Chevrolet Silverado 1500 problems by model year
NHTSA data checked October 31, 2026
Summary
Across model years 2010–2020, NHTSA's public databases list 8,052 owner complaints and 42 distinct recall campaigns for the Chevrolet Silverado 1500.
The year with the most complaints is 2014 (1,561; owners name steering most). The year with the fewest is 2012 (284). The median year has 775.
These are raw counts. They are not adjusted for how many of each year were sold, and older years have had longer to collect complaints.
Every model year
| Model year | Complaints | Recalls | Crash | Fire | Most-named component |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 — NHTSA's API count looks incomplete | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2011 | 640 | 4 | 29 | 6 | Air Bags (50%) |
| 2012 | 284 | 2 | 16 | 5 | Air Bags (26%) |
| 2013 | 366 | 2 | 16 | 2 | Air Bags (26%) |
| 2014 | 1,561 | 6 | 75 | 18 | Steering (27%) |
| 2015 | 1,193 | 11 | 61 | 16 | Service Brakes (30%) |
| 2016 | 801 | 12 | 43 | 10 | Service Brakes (32%) |
| 2017 | 839 | 7 | 49 | 15 | Power Train (27%) |
| 2018 | 522 | 7 | 10 | 4 | Power Train (33%) |
| 2019 | 1,097 | 10 | 28 | 8 | Engine (34%) |
| 2020 | 749 | 12 | 13 | 10 | Engine (34%) |
Linked years have a full page with every component and recall. Other years get pages over time; the counts above are already live. Highlighted rows look like gaps in what NHTSA's API returns for that year, not a quiet year; they are left out of rankings.
Quick answers
What is the worst year for the Chevrolet Silverado 1500?
By NHTSA owner complaints, 2014 (1,561 complaints; top component steering). That is a raw count, not adjusted for sales or age.
Which Chevrolet Silverado 1500 year has the fewest complaints?
2012, with 284 complaints in NHTSA's data, among model years 2010–2020.
Which Chevrolet Silverado 1500 year has the most recalls?
2016, with 12 recall campaigns in NHTSA's recall database.
Sources
Each count comes from NHTSA's Complaints API (complaintsByVehicle) and Recalls API (recallsByVehicle) for make CHEVROLET, model SILVERADO 1500, one request per model year, for example https://api.nhtsa.gov/complaints/complaintsByVehicle?make=CHEVROLET&model=SILVERADO%201500&modelYear=2014. Checked 2026-10-31. See method.