RoadVitals

2009 Chevrolet Silverado 2500

Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data

Data refreshed

Owner complaintsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
61
Latest Aug 10, 2024
Safety recallsA safety recall is issued when a manufacturer or NHTSA determines that a vehicle has a safety-related defect or does not comply with a federal motor vehicle safety standard. Recall repairs are free. Whether a specific vehicle is covered depends on its VIN — a recall listed for a model year does not necessarily apply to every vehicle of that year.
5
Latest Feb 5, 2021
InvestigationsNHTSA opens an investigation to examine whether a safety defect may exist. An open investigation is not a determination that a defect exists, and many investigations close without a recall. Investigations can, however, lead to one.
1
1 currently open
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
9
9 injuries, 0 deaths reported

Overview

Our database contains 61 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2009 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, most frequently naming the airbags, electrical and brakes categories. 5 safety recalls have been issued covering this model year; 1 NHTSA investigation names it; and 1,186 manufacturer communications are on file.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

What owners report

Complaints grouped by the component NHTSA recorded

  • Airbags2435.3%
  • Electrical811.8%
  • Brakes68.8%
  • Body & structure68.8%
  • Driver assistance45.9%
  • Steering45.9%
  • Engine45.9%
  • Tires & wheels34.4%

Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.

Safety recalls

5 campaigns cover this model year

View all 5

Recalls apply to specific vehicles, not to every vehicle of a model year. Check your VIN with NHTSA or your manufacturer's dealer to confirm whether a recall affects your vehicle.

Check a VIN on NHTSA.gov
21V050000

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

Feb 5, 2021
2,641,272 units potentially affected
The defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2007-2011 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, Yukon XL, and 2009-2011 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, GMC Sierra 2500 and Sierra 3500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2007-2008 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." These vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger frontal inflators containing phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
The risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 22, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on March 1, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328760.
General Motors, LLCManufacturer number N212328760View on NHTSA.gov
21V053000

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

Feb 5, 2021
692,526 units potentially affected
The defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2013 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2010 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2009 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C."
The risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 24, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 11, 2021. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328790.
General Motors, LLCManufacturer number N212328790View on NHTSA.gov
21V052000

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

Feb 5, 2021
557,023 units potentially affected
The defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2009 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2007-2008 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger frontal inflators containing phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
The risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 23, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 20, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328780.
General Motors, LLCManufacturer number N212328780View on NHTSA.gov

Safety investigations

NHTSA inquiries naming this vehicle. An investigation is not a finding of a defect.

EA21002OpenEngineering Analysis

Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture

Opened Sep 17, 2021

From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.Consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substance that traps and holds moisture) in US vehicles are under recall. These "non-desiccated" inflators either have been or are required to be replaced.In some cases, the remedy part for these recalled inflators was, or will be, an inflator using either propellant 2004 or 2004L that does contain a desiccant. None of these "desiccated" remedy parts (which were installed in older model year vehicles) are currently under recall for a degradation concern. Certain subsets of desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004 for use as original equipment, however, have been recalled for a degradation concern. All Takata inflators produced with propellant 2004L contain desiccant, and none of these desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L are under recall for a degradation concern. There have been no reported field ruptures in any non-recalled desiccated PSAN inflators.It is understood that desiccants fully saturate at some threshold, at which point any additional moisture will not be captured. This means the degradation process observed in non-desiccated inflators using propellant 2004 may also occur in non-recalled desiccated inflators using propellant 2004, assuming additional moisture enters the inflator and high temperature cycling occurs. Based on available information, desiccant saturation can occur within the first five years in the worst environments, and the time required for full saturation is affected by multiple factors. While no present safety risk has been identified, further work is needed to evaluate the future risk of non-recalled desiccated inflators using propellant 2004.Three entities -- Takata (now known as TK Global), the Independent Testing Coalition, and Exponent -- have been studying the long-term behavior of Takata desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004L (as well as 2004) in the presence of moisture and temperature cycling. The research efforts, which include development of predictive modeling techniques and field sample analysis, are ongoing. To date, none of the researchers have identified field evidence showing that propellant 2004L is undergoing a degradation process that leads to aggressive deployment and potential rupture. However, the time in service of such inflators remains short compared to that of the inflators using propellant 2004. Further study is needed to assess the long-term safety of desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L.The Office of Defects Investigation is opening this investigation to examine whether a safety defect related to propellant degradation exists in non-recalled desiccated PSAN frontal inflators manufactured by Takata. This investigation will require extensive information on Takata production processes and surveys of inflators in the field. Lists of recall actions that may have used desiccated PSAN inflators as remedy parts, as well as the makes and models originally manufactured with them, is available with the downloadable version of this document (see nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=EA21002 -- note this information is subject to change/revision as the investigation proceeds). This investigation does not supersede EA15-001, which remains open.

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

Recent owner complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA, shown in the owner's own words

View all 61
Airbags
Filed Aug 10, 2024

Been getting notification post cards about this airbag recall and called my dealer in June 2023 about getting the work done, and have not heard back from them to schedule anything. 11 months later I talked to them, and they say the part is hard to get, and they are waiting on the parts. Now I am 14 months past the time I called to schedule repairs and still no parts. I don't think this is being handled in a timely manner. Still driving around with a recalled airbag.

NHTSA ID
11607699
Incident
Aug 10, 2024
Electrical
Filed Aug 7, 2023
Fire reported

Our truck 7 pin female hitch plug caught fire and caught our trailer on fire. There is a recall for the 2009 Chevy 2500's but the recall is not on our VIN Number. We would like to report this just in case it is happening to other 2009 Chevy 2500 trucks. ,

NHTSA ID
11536874
Incident
Aug 3, 2023
AirbagsBrakes
Filed Apr 8, 2023
Fire reported

i have a 2009 Chevy 2500 HD and my ABS, Stable Trac and air bag lights resently went on and i all the sudden lost brake power and found out that the Abs module and Harness were melted really bad. i have not reported it to anyone yet i dont know how to go about it .

NHTSA ID
11516137
Incident
Apr 8, 2023
Brakes
Filed Apr 22, 2022

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Silverado 2500. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the trailer brake warning message displayed. Additionally, while towing a trailer, the trailer brake erroneously activated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the trailer brake sensor was faulty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

NHTSA ID
11461747
Incident
Oct 1, 2014
Mileage
120,000 mi
Airbags
Filed Aug 12, 2021

Takata recall. The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Silverado 2500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V050000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ID
11428871
Incident
Feb 1, 2021
Mileage
4 mi
Airbags
Filed Jun 30, 2021

Takata recall. The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Silverado 2500. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign number: 21V053000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Vin tool confirms parts are not available.

NHTSA ID
11422961
Incident
Jun 30, 2021
Filed Mar 25, 2021
Crash reported

THE DASH HAS CRACKED IN 4 DIFFERENT PLACES, TWO OF WHICH IS NEXT TO THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG. THE DASH CRACKED DURING A FRONT END COLLISION AT A STOP SIGN ON A FARM TO MARKET ROAD.

NHTSA ID
11404926
Incident
Feb 16, 2021
Mileage
170,000 mi
AirbagsElectrical
Filed Feb 10, 2021

I HAVE HAD SEVERAL ELECTRICAL ISSUES AS WIRING HARNESS RUB THROUGH BEHIND THE LEFT CYLINDER HEAD,RIGHT SIDE OF DASHBOARD CRACKING ABOVE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG WHICH WAS REPORTED AND NOTHING DONE AS REPLIES ,I SEE THIS AS A DANGER TO ME AND PASSENGERS AS IT MAY BLOW UP AND HURT OR KILL OCCUPANTS AND ELECTRICAL ISSUES ARE A FIRE HAZARD AS PERSONAL SAFETY .

NHTSA ID
11395572
Incident
Jan 20, 2020
Mileage
85,000 mi

Manufacturer communications

A bulletin sent by a manufacturer to its dealers. Not a recall, and repairs are not necessarily free.

PIT4506J

This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician that some owners of Heavy Duty Trucks and Utilities may ask if they can lower their tire pressures. Tire pressures being set to the "Tire and Loading Label" will ensure the safe handling and ride characteristics of the truck and should not be lowered.

13598

New Vehicle Monitoring Programs Section in IVH

PIC5650M

This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that have an intermittent no crank, no start, or start stall concern with the security light coming on. Technician may find Diagnostic Trouble Codes B3055, B3060, B3935, C0750, C0755, C0760, C0765, and/or C0775.

PIT5161L

This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that may have a bump feel or clunk noise at a stop or on launch. Dealer should communicate to the customer this condition is a normal operating characteristic

PIP5601C

This PI communicates the requirement to provide a pico file to receive diagnostic assistance from TAC.

PIT5074R

This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about the use of J-35616-64B and Mini 50 terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads.

Manufacturers file copies of the bulletins they send to dealers with NHTSA. These often describe diagnostic or repair procedures for a known condition. They are not recalls: repairs described in a bulletin are usually only free if the vehicle is still under warranty or the manufacturer has extended coverage.

Compare model years

Complaint and recall counts across every year of this model

Chevrolet Silverado 2500 by model year
YearComplaintsRecallsInvestigationsIssue Index
2026420—
2025230040.7
20241393051.4
2023441049.5
2022903055.9
2021846161.8
202010110163.7
2019747061.3
2018525060.8
2017545053.1
20161225053.0
20151756160.0
2014402153.8
2013513146.7
2012533154.4
20111044151.2
2010215149.8
2009Viewing615159.7
20081914360.2
20072043358.6
20061771043.3
20052691043.8
20043682048.9
20034492152.7
20023513460.3
20013001348.9
20001323259.9
1999812046.4
1998732051.7
1997642048.5
1996200—
1995300—
1994300—

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers. Older model years have had longer for reports to accumulate.