Check a VIN

2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500: brake failure

9 of the 859 complaints about the 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 describe brake failure.

owner complaints
9
of this car's complaints
1%
recalls
0
Is there a fix? 31 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Brake failure by model year

What owners say

Filed Jul 1, 2026 · Brakes, Driver assistance · NC

I was on the highway doing 70 MPH with my family driving down I-40 through western NC (mountainous terrain) when my brakes went out and the vehicle went into limp mode. I was able to safely pull over thank God and then had my vehicle towed to the dealer. The dealer just informed me that a software update is needed, and not covered under warranty. There are multiple safety bulletins coming out for related years and issues related to the braking system of this make/model and I would like this documented as well as Chevy to cover the cost of repairing this defect.

Filed Feb 23, 2026 · Brakes, Suspension · 98,000 miles · IN · crash

The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. While driving 43 MPH, the message "Brake Failure" was displayed. The contact then lost control of the vehicle, and the vehicle drove from the right side to the left side of the road, the vehicle drove off the road and crashed into a ditch before coming to a stop. The driver had not sustained any injuries. There was no property damage. The air bags did not deploy. The check engine, the ABS and several unknown warning lights were illuminated after the failure. A tow truck driver who was also a mechanic inspected the vehicle and informed the contact that the driver's side front suspension had fractured from the upper ball joint and the wheel was folded in underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was being diagnosed. A Police Report was filed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.

Filed Dec 15, 2025 · Airbags, Brakes · CO · crash

The brake stopped working. I just bought the car two months ago.

Filed Aug 12, 2025 · Brakes · 94,000 miles · FL

The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH and attempting to decelerate, the brake pedal extended to the floorboard while depressed, and the vehicle failed to immediately decelerate. During the failure, the message "Brake Failure" was displayed. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 94,000.

Filed May 3, 2025 · Brakes, Engine · TX

I am reporting a safety concern that I believe should be included in an existing or expanded recall for the Chevrolet Silverado. The issue involves engine replacement due to metal shaving being found in oil & brake failure, which occurred on 05/01/2025 The problem with the brakes occurred while I was in heavy traffic in Dallas, Texas multiple times, resulted in multiple near-accident experiences that day. The truck has been diagnosed by a mechanic, at the Chevy dealership and I believe this defect poses a serious safety risk and may be affecting other Silverado vehicles outside the current recall scope. I have driven the vehicle to Chevy and stayed in constant contact with the dealership, had diagnostics done, but the issue has not been resolved. am requesting that the federal safety agency investigate whether this issue warrants inclusion in the current recall or a new safety campaign. I have on had this vehicle less than 2 years and I put less than 70K miles on it. I purchased it from vandergriff Chevrolet in Arlington, TX

Filed Dec 2, 2024 · Brakes · IN

Mechanics said that they see this on all new chevy trucks that the bracket causes the rubber brake line to rub on the bracket holding it in place also causing it to stretch and tear. Resulting in a over 500 dollar fix. The brakes failed on the interstate causing them to lock up. Almost killing me and my daughter but was able to gain control of the vehicle and save it.

Filed Jul 3, 2023 · Brakes, Electrical · TX

While pulling out into traffic the vehicle will momentarily lose all electrical power and the engine shuts off causing loss of brakes and steering.

Filed May 21, 2022 · Engine · GA

I was driving and noticed several loud clunking noises coming from the Engine bay. The truck began to cut out, shake, and misfire. My dash began to flash and state I had a parking brake failure. I had no choice but to be towed. I have just shy of 17,000 miles. The dealership stated I had two lifter and 1 rod failure. They replaced the rod and all lifters on one side of the engine. I took the truck home for one night and it broke down again. The dealership stated it was fixed for a second time. When I picked it up again, I made it 1 mile down the road before the truck had the exact same symptoms with shuddering and misfiring. It is at the dealership for a third time. I was surprised to fin several class action lawsuits now filed against gm concerning the lifter issue. YouTube is full of lifter issue videos. This should be fully investigated and obviously warrants a recall for lifters, rods, and the camshaft.

Filed Jul 23, 2021 · Brakes · TX

My best friends truck, a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado had a brake failure a July 2021. Was coming up to an intersection to make a left turn and went to press the brake pedal to slow down for the turn. Pedal went all the way to the floor and the truck wasn't slowing down much at all. Multiple brake system warnings and lights came on the dash along with the check engine light. It got towed to the dealership he bought it from. They replaced the brake system control module and said it's good to go. Maybe it is, maybe it's not. There have already been 2 recalls pertaining to this exact issue released, none of which applied to his truck according to the VIN recall checker on GM's website. If the problem has been figured out and fixed, then it wouldn't still be occuring. This is a MAJOR safety concern, one that I feel people need to be aware of. Which is why I'm sharing what happened to my friend's truck on behalf of him. This situation is exactly why the emergency brake on vehicles is an all mechanical system that allows the driver to quickly and directly be able to apply the vehicles brakes. It's a reliable and dependable system that's been implemented for over a century. This is a prime example of why vehicles still need to have one onboard. This vehicle doesn't have a real emergency brake. There was an emergency in which the vehicles primary brakes failed and weren't able to slow down the vehicle. The little "emergency brake" button was more worthless than the main brakes that failed to do their job on this truck with less than 5,000 miles on it because the emergency brake system on this truck has worked 0% of the time it was needed so far. This isn't some engine misfire, sunvisor defect, or Bluetooth pairing problem, this is an out of nowhere total brake system failure. This is not good. And people need to be made aware that the problem is still occurring, and on vehicle's that GM isn't aware that it may be applicable to according to the absence of any recalls per VIN.

Questions about the 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 brake failure

Is brake failure a common problem on the 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500?

9 of 859 owner complaints about the 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 (1%) mention brake failure. The model year with the most reports is 2003.

Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500?

There are 0 recalls and 31 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.

Other symptoms on the 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500

Check engine light 192Engine failure 149Loss of power 86Knocking 63Misfire 53Stalling 51Jerking 43Harsh shifting 33Hesitation 33Shudder 32Transmission failure 31Won't shift 25Slipping 17Oil consumption 15Overheating 15Power steering loss 15Warning lights 14Ball joint 13Fire or smoke 13Fuel pump 11Won't start 11Grinding brakes 10No deployment 9ABS 8Airbag light 7Backup camera 5Seat belt 5Water leak 5

All model years of the Chevrolet Silverado 1500

VIN decoder

See the problems and recalls for an exact car

Buying a used 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500?

Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.

Check its history