10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
10,795 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2020 GMC Sierra 1500:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

Get free help with your lemon!
close ad

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #83

Mar 062025

Sierra 1500

  • miles
6.2 liter engine fail- replaced at new cost, 20,000 miles later another 6.2 engine failed. unable to get new engine due to GMC finally recalling the engine. My VIN is not included in the recall. I now have no vehicle to drive but still have a loan to pay.

- Sioux Falls, SD, USA

problem #82

May 212025

Sierra 1500

  • miles
Driving at freeway at 65mph, suddenly is air noise like air conditioning blows air at high fan speed, than the dash info shows (Engine Power is Reduce) try to accelerate to pull out of lanes, and it did not, keep losing speed, as slowly move lanes to the right of freeway, and then exit.. This is the second time of this incident, first time under warranty, dealer fix transmission first time, then two months later, the tansmission was replace wit a newone, now is passed warranty, had the car taken to dealer, they gave me and estimate of more then $10,000 to fix the vehicle, this happen on May 21, 2025...

- Whittier, CA, USA

problem #81

Apr 022025

Sierra 1500

  • miles
Engine Light came on, performance rough at various speeds / conditions, and smelled like burning and strong urea smell. GM Maintenance identified a failed DEF injector / replaced

- Brighton, MI, USA

problem #80

Feb 192025

Sierra 1500

  • miles
Engine light would come on for a few days and than turn itself off. this occurred for about 8/9 months; however, instructed by the GM Maintenance department that if the vehicle came in and the light turned off before they got to it i would be charged for the diagnosis and no work would be performed. Engine light came on and i was able to park the vehicle / they picked it up and read it prior to putting in their lot until a tech became available. GM Maintenance was able to diagnosis that there was an issue with the EGR sensor and NOx catalytic converter without filter failed / both items replaced

- Brighton, MI, USA

problem #79

Jan 142025

Sierra 1500

  • miles
Vehicle was going in for warranty recall; however, i requested they look at the DEF system as my DEF gauge would bounce between full and empty; along with, alert me of going into LIMP mode. GM Maintenance updated the recall and noticed that the DEF tank sensor failed and required to be replaced.

- Brighton, MI, USA

problem #78

Jun 032024

Sierra 1500

  • miles
Engine light came on and real bad urine smell / burning coming from the vehicle / rough performance. This issue occurred at various speeds / trips / drive types with the only variation being speed from 25MPH to 75MPH. Vehicle went in to discover that the reductant control module software (RCM) out of date, and two NOx sensor failures

- Brighton, MI, USA

problem #77

Mar 132024

Sierra 1500

  • miles
No warning; picking up child from daycare. went to depart daycare when my dash lit up like a Christmas tree with various errors, alerts, warnings; along with, not being able to start. had to be picked up by spouse and get the truck towed to the dealership for maintenance. Maintenance tech discovered that the grounding straps for the truck needed to be replaced / resulting in a complete electrical failure of the vehicle.

- Brighton, MI, USA

problem #76

Jan 192023

Sierra 1500

  • miles
Vehicle Stuck in gear. Dealership was delivering the car back to myself when about a mile out from my house when the vehicles made a sudden downshift and was stuck back in gear. Driver called and notified me that it was on its way back to the shop for further work

- Brighton, MI, USA

problem #75

Dec 302022

Sierra 1500

  • miles
Vehicle drop in gear / down shift while driving on the highway. went from 75MPH down to 55MPH due to high RPM revs.

- Brighton, MI, USA

problem #74

May 012024

Sierra 1500

  • 65,000 miles
The contact owns a 2020 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle jerked while accelerating and while coming to a stop. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but no cause of failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.

- Pasadena, CA, USA

problem #73

May 182025

Sierra 1500

  • miles
Engine started rough idle, reduced power, poor acceleration, ticking and knocking noises, and a check engine light and a few other lights came on the dash. Safety was not a risk at time of incident. Problem has NOT been diagnosed yet BUT have done a ton of research and it-??s all leading towards lifter failure/misfire issues. No warning lights or symptoms prior to sudden problems.

- Winnsboro, LA, USA

problem #72

Mar 192025

Sierra 1500

  • 110,000 miles
The contact owns a 2020 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle vibrated abnormally. The engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that on another occasion, while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer; however, a cause for the failure was not found. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure recurred and the contact stopped driving the vehicle. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

- Pearland, TX, USA

problem #71

Jan 082024

Sierra 1500

  • miles
This car had lifter motor failure at 135K miles and Transmission failure at 145k miles, the torque converter of this truck is the culprit of many issues as the lifter issues.

- West Covina, CA, USA

problem #70

May 142025

Sierra 1500

  • 80,100 miles
The contact owns a 2020 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated while driving 5 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormal popping sound. The check engine and the ABS warning lights were illuminated. The messages "Parking Brake Service" and "ESC Service" were displayed. Additionally, the contact stated the vehicle experienced a reduced fuel range. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the lifters had fractured, causing damages to the engine. The dealer determined that the engine needed to be replaced, and the part was ordered. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Action Number: PE25001 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,100.

- Hugo, OK, USA

problem #69

Nov 292024

Sierra 1500

  • miles
Motor failed with no warning, motor was replaced at a GM dealer for $12,000. Mechanic stated he believed it was a main bearing failure. Not under warranty.

- Rhinelander, WI, USA

problem #68

Feb 072025

Sierra 1500

  • miles
Our middle seat belt has stopped working in the back seat- we have not had it replaced yet. No damage was done on it by us, but will not click into the buckle. Driving on the hi-way engine started making awful noises. We pulled over and had the truck towed to Royal Moore GMC in Hillsboro Oregon as we didn't want to cause any more harm to the engine. Royal Moore GMC informed us the engine rod bearing failed on [XXX], leading to breaching of the engine block by the rod. This caused us to replace the entire engine at the cost of over 13,000$ and no vehicle for over 3 months. (Along with engine replaced they told us we had to replace the O2 sensor as the light came on after the engine was replaced). We had to take a hardship loan to get the engine replaced, and had the truck back for 1 day before we had a o2 error l light came back on. At this time (May 5th) we are still waiting for our truck back. Royal Moore doesn't know why the engine light is on- and contacted TAC for GMC. We also contacted GMC multiple times when we were waiting for the engine. They have offered no help to us besides empty promises to call us back later. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Forest Grove , OR, USA

problem #67

Mar 192025

Sierra 1500

  • miles
On [XXX] at around noon I was driving my 2020 GMC Sierra northbound on [XXX] 26 miles north of Moab Utah. My truck died and I attempted to coast to the next passing lane but did not make it. The shoulder was about 3 feet wide and then had a steep drop off. I pulled over as far as I could but the majority of my truck and trailer was still in the only northbound lane. The northbound traffic was forced to cross over the double yellow into the oncoming southbound traffic. The concern was getting rear-ended by northbound traffic behind me or a head-on collision with the northbound traffic veering into southbound traffic. I made several attempts to restart the truck and the dash just goes blank with no attempt from the starter. We waited for a tow-truck and about an hour into this wait Utah Highway Patrol arrived and parked behind us with his lights on warning traffic from both directions. There were no precursors to this failure or notifications. I didn-??t even hear any noises. There was no physical damage or any leaking fluids. It just quietly stopped. John Elway Chevrolet informed me the bearings failed and the engine seized. I wanted to keep the core for evidence due to learning about the numerous catastrophic failures of the L87 engine I had. Keeping the seized core was going to cost me double the cost of a rebuilt one ($7000). When I asked the service Manager, Ben why its twice the cost? He said, -??GM doesn't want you keeping the core and they can set whatever price they want.-?? I have had this truck since it was new (6 miles) and noticed unusual oil consumption early on. I would never make it to the next oil change without having to add oil, even with the very first oil change. I inquired about this with the dealer and told this extreme oil consumption was normal and given Bulletin 01-06-01-011M. I did not involve my insurance because they do not cover engine failure. I paid $12,653.97 for a remanufactured long block. Of that was $2469.93 was for parts not need INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INF

- Highlands Ranch, CO, USA

problem #66

May 202024

Sierra 1500

  • miles
I was driving on the frontage road that enters the freeway when then engine suddenly failed and stalled. It lost power and seemed like it was misfiring. All the warning lights on the dashboard came on as this happened but there were no warnings lights, messages, or symptoms before this happened. The sudden loss of power posed a risk to my safety because it could have caused a crash or left me stranded. I had my vehicle towed to the Freeway Chevrolet dealer in Chandler, AZ where they inspected the vehicle and confirmed the engine had a camshaft and lifter failure.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

problem #65

Apr 302025

Sierra 1500

  • miles
Engine Lifters failure. Problems with Dynamic Fuel Management System

- Lilburn, GA, USA

problem #64

Mar 012023

Sierra 1500

  • miles
1) Complete Engine Failure. Vehicle is no longer is in possession for inspection but pictures and video can be provided. 2) My Truck stalled at 70 MPH going down the interstate. I was lucky to be driving in the right lane to glide to a complete stop. This could have been way worse, not just for myself but for others. 3) Shortly after the loss of propulsion on the interstate. The engine started knocking very loud and I brought it into Boucher GMC of Brookfield. After about a week, the conclusion was I needed a new Engine. The Bearings, camshaft, rods and other components within the engine were damaged. The dealership said it was because of Bad Oil. 4) Parts were inspected and Dealership provided pictures. Not sure what they did with the junk parts. 5) I initially brought in the vehicle where it was purchased at Kunes of Stoughton WI for a Check engine light that read a P06DD error code at 56472 miles on the truck. They performed a software update and sent me on way. Since then, I was dealing with a on and off engine light which eventually brought me to a engine replacement at about 70,000 miles. None of this was covered under warranty and I had to pay for all of this out of pocket. In the events of all this. GMC had my truck for about 3 months. I had to purchase another vehicle because it was cheaper then renting one, GMC didn't have a loaner I could use. I could not perform my everyday work tasks besides getting to and from work, because I did not have a truck to carry my everyday work tools. Now understanding the full impact of this faulty engine and that I could have done harm to others or my self, has me worried about driving a GM vehicle. After I received the new engine, approximately 2000 miles later, The new engine, not rebuilt started making a knocking noise, only to find out, it was the same issue after bringing it to the dealership. No engine lights or nothing. People should be scared to drive a vehicle with the L87 engine from GM.

- Elm Grove, WI, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »