2023 GMC Sierra 1500
This year drew an ordinary 430 complaints for a GMC Sierra 1500 — the model's median is 331. What they were about is the unusual part: 11.6% of them mention grill, against 0.8% across the other years of this generation.
Generation 3 of the GMC Sierra 1500, which began in 2019. Everything below compares this year against the others in that generation, not against a different car wearing the same name.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 430 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 331 |
| Involving a crash | 5 |
| Involving a fire | 2 |
| Recalls | 3 |
| NHTSA crash rating | 5/5 |
What the complaints were about
- grill — 11.6% of this year's complaints, against 0.8% across the other years of this generation (14.1×). Owners wrote it as: grill, flew, flew off, deflector.
- grille — 6.5% of this year's complaints, against 1% across the other years of this generation (6.6×). Owners wrote it as: grille, off driving, n242490120, grille deflector.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
What owners wrote
The grille deflector suddenly detached from the truck and flew off into traffic. It narrowly missed the vehicle behind me and could have caused a serious accident or injury. There was no prior warning or impact that would explain the failure.
The chrome grille deflector detached yesterday while on the interstate and landed in traffic behind me. GM recall number N242490120 does not cover my vehicle, but the same thing is happening to newer models. GM says they won't cover my vehicle under the recall…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 22V903000 EXTERIOR LIGHTING Fixed free of charge.
- 24V674000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC Fixed free of charge.
- 25V274000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the GMC Sierra 1500 was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2023 GMC Sierra 1500? What happened to yours?
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