GMC · NHTSA safety record

2017 GMC Sierra

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Complaints

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Owners of the 2017 GMC Sierra have filed 61 safety complaints with NHTSA between July 2017 and April 2024. The most complained-about system is the power train, named in 23 of them (38%). The typical failure was reported at 35,000 miles, the median across the 53 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

No recall campaign was matched to this year, make and model. That is not the same as a clean vehicle: recalls are issued against production ranges, and the only reliable check is your own VIN.

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 61.

POWER TRAIN 23 38%

SERVICE BRAKES 19 31%

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 6 10%

ENGINE 4 7%

STEERING 3 5%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 5%

VISIBILITY/WIPER 3 5%

ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 2 3%

EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 3%

SUSPENSION 2 3%

TIRES 2 3%

AIR BAGS 1 2%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2019 at 27.

2017 to 2024

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM Filed April 29, 2024

fire · 97,000 miles

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Sierra. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed with the defroster activated, a smoke odor was detected inside the vehicle. The contact's wife checked the rearview mirror and saw flames coming from the rear windshield. The contact's wife pulled over and heard a loud explosion from the rear windshield shattering before turning off the vehicle. The flames from the rear windshield were extinguished on their own after the vehicle was turned off. There were no injuries sustained. The vehicle was restarted, and the contact's wife deactivated the defroster before driving to work. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was

NHTSA complaint 11585843, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

TIRES Filed July 7, 2022

crash · towed · 50,000 miles

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Sierra equipped with Goodyear, Tire Line: Wrangler SRA, Tire Size: 275/55/R30, DOT Number not available: The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the passenger’s side front tires experienced blowout. The contact was able to pull over safely and replace the tire. The failure reoccurred and the front driver side tire blowout causing the contact to sideswipe another vehicle and crashing into a building. The airbags deployed but no injury and a police report were filed. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer had been notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

NHTSA complaint 11472741. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC Filed October 20, 2022

crash · towed · 51,117 miles

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Sierra LD. The contact stated that on two separate occasions while driving at approximately 50 MPH, the front passenger side wheel locked inadvertently. As a result, another vehicle crashed into the attached trailer which caused the trailer to jackknife. The driver alert warning light illuminated. The air bags failed to deploy. No medical attention was required. No injuries were sustained. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact then stated that on a separate occasion while driving at normal speed, the front passenger side wheel inadvertently locked without warning. As a result, the strut detached from the control arm

NHTSA complaint 11490165, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES Filed March 7, 2018

crash · 46,000 miles

I ALMOST KILLED A KID TODAY PARKING FOR A BASEBALL GAME. I WAS TRAVELING SLOWLY AND PARKING WHEN MY BRAKES BECAME HARD TO PUSH AND FAILED. TRUCK WENT OVER CURB AND TOWARD KID PUTTING ON HIS CLEATS AND NOT FACING ME. I WAS ABLE TO PUSH AS HARD AS I COULD AND IT STOPPED. I BACKED UP AND BRAKES WORKED AGAIN. I HAVE 46,000 MILES ON THE TRUCK. I AM NOW AFRAID TO DRIVE IT, BUT IT SEEMS THEY ARE WORKING AGAIN. IF THIS IS COMMON, GMC NEEDS TO TAKE CARE OF THIS. SOMEONE WILL SOON BE HURT SERIOUSLY!

NHTSA complaint 11076600. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION Filed October 13, 2022

60,000 miles

The contact owns a 2017 GMC Sierra. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the transmission inadvertently shifted from high to low gears and the RPMs revved up. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure could not be duplicated. However, the failure recurred while driving. The vehicle was then taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the valve body, the clutch, the piston, and the transmission plates needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, however, the failure persisted. The contact stated that while driving and an undisclosed speed, the transmission was shifting hard into a lower gear, then into third gear

NHTSA complaint 11489094, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) Filed March 7, 2020

70,000 miles

WHEN I'M DRIVING AT A SLOW SPEED TURNING THE TRUCK LOOSES ALL POWER AND THE STEERING WHEEL JERKS OUT OF MY HAND, STABILITRAK IS ON THE DISPLAY AND IT SAYS ROLL DOWN DRIVER WINDOW AND ROLL BACK UP! IT ALSO LOOSES ALL POWER JUST DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD NO MATTER THE SPEED! I HAVE ALSO BEEN STOPPED AT A STOPLIGHT AND IT LOST ALL POWER WOULDN'T COME BACK ON SO I HAD TO GET OUT POP THE HOOD AND BANG I. THE BATTERY BOX AND CABLES AND IT STARTED AGAIN! VERY SCARY GOING 75 MPH AND IT SHUTS OFF LEAVING YOU NO STEERING NO BRAKES NO LIGHTS NO NOTHING! SOMETIMES IT SAYS POWER STEERING FAILURE SOMETIMES AND SOMETIMES IT SAYS STABILITRACK PROBLEM AT SOMETHING ABOUT TOWING! THE BRAKES WERE ALSO AFFECTED NO

NHTSA complaint 11316706, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES Filed March 2, 2020

71,000 miles

AFTER PARKING AND BACKING UP WHEN I HIT THE BRAKES, THEY GOT HARD AND DID NOT OPERATE PROPERLY. WHEN PULLING FORWARD THE BRAKES WERE HARD TO OPERATE AND BARELY STOPPED THE VEHICLE. AFTER SITTING A WHILE AND RESTARTING THE TRUCK THEY OPERATED AS THEY SHOULD HAVE. NOT SURE IF THIS IS AN OPERABLE SAFETY ISSUE BUT, IT WAS VERY CONCERNING THAT THE BRAKES DID NOT OPERATE PROPERLY.

NHTSA complaint 11315540. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the GMC Sierra

Model year	Complaints	Recalls	Deaths
2015	53	6	—
2014	101	11	—
2013	39	3	—
2012	29	2	—
2011	43	2	—
2010	34	0	—

Other 2017 GMC models

Acadia 701 Sierra 1500 351 Yukon 196 Yukon XL 144 Terrain 133 Canyon 65 Sierra 2500 37 Sierra 3500 13

Every GMC on this site — 144 vehicles, 425 recall campaigns and 3 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

Complaints: NHTSA's ODI complaint file , published August 20, 2026. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.
Recalls: NHTSA's recall campaign API , most recent campaign filed August 12, 2026.
Investigations: NHTSA's ODI investigation file , published 2026-08-19.

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by guarledes
Independent developer and analyst