2018 GMC Sierra 1500 Power Train Problems
Owners have filed 131 complaints with NHTSA about power train problems on the 2018 GMC Sierra 1500, 43% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 29,781 miles. The words owners use most often: “torque converter” (11% of reports).
- 131power train complaints
- 29,781median miles at failure
- 4mention a crash
- 3mention an injury
- 0related recalls
- 28%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Torque converter: mentioned in 15 of 131 complaints (11%)
- Transmission fluid: mentioned in 11 of 131 complaints (8%)
- Hard shifting: mentioned in 9 of 131 complaints (7%)
- 1ST 2ND: mentioned in 7 of 131 complaints (5%)
At what mileage do power train problems happen?
Based on 58 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 131 complaints, 4 mention a crash, 3 an injury.
GMC Sierra 1500 power train complaints by model year
| Model year | Power Train complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Sierra 1500 | 34 | 24% | 2,000 |
| 2025 Sierra 1500 | 26 | 22% | 17,000 |
| 2024 Sierra 1500 | 72 | 20% | 24,000 |
| 2023 Sierra 1500 | 91 | 19% | 44,115 |
| 2022 Sierra 1500 | 111 | 19% | 36,000 |
| 2021 Sierra 1500 | 142 | 24% | 64,438 |
| 2020 Sierra 1500 | 98 | 20% | 75,200 |
| 2019 Sierra 1500 | 139 | 21% | 30,525 |
| 2018 Sierra 1500 | 131 | 43% | 29,781 |
| 2017 Sierra 1500 | 118 | 33% | 29,500 |
| 2016 Sierra 1500 | 84 | 24% | 45,117 |
| 2015 Sierra 1500 | 98 | 14% | 33,000 |
| 2014 Sierra 1500 | 69 | 9% | 70,000 |
| 2013 Sierra 1500 | 3 | 3% | 111,155 |
| 2012 Sierra 1500 | 6 | 6% | 44,000 |
| 2011 Sierra 1500 | 24 | 8% | 32,000 |
| 2010 Sierra 1500 | 4 | 2% | 114,250 |
| 2009 Sierra 1500 | 9 | 4% | 69,630 |
| 2008 Sierra 1500 | 6 | 2% | 96,000 |
| 2007 Sierra 1500 | 6 | 2% | 25,499 |
| 2006 Sierra 1500 | 13 | 9% | 37,184 |
| 2005 Sierra 1500 | 11 | 6% | 60,000 |
| 2004 Sierra 1500 | 8 | 4% | 38,800 |
| 2003 Sierra 1500 | 6 | 3% | 32,150 |
| 2002 Sierra 1500 | 5 | 3% | 76,287 |
| 2001 Sierra 1500 | 3 | 2% | 160,500 |
| 2000 Sierra 1500 | 9 | 5% | 137,900 |
| 1999 Sierra 1500 | 2 | 1% | 90,000 |
| 1998 Sierra 1500 | 7 | 12% | 81,000 |
| 1997 Sierra 1500 | 8 | 10% | 55,000 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (0)
No safety recall lists power train for the 2018 GMC Sierra 1500. A pattern of complaints does not always lead to a recall.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
My 2018 GMC Sierra 1500 experienced significant transmission problems that began as rough, inconsistent shifting, hesitation, and abnormal transmission behavior before eventually progressing to complete transmission failure. These symptoms were present before the transmission's ultimate failure and…
Vehicle purchased Certified Pre-Owned in October of 2021 with roughly 43,000 miles. During the first service (47,598 miles) at a GM dealer I reported very hard shifts, but this issue was ignored during service. At the next servce (54,571 miles) I again reported the hard shifts and "surging" when…
Unknown
Frequently asked questions
Do all 2018 GMC Sierra 1500s have power train problems?
No. NHTSA has 131 owner complaints about power train for the 2018 GMC Sierra 1500 (43% of the 305 complaints for this model year). Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the 2018 GMC Sierra 1500 power train?
No recall currently lists power train for this vehicle.
At what mileage do power train problems start?
The median reported mileage is 29,781 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.
What do owners say about power train problems on the 2018 GMC Sierra 1500?
The most frequent phrase is “torque converter”, in 15 of 131 complaints, followed by “transmission fluid” (11).
Other 2018 GMC Sierra 1500 problems
- Engine problems (67)
See all 2018 GMC Sierra 1500 problems or power train problems across all Sierra 1500 years.