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2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 914 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, most often about the air bags (65% of complaints, typically around 80,000 miles). It is 4th of 27 Silverado 1500 model years by number of complaints and has 3 recalls.
Most common 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 problems
Air bags
594 complaints · 65%Half of these problems showed up before 80,000 miles. Parts named most often: frontal, side/window.
I was entering I-75 interstate ramp and moving along with traffic and about 70 MPH, the door locks started going up and down on there own, the instrument cluster needles started sporadically going up and down then they show no signs of anything, the airbag light came on along with the chime sound, the stability…
Noticed rather large crack on 2008 Chevrolet silverado ltz dash board on the driver side hump of the dash and passenger side airbag. Dealer estimated at the minimum of $400 repair. Could possibly cause harm if ever in accident.
Electrical
91 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 70,000 miles. Parts named most often: instrument cluster/panel, ignition, instrument panel.
I purchased my 2008 Chevrolet silverado crew cab back in 20011. It had approx. 70,000 miles on it at the time of purchase. A few months ago I started having problems with the automatic door locks on the drivers side of my vehicle. I could lock the doors but not unlock them. Then a few weeks later, my drivers side…
Front impact sensor for air bag system failed due to poor placement, inferior product and lack of initial quality installation.corroded internally.
Other or unspecified
86 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 67,500 miles.
Dashboard is cracked all the way across from passenger side and driver side and in the middle. Looks like an earthquake. Crack is noticeable at all times. The news was on channel 5 wmc-tv, memphis, tn. And was showing andy wise's "investigates" about cracks in dashboards. That is how I obtained this information.
Dash starting cracking around passenger air bag three years ago and is now cracking in two more places above the radio. Gm refuses to make any effort to help with the outrageous cost of repairing this defect. I have great concerns about shards of plastic flying in cab from the recalled tokata air bags that are in this…
Body and structure
60 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 90,000 miles. Parts named most often: body, interior panels, frame and members.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. While the vehicle was stationary, the dashboard on the passenger side of the vehicle fractured in three places. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 92,000. The VIN was not available. Updated 01/31/17…
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that the dashboard developed a crack near the front passenger side air bag. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the dashboard needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure.…
Engine
51 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 102,000 miles. Parts named most often: exhaust system, cooling system.
While traveling on the expressway a check traction system warning appeared along with reduced engine power. After approx. 10 miles the engine shut down and I was forced to pull off to the side of the road. I shut the engine off and attempted to restart and the starter would not engage. After waiting approx. 3 minutes…
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the transmission was faulty. The…
Doors and locks
37 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 40,000 miles. Parts named most often: doors.
Tl contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that the locks in the vehicle had failed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection and they stated that the actuator was bad and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure…
Approximately 2000-4000 miles after the warranty term (but still well under the 36 month limit) I began to notice my power locks weren't working correctly. When I took my truck in to the dealer, the service rep told me that that was a very common problem. After determining I was over warranty mileage limit, he said…
Brakes
27 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 34,000 miles. Parts named most often: antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip.
I have taken the truck to the dealership shop twice regarding the squealing brakes. The first time they said there was a recall on the front brakes and they replaced them at no cost. I had to pay for the rear brake replacement. I took the truck back two weeks later because of the same squealing. They said the only…
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH downhill and depressing the brakes, the front of the vehicle would vibrate. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer and they advised him that they were unable to diagnose the failure and that his brakes could…
Transmission
25 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 42,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission.
I have a vibration on my pickup that has always been there since it was new, but it got worse and happens all the time on dec 22, 2008. It would vibrate around 65 MPH but not often so I thought it may be road conditions. It has been at the dealer under warranty for a total of 8 days on 2 occasions. On the first time…
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact indicated that while coming to a complete stop, the vehicle rolled forward independently. The failure recurred multiple times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact indicated that the drive shaft may be causing the failure. The VIN was not…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 recalls
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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, mo
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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, missou
Equipment Adaptive/Mobility
Risk: The user of the lift could be injured should the lift move unintentionally.
Fix: Quality vans is working with ricon to correct the wheelchair lifts free of charge (please see 07e095). Owners may contact ricon at 1-818-267-3000 or quality vans at 1-480-464-7007.
Full defect summary
Quality vans is recalling certain model year 2004 through 2008 vans manufactured between august 2005 and november 2007, equipped with ricon platform style wheelchair lifts. These vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 404, "platform lift installations in motor vehicles." the threshold warning system may not detect the presence of a wheelchair or mobility aid user in a certain spot within the defined threshold area.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Desiccated air bag inflator rupture
Summary
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 substa
Non-crash engine compartment fires
Summary
In a letter dated august 27, 2008, general motors corp. (gm) notified NHTSA that it will conduct a safety recall (NHTSA recall number 08v-441) to address a safety relateddefect that can result in engine compartment fire in approximately 850,000 vehicles equipped with a heated windshield washer fluid option.the subject vehicles of this investigation comprise over three-quarters of the recall population. According to gm, a short circuit on the printed circuit board for the windshield washer fluid heater module may overheat the control-circuit ground wire. This may cause other electrical features to malfunction, create an odor or cause smoke and in rare cases it may cause a fire.as a remedy, gm
Non-crash engine compartment fires
Summary
In response to an information request letter sent by the office of defects investigation(odi) during preliminary evaluation pe08-010, gm provided odi with 41 allegations of non-crash engine compartment fires including 16 allegations of fires originating with the ignition in the off position.one of the fires was determined to be caused by an arson event.odi has also received 5 reports, 4 of which are of duplicative of reports provided by gm, alleging non-crash engine compartment fires in the subject vehicles.in total, odi is aware of 41 non-crashengine compartment fires in the subject vehicles that are unrelated to arson.eight of the 41 fire allegations also allege property damage as a result
Questions about the 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
- What are the most common problems with the 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: air bags (594 complaints, typically around 80,000 miles); electrical (91 complaints, typically around 70,000 miles); other or unspecified (86 complaints, typically around 67,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 have?
- 3 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from February 5, 2021 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2008 a bad year for the Chevrolet Silverado 1500?
- It is 4th of 27 Silverado 1500 model years by number of complaints, with 914 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.