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Transmission and drivetrainPart report

2021 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 Transmission and drivetrain Problems

Complaints
30about this part
Share
34%of 88 total for the year
Median mileage
97,000miles
Trend
RisingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% higher than in the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 30 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, 34% of the 88 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 97,000 miles. 1 recall campaign on record is filed under a similar system.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“My truck has been having the Shift To Park warning for quite a while now. Truck has roughly 72000 miles. Before it would happen intermediately, now it happens all the time. Often I have to leave my truck unlocked for long periods of time due to this malfunction. Hoping my battery will still have power to restart the next time. Reading and researching this issue online, it is a known fact that this is a widespread problem and GM needs to step up and issue a recall.”

NHTSA complaint #11658868, filed 2025-05

“While driving down the road at 40mph the crimp connection for the transmission cooling line came apart and spilled all my transmission fluid out the power hose and left me stranded in the middle of the road.”

NHTSA complaint #11563860, filed 2024-01

“first issue was around April-May 2025 when my engine started knocking and burning fuel. Warning light came on and it went right in to the dealer where I have all my maintenance done. They determined that it due to (2) faulty fuel injectors and I had them replaced at that time. In December of 2025 my engine started doing the same thing as before with the knocking and burning fuel and reduced speeds when on the highway so again it went into the dealer. It has since been in there and first was told it was the fuel injector again. …”

NHTSA complaint #11711815, filed 2026-01

“While traveling at highway speed on the interstate in my 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD (approx. 120,000 miles), the vehicle experienced a sudden hard jolt followed by a momentary rear wheel lockup. This occurred without warning. Immediately after, the transmission defaulted into a fail-safe condition and became locked in 4th gear. The vehicle would move but could not shift properly, resulting in abnormally high RPM and engine load at highway speeds. I was forced to continue driving several miles in this condition to reach a safe exit. …”

NHTSA complaint #11720857, filed 2026-02

“My 10L1000 transmission had a catastrophic failure internally which caused it to rough shift, sudden down shifting, not want to shift into gear at all, and high engine rpm prior to roughly shifting. I took it to the Chevy dealers mechanic the very next business day, only to find out that from the mechanic that this is a common occurrence with Chevy transmissions in my truck and google also verified this to be a common problem. The mechanic from the Chevy dealership also stated that there was larger metal chunks than normal. My truck is available for inspection asap. …”

NHTSA complaint #11752243, filed 2026-07

Related recalls

Related service bulletins

Transmission and drivetrain: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2026217%
20251033%
20243625%
20231736%
20221920%
20213034%
20203330%
2019912%
2018611%
2017917%
20161815%
20152011%
2014513%
201348%
201259%
20111010%
2010210%
200923%
2008147%
20072110%
20063218%
2005218%
2004154%
2003307%
2002123%
2001267%
200075%
199911%
199834%
199712%

Other parts of the 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 2500

Electrical system
17 complaints
Brakes
12 complaints
Engine
8 complaints
Fuel system
8 complaints
Latches, locks and linkages
8 complaints
Other or unknown
7 complaints
Body and structure
4 complaints
Forward collision avoidance
3 complaints
Air bags
2 complaints
Back-over prevention (rear camera)
2 complaints
Exterior lighting
2 complaints
Steering
2 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 2500

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology