2016 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Problems, Recalls & Reliability
1,058 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2016 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, alongside 11 recall campaigns and 1 defect investigation. It scores 36/100 on the trouble index — a below-average year for this model. Brakes & stability leads the reports, typically around 50,000 miles.
Below average
Where 2016 sits among all Silverado 1500 years
What owners report
“After driving for 4 hours brakes wont work properly, braking power decreases and is really hard to stop.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2016 Silverado 1500
“82000 miles, hard shifting and jerking. 83000 miles truck will hardly go into gear.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2016 Silverado 1500
“I was driving and lost all power i had no lights no steering no breaks and then everything came back on this is very very dangerous research it and there is a lot of people having the same problems something needs to be done”— owner report to NHTSA, 2016 Silverado 1500
“Power steering lost temporarily, lights went on and off fast and vehicle dash went black and truck died while turning causing me to hit a car. Moving about 5 to 10 mph”— owner report to NHTSA, 2016 Silverado 1500
“Truck has an instant vibration at speeds 45 mph and above. Seems to be coming from the rear but the truck has had it since day one. We purchased the truck brand new with only 14 miles on it.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2016 Silverado 1500
“Going down Highway about 60 mph slowed down to make a turn after turn engine started skipping and making a noise, lifter failed”— owner report to NHTSA, 2016 Silverado 1500
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 577 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 47,000 miles. Half of those reports fall between 26,000 and 70,000 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (11)
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2016 GMC Sierra 1500, 2500, 3500, and Chevrolet Silverado 1500, 2500, and 3500 trucks. The roof-rail air bag (RRAB) inflator end cap may detach from the inflator, or the inflator sidewall may rupture.
Fix: Dealers will replace the left and right side RRAB modules, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters informing owners of the safety risk were mailed on August 18, 2021. Owners will receive…
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2014-2016 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, 2015-2016 Chevrolet Tahoe, and 2014-2015 GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles that may have received an incorrect replacement tensioner cable assembly as part of a previous recall remedy or…
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver seat belt lap pretensioner, free of charge. The recall began on May 5, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at…
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2016 GMC Sierra 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and 2015 GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500, and Chevrolet Silverado 2500 and 3500 trucks. The roof-rail air bag (RRAB) inflator end cap may detach from the inflator.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the RRAB modules on the left and/or right side, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters were mailed on December 22, 2020. Owners may…
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2020 Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, and GMC Yukon, and 2014-2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles equipped with a 5.3-liter engine, a 3.08-ratio rear axle and four-wheel drive. If a…
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the EBCM, free of charge. The recall began December 11, 2019. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-630-2438 or GMC customer…
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Cadillac Escalade, 2014-2018 Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, 2015-2018 Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon vehicles. The amount of vacuum created by the vacuum pump may decrease over time.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the Electronic Brake Control Module, free of charge. The recall began October 8, 2019. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at…
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2016 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, 3500, 1500 Crew Cab Special Service, Tahoe Police Pursuit/Special Service, GMC Sierra 2500, and 3500 vehicles. The brake pedal pivot nut may loosen, causing the brake pedal to…
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will add adhesive to the nut and reinstall the nut with increased tightness, free of charge. The recall began October 3, 2018. Owners may contact Chevrolet…
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2016 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and Tahoe Police Pursuit and Special-Service vehicles. The flexible steel cable connecting the driver's seat belt to the outboard side of the seat may be repeatedly bent over the…
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the pretensioner cable and seat side-shield, free of charge. The recall began June 19, 2018. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at…
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse and Chevrolet Spark EV, Caprice PPV and SS vehicles, 2014-2017 Buick Encore and Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles, 2015-2016 Cadillac Escalade and…
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge.…
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015-2017 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD, 3500 HD, Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Sierra 2500 HD and 3500 HD, GMC Yukon, GMC Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade and Cadillac Escalade ESV vehicles and 2014-2017 Chevrolet…
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge.…
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and 2016 Cadillac Escalade, Cadillac Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Sierra, GMC Yukon and GMC Yukon XL vehicles. The front upper control arms…
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the left and right front upper control arms and realign the vehicle, free of charge. The recall began on May 18, 2016. Until the repairs have been…
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, 2500, and 3500 heavy duty trucks manufactured October 1, 2013, to February 1, 2016, 2015-2016 Chevrolet Tahoe Police Pursuit Vehicles (PPV) manufactured March 1, 2014,…
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will add adhesive to the brake pedal pivot nut and reinstall with an increased torque, free of charge. The recall began on March 14, 2016. Owners may contact…
Federal defect investigations
Led to recall campaign 19V645000.
Technical service bulletins
1,131 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, the biggest share on engine and electrical — are on file for the 2016 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
See the 2016 Silverado 1500 TSB list →
Complaint history for this model year
When owners filed their reports — a long tail means problems kept surfacing for years.
Questions buyers ask
Is the 2016 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 reliable?
The 2016 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 drew 1,058 complaints in federal safety records — a below-average year for this model. Its trouble index is 36/100, scored against the model's worst year (1999).
What are the most common 2016 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 problems?
The top reported problems for the 2016 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 are brakes & stability (267 complaints), transmission & drivetrain (192), and electrical (137).
At what mileage do 2016 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 problems show up?
Owners most often report 2016 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 problems around 47,000 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 26,000 and 70,000 miles.
Does the 2016 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 have recalls?
11 recall campaigns apply to the 2016 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. At least one carries a do-not-drive or park-outside warning — check your VIN before driving.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.