2016 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 problems
NHTSA has received 74 complaints about the 2016 Chevrolet Silverado 3500, and 20% of them involve steering. After that come fuel system (15%) and brakes (14%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 74 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Steering 20% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 5 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 2 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 27,000 miles 45 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 | 18 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 13 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 9 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 5 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 0 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 0 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 45 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 27,000 miles. For steering specifically, the median reported mileage is about 33,000 miles (10 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 5 complaints mention a crash; 2 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2016 ranks 5th most-complained-about out of 23 model years of the Chevrolet Silverado 3500 with enough data (57 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 7 safety recall campaigns.
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.
Brakes are not efficient. They need enormous amount of pressure to stop. Or brake pedals must be applied(pumped) several times to stop better with less pressure.
While driving with the windows closed, the air conditioner on, with the recirculate button lit and dash level vents selected, I was overcome by truck exhaust fumes (a truck pulled in my lane ahead of me on the roadway) and briefly lost control of my vehicle from choking and coughing on it's fumes from the truck exhaust. The fumes came through the air conditioning system which pumped the fumes into my vehicle cabin.
During snow removal the night of December 10, 2021 into the morning of December 11, 2021, vehicle was in reverse traveling approximately 10-20 mph (actual speed at impact is unknown). Upon impact with a tree in the rear of the truck, the airbag system in the vehicle was engaged. The seatbelts locked up, and the airbag chemicals in the steering wheel and front passenger airbag compartment were activated, however, none of the airbags physically deployed. Attached phots will show the source of impact.
Bought truck new. Bought a brand new fifth wheel trailer to tow. Sometimes while towing the trailer, the truck will "shudder" while driving at highway speed. This has happened maybe 3 or 4 times in the 2 years that I have had the truck and trailer. It "shudders" bad enough that it has nearly caused an accident. When it does this, the stabilitrak, traction control and all my gauges come on. The speedometer and tach reset. All this while driving.
Excess play and sloppy steering. Loose and worn pitman arm and idler arm needed replacement at 37,844 miles. Vehicle is lightly used and not abused off road.