2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Electrical System
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
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The rear window of my 2017 Chevy Silverado exploded. I had the rear defrosters on, and they malfunctioned. I thought I smelled something hot before this happened. I am surprised this didn't cause a fire. I have researched this issue, and it appears to be an ongoing problem with the 2014 - 2019 Silverado and Sierra trucks. In fact, Canada has a recall on this issue, but the U.S. does not. Why is that?
After starting the vehicle. I heard a hissing noise coming from the rear of the cabin. I looked in the rear view mirror and saw a large amount smoke rising from the box where the rear defroster power connects to the window. I immediately shut the vehicle off, got out and walked around the passenger side of the vehicle. As I approached the passenger rear door, the rear passenger window exploded with a Loud pop, shooting glass across the bed of the truck. I know there is currently a recall for this issue in Canada.
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving or while the vehicle was parked and occupied, while depress the horn, the horn failed to operate. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle, but the failure persisted. The contact stated that the failure started in 2023. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed and determined that the horn had failed and needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the failure had occurred on several occasions. The contact stated that the vehicle had been repaired once. The horn was replaced the first time; however, with the current failure the horn was not yet replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 155,000.
I was parked at a gas pump, just got done fueling, hung hose up. I quickly ran into the gas station to grab a drink and as temps are 0°F, I remote started my vehicle from check out counter. When I returned to my vehicle the cab was filling with smoke. I sprung into action and quickly but safely drove away from gas pump with very little visibility, due to smoke, I assessed what was going on. Upon further investigating where the fire was coming from, I Could see the smoke was billowing from my rear window. As I Went to check on window heater that turns on automatically with remote start, the windows left panel exploded in my face from the outside of truck. Minor glass cuts, no major injuries. No insurance claims filed, no emergency services called as after I extinguished fire and turned off vehicle smoke seemed to have dissipated enough to safely get home 4 minutes away. As preventive messures I pulled the fuse to the rear window defroster so it is no longer getting power. This is seriously a safety hazard and thankfully I was able to pull away from gas pump. My truck, not so lucky. After looking into the issue when I got home, the US has NOT filed a recall on rear window defrosters for truck years 2014-2019. Canada DOES have a recall for this issue. As it has happened to me in the US in a very scary manor this needs to be addressed. I can’t imagine what would have happened if I was driving with kids in the rear seat. This needs to be taken care of and not at owners expense. Americans buy new vehicles to feel safe and secure. After owning my vehicle I have second thoughts about owning new, especially if a fire happens due to electronics built into the vehicle. I pray we can have this issue resolved to save all the innocent GM truck owners with families and friends who would also like to feel safe in their trucks. With temps this low in New England, I would like to be able to use my window defroster and have safer fields of view in icy/snowy conditions.
At night when in reverse, the dash camera does not dim as the rest of the dash does. The screen is far too bright inside the passenger compartment and you cannot safely maneuver the vehicle. There is no manual adjustments available.
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while in a drive-through, he noticed a smoky odor. The contact stated that he looked through the rearview mirror and noticed that smoke was coming from the rear window of the vehicle. The contact exited the vehicle and inspected the rear window. The contact noticed an inch-long fire at the bottom of the rear window. The contact was able to blow the fire away. The contact stated that upon entering the vehicle, the rear window shattered. No warning lights were illuminated. A fire report was not filed. A police report was not filed. There was no injury sustained. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The manufacturer referred the contact to the dealer for the vehicle inspection. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the vehicle inspection was performed, and the diagnostic report was sent to the manufacturer for claim purposes. The contact was not provided with the diagnosis information. The manufacturer later informed the contact that the claim was denied after reviewing the facts of the case's capital investigation. The manufacturer referred the contact to the insurance company for assistance. The contact stated that he was afraid of driving the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 53,500.
As I was driving I received a call while my phone was plugged in to the USB charging port and as I answered the call all the gauges on my dash, as well as the radio and all my warning lights shut off and turned back on and calibrated as if I first started the vehicle and reset. Then the radio and things wouldn't work. I had to pull over shut off the truck and restart it. This has happened 2 times already in less than as year I contacted the dealer and they really don't seem to care and keep putting me off or telling me they will call me which never happens. As of writing this still not fixed.
Rear window drefroster began smoking. Pulled over and exited truck noticed defroster was glowing red. Window then shattered. This is a power slide window. Drivers side.
Failure of integrated wiring harness for trailer brake control. Wires broken, corroded and with brittle and cracked insulation causing trailer brakes to not engage thus creating a dangerous and possibly deadly condition for driver and others on the road.
The power sliding rear window circuit heated up so much that it produced smoke and shattered the rear window.
Not exactly sure of the root cause but the glass shop said it appeared that the rear defrosting element on my 2017 Chevy Silverado shorted out, became extremely hot and caused my rear window to shatter. Some documents that I read stated that the electrical connections could corrode over time and short out. I read that Canada does have a recall for this same problem.
Two times now when driving, vehicle has randomly lost all power. First time there was no warning of any sort of problem. Second time was on the express way running just fine, then all of a sudden engine light started flashing, and stabilatrac light up on dash. was able to get off right away. turned right Into a office complex and shut right off. after 3 minutes got power back and was able to get it safely in a parking spot, but then it started running rough, like multiple cylinder miss fire
I believe the General Motors Video Display Module Digitizer has a design flaw that affects vehicle safety. This is the appliance in the center of the dashboard to the right side of the driver controlling audio and clock operations. It is a large touch screen. Also, the instrument cluster located over the steering wheel is affected. This is the digital display that reports vehicle velocity, tire pressure, gas mileage. What are the symptoms? During vehicle operation, the video display to the driver's side will randomly cycle through alternate operations not requested by the user. For example, while listening to radio station "A", the unit will switch to radio station "B". Then, the clock will be displayed in "full screen mode". Then, the unit initiates phone calls to people from my contacts list on my phone. In addition, the display unit over the steering wheel is connected to the side unit and will randomly change display. Each time these units change operation, the system emits an audible beep. All this is distracting and increases the workload of the driver (talking on the phone while driving trying to explain that you didn't mean to call the person), thus representing a safety hazard while driving. While the misbehavior comes and goes, at its worst, the unit will change operation a few times per minute. I made a video of the misbehavior, which I can share with you upon request. The behavior is reproducible. Why do I say this is a design flaw requiring NHTSA safety recall? The unit is relatively new but past its warranty period: the vehicle has 57,000 miles. And multiple vehicle owners are affected: see web sites containing reports from other owners reporting the same problem with their relatively new vehicles: https://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/252750-touch-screen-has-a-mind-of-its-own/ https://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/255203-touch-screen-problems/ GM charges $900 to install a new unit, but I believe the problem is a design flaw and will occur again.
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle was remotely started. The contact's husband entered the vehicle and turned on the rear defrost. The contact stated that her seven-month-old infant was seated on the passenger side rear seat. The contact's husband noticed a burning odor on the interior of the vehicle and smoke was coming from the rear passenger’s side rear window. The vehicle was turned off and the infant was removed from the vehicle immediately. The contact stated that she had noticed the odor of burning odor in the interior of the vehicle shortly after the vehicle was purchased. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact stated that the vehicle was scheduled for a service appointment in several weeks. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was advised that the failure was normal wear and tear. The failure mileage was approximately 123,298.
I have had numerous repairs to electrical components in the truck. Most recently I have been getting the same wiring harness repaired on and off for almost 5 months now along with various modules that it damages. The dealer makes the repair and then after anywhere from 100 to 1000+ miles later the check engine light will come back on or another error message like Service Trailer Braking System. Wires keep breaking in the harness and the dealer keep repairing them. The dealer has been very good about this. This last time they repaired a broken wire and 2 more broke during the repair and had to be spliced. There is obviously a defect in this wiring harness. I have been in contact with GM but the truck is out of warranty and they do not seem willing to help out much. They suggested I trade it in, I just paid it off less than a year ago, and have put thousands of dollars in repair and maintenance into it since then.
Rear defrost/sliding window began to smoke. Eventually, rear window exploded and shattered with a very loud noise. The noise was so loud it had my ears ringing and unfortunately happened also while I was driving down the road which cased me to swerve abruptly. Fortunately, I was able to steady myself and pull of the road. Prior to the explosion, there was smoke coming from the window that was continuing to intensify in my rear view window as I was driving. I pulled over into a cemetary quickly and noticed the rear defrost button was lit. I quickly depressed it to kill the electrical current to see if it would stop the smoking from the window. It did then disapate. I took off driving again presuming I stopped the issue. Within seconds the right side glass panel in the rear window exploded. The vehicle or component has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center yet. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance reps., as of yet but it will be shortly.
Rear defrost malfunctioned causing rear window to blow out smoke filled cab plastic started to melt I am in possession of vehicle it available for inspection in driveway at time buy sounded like a 22 going off behind my head had it at Brunswick auto mart for a week and told they can’t do anything dash had no indications at that time or after
Rear window defrost almost caught fire about 10 min into drive smoke emitted from near rear window and got worse and worse until I found the cause and shut off the rear defrost. Smokey electrical smell filled the interior.
The truck will shut off without warning and lock all doors. The key fob/manual unlock or door unlock button will not unlock the doors. There is no way to get out.This has happened 3 times in the last year
Rear sliding widow automatic defroster caught fire filled truck with smoke causing driver to make emergency stoppage and open windows to clear deadly smoke condition to breathe when glass shatteted and created loud noise and danger of shattered glass to rear passengers. Recall in Canada for same exact dangerous rear window defect.
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds and slowing down, the vehicle would suddenly lose motive power and stall. The contact indicated that the failure only occurred while making either a right or left turn. The contact stated that during the failure, a message to raise or lower the window was displayed. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle would operate as designed. The failure was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 15,000.
Trailer brake system is continuing to show a service warning on the dash. Noticed the problem when my battery kept draining over night. Then the service trailer brake system light came on and won’t go away. I don’t have any modifications done to the vehicle and I bought it used almost 6 months ago with 80,000 miles. The service light comes on every time you crank the truck. GM service bulletins are reporting that it is a wiring harness that is defective. This should be addressed as a recall. It is unsafe to pull any type of equipment as well is causing my battery to drain over night to where I’m having to jump the truck off just to crank it
(1). Entire Electrical failure. Initial investigation revealed Negative Batter Post and Cable extremely Hot. The Truck was operating perfectly and had just sat overnight. This issue was first detected about 1 month prior, when, after a 3 Hour drive, I got and when I returned, there was "Nothing". Disconnected Battery Cables, touched thwm together fo 30+ seconds and everything worked perfect. (2). The first event, I was in the Middle of the Arizona Desert, almost 90 miles from the nearest population. (3), Unable to Intentionally Reconstruct this problem. There was No Check engine light. HOWEVER - in the first event, the Stabili-Trak Light illuminated and had to pull to the side of the road to apparently let it reset. (4). Took it into the Dealer who simply stated "since there was No Check Engine Light, it would be a waste of money, since I had driven it in". They did not take a formal report. (5). Other than the initial issue with the Stabili-Trak light, prior to the first incident, 2/12 Hours later, there were NO advanced warnings. In the 2nd event, the Truck ran perfectly, parked it overnight and when I went to start it in the morning, NOTHING.
My 2017 Silverado cuts off on me while driving. Completely gos dead for a few minutes then it will regain power. It has cut off on me while on the road. That is extremely dangerous. Also I keep getting a message for to service trailer break system. Non stop messages and stabilitrak is another non stop message on my dash. This is how I've been driving for weeks now. It's a on and off thing.
My truck has 57000miles has electronic steering. The steering will shut down and everything becomes manual. Steering error messages pop on the screen and chimes sound. This mostly happens at low speed, like stopping to back into a parking space. I've taken the truck to the dealership on two occasions, first time they " adjusted the module" for 1 hourly rate. The second time they reset the module and recommended a battery cable replacement. After replacing the battery cables and battery ( at a different repair shop) same problem. Now back to the dealership for a recommended Electronic Comtrol Module (ECM). After researching multiple websites and blogs, this is a known issue, and a dangerous one. Why has this not become a recall issue yet? https://shop.tekmetric.com/inspection/2D5vHKs-uXj8ZivBaJywx2vyFb4Lg9TyK5LgYX56mKE
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The 2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 has 51 Electrical System complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.