2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Power Train
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
Transmission failed and truck shut down mid road while going uphill. Shifting jumps when gears are switched and power jumps and goes down while stepping on gas pedal. At first it showed a check engine light but because i was traveling i had to skip and tried turning on again. It happened at least 5 times while on the road that day and now shifting is messed up and jumps while stepping on gas. I inspected and took to a mechanic for an inspection and said need a new transmission unless there is a recall because it happens to many 2018 chevy silverados 1500.
We just purchased the truck from a Chevrolet dealership 6 days prior took it on a trip to Missouri. Truck transmission shuddered then downshifted nearly causing a rear end accident behind us. Luckily the driver was attentive and did not hit us
Transmission slipping and shuddering when fluid warms up. Dealership diagnosed torque converter/transmission failure. Stated it may cause transmission lockup while driving
on or about [XXX] while driving through Olathe Kansas, the torque converter and subsequently the transmission on my 2018 Chevy Silverado 1500 failed while driving in heavy traffic. While navigating to a safe place outside the high-speed traffic corridor, the truck would run at approximately 3000 RPM at a speed of 40MPH. By sheer luck, we were not involved in a traffic accident. Replacement cost of the transmission unit was $7907.88 and $800 for a rental truck while the dealer replaced the transmission. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
My truck has had transmission issues since we purchased it. At 79,000 miles the factory transmission finally went out and needed replaced. The truck currently has 81,000 miles on it and is already having transmission problems with the rebuilt parts. Background: the truck began having hard downshifts since purchase. Over the course of our ownership, we noticed it started struggling with shifting from 2nd gear to 3rd and 3rd gear to 4th. Constant "clunking" and shuttering when trying to shift. Approximately November of 2024 the truck suffered from the known GM transmission failures. It was almost "skipping" upon acceleration and had a very hard time with cycling between gears. The transmission began making a sound comparable to a normal operating diesel truck (almost sounded like the turbo engines upon acceleration). The truck was sent to the dealership and the transmission was replaced. However, since this replacement we are now experiencing similar symptoms to the previous transmission. There is a very hard downshift, there is clunking sound when the truck is trying to go from 3rd to 4th, and the truck has a noticeable gear burning smell when driven long distances.
Transmission Failure & Torque Converter Clutch Failure, Less than 90,000 miles on vehicle. This is a known issue with this year and model truck that GM is aware of. It has been inspected by the certified dealer and they are aware that this is a known issue. I don’t tow with my truck or do anything but drive it regularly. I was Quoted $8,900 with a $2,000 Core reimbursement.
Hard shift when transmission is shifting around 70 mph and also transmission temperature keeps rising above 230 degrees. Shuddering when shifting after city driving.
Transmission vibrates when it approaches 35 mph and 65 mph. The vibration feels like rumble strips and last for 3 seconds
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and while attempting to accelerate, the vehicle hesitated. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic where the vehicle was diagnosed with transmission failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to take the vehicle to an authorized dealer to have the vehicle diagnosed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the contact was informed that no assistance would be provided and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The approximate failure mileage was approximately 128,000.
Transmission issue!! Jerks on downshift as well rpm ramp up after shift of gear in 2nd to 1st gears
The transmission has been slipping since the truck was brand new (<100 miles) and has always slipped but recently became worse and slips all of the time. This is a known issue with this transmission and should be included in the recall. The transmission slipped going around a curve and almost lost control of the vehicle.
6l80 transmission out of no where started kicking in and out of gear while in busy traffic. The motor would rev up and then kick itself back into gear multiple times. This wasn’t stop and go traffic also moments later i was at a light turning left as i did the vehicle start this losing power to the transmission except this time i was in the oncoming traffic’s lane trying to turn. Thankfully the other vehicles stopped although it could have ended much worse.
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was shaking erratically. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 81,000.
Doing 65mph on interstate on cruise control, the transmission went into 'false neutral' and engine revs went sky high. Truck slowed quickly, almost got rear ended. After that, the transmission did engage and I barely made it home. Very dangerous! Transmisison had to be rebuilt. Only 126,000 miles on a 2018 truck.
2018 Chevrolet Silverado 2020 was under warranty (22,000 miles)….felt a little vibration in my steering wheel and suspected a transmission problem and called the dealer’s service department. I told them what I felt and they said…yes you have a transmission problem (that Chevrolet knows about) bring it in and we will fix it. The fix was…change transmission fluid to synthetic. Now I was not comfortable with the repair but what can I do. I also know changing to the synthetic fluid can handle higher temperatures and will not breakdown as quickly. So my point is Chevrolet knows and knew about the problem and did not even think about a recall due to the expense it would cost them. Chevrolet expects me to absorb the cost of a manufacture problem. Last year was the start of my families transmission problems. It started May of 2023 with my 2014 Silverado’s transmission (175,000 miles) and ended up getting it overhauled. The truck was not abused. November my 1st grandson’s 2018 Silverado’s transmission failed, December 2nd grandson’s 2015 Serria’s transmission failed. I also recently (3 days ago) found out my friend’s 2018 Silverado went failed last year. All within a 6 month’s period. Now I have lost my 2018 Silverado transmission (mentioned above) with 88,000 miles. This is just my family…I really can’t imagine what is going on country wide. All of the above events has prompted me to look into this problem. Every transmission shop and dealer is telling me Chevrolet knows and knew about the problem…I can go on. I am very concerned and will not stop at getting resolve with GM/Chevrolet taking ownership of the transmission problem. Sure I want help...but I also want to help others with the same problem.
Transmission jerking on downshift between 3/2 and 2/1 gears! I have seen GM has been aware of a recent transmissions issue with 2012-2018 plus 2019-2022 years
Vehicle wouldn't accelerate while in moving traffic. Rpm gauge would move but speed gauge would not and vehicle would not accelerate past 30-35. When I pulled over and put my vehicle in park then attempted to put in drive, it would not move. Transmission light turned on. Had it towed to a mechanic who after diagnostics, states it's definitely the transmission/torque converter.
2 separate lifter failure incidents at 61,000 miles. One failure, happened on a busy interstate, while flowing with the speed of traffic. Truck started to misfire, jerk and blow smoke. I had trouble getting to shoulder of highway to get out of the speed of traffic. The issue was a collapsed AFM lifter # 6. All the lifters were replaced on the passenger side on my dime. 450 miles later, I had to limp again to the repair shop that performed the previous repair to find AFM lifter # 4 failed this time. GM has been knowing about these lifter issues for many of years and this is a safety concern while on busy highways.
The GM 6L80 transmissions have a faulty torque converter. When it goes out it causes a horrible vibration and drive train failure. Which leaves you stranded in traffic or on the side of a busy highway. These transmissions have been installed by GM since 2013 knowing they fail prematurely as early as 60k miles. It’s a running joke that this transmission saved repair shops because of the sheer amount of failures. With the cost passed on to consumers. There are several in detail breakdowns of the defect in this part on various social media platforms and Internet forums. You can call any transmission shop across the nation they can confirm the defect. There where no warning lights prior to, during, or after the failure.
The transmission caused a vibration and sometimes a surge when it would go into gear. I had to be very careful when initially driving forward, especially in heavy traffic making sure I had a safe distance ahead of me. The entire vehicle would shutter when accelerating almost at any speed.
Torque converter failed resulting in failure of transmission. Requiring complete replacement of transmission at the cost of $7100 from dealership.
The truck excellerate when I stop at stop sign or red light, with my foot on brake pedal acts like it is going to take off without my foot on gas
Transmission shifts very hard in lower gears and is very sluggish at times.
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while her son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered. Additionally, the contact stated that the transmission was stuck in first gear. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
I have a 2018 Chevy Silverado that has issues with the transmission slipping into different gears as well as hard violent jerking even on the freeway ,and I heard hard rumbling in my transmission burnt out with only 76,000 miles, it's like they're designed to go out.
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The 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 has 101 Power Train complaints on file. 1 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.