2010 GMC Sierra 1500
This year drew an ordinary 108 complaints for a GMC Sierra 1500 — the model's median is 54. What they were about is the unusual part: 41.7% of them mention cost, against 15.2% across the model's other years.
| Complaints filed | 108 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 54 |
| Involving a crash | 9 |
| Involving a fire | 6 |
| Recalls | 4 |
| EPA combined | 15.5 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- cost — 41.7% of this year's complaints, against 15.2% across the model's other years (2.7×). Owners wrote it as: cost, want, design, manner.
- warranty — 22.2% of this year's complaints, against 6.6% across the model's other years (3.4×).
- during — 13.9% of this year's complaints, against 4.6% across the model's other years (3×).
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
ENGINE LIFTER ISSUE/LOW OIL PRESSURE PROBLEM RELATES TO HAVING THE LIFTERS REPLACED. THE 5.3 VORTEC ENGINE HAS AFM (ACTIVE FUEL MANAGEMENT). DEALER WANTS $5800 TO FIX THE LIFTER ISSUE, WHILE ESTIMATES TO REPLACE THE ENGINE WITH NECESSARY PARTS RUNS BETWEEN $69…
DURING A CRASH AT HIGH SPEEDS AND FRONTAL IMPACT THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. I WAS LIFE FLIGHTED TO THE HOSPITAL AND SUFFERED LIFE ALTERING INJURIES. MY 2 KIDS WERE ALSO IN THE VEHICLE AND SUSTAINED INJURIES WHICH THEY ARE STILL BEING TREATED FOR.
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 21V053000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 21V054000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 21V050000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 18V267000 EQUIPMENT 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 2010 GMC Sierra 1500? What happened to yours?
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