

Years to avoid, with the reasons →Best on the record 2017

On the filed record so far, the 2017 is the cleanest Sierra year we hold, and the 2016 the one to check hardest. The 2016 carries a standing park-outside or do-not-drive advisory, which outranks every other number on this page.

Both figures are divided by the number of years the car has been on sale, because otherwise the oldest year on the page loses every time simply for having been around longer. The current model year and any year under three on the road are left out: their records are not finished.

Year	Safety Signal	Recalls /yr	Complaints /yr
2017	D	0.7	48
2023	B	1	165
2021	F	1.4	119	2 critical
2019	F	1.4	98	2 critical
2022	F	1.5	150	2 critical
2018	F	0.9	40	3 critical
2020	F	2	82	4 critical
2016	F	1	38	Advisory

Which GMC Sierra years reported which system early

Source: NHTSA complaints, odometer at report

Earliest on the record: 2019 electrical system complaints at 0.52× the mileage of same-age vehicles (median 7,997 miles). Latest: 2020 steering at 2.58× (10,300 miles).

Year	Engine	Power Train	Service Brakes	Electrical System	Steering
2024	1.47×	—	—	—	—
2023	0.69×	—	—	—	—
2022	1.12×	1.29×	—	—	—
2021	1.18×	1.39×	—	0.83×	—
2020	1.3×	1.83×	1.45×	0.89×	2.58×
2019	2.0×	1.11×	0.8×	0.52×	0.64×
2018	1.2×	0.87×	0.71×	—	1.14×
2017	0.99×	0.74×	1.39×	1.43×	0.9×
2016	1.21×	0.9×	1.15×	1.33×	1.12×

Each cell is that model year’s median odometer when owners reported the system, divided by the median for the same system across every make’s complaints on the same model year. under 0.67× reported early; 1.5× or more late; a dash means too few readings. When problems get reported, not how often — complaint counts are in the table above. Across the whole fleet: which systems go first.

What owners filed about the GMC Sierra, by system

Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer communicationsEvery system, every year →

The systems the federal record is deep on for this nameplate: the complaints per model year, the mileage owners reported them at, and every recall, investigation and manufacturer bulletin filed under the heading — each one linked, none a failure rate.

engine problems 2,059 complaints, every model year transmission and drivetrain problems 1,101 complaints, every model year electrical problems 658 complaints, every model year brake problems 549 complaints, every model year body and structure problems 245 complaints, every model year

What changed year to year

Source: computed from the filed record

2026: best combined mpg 26 → 25; best range 390 → 410 mi
2025: added electric; best combined mpg 25 → 26; 26 → 25 EPA configurations
2024: best combined mpg 26 → 25; 24 → 26 EPA configurations
2023: 34 → 24 EPA configurations
2022: 36 → 34 EPA configurations
2021: 26 → 36 EPA configurations
2020: added diesel; best combined mpg 21 → 26; 22 → 26 EPA configurations
2019: dropped hybrid; best combined mpg 20 → 21; 14 → 22 EPA configurations

Compare

All Sierra head-to-heads →Which is better for you? →

Head-to-head	Verdict
2026 Sierra vs Chevrolet Colorado · Large Pickup truck	Sierra +4
2026 Sierra vs Ford Ranger · Large Pickup truck	Sierra +9.1
2026 Sierra vs Ford F-150 · Large Pickup truck	Sierra +5.7
2026 Sierra vs Toyota Tundra · Large Pickup truck	Toss-up
2026 Sierra vs Jeep Gladiator · Large Pickup truck	Gladiator +9.4
2026 Sierra vs Chevrolet Silverado · Large Pickup truck	Toss-up
2025 Sierra vs Ford F-150 Lightning · Large Pickup truck	F-150 Lightning +21.9
2020 Sierra vs Jeep Gladiator Pickup · Large Pickup truck	Sierra +7.3
2018 Sierra vs Ram 1500 · Large Pickup truck	Sierra +17.8

In the studies

Source: computed from the same record, method on each page

Odometer at first complaint · rank 51 of 79 1.37× the mileage of same-age vehicles GMC Sierra owners reported problems to NHTSA at a median 34,500 miles across 2018–2022 (fleet 23,512), later than vehicles of the same model year. 714 readings.

Common questions about the GMC Sierra

Source: EPA, NHTSA and manufacturer press kits

Which GMC Sierra year is the best used buy?

On the recall record, the 2017 Sierra comes out top of the years before the current one: Safety Signal grade D (69/100), 6 recalls and 431 owner complaints on file. That ranks paperwork, not condition — a specific car's history and service record still decide it.

What GMC Sierra years should I avoid?

2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2026 have the weakest recall records in this range — one carries an active park-outside or do-not-drive advisory. The year pages list every campaign, its severity and whether a repair exists yet. Every Sierra model year ranked, with the reasons.

How many recalls does the GMC Sierra have?

Across model years 2016–2026, NHTSA has posted 72 recall campaigns for the GMC Sierra. They are counted per model year in the table above, because a campaign almost never covers the whole run — it covers a build range.