2019 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
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle jerked and vibrated abnormally. In addition, the RPMs fluctuated, and there was an abnormal sound coming from the transmission. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to report the failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.
GM says my Vin was not part of the recalls, The Vin wasn't the problem,It was the Transmission!!! letter I sent to GM : Transmission Failure on 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LT Dear General Motors Customer Assistance, I am writing to formally express my concern regarding the complete failure of the 8L90 transmission in my 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LT. I have been a loyal Chevrolet customer and have always trusted GM vehicles for their reliability and performance. However, the recent catastrophic failure of my transmission—resulting in both internal and external damage—has left me extremely disappointed and financially burdened. This vehicle, equipped with the 8-speed 8L90 transmission, began exhibiting harsh shifting, delayed acceleration, and shuddering well before the failure. Despite regular maintenance and proper care, the transmission ultimately failed and "blew up" both internally and externally, rendering the vehicle undrivable and in need of complete transmission replacement. Upon further research, I discovered that numerous owners of 2015–2019 GM vehicles with the 8L90 transmission have reported similar issues, and multiple class-action lawsuits have been filed citing systemic defects in this transmission design. Though no recall has been officially issued, the volume of complaints and the existence of internal Technical Service Bulletins (such as TSB 16-NA-019) suggest GM is aware of the ongoing problems associated with this transmission. Given these circumstances, I am requesting that General Motors stand behind its product and assist with the full cost of replacing the failed transmission. I am prepared to provide documentation including service records, a technician’s report on the failure, and photos of the damage if needed. Please let me know how GM intends to proceed with this request. I would appreciate a prompt and fair resolution to this matter. Sincerely, [XXX] VIN # [XXX] Current Mileage: 114850 INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Vehicle has vibration at speeds of 40 and above. Vehicle shifts harshly and feels as if it’s constantly searching for a gear. You can feel transmission clunk when it shifts. Upshifts and downshifts at cruising speeds.
Transmission, chunks, shutters, took in to gm dealership and they could not find issue 30,000 miles, continued same problem 71,000 miles now needs Transmission replaced.
Since I have owned this vehicle I have experienced erratic shifting, primarily when driving in traffic, and when the vehicle is downshifting to 1st or 2nd gear. It has occasionally occurred when traveling on the highway during an upshift, but this is rare. I have also experienced lurching when stopped, or creeping forward in anticipation of a turn. I can occur at any time, and under any type of conditions, hot or cold. It also has a tendency to shift harshly when shifting from park to reverse or from reverse to drive. I have expressed my concerns with my dealer, and it appears they are aware of the problem, and have told me that GM is also aware of the issue, but they dismiss it by way of saying it is normal. I have had the transmission fluid changed at the regular interval, but this has not cured the problem. Finally, GM is well aware of this issue, and is subject to class action lawsuit regarding these transmissions, and other owners have stated that they too have experienced this shifting issue. My concern is that this will eventually lead to a failure of the transmission and the drive components i.e., drive shaft, pinon gear, differential housing, anything connected to the transmission. If this failure occurs at highway speeds, a possible loss of control and crash could occur.
Truck has been making a clunking sound for over a year and has gotten worse. Recently took to Jim’s Transmission to have transmission evaluated. Have been told that transmission needs to have a rebuild or new transmission $4500-6000. The truck has just over 67000 miles on it. Understand that there are class action suits regarding Gm being aware of the flaw in the transmissions. I have contacted both Chevy dealer and GM via certified letter and GM via email, and received no response regarding a goodwill repair.
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle briefly shuddered and jerked before returning to normal functionality. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the torque converter. The contact was informed that the transmission fluid was flushed and replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 47,200.
Transmission shifts really hard and down shift hard. Have been the to dearships 3 times being told that’s just how the transmission is even them acknowledging. It’s a problem.
While driving at highway speeds truck started to shake. Transmission fell out of overdrive almost causing a collision. I only have 80k mileage
Vehicle wouldn’t accelerate on the freeway and then shuttered and would not shift in the transmission. Was told by a repair man that the transfer clutch failed and the transmission is failed.
This has happened twice now, this vehicle has gone through 2 transmissions and still puzzles me. Hard shifts, sudden jerking and stopping. I’m just throwing money away for something that is unreliable. Both done by certified GM Dealer.
My truck out of nowhere will momentary lockup of the rear wheels, I can't get it to release unless I remove the battery. This has happened around a dozen times. It has happened a low speeds and high speeds. This is a safety issue and I can't drive my truck anymore out of fear I or someone will get killed!
I was driving on the hwy at 70mph when the engine had a catastrophic failure. Several warning lights appeared on the dash, loud metal clunking noises, vibration, and sudden slowing down of vehicle. I immediately pulled to side of road, turned truck off and called local dealership. Upon their inspection, they notified me a lifter bearing failed that would cause engine to seize and would require a new engine.
Hard shifting, shutter, jerk, hesitation feels like the motor is going to fall out. Haven't had the manufacturer look at it, but it's very annoying and embarrassing.
Transmission shudder and shakes at high speed and low speeds. Getting more noticeable.
Chevy Silverado ZR2, Motor Locked up and needs to be replaced.
My transmission keeps shuttering during passing gear around 50-55 mph. It causes my truck to slow down drastically. It's always a knee jerk. I've serviced my transmission around 40 to 50k miles.
Right after our warranty expired which was 36,000, the transmission started harsh or rough shifting , delayed acceleration, sudden lurching, and shuddering , hesitating to the point that you don’t think the truck is going to move or someone hit us from behind. It’s horrible. Every time you drive you pray the truck is going to get you there safely. We tried to take the truck to the Chevrolet dealer and they insisted there was no recall and it was no longer under warranty. Then we took to a private place and had transmission fluid flushed which made it worse. We are waiting patiently for a recall because we can’t afford a transmission.
This truck has very low miles (22,900) and has broken down on me 4 different times over several years. It will randomly slam into 2nd gear and I will almost loose control as the rear wheels will almost lock up. Then the vehicle will barely move even at WOT. This has caused me to almost be in accidents and is very unsafe. GM knows there is several issues with this 8 speed transmission and cannot resolve it. I am afraid to be in an accident because this thing is so unreliable in it's operation. GM needs to be forced to address this issue. There are multiple TSBs on this transmission that claim to be collecting data and investigating the cause of issues dating back to 2020. Time for a repair!
Purchased Truck in 2019 - 2 weeks after purchase the truck gave a Code and started to stall while in motion. We took into dealership and they did a complete review. They discovered and documented the following: Removed transmission fluid pump and disassembled to inspect- found a large piece of manufacturing metal flashing - that got stuck in valve bore preventing full movement etc. we kept up on all of our maintenance oil changes. We had the transmission flushed just near the end of the warranty as they recommended it. Shortly after, we started experiencing the same issue. Per the dealership, no recalls for this. The power would completely shut down while driving. Took to dealerships , now telling us we need new transmission $12,000 and is the reason for the power shutting down. They are saying GM will offer us $2,000. We feel this is all due to the flushing and maybe having particles from the flushing,
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the gear shift lever was shifted to park(P); however, the gear shift lever failed to function as intended. The contact stated that a shift to park error message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed gear shift lever. The contact was informed that the gear shift lever needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The contact had received minimal financial assistance with the cost of the repair. The failure mileage was 70,000.
See attached document for complaint
At the dealership has I type, Engine lifter failure, 68000 miles, Oil changed every 4000 miles, before oil life was at 50%, No warning, No warning noise, Just all of a sudden loud knocking noise, No check engine never came on, Had to had it towed
My truck is at Hubler Cevrolet in Greenwood, IN with engine oil cooler lines leaking at 40,000 miles. GM Customer satisfaction program for some vin numbers expired in 2023 (N212326940). My vin was identified as being ineligible. Upon my own further research these trucks are known to have issues with leaking or rupturing oil cooler lines leading to catastrophic engine failure. I suspect that the manufacturer of the previously covered lines is the same although the part application number may be different. The manufacturer produced a defective oil cooler line that is previously know to fail especially in cold climates. I am Indianapolis, IN where temperatures have been below 0 at times and is frequently below freezing during winter. My lines starting leaking after the first freeze, about 4 weeks ago. I closely monitored the oil level until I was able to take it to the dealer for further inspection, it always remained above half on the dipstick. I wrongly assumed that the leak was from an overtightened oil drain screw from the previous oil change. I had my oil changed at XpressPro a few days before I took my truck to the dealer because their technician identified the leak was from the oil cooler lines. The tech at Xpresspro showed me a video he took on his personal cell phone showing the oil covering the engine oil cooler lines. The dealer is quoting 1400 for the repairs and they are not covered by powertrain warranty even though the engine would seize if they ruptured while driving. I reached out to GM customer service and spoke with Kaylee she advised me to contact Hubler to inquire about cost assistance and use my case number she gave for reference (XXX). I beleive this should be covered by a recall as it could have ruptured while driving causing the engine to lock and stop all forward momentum. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6
When put in drive and start driving as I start going it won’t shift and takes longer than normal when finally shifts it’s to hard and truck jumps a lot as if had hit a bump with rear tires, Also while driving in highway truck vibrates to much have already try new tires new rims and different parts of suspension to solve issues but continues to do the same.
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Quick Summary
The 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 has 175 Power Train complaints on file. 3 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.