There are 50 owner-reported air bags & restraints complaints for the 2008 GMC Sierrain NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
I was driving down the highway at 70 mph, when there was a loud bang followed by a gun powder smell. My seatbelts went tight...hazard lights automatically came on...radio went dead...and the Airbag light came on. The pretensioners in both driver and passenger seats had deployed. I pulled over and shut the truck off, to get out and inspect it. There was no warning, and luckily I was composed enough to not wreck into anyone or anything. I see there have been a few similar incidents, so I'm glad this isn't just a solitary incident.
The contact owns a 2008 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V050000 (Air Bags). The local dealer was contacted and informed the contact about the disclaimer about the dashboard possibly being damaged. The dealer informed the contact that there were no loaner vehicles, but then called back and offered a loaner. The manufacturer was contacted and filed a clai,m and referred the contact to another local dealer. The contact called the other local dealer, Ferman Chevrolet of Tarpon Springs (43520 US Hwy 19 N, Tarpon Springs, FL 34689), who confirmed there was a disclaimer related to the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure.
The contact owns a 2008 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V050000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.
Driving down the road on way home from work airbags blew out. The one in the steering wheel and the one on the passenger side. It busted windshield on passenger side. Shards of stuff all over dash on passenger side. That airbag popped 2 times.
Air bags did not deploy when another vehicle hit truck on front passenger side at 35-40 mph
I was driving in a parking structure at low speed when a loud bang went off inside the cab. The hazard lights went off, there was an acrid electrical smell, and fine dust was coming from the steering wheel area. I stopped the truck and got out to look for a collision, but there was none. When I restarted the truck, the air bag light came on and I noticed that the seatbelts were retracted and no longer functional. I was not injured, but I believe that if this had happened in traffic or on the highway, I and my passenger could have been seriously hurt. The vehicle was towed to the GMC dealership, where they identified an error with the module that sends a signal to the airbags and seatbelts to deploy. Prior to this occurrence, I had no indication that the airbag/seatbelt system was faulty or in need of service.
The contact owns a 2008 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and turned off at the residence, the front windshield cracked. Upon inspection, the contact noticed that the front driver's and passenger's side air bags had deployed without impact. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and it was determined that a short circuit was caused by water damage in the air bag modules underneath the front driver's and passenger's side seats. The vehicle was then towed to a body shop for the air bags to be replaced; however, the replacement parts were on backorder. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 38,000.
Where the passenger airbag is at, there is some cracking around it
Cranked my truck yesterday and put it in drive. Slowly drove about 300 feet and the pretensioner’s discharged in my seatbelts. I fortunately did not have it on yet, but the seatbelts are now unusable.
UNKNOWN. Front side passenger safety belt won't buckle, the latch appears to be blocking the buckle when in the open, unlatched position.
I started my 2008 GMC Sierra, crew cab and began to pull my drivers side seat belt across my body to latch it. I was about 1/2 way when I heard a loud bang that sounded like a gun going off to my right, the seat belt that I had in my hand pulled back tight pulling my hand with it. There was smoke and the smell of gun powder coming from the bottom of the passenger seat by the seat belt. With my heart pounding in my chest I got out of my truck as quickly as I could (my driver's side door was still open). Both the driver's side and passenger side seat belts were pulled tight and I was unable to get either to release. The truck is now sitting, unable to be driven safely with the seat belt on. The dealership said it would be just under $1,000 to fix plus towing and has no idea how or why it happened. This truck has never been in an accident and currently has about 140,000 mostly highway miles on it and I am the original owner. Searching online I found that there are other people on blogs who have had similar problems with exploding seat belt modules with a range of 40,000 miles to over 150,000 miles.
2008 GMC SIERRA. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO TAKATA AIRBAG SAFETY RECALL.
The contact owns a 2009 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the steering wheel air bag and driver seat belt air bag were inadvertently deployed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated she veered to the side of the road and cut the air bags. The contact also stated she could no longer use the driver's seat belt as it was locked. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who advised the contact that they could not determine the cause of the failure. However, the manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not share the diagnostic of the vehicle because it was confidential. The manufacturer also offered to buy back the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 138,000.
Takata recall. The contact owns a 2008 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V050000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The part was not available for repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
The contact owns a 2008 GMC Sierra. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 21V052000 (Air bags) The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the recall was serviced; but, a week later the air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer or independent mechanic to have it diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 159,398.
I'm frustrated with the dash being cracked. the big issue is that i believe it is a safety issue. the dash is cracked around the airbag area. if this airbag should deploy someone could be hurt or killed. I would like to get this corrected because I'm afraid to operate the vehicle. Thank you for your attention in this matter. Regards, [xxx] PARTS OF THIS DOCUMENT HAVE BEEN REDACTED TO PROTECT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) *cc
I WAS DRIVING FROM LUFKIN TO HEMPHILL AT 70 MPH. SOMETHING BLEW UP, I THOUGHT SOMETHING HIT ME. ENGINE DIED, BRAKES STARTED, EMERGENCY LIGHTS CAME ON, AND SEATBELT LOCKED DOWN, TRUCK STOPPED, I GOT OUT TO SEE WHAT HIT ME. NOTHING! WHEN I GOT BACK IN THE TRUCK A WHITE POWDER (NOT SMOKE) WAS COMING OUT OF THE SEAT BELT ON DRIVERS SIDE. WHEN SEAT BELT LOCKED DOWN I HAD TO BACK SEAT UP TO GET OUT OF THE BELT. I WAS LUCKY THAT I DID NOT HIT SOMEONE.
THE NHTSA RECALL NUMBER: 21V050 HAS BEEN IN LIMBO FOR YEARS. THIS HAS BEEN THE RECALL STATUS FOR YEARS WITH NO UPDATES: RECALL STATUS: RECALL INCOMPLETE. REMEDY NOT YET AVAILABLE
IN THE CITY STOPPED AT A LEFT TURN LANE WAITING FOR THE GREEN. LIGHT TURNED GREEN, I STATED TO TURN LEFT AND WAS HIT ON RIGHT FRONT HARD ENOUGH TO SEND ME TWO LANES OVER, ONTO THE SIDEWALK AND INTO A BRICK WALL CAUSE MAJOR DAMAGE TO BRICK BUILDING. I DO NOT REMEMBER BEING HIT OR HITTING THE BRICK WALL. NO AIRBAGS DEPLOYED. I WENT TO THE HOSPITAL AND DIAGNOSED WITH A CONCUSSION.
THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 GMC SIERRA 1500. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 21V052000 (AIR BAGS) HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE RECALL REPAIR WAS NOT YET AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER HAD EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE DEALER AND THE MANUFACTURER WERE MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE.
Showing 1–20 of 50 complaints
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026