2006 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 problems
NHTSA has received 61 complaints about the 2006 Chevrolet Silverado 3500, and 28% of them involve brakes. After that come transmission (10%) and air bags (7%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 61 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 28% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 7 and 3
- Injuries and deaths
- 5 and 2
- Typical mileage
- 53,000 miles 49 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 10 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 5 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 10 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 7 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 6 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 2 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 2 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 4 |
What the data shows
Among the 49 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 53,000 miles. For brakes specifically, the median reported mileage is about 72,000 miles (14 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 7 complaints mention a crash; 3 complaints mention a fire; 5 injuries reported; 2 deaths reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 92% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2006 ranks 10th most-complained-about out of 23 model years of the Chevrolet Silverado 3500 with enough data (37 complaints in that window).
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl* the contact owned a 2006 chevrolet silverado 3500. The contact stated that while traveling various speeds, another vehicle crashed into the contact's vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy and the seat belt ripped. The contact sustained back, shoulder, chest, and wrist injuries. The driver of the second vehicle was fatally injured. The vehicle was destroyed and was not diagnosed to determine the cause of the air bag failure. The manufacturer was not contacted about the failure.
Railroad hyrail vehicle equipped, after market, with hyrail wheel assemblies which allow the vehicle to operate on railroad tracks. Once hyrail (flanged) wheels are retracted, the vehicle is operated over the highways and public roads like any other vehicle. On 3/16/12 a bnsf employee was operating the hyrail vehicle on hwy 34 near trenton, ne. A semi pulled out in from of him, causing him to rear end the semi at about 65 MPH.
I noticed pink liquid leaking on 2006 chevy silverado 3500 diesel, 46,000 miles. I only realized it was leaking (pink fluid) because of the snow we recently had. I took it to the dealership expecting it to be covered under the warranty. Dealership quoted $841.08 before taxes to fix transmission lines. I inquired about warranty and he said it wasn't the engine. I decided to search on line because I thought the transmission was a part of the powertrain and found many, many, many complaints about this same problem.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet silverado 3500. While driving up a mountain at approximately 30 MPH, the steering wheel turned in the opposite direction of the intended turn. As a result, the vehicle wandered off the road uncontrollably. There was also a loss of braking ability; however, the vehicle eventually came to a stop after applying the brake pedal numerous times. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. An independent mechanic diagnosed that the intermediate shaft bolts fractured.