RoadVitals

2012 GMC Sierra 3500 Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints 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.
9
Latest Jan 8, 2026
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.
0
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
1
Reports on file since Feb 27, 2013

What this page shows

Our database holds 9 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2012 GMC Sierra 3500. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

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

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–9 of 9

Airbags
Filed Jan 8, 2026

Our Dash board cracked very badly from the top next to the speaker to the passenger side air bag. We purposely use a dash board cover and never place heavy things on it. This is a safety issue as if getting in an accident wouldn’t be bad enough flying shrapnel would be worse. We just had it fixed at a dealership to the tune of $2500. This is not okay as I see this is a constant problem.

NHTSA ID
11709666
Incident
Dec 10, 2025
BrakesElectrical
Filed Mar 3, 2022

The service brakes lights has come on a d disabled my brake controller. This is a safety issue while towing and completely unacceptable.

NHTSA ID
11455127
Incident
Jan 24, 2022
Filed Oct 11, 2017

THE GMC SIERRA 3500HD WHILE IN REGENERATION MODE FUNNELS EXHAUST DIRECTLY INTO THE CAB THROUGH THE VENTS. WHILE GM RECOGNIZED THIS AS A FLAW AND CAME UP WITH A FIX FOR IT, THEY WILL ONLY REPAIR IT IN A 5 YEAR OR 100,000 MILE WINDOW. HOW IS THIS NOT A SAFETY ISSUE WITHOUT AN EXPIRATION?

NHTSA ID
11032885
Incident
Oct 5, 2017
Mileage
35,900 mi
Powertrain (other)
Filed Feb 7, 2017

THE VEHICLE WILL NOT SHIFT PROPERLY WHEN TOWING A TRAILER. WHILE GOING UP A HILL, THE TRANSMISSION WILL NOT DOWNSHIFT PROPERLY. WHILE GOING DOWNHILL, THE VEHICLE DOWNSHIFTS TO 2ND GEAR WHILE GOING 60 MPH. I HAVE CONTACTED GM SEVERAL TIMES (THEY HAVE IT ON FILE) THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE TRANSMISSION. THEY UNDERSTAND BUT SAID THAT THEY CANNOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING SINCE IT WAS BRAND NEW. OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

NHTSA ID
10949976
Incident
Feb 7, 2017
Mileage
150 mi
Powertrain (other)
Filed Feb 6, 2015

WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY, TRANSMISSION SHIFTS HARD TO HIGHER GEAR. THIS STARTED ALL OF A SUDDEN WILL TAKE TO DEALERSHIP. *JS

NHTSA ID
10681860
Incident
Feb 20, 2014
Mileage
31,200 mi
Fuel system
Filed Jul 2, 2014

DRIVING FROM GM DEALER FOR TWO MILES CHANGE FUEL FILTER MESSAGE APPEARED AND ENGINE DIED. TOWED TO A DEALER DIAGNOSED AS A HIGH PRESSURE INJECTOR PUMP FAILURE WITH METAL CONTAMINATION TO FUEL SYSTEM. I HAVE FOUND A BULLETIN DATED 2009 FROM EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS. THIS JOINT STATEMENT HAS INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUEL USED IN THE USA THAT I WAS NOT AWARE OF AND MAY HAVE AVOIDED THIS FAILURE. THIS IS A VERY EXPENSIVE REPAIR AS I USE MY TRUCK FOR WORK. *TR

NHTSA ID
10607796
Incident
Jun 27, 2014
Mileage
140,000 mi
EngineFuel systemPowertrain (other)
Filed Jul 23, 2013

WHILE PULLING MY FIFTH WHEEL TRAILER 12500# AT HIGHWAY SPEED 65 MPH PULLING A GRADE THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND THE REDUCED ENGINE POWER MESSAGE APPEARED ON THE DASH. THIS REDUCED AND LIMITED THE SPEED TO 50 MPH AND STEPS THE TRUCK DOWN FROM THERE UNTIL YOU CAN ONLY DO 20 MPH ON THE INTERSTATE. THIS ISSUE HAS HAPPENED THREE TIMES IN THREE MONTHS. *TR

NHTSA ID
10531497
Incident
May 16, 2013
Mileage
16,400 mi
EngineFuel system
Filed Jun 20, 2013

THIS STARTED JUST A FEW WEEKS AFTER I PURCHASED THE TRUCK, STILL UNDER WARRANTY. IT HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP TWICE FOR THIS. IT HAS HAPPENED 3 TIMES. WHILE DRIVING THE TRUCK WILL SHUT OFF LIKE YOU TURNED THE KEY OFF. VERY DANGEROUS WHEN DRIVING IN TRAFFIC. HAS BEEN IN SHOP TWICE FOR THIS PROBLEM, GMC HAS FAILED TO FIND OR FIX THE PROBLEM. I TOLD THEM THAT I WOULD NOT PUT MY FAMILY BACK INTO A TRUCK THAT HAS THE POSSIBILITY OF CAUSING A WRECK AND GETTING THEM HURT. FILED A CLAIM [XXX] WITH GMC CUSTOMER SERVICE, TRYING TO GET SOME HELP. NOTHING HAPPENED. THE GMC SERVICE CENTER TOLD ME THAT THEY COULD NOT FIND OR FIX THE PROBLEM, AND THAT I NEEDED TO PICK UP MY TRUCK. I TOLD THEM THAT IF THEY COULD NOT FIND OR FIX THE PROBLEM, I WOULD NOT PUT MY FAMILY BACK INTO AN UNSAFE TRUCK THAT COULD POSSIBLY GET THEM HURT OR KILLED. I TRIED TO HAVE SOMEONE FROM GMC UPPER MANAGEMENT CONTACT ME SO WE COULD COME UP WITH A SOLUTION. BUT NO ONE FROM MANAGEMENT WOULD CONTACT ME. SO I ENDED UP HAVING TO TRADE THIS TRUCK IN FOR A NEW ONE, WHICH COST ME MONEY OUT OF MY POCKET, HIGHER PAYMENTS, LONGER TERMS ETC. DON'T THINK IT WAS RIGHT THAT GMC WOULD NOT STAND BEHIND THERE PRODUCT. WHY IS IT THAT GMC DID NOT HAVE TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT A SAFETY ITEM THAT THEY COULD NOT FIX ? I WAS NOT ASKING FOR MONEY OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, JUST SWAP IT OUT EVEN FOR A SAFE TRUCK THAT I COULD PUT MY FAMILY IN WITHOUT FEAR OF THEM GETTING HURT. BUT INSTEAD, GMC DECIDED TO FORGET ABOUT THE PROBLEM, AND IT ENDED UP COSTING ME AND MY FAMILY MONEY THAT COULD HAVE BEEN USED FOR OTHER THINGS LIKE FOOD, BILLS, MEDICAL ETC. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

NHTSA ID
10520844
Incident
Mar 4, 2013
Mileage
29,958 mi
ElectricalEngine
Filed Feb 27, 2013

TRAVELING AT 60MPH ON TURNPIKE PULLING LONG HEAVY TRAILER IN RAIN AT NIGHT WITH MODERATE TO HEAVY TRAFFIC. SUDDEN SHUTDOWN OF ALL SYSTEMS. ENGINE SHUT OFF AND ALL ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS SHUT DOWN. UNABLE TO RESTART OR GET ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS TO WORK. WORKED VEHICLE TO SHOULDER AND HAD IT TOWED TO A DEALERSHIP. WAITING FOR THEM TO OPEN TO DIAGNOSE AND REPAIR. THIS MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL FAILURE HAD THE POTENTIAL FOR A CATASTROPHIC INCIDENT. *TR

NHTSA ID
10500581
Incident
Feb 26, 2013
Mileage
90,200 mi

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.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .