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2008 GMC Sierra 1500 Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 381 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 GMC Sierra 1500, most often about the air bags (64% of complaints, typically around 85,500 miles). It is 8th of 27 Sierra 1500 model years by number of complaints and has 2 recalls.
Most common 2008 GMC Sierra 1500 problems
Air bags
243 complaints · 64%Half of these problems showed up before 85,500 miles. Parts named most often: frontal.
"takata recall". Called a certified GMC dealer for airbag remedy and they said gm has not made any repair parts available. I need to wait until they do...which may be never?!?!?
Service airbag light came on and when I went to the dealer I told it is a bad sensor that needs to be replaced, I asked the dealer if this comman they said no but there seems to be alot of compliats on the web
Other or unspecified
41 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 89,000 miles.
Here are huge cracks on my dash!! I'm afraid if the air bag comes out it will bust the dash in pieces and there's no telling where it may hit! This is a huge problem in these vehicles and it's insane that y'all not gm will address the issue
I bought a 2008 GMC sierra in february 2016 and upon taking ownership, noticed two cracks in the dash. One is behind the instrument cluster and the other on the left-hand corner of the airbag. The cracked dash pieces could become shrapnel in the event of an airbag deployment. This dash issue is a common and known…
Electrical
31 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 58,000 miles. Parts named most often: instrument cluster/panel, instrument panel.
Passenger automatic door lock quit working first. After 6 months or so the drivers side door lock quit working also. Then within months after the drivers door lock failing both rear door locks quit working within a month of each other. Now none of the doors lock automatically or when the lock button is pushed.
Power surge to electrical system... Voltage meter will drop below 9 volts then the following occurs: headlights flicker, radio shuts off, climate control shuts off, dash lights flicker, air bag light flashes, service air bag warning pops up, and truck stalls out. This is a dangerous situation while driving and if this…
Body and structure
25 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 85,000 miles. Parts named most often: body.
Failure of underbody/frame rust undercoating. The undercoating has completely flaked off the frame of my truck with 90k miles. I am the only owner of this vehicle which has been garaged since day one. The vehicle is also rusting thru from the underside of the hood. I have contacted GMC about this issue both in person…
Vehicle's airbags did not deploy upon collision with two concrete walls, causing a life threatening tbi and also severe damage to the left arm which resulted in it's inability to control/use below the elbow, and especially the hand. This was due to the brachial plexus injury that was caused when the airbags did not…
Doors and locks
23 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 38,000 miles.
The contact owns a 2008 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that the automatic door lock would not lock even when attempting to lock the vehicle maunally. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer or manufacturer and was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 38,000.
At about 37k miles the front doors of my 2008 sierra will not unlock have to manually lock doors and fob will not lock even unlock doors resulting in possible theft. Back doors work properly. Also fog lights do not work properly. A/c is making a loud noise.
Engine
20 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 110,000 miles. Parts named most often: exhaust system.
Vehicle was in (d) drive and I was able to turn the ignition off. Is this normal? I checked with my GMC dealer and they said it had to be put on the computer to be checked, however was not covered by any posted recall. Is this relative to the ignition recall? Thank you
Collapsed afm lifter at 108000 miles. I was driving down the highway and all of the sudden my check engine light came on, service traction control and service stabilitrak. My engine was idling rough at low RPM. Took vehicle to the dealership and was told that it had a collapsed lifter on the #6 cylinder. I have always…
Seat belts
13 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 80,000 miles. Parts named most often: pretensioner.
Driver's seat belt will not retract passenger's seat belt will not deploy without a lot of effort the rear seat belt passenger side, middle seat - the plastic guide broke off making it almost impossible to hook belt to child seat park assist is not operational cruise control works only part of the time.
I was slowly going across a parking lot when a loud bang like a gun shot happened and the driver side seat belt pulled me tight against the seat. There was a smell of a chemical gas in the cab and the emergency flashers came on. I am surely glad I was only going a few miles an hour. Now the seat belts (both sides) are…
Brakes
10 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 26,000 miles.
2008 GMC sierra crew cab. The vehicle is 18 months old, has been to dealership 8 times to replace or repair front and rear brakes. Problem still exist and dealership doesn't know how to fix problem. At highway speeds, when brakes are applied, major vibration occurs and vehicle is hard to hold on the road. Problem…
2008 GMC Sierra 1500 sle has had to have front rotors and pads replaced at 20,000 miles. Replaced rotors and pads with aftermarket parts. At 30,000 miles pads and rotors are worn down to metal again. Dealership stated that calipers are working but rear brakes need to be replaced also. I have always had brake issues…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2008 GMC Sierra 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
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 GMC Sierra 1500
- What are the most common problems with the 2008 GMC Sierra 1500?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: air bags (243 complaints, typically around 85,500 miles); other or unspecified (41 complaints, typically around 89,000 miles); electrical (31 complaints, typically around 58,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2008 GMC Sierra 1500 have?
- 2 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 GMC Sierra 1500?
- It is 8th of 27 Sierra 1500 model years by number of complaints, with 381 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.