2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Problems, Complaints & Recalls

Source: NHTSA · Updated Aug 3, 2026 · 914 owner complaints analyzed

Compared with other Silverado 1500 years
More complaints than other years 4th of 32 for complaints
NHTSA crash rating
Not rated

Owners have filed 914 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. That ranks 4th out of 32 Silverado 1500 model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is air bags (594 complaints, 65%), typically at around 80,216 miles. Complaints mention 33 crashes, 9 fires, 46 injuries. There are 3 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 3 defect investigations involving it.

Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.

Compare with another car

Most common 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 problems

Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.

Air Bags594 · ~80,216 mi
Electrical System91 · ~70,000 mi
Unknown or Other86 · ~67,500 mi
Structure60 · ~90,000 mi
Engine44 · ~115,000 mi
Latches/locks/linkages37 · ~40,000 mi
Power Train25 · ~42,000 mi
Fuel/propulsion System19 · ~120,000 mi
Suspension18 · ~99,746 mi
Service Brakes, Hydraulic14 · ~10,995 mi
Problem areaComplaintsShareMedian milesOwners mention mostTypical repair cost
Air Bags problems59465%80,216“takata air bags” (29%)$630
Electrical System problems9110%70,000“door locks” (21%)—
Unknown or Other869%67,500——
Structure problems607%90,000“passenger air bag” (10%)—
Engine445%115,000——
Latches/locks/linkages374%40,000——
Power Train253%42,000——
Fuel/propulsion System192%120,000——
Suspension182%99,746——
Service Brakes, Hydraulic142%10,995——
Service Brakes131%95,000——
Vehicle Speed Control121%51,000——
Seat Belts111%60,000——
Electronic Stability Control (esc)101%51,453——
Steering91%54,984——
Engine and Engine Cooling71%13,000——
Visibility71%40,000——
Wheels71%38,280——
Exterior Lighting61%73,500——
Equipment51%13,000——
Fuel System, Gasoline51%7,700——
Tires51%2,825——
Visibility/wiper20%48,000——
Back Over Prevention10%———
Equipment Adaptive/mobility10%66,810——
Forward Collision Avoidance10%———
Parking Brake10%———
Seats10%9,000——
Service Brakes, Electric10%17,045——
Traction Control System10%130,000——

One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.

Complaints by year received

Peak: 2017, with 236 complaints
2008: 172008172009: 19192010: 202010202011: 35352012: 172012172013: 21212014: 402014402015: 27272016: 13020161302017: 2362362018: 10420181042019: 93932020: 562020562021: 39392022: 132022132023: 17172024: 162024162025: 662026: 820268

n = 914 complaints · Source: NHTSA

2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 recalls (3)

Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.

Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator moduleFeb 5, 2021 · NHTSA campaign 21V050000 · 2,641,272 vehicles

Problem: 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.

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.

Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator moduleFeb 5, 2021 · NHTSA campaign 21V052000 · 557,023 vehicles

Problem: 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.

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.

Equipment adaptive/mobilityAug 3, 2009 · NHTSA campaign 09V325000 · 14 vehicles

Problem: 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.

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.

To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.

NHTSA defect investigations

  • Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture (EA21002) — opened Sep 17, 2021, still open.
  • Non-crash engine compartment fires (EA08010) — opened Jun 12, 2008, closed Sep 8, 2008, led to recall 08V441000.
  • Non-crash engine compartment fires (PE08010) — opened Feb 4, 2008, closed Jun 12, 2008.

Recent owner reports

Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.

The truck was parked in the driveway not running. My husband took his lunch box out of the front seat,closed the door and the airbag deployed. He then went to the driver's side to see if it would still start so he could drive it to work the next day and be able to schedule repairs the drivers side…

Air Bags · received Aug 3, 2026 · NHTSA complaint 11754541

I had the recall #09184 regarding the faulty air bag for my Chevy Silverado. I took my truck to Chevy dealership in Marshfield mo. They were supposed to fix the airbags and bc the air bags deployed without an accident the seat belts locked up. They did not fix the seat belts. Making my Trunk unable…

Air Bags · received Jul 27, 2026 · NHTSA complaint 11753101

At a stop avoided hitting a truck pulling trailer I may have hit trailer not sure but I hit a pole . I was on my way to national guard ema took me hit the steering wheel needed stitches below my lip and glue above my lip my feet are lose and my knees crack bottom dash and my wrist is injured. Not…

Air Bags · received Jun 3, 2026 · NHTSA complaint 11741915

Was in an accident and no air bags deployed.

Air Bags · received Mar 10, 2026 · NHTSA complaint 11723202

I was driving down a main road near the Piedmont triad international airport having a casual conversation with my passenger. I went to make a left turn into a Sheetz gas station when all of a sudden the passenger airbag deployed, without warning or wreck. The passenger hand flew up into windshield…

Air Bags · received Mar 2, 2026 · NHTSA complaint 11721579

Other Chevrolet Silverado 1500 years

← 2007 Silverado 1500 · 2009 Silverado 1500 →

See all Chevrolet Silverado 1500 problems by year, every Chevrolet model, or the Chevrolet VIN decoder.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the most common problems with the 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500?

Owners most often report air bags, electrical system, unknown or other problems. The top one, air bags, accounts for 594 complaints.

Was there a recall on the 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500?

Yes, 3 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.

Was the 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 a good year?

Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Silverado 1500 model years, the 2008 has more complaints than most years. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.