2021 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 1500 Steering Problems
32 complaints about Steering
High Severity Issue
This component has been associated with crashes, fires, or deaths.
This Problem Across All Years
All Steering Complaints (32)
1st incident cracked frame/suspension support for front suspension, 4 months to fix, 2nd incident oil pump, lifter failure, replaced under warranty. 3rd failure engine sieze while driving at 55-60 mph. Warning light flashed loss of oil pressure shut down immediately, put it in neutral to coat to side of road but moment I shifted to N engine failed, had to tow home cuz dealer was a month out to look at it, had to send to a different dealership 60 miles away to get looked at, confirmed castrophic engine failure, GM dealer wanted me to pay to fix it. I have had 2 major engine issues, 1 major suspension frame issue.
I was on my way home from work on [XXX] coming around the lakes with no median or shoulder when the engine in my 2021 Silverado started rattling, temperature gauge started going up, and losing power. Within a matter of minutes my truck shut off leaving me stranded in the middle of a four lane highway with no safe location to stop. The engine wouldn’t even turn over to try and crank back up so I could get the truck out of the road. After help getting my truck to a safe location I noticed oil and antifreeze leaking out of the bottom side of the engine. This truck was at Love Chevrolet for engine failure on 8/14/24 and was told it was fixed and was never told about ongoing issues with this particular 6.2 engine. I found out a few weeks ago while trying to trade my truck in to Jim Browne Chevrolet dealer that my particular truck the 2021 Chevrolet Silverado High Country with the 6.2 engine had known issue with the engine locking up and was afraid to take my truck in on trade due to his service manger going through this same experience. So I paid top dollar for a high end Chevrolet truck to be stuck with not being able to trade it and now not being able to drive it. I called the dealer and was told that my trucks vin number was not part of the recall for this issue but there are trucks that are the same year, model, and engine type that are covered under this recall. I’m now stuck making a 850 a month payment on a 58000 dollar truck that I can’t drive and can’t afford to replace an engine. Any help would be greatly appreciated. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
I am filing a formal safety complaint regarding a persistent and unacceptable failure with my 2021 Chevrolet Silverado Trail Boss. The vehicle intermittently fails to start due to a recurring “Service Steering Column Lock” error. While the key fob still locks, unlocks, and remote starts the truck, the push-to-start system becomes entirely non-functional once inside the vehicle. This defect is not only frustrating — it’s dangerous. My wife has already been stranded twice, once in below-freezing temperatures in January, and again in May, causing her to be late for work and left alone at night in unsafe conditions. A truck purchased for over $60,000, marketed as rugged and dependable, should not be experiencing a critical failure like this at just 48,000 miles. What’s more concerning is that this appears to be a known issue within the GM community, with no official recall despite Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs) acknowledging the problem. Customers are being left with unreliable transportation and no consistent fix. This failure is both a mechanical and safety issue, leaving drivers vulnerable without warning. I urge NHTSA to investigate this defect, pressure GM for a formal recall, and ensure corrective action is taken before someone is injured due to being stranded or the failure progressing to more critical steering or ignition malfunctions.
51,000 miles and Power steering warning light came on, attempted to turn and the wheel and was a struggle to make a turn. I almost ran off roadway and struck a tree. I struggled to get the truck home, where it sat for a minute and reset itself and worked properly for now. Upon reviewing the electric steering in this year, make and model was very common within 15k miles to 65k miles. Upon internet search, revealed this problem had a recall. Wanted to make sure before a manage to transport the truck for service at dealership and pay for high labor charges.
I was driving and my electric steering locked up. I had it towed to a garage and they reset the computer. I'm afraid it's going to happen again. I'm going to the dealership on Tuesday and I don't feel that I should pay for this since it's a safety issue. I only have 50,000 miles on it.can someone please get back to me. Thanks
I turned my truck on after grocery shopping and a notice to "Service Power Steering" popped up on my dashboard. I took it to a mechanic shop where they ran diagnostics. They discovered a TSB # 21-NA-149 and error code U0131. They believe there is an intermittent fault within the wiring causing the power steering to go out. My biggest fear is that this happens while I am negotiating a curve and lose power steering causing a crash or someone to get injured. There was also a "Service ESB" notice on the dashboard after the power steering notification.
Started The Vehicle and the Steering wheel would not turn. Warning said: Service ESC & Service Power Steering Drive and the Stability Control Light came on. After ready many complaints about the same thing, we turned the car off for 20 minutes and then on again and it worked. But this is dangerous.
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle became difficult to maneuver and the rear wheels were intermittently inoperable with the transmission experiencing hard downshifting. The failure occurred on several occasions. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the residence. The contact researched and was made aware of an undisclosed NHTSA Campaign; however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.
Mileage: 30,000
After parking my vehicle overnight, I started it up in the morning and it immediately said "Service Power Steering, Please Drive With Care" and also said "Service ESC". I could not steer the vehicle when these messages were displayed. I was able to get the vehicle to work normally by turning it off, waiting a few minutes and turning it back on. This is extremely dangerous if the vehicle decides to do this during a drive.
When I started my car there was an error message that said "Service Power Steering Drive with Care" and "Service ESC" when I went to back out of the driveway I had no power steering at all. I could barely move the wheel and had trouble pulling back into the driveway. I turned off the car and restarted a few times, but received the same error messages and had no power steering. When I started the car about an hour later all error messages went away and power steering was restored, but I am afraid to drive it.
While leaving work I started the truck like normal and the dash lit up like a Christmas tree. Saying service ESC, service power steering,and service brake system. The ESC light was on as well as the check engine light. There was no forewarning about this.
- Warning came up that said to service power steering system. Steering wheel became extremely hard to turn. -I could barely complete my turn to get the vehicle clear of the road -Vehicle is scheduled to be seen by a dealer -No other parties have inspected the vehicle
The power steering locked when driving, this happened last year. I had it serviced at the dealership and it was fixed but it’s reoccurring occasionally. Now when you turn it on you could hear a sound and it’s hard to turn. It’s a safety concern for me and for others to drive it with that condition. I brought it back to the dealership to have it serviced again, a mechanic inspected it and confirmed there’s a problem with the steering but they will have to do a proper diagnostic with the issue. There ‘s no warning message that pops out.
After starting the truck and placing in reverse the service power steering warning come on as well as service ESC. The steering wheel would not move. If I were driving at a higher speed a crash would be imminent. On the Chevy forums there are several other owners that experienced the same problem and the loss of steering happens randomly. After parking the truck and returning several hours later the warnings did not reappear. I called the Chevrolet dealership and they informed me that they cannot diagnose the vehicle if no service lights are actively showing. Then I called Chevrolet to report the issue and they informed me that there are no recalls and nothing can be done unless the warnings are active and to contact another service center. If the vehicle does this while i'm driving I most likely will be in a accident. The Chevrolet case # 9-12940772786
I purchased a used 2021 Chevrolet Silverado from a dealership 5 months ago. Almost immediately after purchasing the truck, I would hear and feel an intermittent pop that originated from near the floor of the front passenger side. The sound became more frequent and would happen mostly when making sharp turns but also when making softer turns. I took it to the dealership to investigate. They had it for a week and supposedly examined the entire vehicle. They were able to replicate the pop sound when driving it but were unable to diagnose the problem. They claimed that sometimes trucks just make noise and assured me that the vehicle was safe to drive. I asked how they knew it was safe if they didn't know what the problem was and how was I to know that whatever is causing the sound isn't causing internal damage. The service manager again assured me that the certified mechanics looked at every detail of the vehicle and found nothing to be concerned about and sent me on my way. After taking the truck home, I continued normal use of the truck, taking it on 3 long distance trips on the highway. The sound continued as it had before, occurring intermittently when turning. 2 days ago, I was backing out of my driveway. I heard a very loud pop and got out of the vehicle to find that the front passenger wheel had completely broken at the ball joint of the control arm and was lying nearly flat on the ground, held suspended by the brake line and CV boot and other attached components. The truck was towed to the dealership, where it currently is. The service manager told me that the mechanics did everything that they were supposed to have done and that unfortunately this is a mechanical part that can fail and that he has seen this issue in 7-8 other vehicles like mine. If this is a common problem, there should have been a red flag when presented with this issue. If this would have occurred on the highway at a high rate of speed, my family and I could have been killed.
On October 31st while driving my vehicle my power steering light came on stating ESC POWER STEERING Failure/Issue. This caused me to have no power steering. I was able to safely stop the vehicle. I restarted it numerous times with the same message showing up. About 5-10 minutes later it started with no issues and without the same power steering message. This is extremely dangerous!
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the vehicle failed to steer as needed. The service now message was displayed. The vehicle was restarted three times, but the steering remained inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where the system was reset. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired, but the failure recurred. While starting the vehicle, the power steering functionality was inoperable. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 27,000.
Mileage: 27,000
Upper control arm ball joint failed causing me to lose stealing control, luckily I was only driving 10MPH, if I had been on the interstate this could have been more serious possibly fatalities involved, I have read reports this is a common thing, my truck is a 2021 Silverado, I never received a recall notice
Unknown
While parked I turned on the truck and got service sec warning and power steering failure. Brakes barely worked and wheel was locked. After restarting the car three times it went away and truck became driveable. Took it to a dealership and they said there’s nothing they could do as a code didn’t pop. Seems unacceptable as my family is consistently in the car and if it happens while driving could be extremely dangerous
While pulling out into traffic the vehicle will momentarily lose all electrical power and the engine shuts off causing loss of brakes and steering.
Electric power steering loss. Message stated to service power steering and ecs. Could not control vehicle.. After powered off for 20 minutes it went away and then was towed to dealer who found nothing wrong. Extremely unsafe!
This is a potential problem for a serious injury to a child , stroller, pet - or damage to front of truck and vehicle in front of truck. The hood of the truck is very high. And sitting in the drivers seat you are "driving blind. " It is impossible to see an object directly in front at bumper level. The only way to judge the distance to an object, or small person, is to get out of the truck and look. I had minor damage to the front of the truck by hitting my garage. But more seriously if there were a child or stroller- you literally cannot see it. This could be easily fixed with a forward looking camera - and the truck comes with a rear one- but Chevynfirs not offer any front camera/ park assist on any of its Silverado 1500's.!The manual says park assist is an option- but Chevy currently does not offer that option. This is dangerous..
So I have been having issues with my truck losing oil. My dealership told me that Walmart made an issue with the oil filter causing it to leak oil out. After the dealership corrected the issue. I was on my way to the store this morning it was damp so I was having a lot of traction issues. Got to the gas station checked tires, no issue with them. Temperature is above freezing. Just thought maybe it’s in my head. Well I get about 2 miles from my house and low oil light comes on again. So this is an issue. It has happened 2 times to me. Had I not been cautious I could have slipped off the road or had a collision because the oil mixing with the water on the roadways. I will be reaching out to my dealership tomorrow to try and get them to correct this issue again. Seems there is a service bulletin on how to tighten the oil filter. Because of oil leaks.
Body control modules sas modules no communication service esc light and traction control lights coming on vehicle looses all steers ng when lights come on at any speeds it says service esc power steering loss drive with caution have had it into multiple shops and no diagnostic scanners can get into the 3 systems there 6050 miles on vehicle we haven’t gotten in a wreck yet but that is totally not out of the question it will happen and when it does its going to be devistating
2021 Silverado Trail Boss. Went to the store, came outside started the truck and it showed me ESC Warning and Power Steering Failure Drive with Care notice on the dash. The Steering was very hard to turn. I tried multiple times, and it did not work. I started reading information on line and found out that there are multiple truck owners who had same issue. I saw some information to leave the truck off for 20 - 30 min and try again. I left it off for 30 min and started again. At that time it started fine. I am going to the Chevy dealer because this can also happen while I am driving and it can cause an accident. My truck has only 12k miles.
Intermittent power steering failure.
Electric steering control and driver assist malfunctioning along with engine misfire Been to the dealership 3x they have reproduced the issue unable to repair Chevy also notified apparently many other vehicle of my same type have this issue Happens daily till vehicle has run for a bit Unsafe till then Started at about 13 k miles still ongoing
Driving the vehicle on October 10, 2021, with my fiancee and her mother in the vehicle. Upon exiting expressway I-75 a noise in the front end could be heard. It was a pinging/clinking noise that didn't change in frequency under braking nor under speed changes. It stayed at the same frequency of occurrence regardless of speed but wasn't present at vehicle stop or idle. It seems only to happen when vehicle is in motion. The noise became louder at lower speeds of driving. Vehicle was taken to a GM dealership on October 11, 2021, for repair. The dealer indicated that they could not repair the vehicle as GM issued a work instruction (PIP5653) stating no repair or resolution is available. GM indicates there is no problem to the vehicle however something is wrong with the front end axle and if it breaks then there is risk of accident as the wheel could lock up causing loss of control and/or loss of steering. Upon reading document PIP5653 I learned that all GM full size pick-up trucks and SUVs from model year 2019 to 2021 are effected. This is a huge population at risk for possible loss of control and/or loss of steering to be supported by simple GM comment. There must be a fix.
Upon starting the vehicle got a alert on the dash DIC of, "Reduced Steering Assist, Service Steering System", or something similar to that. The vehicle was very hard to steer so I shut it off and restarted it seeing if it would reset since its electric steering, but it did not reset and was still difficult to steer. I was able to drive it home carefully since I was close to my home. After I got home I opened the hood to look but saw nothing wrong. I restarted vehicle again and the steering was back to normal and power steering was restored. I am very concerned because if this happens during busy traffic it could result in loss of control and a crash.
BOUGHT THE TRUCK 2 WEEKS AGO AND PUT 500 MILES ON IT. UPON ENTERING I GOT AN ALERT ON THE DASH SAYING ESC POWER STEERING FAILURE, PARKING SENSOR FAILURE AND ABS FAILURE DRIVE WITH CAUTION. ALL THESE ALERTS HAPPENED WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED AND BARELY TURNED ON. SURE ENOUGH I TRY TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL AND THE POWER STEERING WAS OUT AND THE PARKING SENSORS WERE OUT. I DIDN'T TRY THE BRAKES SINCE I WAS NOT MOVING AND PARKED.
Mileage: 510
PARKED TRUCK IN MY GARAGE OVERNIGHT. CAME OUT THIS AFTERNOON TO START UP AND GOT THE WARNING MESSAGE 'POWER STEERING ESC' SHUT IT DOWN, RESTARTED THE TRUCK FIVE TIMES SAME MESSAGE. SILVERADO 1500 HAS APPROXIMATELY 3497 MILES ON IT. RST MODEL.
Mileage: 3,497