I was operating the vehicle heading out of town, about 120 miles from my starting point. While waiting to turn onto an intersecting highway, my passenger and myself noticed smoke coming from under the vehicle in the area of the passenger rear area of the cab. No warning lights were illuminated on the dash. I quickly pulled into a vacant lot just after the intersection. I jumped out of the truck and looked under the vehicle and saw flames starting to dance along under the cab in the area of the DPF. Being a retired firefighter I and the passenger attempted to douse the flames with bottled water but these were ineffective and the fire quickly spread to the interior of the cab and I was forced to just wait for the volunteer fire Dept to arrive and extinguish the vehicle. The incident happened in [XXX] at 7:05 AM. the temperature that day was about 44 with little wind. Light breeze coming out of the NE. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
GMC Sierra 3500 fire or smoke problems
17 of the 586 owner complaints about the GMC Sierra 3500 describe fire, smoke or burning smell, most of them for the 2020 model year.
- owner complaints
- 17
- worst model year
- 2020
- typical mileage
- 26,000
By model year
- 20242
- 20211
- 20203
- 20192
- 20171
- 20161
- 20151
- 20071
- 20061
- 20051
- 20041
- 20011
- 19981
Often reported together
Check engine light 2Stalling 1Power steering loss 1Loss of power 1
What owners say
The contact owns a 2021 GMC Sierra 3500. The contact stated that while his wife had the vehicle idling with the rear defroster activated, shortly afterwards, she observed smoke coming from the plastic on the rear sliding window. After a visual inspection, the contact's wife observed that the plastic was melting, prompting her to deactivate the rear defroster. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 26,000.
The contact owned a 2019 GMC Sierra 3500. The contact stated while driving at approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle went into “Engine Power Reduced Mode” and the contact attempted to pull over to the side of the road, but the contact stated that the battery went dead and the vehicle shutoff. The contact shifted to park(P) and attempted to restart the vehicle; however, the vehicle failed to restart, and smoke started coming from under the hood. The contact stopped attempting to restart the vehicle, and exited the vehicle and raised the hood, and the vehicle was on fire in the engine compartment on the left side of the firewall. The contact stated that there was gray and white smoke coming from the vehicle and an odor of electrical wires burning. The contact attempted to reach for a fire extinguisher but was informed by another driver who had stopped to see if the contact needed assistance, to step away from the vehicle. The other driver saw the flames coming from the engine compartment and told the contact to step away from the vehicle because it was unsafe to attempt to extinguish the flames, and the engine compartment became engulfed in flames. The Fire Department was contacted and arrived on scene and extinguished the fire. The contact stated that the front end of the vehicle and the front bumper, hood, engine, and engine components were damaged by the fire. Additionally, the front windshield was severely damaged. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot and declared a total loss by the Insurance provider. The contact stated that the Fire Department filed an incident report. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The contact related the failure and the fire to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V496000 (Equipment) which was associated with the VIN. The failure mileage was approximately 242,000.
The other day approximately 5 minutes after leaving my house I noticed a smell and saw some slight smoke coming from my rear window. I immediately turned off the rear defrost and my rear window shattered. The next day I discovered other Chevy/gmc vehicles have a recall for a short circuit in the rear defrost. Unfortunately the dealership will not help me until there is a recall with my vin as there is not an open recall on my vehicle.
driving 65mph when vehicle attempted to downshift itself for no reason when instead the rear axles locked up and made a massively loud bang as if axle fell off, let off gas, smoke pouring from rear tires, skidded about 8 feet, it released then locked up 2 more times within 30 secs before I could get off road out of traffic flow. mfd has a tsb for this issue(#21-NA-275 GM) not sure if its transmission or braking system Dealer service could not replicate and told me it was probably my trailer(wasnt traveling with trailer) no warnings, no codes occurred initially at 56000 mile, has happened 10 or 12 times since then. very scary, im afraid to drive or tow now that dealer mentioned trailer brakes.
Vehicle caught fire minutes after remote starting. Fire appears to have started on firewall on the left side. We were about to take our kids to school vehicle could have easily caught our house and other property on fire. We did have the check engine light come on occasionally but it would always turn back off, vehicle only had about 12000 miles. Also none of the outlets inside the vehicle never worked.
Plugged in engine block heater and the car erupted in flames. Total loss.
I had the rear defrost running, and began to hear a sizzling/hissing sound in the back seat. After a minute of hearing this noise, I noticed smoke coming from the rear sliding window. I immediately turned off the rear defrost. A few seconds later, I heard a loud pop and the passenger side of my rear window was shattered. I called and spoke with the dealership and explained what had happened. They said they knew exactly what had happened and it is pretty common in these trucks.
The truck has low mileage for it's age but it 3 times starting in 2005 it has caught fire in and around the battery/alternator. I've given gmc multiple times to fix the problem but it just happened again. It happened on the highway at first and it happened in my driveway the other day.
While towing a fifth wheel camper, the exhaust was so hot it melted the camper directly behind it. Was caught in side mirror before anything caught on fire.
Related recalls
Electrical system
- What is wrong
- General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2007-2011 Chevrolet Silverado HD 2500/3500 trucks manufactured January 18, 2007, to June 22, 2011, and GMC Sierra HD 2500/3500 trucks manufactured January 22, 2007, to June 21, 2011, and equipped with an auxiliary battery. Owners may unknowingly draw too much current through the vehicle's trailer harness resulting in the melting of fusible link for the auxiliary battery.
- Risk
- If the fusible link melts it may come into contact with adjacent components, damage the electrical center cover, the nearby wiring harness conduit and other vehicle components, increasing the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- GM will notify owners and dealers will replace the jumper harness with one that includes a 40 amp inline fuse, and provide the owner with supplemental Owner Manual information, free of charge. The recall began on August 29, 2014. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1‑800‑222‑1020 or GMC customer service at 1‑800‑462‑8782. GM's number for this recall is 14260.
Recall number 14V407000 · Recall details
Questions about the GMC Sierra 3500 fire or smoke
Which GMC Sierra 3500 years have fire, smoke or burning smell problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2020 (3 complaints), 2019 (2 complaints) and 2024 (2 complaints).
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