NHTSA lists 5 safety recalls and 415 owner complaints for the 2017 GMC Sierra 1500.
5Safety recalls
415Owner complaints
19Complaints citing a crash
5Complaints citing a fire
Data: NHTSA recall and complaint filesUpdated Sep 27, 2026
Recalled components: brakes, child seats, and air bags. Most-reported area: powertrain (141 complaints, 34%; median mileage when it happened: 24,000). Includes the Sierra 1500 Limited, the previous generation GMC sold alongside the new truck. Excludes the Sierra EV and heavy-duty models.
5 safety recalls for the 2017 GMC Sierra 1500
Newest first. Summaries are NHTSA's own wording. Open a recall for the fix and the full notice.
Brakes
Oct 24, 2019
antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip · wheel speed sensor/tone ring
3-liter engine, a 3.08-ratio rear axle and four-wheel drive. If a wheel-speed sensor fails, while the vehicle is traveling between 41 and 60 mph in four-wheel or automatic mode, the Electronic-Brake Control Module (EBCM) software may activate the driveline-protection system.
Risk: Unintended activation of the driveline-protection system will cause unintended braking on the wheel on the opposite side of the failed sensor, causing the vehicle to pull to one side unexpectedly, increasing the risk of a crash.
The fix and full notice
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the EBCM, free of charge. The recall began December 11, 2019. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-630-2438 or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N192261050.
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2020 Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, and GMC Yukon, and 2014-2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles equipped with a 5.
The amount of vacuum created by the vacuum pump may decrease over time.
Risk: As the vacuum level drops, the brake assist decreases, increasing braking effort, extending the distance required to stop the vehicle, thereby increasing the risk of a crash.
The fix and full notice
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the Electronic Brake Control Module, free of charge. The recall began October 8, 2019. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-630-2438, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006 or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N192268490.
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Cadillac Escalade, 2014-2018 Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, 2015-2018 Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon vehicles.
NHTSA listing: SIERRA 1500. GMC campaign N192268490.
Child seats
Aug 3, 2017
tether · connector/clip
Fails federal standard 225 (child seat anchorages)
The owner's manual for the affected vehicles may be missing instructions on how to use the tether anchorage and child restraint anchorage systems. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 225, "Child Restraint Anchorage Systems."
Risk: If the instructions are missing from the owner's manual, the child seat may be installed incorrectly and not be properly secured, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.
The fix and full notice
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will provide a corrected insert for the owners manual, free of charge. The recall began on September 25, 2017. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), or 1-800-462-8782 (GMC). GM's number for this recall is 17307.
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, and GMC Sierra 1500 trucks.
While being previously remedied for recall 16V-651, the affected vehicles may not have received the complete software update necessary to remedy the recall condition. Without the update, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) software to activate a diagnostic test. During this test, deployment of the frontal air bags and the seat belt pretensioners would not occur in the event of a crash.
Risk: A failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.
The fix and full notice
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on August 4, 2017. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 17287.
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse and Chevrolet Spark EV, Caprice PPV and SS vehicles, 2014-2017 Buick Encore and Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles, 2015-2016 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Tahoe, Trax, Suburban and Silverado 2500 and 3500 and GMC Yukon and Yukon XL vehicles, and 2015-2017 GMC Sierra HD 2500 and 3500 vehicles.
NHTSA listing: SIERRA 1500. Components: Air bags: frontal; Air bags: frontal, sensor/control module-inactive; Seat belts: pretensioner. GMC campaign 17287.
In the affected vehicles, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) software to activate a diagnostic test. During this test, deployment of the frontal air bags and the seat belt pretensioners would not occur in the event of a crash.
Risk: A failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.
The fix and full notice
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on October 13, 2016. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 16007.
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015-2017 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD, 3500 HD, Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Sierra 2500 HD and 3500 HD, GMC Yukon, GMC Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade and Cadillac Escalade ESV vehicles and 2014-2017 Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500, Trax, Caprice Police Pursuit Vehicle, GMC Sierra 1500, Buick Encore, and 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse, Chevrolet Spark EV and SS vehicles.
NHTSA listing: SIERRA 1500. Components: Air bags: frontal; Air bags: frontal, sensor/control module-inactive; Seat belts: pretensioner. GMC campaign 16007.
Questions about any of these recalls: call NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 (TTY 888-275-9171) or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
What owners report
The areas named in the 415 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2017 Sierra 1500. NHTSA does not verify complaints.
Powertrain141 · 34%
Median 24,000 miles at failure (70 reports)
Brakes126 · 30%
Median 46,000 miles at failure (61 reports)
Engine62 · 15%
Median 55,600 miles at failure (24 reports)
Electrical system60 · 14%
Median 48,000 miles at failure (17 reports)
Steering28 · 7%
Visibility/wiper13 · 3%
Speed control12 · 3%
Unknown or other38 · 9%
A complaint can name more than one area, so shares add up to more than 100%. Mileage is shown where at least 15 owners reported it.
GMC Sierra 1500 recalls and complaints by model year
The highlighted bars are the 2017 model year. Newer model years have had less time on the road, so their counts are lower. Counting complaints filed in each model year's first three years, the 2023 Sierra 1500 drew the most (285) and the 2017 drew 99.
Owner complaints
2017: 415 complaintsTap or drag across the chart for other years.
Show as a table
Owner complaints by model year, GMC Sierra 1500
Model year
Complaints
2016
347
2017
415
2018
304
2019
645
2020
466
2021
570
2022
585
2023
479
2024
360
2025
116
2026
121
Safety recalls
2017: 5 recallsTap or drag across the chart for other years.
Show as a table
Safety recalls by model year, GMC Sierra 1500
Model year
Recalls
2016
9
2017
5
2018
7
2019
10
2020
12
2021
7
2022
6
2023
3
2024
1
2025
1
2026
2
Crash test ratings
NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings for each version it tested. Rollover risk is NHTSA's estimate of the chance of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.
Tested version
Overall
Frontal
Side
Rollover
GMC Sierra 1500 Hybrid PU/CC RWD
Rollover risk 17.9%
GMC Sierra 1500 PU/CC 4WD
Rollover risk 17.4%
GMC Sierra 1500 PU/CC RWD
Rollover risk 17.9%
GMC Sierra 1500 PU/EC 4WD
Rollover risk 17.9%
GMC Sierra 1500 PU/EC RWD
Rollover risk 17.4%
GMC Sierra 1500 PU/RC 4WD
Rollover risk 17.4%
GMC Sierra 1500 PU/RC RWD
Rollover risk 17.9%
Questions
What are the most common 2017 Sierra 1500 problems?
The areas owners name most often in NHTSA complaints: powertrain (141), brakes (126), engine (62). NHTSA does not verify complaints, and one complaint can name several areas.
Is the 2017 GMC Sierra 1500 safe?
In NHTSA crash tests every tested version of the 2017 GMC Sierra 1500 earns 5 stars overall. The table above lists each tested version.
How do I check if my Sierra 1500 has an open recall?
Enter the 17-character VIN from your dashboard, door jamb or registration at nhtsa.gov/recalls. The lookup lists unrepaired recalls for that exact vehicle. Safety recall repairs are free at GMC dealers.
Sources and method
NHTSA recalls file (NHTSA datasets), dated Sep 27, 2026; every campaign checked against NHTSA's recalls API.
NHTSA owner complaints file, dated Sep 26, 2026. Counted by complaint number, so a complaint naming three components counts once in the total.
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings (NCAP).
NHTSA model names covered: SIERRA, SIERRA 1500.
Complaint counts are unverified owner reports. They rise with sales volume and time on the road, so compare model years with care. How we build these pages. Spotted an error? Tell us.