What breaks most · 1990 to 2017 model years
GMC Sierra problems by year
Owners have filed 3,907 safety complaints with NHTSA about the GMC Sierra across model years 1990 to 2017. Three years stand out: 1999 for brakes (hydraulic) complaints, 2000 for brakes (hydraulic) complaints and 2001 for brakes (hydraulic) complaints. The quietest years are 1991, 1990 and 2012.
- Years to check closely: 1999, 2000, 2001
- Fewest complaints: 1991, 1990, 2012
- Complaints on file
- 39071990 to 2017, all trims
- Worst year
- 1999600 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 28255 fires · 182 injuries · 10 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 57kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 126Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 1 | 2 | Brakes (hydraulic) (10) | |
| 12 | 0 | 2 | Brakes (hydraulic) (6) | |
| 30 | 2 | 4 | Visibility (8) | |
| 72 | 4 | 3 | Visibility (23) | |
| 190 | 2 | 3 | Visibility (115) | |
| 261 | 19 | 6 | Visibility (140) | |
| 246 | 19 | 2 | Visibility (84) | |
| 238 | 6 | 0 | Steering (63) | |
| 190 | 16 | 0 | Brakes (hydraulic) (56) | |
| 600 | 51 | 9 | Brakes (hydraulic) (280) | |
| 443 | 44 | 12 | Brakes (hydraulic) (182) | |
| 264 | 30 | 7 | Brakes (hydraulic) (100) | |
| 249 | 23 | 7 | Brakes (hydraulic) (93) | |
| 206 | 8 | 9 | Brakes (45) | |
| 188 | 11 | 10 | Brakes (44) | |
| 117 | 3 | 11 | Brakes (27) | |
| 53 | 3 | 6 | Brakes (20) | |
| 59 | 6 | 2 | Air bags (13) | |
| 68 | 4 | 2 | Air bags (29) | |
| 37 | 3 | 1 | Air bags (9) | |
| 34 | 3 | 1 | Air bags (8) | |
| 43 | 1 | 2 | Unknown or other (11) | |
| 29 | 4 | 2 | Electrical system (7) | |
| 39 | 4 | 3 | Air bags (7) | |
| 101 | 5 | 12 | Exterior lighting (63) | |
| 53 | 3 | 6 | Exterior lighting (30) | |
| 6 | 2 | 2 | Air bags (2) | |
| 61 | 5 | 0 | Powertrain and transmission (23) |
What fails on the 1999 GMC Sierra
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 47% |
280 | 30 | Shop all brakes (hydraulic) parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| SuspensionStruts, springs and control arms | 7% |
39 | 1 | Shop all suspension parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Speed control and throttleThrottle and pedal sensors | 7% |
39 | 2 | Shop all speed control and throttle parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 6% |
37 | 2 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Tires | 5% |
31 | 2 | — |
| Body and structureDoors, latches and body hardware | 5% |
30 | 0 | Shop all body and structure parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Service Brakes, AIR | 4% |
26 | 2 | — |
| BrakesBrake pads, rotors and calipers | 4% |
25 | 2 | Shop all brakes parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
Metal brake line to rear wheels burst due to corrosion. Brake was located before the split for right and left wheels. Further inspection revealed severe corrosion of other brake lines as well.
-
Corroded hydraulic brake line resulted in substantially reduced braking. This failure occurred during a stop which required higher pedal pressure than typical application, causing the corroded line to burst.
-
There is a current recall for an ABS problem on my vehicle. I had this recall completed several years ago. Recently, this recalled part failed again. GM denied my claim when i had this recall fixed for the second time. GM claims that a recall is a one time deal. I find this hard to believe.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which GMC Sierra years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 1999, 2000, 2001 carry the most filings on the GMC Sierra. The 1999 alone has 600 complaints, led by brakes (hydraulic).
What is the most common GMC Sierra problem?
On the 1999 model year, the most-reported component is brakes (hydraulic) with 280 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do GMC Sierra problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all GMC Sierra complaints that include mileage is about 57,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.