⚠️ Recall Alert: This vehicle may be affected by the 2025 GM engine recall covering select 6.2L engines. [View GM engine recall information]
Lighter duty than the other Chevrolet Silverado trucks, the Silverado 1500 can be used for everyday driving as well as hauling and towing. Owners say it’s a good-looking truck, but there are problems many of them didn’t expect. Malfunctions and failures many owners have reported relate to various vital components including the electrical system, engine, and powertrain. The automatic braking system and cruise control are also major causes of concern.
Click on other model years to view more problems: 2019202020212022
Electrical system (21%) problems ranging from loss of power and auto stop/start failure to major issues with infotainment and various audio alerts.
Powertrain (17%) problems that commonly include hesitation and shuddering when changing gears as well as reports of transmission failure.
Engine (12%) various malfunctions and failures reported.
Forward collision avoidance (11%) failures, primarily adaptive cruise control and automatic braking system malfunctions.
Brakes (8), with failure and malfunctions, also reported as forward avoidance problems.
In addition to these problems, NHTSA complaints reveal that there are also problems with the airbags, equipment, exterior lighting, fuel/propulsion system, latches/locks/linkages, steering, structure, suspension, vehicle speed control, visibility, and wheels.
There is one complaint listed under Unknown or Other that is worth mentioning. While there is no detail, it states a Silverado 1500 “caught fire and burned up while idling.”
Additionally, there are two recalls that affect the 2023 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 along with many other General Motors vehicles.
Recalls
NHTSA Campaign Number 22V903000 warns the owners of 740,108 GM vehicles that the daylight running lights (DRLs) don’t deactivate as they are supposed to. This can result in a glare that reduces visibility for drivers and increases the risk of a crash. The remedy is for dealerships to update the body control module software, which they will do free of charge. The recall states that it can be done via an over-the-air update.
This is not the only issue with exterior lighting. There are multiple complaints dating from October 2023 to October 2024 that highlight turn signal lights, headlights, and front driving lights malfunctioning.
NHTSA Campaign Number 24V674000 warns that the electronic brake control module software may fail to display a warning light when there is a loss of brake fluid. A total of 449,671 GM vehicles, including the 2023 Silverado 1500, are affected by this. This is also reportedly a software problem that requires an OTA update or an update by a dealership.
Don’t be stuck with a lemon. You have legal rights to cash, return or buyback.
The law makes Chevrolet pay legal fees.
We've fixed thousands of lemon problems. Message or call 877-795-3666 today.
Electrical problems that owners report are varied and include faulty auto stop/start mechanisms, sound issues, more specific infotainment system malfunctions, warning light errors, and exterior lighting issues that owners relate to electrics.
An owner from Florida reports “multiple random electrical issues, including, but not limited to:
A “Service ESC” warning activates and causes the truck to “greatly” reduce power and speed. This, the complaint states, is “Extremely dangerous at expressway speeds in heavy traffic.”
The electrical system and engine shutting down without warning — also considered “extremely dangerous.” This was temporarily remedied by disconnecting and then reconnecting the battery to reset the system.
At the time of the complaint in April 2024, the Silverado had been with the dealer on and off for nearly two months, with no resolution.
Another owner who experienced multiple problems tells how the dash of his 2023 Silverado 1500 lit up “like a Christmas tree” when he started the truck. Additionally, the trailer brakes failed when he went faster than 43 mph. The check engine light was on together with multiple other lights. At the time of the complaint, the truck was still at the dealership, “and General Motors (GM) doesn’t have a fix for (the) issue.”
It appears that the dealership did identify at least part of the problem because the owner discovered that the part needed to fix the problem was on national backorder. He isn’t happy though, because not even having made his first payment, the truck was already in the shop and “not safe to drive due to this issue.”
Audio-Electrical Issues
Silverado 1500 owners have consistently reported sound issues, many of which relate to the infotainment system.
An owner from Michigan states that intermittent malfunctions are a safety concern. “While driving, the audio from the car radio will spike to full volume for about 5 seconds, then the infotainment system will reboot. THIS IS VERY UNSAFE as it is startling to the driver, nearly resulting in multiple crashes. This is an issue reported by multiple owners, as evidenced by a simple Google search of ‘2023 Silverado volume spike’. GM has refused to acknowledge this and has not issued a fix.”
After taking his Silverado to be repaired more than nine times, another owner complained to the NHTSA about the radio. “Each time I have taken (the) truck in, I have been told it’s a ‘Software Update,’ should be good now. I spoke with GM Customer Care and their exact words were, “Shut the radio off. Drive without it.’ The radio volume will go full blast while driving even when the radio is turned down low.” They eventually also told him there wasn’t a fix. “GM is aware of this issue but has done nothing but continue to put people’s lives in danger.”
An owner from South Carolina also reported sound issues. However, the problem wasn’t noise, but rather a complete lack of sound! This meant that there were “No warning sounds, no turn signal sounds, no radio, no navigation sounds. I missed a notification of a wreck on the road in front of me that would have been audible if the truck’s sound systems were working.”
Collision Avoidance Systems
As mentioned earlier, the main issues are adaptive cruise control and automatic braking system malfunctions.
An owner from Connecticut states that an automatic cruise control malfunction caused him to crash in July 2024. “I got into a wreck with automatic cruise control on. I had been in stop-and-go traffic for about 20 minutes and was following behind a hauling trailer for well over a mile with no issues. Suddenly, from a dead stop, the truck attempted to accelerate to its preset speed of 50 mph. I was only one car length away from the trailer and wasn’t covering the brake. By the time I got my foot on the brake, I slammed into the back of the trailer. At no point did the emergency brake warning or any alerts pop up.”
An owner from Texas avoided a crash when the automatic braking system slammed on brakes unexpectedly. It appears to have been because of an unoccupied vehicle parked more than 15 feet from the lane in which the Silverado was traveling at 70 mph. Then it happened again. This time he was driving at 65 mph and went past a state trooper parked on the shoulder of the road. “The automatic braking system slammed on the brakes unexpectedly again. I was pulled over by the state trooper, I explained what had happened, and he let me leave without writing a ticket.”
On the other hand, an owner from South Carolina states that the automatic braking system never worked! The complaint maintains that none of the safety features had ever worked — automatic braking, safety assist, front pedestrian braking, following distance indicator, and forward collision alert. The dealership said there was “no issue.” And then his brakes failed! At the time of the complaint, they were attempting to repair the problems.
Brakes
No vehicle is safe without properly functioning brakes, especially a truck however small. So, owners with brake problems have every right to be concerned. It becomes a critical issue when dealers aren’t able to fix the problem. This is what happened to an owner from Oklahoma.
In a complaint dated February 16, 2023, the owner of a 2023 Silverado 1500 stated that the truck “does not brake when any object enters the safety brake zone.” This leads the driver to lose a safe distance while driving. But there is no resolution, because, according to the complaint, the dealer is unable to fix the problem.
A Virginia owner was stopped at an intersection when the truck lost all electrical power. “A couple of seconds later, the dash lights came on saying that the vehicle did not have any brakes or brake assist. Then, while the vehicle was still in drive it started. Due to the brakes not working the vehicle jerked forward. I put the car in neutral. The light turned green and I was able to get out of (the) intersection and then went to the side of the road. While driving this short distance the vehicle displayed that because the brakes were not working it would not go over 62 mph.” Shutting the vehicle off for a while and then restarting seemed to fix the problem. However, “Mostly my concern is that the vehicle restarted while in drive with the vehicle having no brakes.”
It was worse for an Oregon owner who crashed when the brakes of the Silverado failed. This happened while driving at 15 mph with the brake pedal pressed to the floorboard. There were no warning lights and the forward collision avoidance feature failed. When the driver crashed into another vehicle, the airbags didn’t deploy on impact.
Vehicle with Recall Fault Fails
An owner from Florida whose 2023 Silverado 1500 had only 124 miles on the clock tells how it “died” while in a parking lot in January 2024 and wouldn’t start. It was towed to a local dealer who checked the VIN and said it was in “open recall, something about fuel injection flow. They said it should have never left the lot or been sold. So now I’m up the creek — no truck and not sure where to go with (the) problem.”
NHTSA Campaign Number 24V674000 is a Noncompliance Recall: N242447990 Failed Brake Fluid Leak Detection. As such, vehicles in dealer inventory may not be delivered to customers, dealer traded, or used for demonstration purposes. However, the recall was only issued in September 2024.
As such, it would be best for this owner to seek the assistance of a legal firm like Lemberg Law which specializes in lemon law.
Engine
Without a functioning engine, no vehicle is any good. Owners whose engines seize or fail know this only too well.
An owner from Pennsylvania tells how the problem started when the Silverado stalled on a 70 mph interstate highway. “I was able to get to the side and attempt to restart. After ten minutes, the vehicle restarted and I received a message of “Low Battery”. I drove it immediately to the dealership and advised service. The next day I called the dealership for a status update and was advised the engine (had) seized. The vehicle had 3,212 miles on it at the time. The dealership ultimately received permission to replace the engine which took about three and a half weeks. The vehicle is simply not the same and has (had) several issues since.” One of these issues is “No Start and No Power.”
Engine bearing failure resulted in the engine of a Texas owner failing at 5,920 miles. A month after this happened, he stated in an NHTSA complaint that the dealership had been in possession of the truck for a month. “Due to the electronic gear shift, there was no way to put the vehicle in neutral to move it from the intersection. The tow truck driver was forced to drag the vehicle onto (the) flatbed tow truck, possibly damaging other components in the process. This appears to be a common issue that is known by General Motors without remedy. Appears to be related to the Dynamic Fuel Management System and spring-loaded lifters that fail. The vehicle has been inspected by a Chevrolet dealer, who determined it needs a full engine replacement.”
Powertrain
Hesitation and jerking when shifting gears is a common problem. Other issues include a loss of motive power, faulty transmission control modules (TCMs), and complete transmission failure. There is some indication that they are all interlinked symptoms.
An owner from Maryland lost motive power for 15-20 seconds while driving at about 60 mph and shifting gear. The forward collision avoidance light went on. On another occasion, the driver assist function was activated and an error message was displayed before the vehicle stopped operating properly. The dealer said the transmission fluid needed to be flushed and the TCM needed to be updated. The repairs were done, but the failure persisted.
For an owner from Utah, the first transmission failure, together with the engine overheating, occurred at 5,000 miles. Before this happened, the owner noticed that the transmission seemed to be “hunting for gears at lower speeds (0-25) with hesitation. It could have been slipping. And also noticed strange, louder than usual turbo noises.” GM roadside assistance towed the vehicle to the nearest dealer, where they “refilled (the) transmission with fluid, and put me back on the road for it to fail again in traffic (loss of power / unable to move). I have now been without (my) vehicle going on 30 days and worry there is more wrong with the vehicle than just a blown transmission.”
Hesitation and Jerking
The owner of a 2023 Silverado 1500 with 1,000 miles on the clock states had powertrain issues. The complaint states that “while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated and was jerking when shifting between the first and second gear. No warning lights were illuminated.”
The local dealer diagnosed that the TCM needed to be reset, and the vehicle was repaired. However, the failure recurred while the owner was driving into his driveway, with the vehicle lunging forward. Unsurprisingly, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure.The owner refused to take the vehicle home until the dealer could provide a remedy and repair for the failure.
An owner from Alabama reports that the truck started hesitating suddenly for no apparent reason. There were no warning lights. Soon after this happened, the “truck stopped shifting after I pulled out into a very busy intersection.” After struggling to move, he was able to “limp out of the intersection, just missing oncoming vehicles.” Eventually, the check engine light came on. The dealer said that the problem was a “defective transmission cooler seal and lines.” However, he filed a complaint in August 2024, five weeks after leaving the truck with the dealership.
“According to various Chevy/GMC forums, it’s happening to others. Some have had (the) entire transmission replaced in a car less than a year old. Not being able to exit an intersection is a problem.”
In March 2024, an owner from Texas was told that hesitation when shifting gears was a problem. However, the service advisor said there wasn’t a service bulletin on the problem. “So, they have no solution for it at this time. This has been happening since August 3 2023 off and on until today.”
What Should You Do If Your 2023 Chevy Silverado 1500 is a Lemon?
Have you had major problems with your 2023 Chevrolet Silverado 1500? If so, do you think you may have bought a lemon?
Do you know that every year automakers buy-back, replace, or trade-in lemon vehicles? Also, do you realize that the law says that the automaker, in this case GM, must pay the legal fees for lemon law cases?
We have negotiated many settlements on behalf of our clients who have discovered they bought lemons. All you have to do is call our Helpline or fill out a contact form. We will assess your problem free of charge and get back to you.
About the Author:
Sergei Lemberg is an attorney focusing on consumer law, class actions related to automotive issues, and personal injury litigation. With nearly two decades of experience, his areas of practice include Lemon Law (vehicle defects), Debt Collection Harassment, TCPA (illegal robocalls and texts), Fair Credit Reporting Act, Overtime claims, Personal Injury cases, and Class Actions. He has consistently been recognized as the nation's "most active consumer attorney." In 2020, Mr. Lemberg represented Noah Duguid before the United States Supreme Court in the landmark case Duguid v. Facebook. He is also the author of "Defanging Debt Collectors," a guide that empowers consumers to fight back against debt collectors and prevail, as well as "Lemon Law 101: The Laws That Lemon Dealers Don't Want You to Know."
I bought a 2023 Chevy Silverado 1500 Z71 Custom Trailboss on March 4th 2023. I currently have 9,250 miles on it. I complained to the dealership that it had a hard shift from 1-2 and from 2-1 when driving at slow speeds. They informed me that it was a “breaking in phase” and I shouldn’t worry about it. It has gotten worse and I took it in. I informed the service advisor that it was the transmission. The service advisor told me that it’s not the transmission. Also there was a knocking on the left side under the driver side wheel well. The dealership had my vehicle from January 22, 2024 till February 15th 2024. I looked at the repair sheet and it indicated they replaced all the pistons in the transmission due to metal shavings on the magnetic in the transmission. Also there were cut pistons on 1-2 and 7-8. When I got my truck back the truck did not have a hard shift but still made the knocking noise. Also when I shift it from park to drive or drive to park it makes a loud click and sounds like the transmission is falling out. Now it’s worse then it was before. I took it back on February 20th and it is still in the shop and no one will call me back. On the repair sheet it indicates that when they worked on the transmission they didn’t fix the knocking noise because the work on the transmission fixed the noise. Nope, just being lazy.
Doru P
Bought a 2023 Chevy Silverado in June 2023. The car has issues with the power train or transmission I believe. When switching to 4 wheel drive, the driving experience is a mess. The wheels would lock themselves up and the car would get stuck until the steering wheel would be straightened back up. This happens when making sharp turns. Then it starts smelling like burned plastic or grease inside the car and a vhooming noice comes out from under the vehicle when making these sharp turn while the car is in 4wd setting. The dealer says it is normal and they tried to convince me that’s the way it is but I can’t buy that. I had 4wd cars before and they didn’t act like this. I will take the car to be checked under warranty at the local Chevy dealer in a couple of days. I would be interested to know if this would be something your office would want to look into…
I bought a 2023 Chevy Silverado 1500 Z71 Custom Trailboss on March 4th 2023. I currently have 9,250 miles on it. I complained to the dealership that it had a hard shift from 1-2 and from 2-1 when driving at slow speeds. They informed me that it was a “breaking in phase” and I shouldn’t worry about it. It has gotten worse and I took it in. I informed the service advisor that it was the transmission. The service advisor told me that it’s not the transmission. Also there was a knocking on the left side under the driver side wheel well. The dealership had my vehicle from January 22, 2024 till February 15th 2024. I looked at the repair sheet and it indicated they replaced all the pistons in the transmission due to metal shavings on the magnetic in the transmission. Also there were cut pistons on 1-2 and 7-8. When I got my truck back the truck did not have a hard shift but still made the knocking noise. Also when I shift it from park to drive or drive to park it makes a loud click and sounds like the transmission is falling out. Now it’s worse then it was before. I took it back on February 20th and it is still in the shop and no one will call me back. On the repair sheet it indicates that when they worked on the transmission they didn’t fix the knocking noise because the work on the transmission fixed the noise. Nope, just being lazy.
Bought a 2023 Chevy Silverado in June 2023. The car has issues with the power train or transmission I believe. When switching to 4 wheel drive, the driving experience is a mess. The wheels would lock themselves up and the car would get stuck until the steering wheel would be straightened back up. This happens when making sharp turns. Then it starts smelling like burned plastic or grease inside the car and a vhooming noice comes out from under the vehicle when making these sharp turn while the car is in 4wd setting. The dealer says it is normal and they tried to convince me that’s the way it is but I can’t buy that. I had 4wd cars before and they didn’t act like this.
I will take the car to be checked under warranty at the local Chevy dealer in a couple of days. I would be interested to know if this would be something your office would want to look into…