The contact owns a 2017 GMC Sierra. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed with the defroster activated, a smoke odor was detected inside the vehicle. The contact's wife checked the rearview mirror and saw flames coming from the rear windshield. The contact's wife pulled over and heard a loud explosion from the rear windshield shattering before turning off the vehicle. The flames from the rear windshield were extinguished on their own after the vehicle was turned off. There were no injuries sustained. The vehicle was restarted, and the contact's wife deactivated the defroster before driving to work. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was determined that the rear windshield needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000.
GMC Sierra fire or smoke problems
42 of the 3,904 owner complaints about the GMC Sierra describe fire, smoke or burning smell, most of them for the 1997 model year.
- owner complaints
- 42
- worst model year
- 1997
- typical mileage
- 78,000
By model year
Often reported together
Wipers 5Fuel pump 4ABS 2Won't start 1Transmission failure 1Stalling 1Knocking 1Engine failure 1
What owners say
The contact owns a 2015 GMC Sierra. The contact stated that when doing the initial start, the rear of the vehicle began smoking and caught on fire. The contact turned off the vehicle and the fire settled however shortly after the rear window fractured. There were no injuries and no medical attention needed. There was no fire report. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer who stated that the window needed to be replaced and there was a Canadian recall (Manufacturer Number N192220470 ) for the rear windows defrost failing. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 152,000.
Total brake failure while in motion. Corroded brake line ruptured causing immediate loss of all fluid. Had this happened 5 minutes earlier, I would have been on a four lane highway in bumper to bumper christmas traffic. At 70 years old I can only imagine how catastrophic an accident my reflexes would have generated. The fluid sprayed on the hot engine creating a cloud of smoke. I was afraid the truck was on fire. The fluid cooked off the engine as smoke and again luckily there was no fire. Now after extensive repairs, I am very nervous behind the wheel of this vehicle. This very dangerous situation with corrosion should be addressed as blogs on the internet indicate this dangerous issue has been ongoing for quite awhile. I have attached the invoice of the repairs required. I was in the drive through of a mcdonalds and had placed my order and was pulling to the window to pay when the brakes failed. Luckily I was only moving slowly at that time, thus able to avoid injuring anyone or damaging any other vehicles.
Drove from my home to coworkers (20mins) left truck in coworkers driveway ,and went to work. One hour later coworker rec'd call from next door that my truck was on fire.
Tl* the contact owned a 2010 gmc sierra. The contact stated that shortly after parking, the vehicle caught fire. A fire report was filed and no injuries were sustained. The vehicle was destroyed and towed back to the contact's residence. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000.
On 12/12/14, my husband came home at approximately 2:00 pm and approximately an hour the garage was on fire and fire appears to have started in the truck. Gm came out and investigated with usaa but since there is nothing left of the truck the cause is undetermined. The entire house is a total loss. There is no roof left to truck. Gm trying to blame on a refridgerator cord or cord in workshop or sprinkling system.
I was traveling home from vacation and about 70 miles an hour in my 2010 gmc sierra and all of a sudden my truck revved up and my transmission went out. I about got hit from behind. I pulled over and there was smoke coming from the hood. I open the hood and there's transmission fluid from the front to the back under the truck. One of the cooling lines rubbed the other and chaffed a hole. Cost me 150 dollars in towing fees. Gm doesn't want to honor their warranty because they removed this part off their warranty in 2009. Trying to cover up their mistake .I called gm priority care and they had the truck towed to beck and masten gm. They are trying to charge me for the repairs when its a defect on gm's part. My question is how many innocent drivers are going to go bankrupt paying for a new transmission when it was gm's mistake in design. Or even worse how many will get killed on the highway. I think I've made my point!
Drove my son to football practice park truck in school parking lot about 1 hr later fan bower mototr caught fire burned up the dash ,winsheld fire department came put it out.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 gmc sierra. The contact stated that the air conditioner would shut off independetly and there was an electrical burning odor near the instrument panel and throughout the vehicle. When the air conditioner was deactivated, the burning smell ceased. The failure occurred on twelve different occasions. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 16,000. Jcc
While the vehicle was being driven, it just went dead, no engine, no electric, no nothing. The vehicle was left in place and at some point, caught fire and burned. A total loss. To date, the insurance company has not paid me for my loss but rather has gone to great lengths to investigate me personally, looking for any reason to not pay. So, I've been making two vehicle payments for the last 8 months. As a result, I am struggling financially.
Related recalls
Electrical system: software
- What is wrong
- Genera Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016 Chevrolet Camaro, Malibu, Silverado and GMC Sierra vehicles. The radio may intermittently fail to provide an audio warning when the key has been left in the ignition and the door is opened or when the driver does not fasten their seat belt. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) number 114, "Theft Protection", and/or 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
- Risk
- An unbelted driver is at a greater risk of injury in a crash.
- Remedy
- GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the radio software, free of charge. The recall began on March 14, 2016. 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 15808.
Recall number 16V084000 · Recall details
Electrical system: ignition
- What is wrong
- General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks manufactured January 24, 2014, to February 26, 2014, 2015 Chevrolet Suburban vehicles manufactured February 12, 2014 and Chevrolet Tahoe vehicles manufactured February 6, 2014, to February 13, 2014. In the affected vehicles, the ignition lock actuator may bind, making turning the key difficult or causing the ignition to get stuck in the "Start" position.
- Risk
- If stuck in the "Start" position, the ignition may suddenly snap back into the "Accessory" position, causing a loss of engine, steering, and braking power, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash. If the vehicle is in a crash, the air bags may not deploy, increasing the risk of occupant injury.
- Remedy
- GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ignition lock housing, free of charge. The recall began on November 20, 2015. 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 15573.
Recall number 15V640000 · Recall details
Electrical system: ignition
- What is wrong
- General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado HD, Silverado LD, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra LD, Sierra HD, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the ignition lock actuator may bind, making turning the key difficult or causing the ignition to get stuck in the "Start" position.
- Risk
- If stuck in the "Start" position, the ignition may suddenly snap back into the "Accessory" position, causing a loss of engine, steering, and braking power, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash. If the vehicle is in a crash, the air bags may not deploy, increasing the risk of occupant injury.
- Remedy
- GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the ignition lock housing, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on February 12, 2015. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1‑800‑458‑8006 (Cadillac), 1‑800‑222‑1020 (Chevrolet), or 1‑800‑462‑8782 (GMC). GM's number for this recall is 14696 for the original equipment, and 14912 for the service replacement parts.
Recall number 14V827000 · Recall details
Electrical system
- What is wrong
- General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Cadillac CTS, Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Yukon XL, and 2014 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Express, Impala, Silverado HD, Traverse, GMC Acadia, Savana, and Sierra HD vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the chassis electronic module may be internally contaminated, resulting in an electrical short.
- Risk
- If the module experiences an electrical short, the vehicle could stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the chassis electronic module, free of charge. The recall began on December 26, 2014. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1‑800‑521‑7300 (Buick), 1-800-458-006 (Cadillac), 1‑800‑222‑1020 (Chevrolet), and 1‑800‑462‑8782 (GMC). GMs number for this recall is 14515.
Recall number 14V614000 · Recall details
Electrical system: software
- What is wrong
- General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, and 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban vehicles equipped with a base radio and an internal amplifier. The radios in the affected vehicles may become inoperative, and as a result, there would be no audible chime to notify the driver if the door is opened with the key in the ignition or no audible seat belt warning indicating the seat belts were not buckled. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) numbers 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention," and 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
- Risk
- Without an audible indicator, the driver may not be aware that the driver's door is open while the key is in the ignition, increasing the risk of a vehicle rollaway. Additionally, there would be no reminder that the driver's or front seat passenger's seat belt is not buckled, which could increase the risk of injury in a crash.
- Remedy
- GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the radio software, free of charge. The recall began on July 2, 2014. Chevrolet owners may contact GM's customer service at 1‑800‑222‑1020. GMC owners may contact GM's customer service at 1‑800‑462‑8782. GM's number for this recall is 14315.
Recall number 14V301000 · Recall details
Electrical system
- What is wrong
- Gm is recalling certain model year 2006-2009 buick, lucerne; cadillac dts; hummer h2; model year 2008-2009 buick enclave; cadillac cts; model year 2007-2009 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl; saturn outlook; and model year 2009 chevrolet traverse vehicles equipped with a heated washer fluid system (hwfs). A recall was implemented in 2008 to add a fuse to the control circuit harness to address the potential consequences of a printed circuit board (pcb) electrical short. However, there have been new reports of thermal incidents on hwfs modules after this improvement was installed. These incidents resulted from a new failure mode attributed to the device's thermal protection feature. The significance varies from minor distortion to considerable melting of the plastic around the hwfs fluid chamber.
- Risk
- It is possible for the heated washer module to ignite and a fire may occur.
- Remedy
- Dealers will permanently disable and remove the heated washer fluid module. An updated page for the owner manual will be provided and inserted in the owner manual to document that the feature has been permanently disabled and removed from the vehicle. The safety recall began on june 11, 2010. Owners may contact buick at 1‑866‑608‑8080, cadillac at 1‑866‑982‑2339, chevrolet at 1‑800‑630‑2438, saturn at 1‑800‑972‑8876, gmc at 1‑866‑996‑9463 and hummer at 1‑800‑732‑5493 or at the owner center at www.gmownercenter.com.
Recall number 10V240000 · Recall details
Electrical system
- What is wrong
- Gm is recalling 857,735 my 2006-2008 buick lucerne; cadillac dts; hummer h2; my 2007-2008 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl, saturn outlook; and my 2008 buick enclave vehicles equipped with a heated wiper washer fluid system. A short circuit on the printed circuit board for the washer fluid heater may overheat the control-circuit ground wire.
- Risk
- This may cause other electrical features to malfunction, create an odor, or cause smoke increasing the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will install a wire harness with an in-line fuse free of charge. The recall began on september 12, 2008. Owners may contact buick at 1‑866‑608‑8080; cadillac at 1‑800‑982‑2339 or http://www.cadillac.com; chevrolet at 1‑800‑630‑2438; saturn at 1‑800‑972‑8876 or http://www.saturn.com, gmc at 1‑866‑996‑9436; or hummer at 1‑800‑732‑5493; or through their website at http://www.gmownercenter.com .
Recall number 08V441000 · Recall details
Questions about the GMC Sierra fire or smoke
Which GMC Sierra years have fire, smoke or burning smell problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1997 (6 complaints), 1998 (5 complaints) and 2000 (4 complaints).
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