There are 14 owner-reported engine complaints for the 2008 GMC Sierrain NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
The contact owns a 2008 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that after the dealer repaired the vehicle under NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V050000 (Air Bags) and GM's Emission Recall: N140581 (Carbon Monoxide Emissions), the vehicle nearly caught on fire. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact turned on the A/C, and the vehicle started shaking abnormally. Additionally, the vehicle made abnormal sounds, jerked, and stalled while driving. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, and there was smoke coming from under the hood. Upon inspection, the dealer discovered that the catalytic convertor was extremely hot and glowing red. The dealer determined that the exhaust system and catalytic convertor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then towed to the residence. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 151,071.
I HAVE THE 5.3L ENGINE AND IT IS CONSUMING 3-5 QUA OF OIL ABOUT 3 TIMES BETWEEN OIL CHANGES. I HAVE A SMALL LEAK BUT DOESN'T WARRANT THE OIL BEING LOST A
MY SIERRA DEVELOPED A NOISE ON DECELERATION. TOOK IT TO THE GMC DEALER AND WAS TOLD IT HAD A WORN CAM. $5500 TO REPAIR, $7750 TO REPLACE ENGINE. I KNEW THAT A WORN CAM WOULD CAUSE LIFTER NOISE ALL THE TIME SO THAT WAS WRONG INFO. UPON FURTHER INVESTIGATION I FOUND OUT THIS TRUCK HAS ACTIVE FUEL MANAGEMENT. WHAT HAPPENED WAS A FAILURE OF THE SYSTEM. IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THIS TRUCK ALWAYS HAD HIGH OIL CONSUMPTION. I DEACTIVATED THE ACTIVE FUEL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. THE TRUCK RUNS ON ALL 8 CYLINDERS, IS COMPLETELY QUIET AND NO LONGER USES OIL. IT IS BETTER THAN NEW. I ALSO FOUND HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS SIMILAR TO MY AND PAID FOR EXPENSIVE REPAIRS. THIS ACTIVE FUEL MANAGEMENT IS NOTHING MORE THAN A SCAM TO FALSELY INCREASE FUEL MILEAGE AND TO RIP OFF CUSTOMERS WHEN IT GOES BAD. IT CAN BE DEACTIVATED WITH A $175 CHIP.
LIFTERS FAILED AT 98,000 CAUSING ENGINE REPLACEMENT.
LOW OIL PRESSURE WHILE IN MOTION. SPLIT O-RING ON OIL PUMP PICK UP TUBE, METAL DEBRIS IN SCREEN FOR OIL PRESSURE SENSOR/ AFM VALVE LIFTER MANIFOLD. NO VALVE SHIELD ON AFM VALVE IN OIL PAN. HIGH OIL CONSUMPTION.
BROKEN EXHAUST MANIFOLD BOLTS. AS OF TODAY I HAVE A TOTAL OF (3) BOLT HEADS THAT ARE BROKEN. (2) ON DRIVERS SIDE AND (1) ON PASSENGER SIDE. THE EXHAUST FUMES ARE BEGINNING TO LEAK INSIDE OF THE CAB ESPECIALLY WHEN STOPPED AT INTERSECTIONS.
COLLAPSED AFM LIFTER AT 108000 MILES. I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AND ALL OF THE SUDDEN MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL AND SERVICE STABILITRAK. MY ENGINE WAS IDLING ROUGH AT LOW RPM. TOOK VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD THAT IT HAD A COLLAPSED LIFTER ON THE #6 CYLINDER. I HAVE ALWAYS HAD THE OIL CHANGED REGULARLY AT THE DEALERSHIP. WAS TOLD IT WOULD BE 4800 TO REPLACE ALL THE LIFTERS, 5300 IF THE CAM WAS BAD ALSO AND 7300 FOR A NEW ENGINE.
OUT OF NOWHERE ENGINE BEGAN TO IDLE ERRATICALLY ALMOST CAUSING AN ACCIDENT AT AN INTERSECTION, IF I HADN'T CAUGHT IT AND SLAMMED ON THE BRAKES THE TRUCK WOULD HAVE REAR ENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE. AFTER THAT THE IDLE BEGAN TO DROP AS IF THE VEHICLE WAS GOING TO STALL, THEN WOULD KICK BACK UP TO ABOUT 900-1000 RPM. WAS INTERMITTENT AT FIRST, NOW VEHICLE IS NOT DRIVEABLE. IT IS WORSE WITH A/C ON AND IT EFFECTS ENGINE TEMP GAUGE AS WELL.
EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION. BEGAN USING IN JUNE OF 2015. USES MORE THAN 1 QT PER 3000 MILES OF DRIVING.
TICKING NOISE BEGAN ONCE THE VEHICLE REACHED ~100,000 MILES. INITIALLY, THE TICKING ONLY OCCURRED ONCE THE ENGINE WAS STARTED. AS TIME WENT ON, THE TICKING BECAME MORE FREQUENT, TO INCLUDE UPON ENGINE START AND WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS UNDER LOAD/ACCELERATING. AT APPROXIMATELY 108,000 MILES, THE TICK BECAME CONSTANT WHILE THE ENGINE IS RUNNING. GMC DEALER DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS A FAILED LIFTER, WHICH, APPARENTLY, HAS BEEN A COMMON PROBLEM IN GM 5.3L ENGINES. A VEHICLE SHOULD NOT NEED A NEW ENGINE, OR EVEN NEW LIFTERS FOR THAT MATTER, AT 100,000 MILES. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE, WITH MANY CONSUMERS REPORTING IT AND GM ACKNOWLEDGING IT. VEHICLES WITH THESE ENGINES SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED YEARS AGO.
DRIVING AND THE ENGINE BEGAN MAKING A HITTING SOUND AS IF SOMEONE WAS BEATING A METAL OBJECT AGAINST METAL. *TR
DRIVING AND WARNING CAME ON AND IT SAID "ENGINE HOT A/C TURNED OFF" HAD THIS VEHICLE ONLY ONE WEEK WHEN THIS HAPPENED, TOWED BACK TO THE DEALER THE SAID WASN'T UNDER WARRANTY, I TOLD THEM TO KEEP THE TRUCK. THEY PUT ON A NEW THERMOSTAT, TWO WEEKS LATER SAME THING. TOOK TRUCK TO MY MECHANIC AND HE REPLACED THE THERMOSTAT. GOOD FOR ABOUT TWO MONTHS, WARNING KEEPS COMING ON. LOOKED ON LINE MANY PEOPLE HAVE HAD THIS HAPPEN, A MECHANIC AT A CHEVROLET GARAGE TOLD ME IT IS PROBABLY IN THE CLUSTER PANEL/ COMPUTER?? BIG MONEY. WITH ALL THE PROBLEMS OTHER'S HAVE BEEN HAVING, I THINK IT IS DANGEROUS TRUCK CATCH ON FIRE GOING DOWN THE ROAD. WOULD LIKE AN ANSWER TO THIS PROBLEM. THANK YOU MARY ANN
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 GMC SIERRA 1500. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH WHEN THE TEMPERATURE WARNING INDICATOR LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS IN THE PROCESS OF OVERHEATING AND THE CONTACT ALLOWED THE VEHICLE TO COOL DOWN. THE VEHICLE WAS LATER DRIVEN TO THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE AND WAS NOT TAKEN TO FOR DIAGNOSIS OF REPAIRS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 3,664.
VEHICLE WAS IN (D) DRIVE AND I WAS ABLE TO TURN THE IGNITION OFF. IS THIS NORMAL? I CHECKED WITH MY GMC DEALER AND THEY SAID IT HAD TO BE PUT ON THE COMPUTER TO BE CHECKED, HOWEVER WAS NOT COVERED BY ANY POSTED RECALL. IS THIS RELATIVE TO THE IGNITION RECALL? THANK YOU *TR
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