Problems owners report
Complaints filed with NHTSA about the 2005 GMC Sierra, by the system named in each complaint. One complaint can name several.
- Service brakes27
- Electrical system23
- Steering11
- Power train11
- Service brakes, hydraulic10
- Suspension9
- Engine and engine cooling9
- Engine8
- Structure7
- Vehicle speed control6
NHTSA ODI complaints (public domain) · updated 23 Oct 2026 · 3 injuries and 0 deaths reported
Compared with other years
NHTSA ODI complaints by model year
Fatal crashes in the US
From 2020 to 2023, 157 2005 Sierra vehicles were involved in crashes on US public roads in which someone died; 92 people died inside them, and 40 of the vehicles rolled over. This is a count, not a crash rate: it grows with the number of cars on the road.
NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), crash years 2020–2023 (public domain)
New York safety inspections
At its first New York inspection the 2005 GMC Sierra failed the safety check 1.51% of the time — 35% less often than the average 2005 passenger car (2.30%). Median odometer at inspection: 156,054 miles.
NY DMV Vehicle Inspections (vezn-fmmk), initial inspections since Aug 2021 · how we count
In New Zealand
1 2005 cars are on the New Zealand register; 100% arrived as used imports, 0% were sold new in New Zealand.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, Motor Vehicle Register (March 2026) · CC BY 4.0
Recalls in Canada
11 Transport Canada recalls for the 2005 GMC Sierra.
| 2014492 30 Oct 2014 | Accessories *** This notice is provided for information purposes only as the subject equipment is not regulated under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act *** A safety defect ma… |
| 2011074 21 Feb 2011 | Heater And Defroster On certain vehicles, the interface between the electrical terminals of the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) blower relay resistor module and th… |
| 2006195 4 Aug 2006 | Fuel System On certain vehicles, the engine fuel rail pulse damper retainer clip may fracture, resulting in inadequate retention of the damper. If the damper comes loose, … |
| 2005296 7 Oct 2005 | Steering Certain vehicles may have been built with a power steering hose that is not to specification. Under extreme steering manoeuvres, such as turning the steering w… |
| 2005119 25 Apr 2005 | Seats And Restraints On certain vehicles, the 2nd row centre occupant seat belt routing may make it difficult to position the lap portion of the safety belt low around the hips of o… |
| 2005116 22 Apr 2005 | Brakes On certain 1999-2002 1500 series and 2001-2005 2500 & 3500 series trucks equipped with a manual transmission, the parking brake friction lining may wear to an e… |
| 2005083 30 Mar 2005 | Seats And Restraints Certain Sierra Denali vehicles do not comply with the requirements of CMVSS 210.2 pertaining to location and instructions for properly attaching child restraint… |
| 2005033 15 Feb 2005 | Brakes On certain vehicles, the hydraulic brake booster's pressure accumulator may crack and/or separate from the Hydro-Boost assembly during normal vehicle operating … |
| 2005038 15 Feb 2005 | Lights And Instruments Certain vehicles equipped with an automatic transmission fail to comply with the requirements of CMVSS 101 - Location, identification and illumination of displa… |
| 2005017 24 Jan 2005 | Steering On certain vehicles, the bolt that attaches the intermediate steering shaft to the steering gear may fracture resulting in the loss of steering control. If thi… |
| 2004281 5 Aug 2004 | Fuel System On certain vehicles, the fuel rail crossover tube retainer screws were not manufactured to specifications and may break. If a tube retainer screw breaks, fuel … |
Transport Canada Vehicle Recalls Database · Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada
Recalls
CERTAIN VEHICLES ORIGINALLY BUILT WITH CLOTH SEATS THAT WERE EQUIPPED WITH AN AUTOMATIC AIR BAG PASSENGER SENSING SYSTEM AND LATER REUPHOLSTERED WITH AFTERMARKET LEATHER SEAT COVER KITS ARE INVOLVED. TESTING HAS INDICATED THAT THE AFTERMARKET LEATHER SEAT COVERS CAN CAUSE THE PASSENGER SENSING SYSTEM TO MALFUNCTION.
ON CERTAIN TRUCKS EQUIPPED WITH AN 8.1L V8 (RPO L8-VIN G) ENGINE HAVE A CONDITION IN WHICH THE ENGINE FUEL RAIL PULSE DAMPER RETAINER CLIP MAY FRACTURE RESULTING IN INADEQUATE RETENTION OF THE DAMPER.
CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES MAY HAVE BEEN BUILT WITH A POWER STEERING HOSE THAT IS NOT TO SPECIFICATION. UNDER EXTREME STEERING MANEUVERS, SUCH AS TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL FULLY TO THE LEFT OR RIGHT WHILE BRAKING, THE HOSE MAY FRACTURE AND LEAK FLUID.
ON CERTAIN PICKUP TRUCKS EQUIPPED WITH MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS AND BUILT WITH EITHER PBR PARKING BRAKE SYSTEMS OR TRW PARKING BRAKE SYSTEMS, THE PARKING BRAKE FRICTION LININGS MAY WEAR TO AN EXTENT WHERE THE PARKING BRAKE CAN BECOME INEFFECTIVE IN IMMOBILIZING A PARKED VEHICLE.
ON CERTAIN CREW CAB PICKUP TRUCKS AND SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, THE 2ND ROW CENTER OCCUPANT SEAT BELT ROUTING MAY MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO POSITION THE LAP PORTION OF THE SAFETY BELT LOW AROUND THE HIPS OF OCCUPANTS, ESPECIALLY SMALLER OCCUPANTS, SEATED IN THIS POSITION. APPROPRIATE USE OF A CHILD SEAT OR BOOSTER SEAT, AS RECOMMENDED FOR SMALL CHILDREN, DOES IMPROVE THE FIT CONDITION FOR THIS USER GROUP. IN ADDITION TO INSTRUCTIONS ON PROPER INFANT AND YOUNG CHILD RESTRAINT (WITH CHILD SEATS OR BOOSTERS), SPECIAL VERBIAGE FOR RESTRAINING OLDER CHILD IS INCLUDED IN THE OWNER'S MANUAL. ALSO, THE SUGGESTED SEAT BELT FIT/ROUTING FOR ADULTS, IRRESPECTIVE OF SEATING POSITION, IS DESCRIBED IN THE OWNER'S MANUAL TEXT.
CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION, FAIL TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 102, "TRANSMISSION SHIFT LEVER SEQUENCE, STARTER INTERLOCK AND TRANSMISSION BRAKING EFFECT." UNDER CERTAIN VEHICLE STARTING CONDITIONS, THE SHIFT LEVER POSITION INDICATOR LOCATED IN THE INSTRUMENT PANEL CLUSTER MAY NOT ILLUMINATE. IF THE SHIFT LEVER POSITION INDICATOR DOES NOT ILLUMINATE, THE DRIVER MAY NOT KNOW WHICH GEAR THE VEHICLE IS IN.
CERTAIN TRUCKS, SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, AND VANS EQUIPPED WITH BOSCH HYDRO-BOOST BRAKE ASSEMBLIES, THE HYDRAULIC BRAKE BOOSTER PRESSURE ACCUMULATOR MAY CRACK AND SEPARATE FROM THE HYDRO-BOOST ASSEMBLY DURING NORMAL OPERATING CONDITIONS.
ON CERTAIN TRUCKS, THE BOLT THAT ATTACHES THE INTERMEDIATE STEERING SHAFT TO THE STEERING GEAR MAY NOT MEET SPECIFICATION. THE BOLT MAY FRACTURE RESULTING IN THE LOSS OF STEERING.
ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND PICKUP TRUCKS EQUIPPED WITH 5.3L (RPO L59) V8 ENGINES, THE ENGINE FUEL RAIL CROSSOVER TUBE RETAINER SCREWS WERE NOT MANUFACTURED TO SPECIFICATIONS AND MAY BREAK.
Whether a recall was fixed on a particular car is known only to the manufacturer: check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
NHTSA recalls · summaries in NHTSA's own words
Service bulletins
What GMC told its dealers about the 2005 GMC Sierra: known faults, fixes and updates.
| Bulletin | Summary |
|---|---|
| 634999 | DIAGNOSIS OF CRACKED OR BROKEN TRANSMISSION CASE. *TT 2006 AND PRIOR CARS AND LIGHT DUTY TRUCKS. *TT |
| 631800 | NEW PRODUCT INFORMATION, GRADE BRAKE FEATURE OF ALLISON 1000 SERIES TRANSMISSION. *SLC THIS BULLETIN REPLACES 02-07-30-004. *TT |
| 628870 | INSPECTION OF TIRE AND WHEEL SIZE PRIOR TO DIAGNOSIS OF TRANSMISSION SHIFTS, POOR PERFORMANCE, SPEEDOMETER, CRUISE CONTROL CONCERNS. BULLETIN 01-03-10-010B NOT RECEIVED. *TT |
| 10114470 | This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicle that may have an OnStar system that has progression tones when pressing the blue or red button. Technician will need to call General Motors Technical Assistance Center with the scan tool data from the OnStar system. |
| 10114431 | This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that may have an issue when using Bluetooth voice recognition with an iPhone. Technician should work with the customer to insure the phone contacts to not have any Emojis loaded to any contact. |
| 10114408 | This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that are travelling from Canada to the United States. While in the United States they are unable to receive Turn-by-Turn directions. Due to the existing cellular provider not having roaming agreements in areas outside of Canada to support transmitting of the packet data required for Turn-By-Turn feature to operate. The customer has 3 options while traveling through the United Sates. First if the vehicle is equipped with a navigation radio they can request a "Destination Download" to the vehicle. Se |
| 10114352 | This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about changing the tire and wheel size on vehicles. General Motors will only support a tire calibration for tires that have been sized, tested and designed for the vehicle in question and its applications. Technician should not use the information that is provided by the antilock braking system tire size selection. |
| 10114343 | This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician the steps needed to diagnose and repair the vehicles that may have unwanted or phantom phone calls. Technician will need to determine what type of call the customer is having that is unwanted. The vehicle may receive an incoming call just like any other phone. Typically the customer will hear the phone ringing in the vehicle. This scenario also includes incoming Bluetooth calls. One type of unwanted call can be made if the key pad is faulty the OnStar system will try to make a blue button call for shorted voltage |
| 10114342 | This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicle that may have an OnStar system that has progression tones when pressing the blue or red button. Technician will need to call General Motors Technical Assistance Center with the scan tool data from the OnStar system. |
| 10114309 | This informational bulletin explains how to care for wiper blades. |
| 10114299 | This informational bulletin provides a quick guide to updating which model vehicle after replacing the IPC. |
| 10114280 | This informational bulletin provides information on Inappropriate Warranty Claims Submitted for Damaged Radios and IPCs |
| 10113843 | This warranty administration bulletin provides information on the Clarification of Use for Dealer Empowerment Labor Operations and Customer Enthusiasm |
| 10113837 | This informational bulletin provides a list off all the issues revolving around new vehicles for a one stop place to find growing concerns around them. |
| 10113810 | This warranty administration bulletin provides dealership personnel with policy and procedure requirements for essential tools that include consumable parts (U.S. Only). |
| 10113792 | This informational bulletin provides information to technicians regarding intake manifold inspection/replacement after severe internal engine damage. |
| 10113770 | This informational bulletin provides technicians with a brake lathe calibration procedure. |
| 10113722 | This informational bulletin provides information on communication with OnStar module after Canadian cellular upgrade. |
| 10113720 | This informational bulletin provides information on a GM of Canada OnStar cellular communication upgrade. |
| 10113703 | This technical bulletin provides repair information for repairing the IP to body harness connector to correct a customer concern for intermittent Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) illuminated with Reduced Engine Power displayed and DTC P2138 set. |
| 10113701 | This informational bulletin provides information for dealers/technicians on when and how to submit a Field Product Report (FPR) (U.S. Dealers Only). |
| 10113664 | This informational bulletin provides technicians with information regarding automatic transmission oil cooler flow test essential tool J-45096 TransFlow. |
| 10113662 | This informational bulletin provides dealership personnel with information on flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) and the usage of E85 fuel in GM vehicles. |
| 10113654 | This informational bulletin provides information on a GM of Canada OnStar cellular communication upgrade. |
| 10113531 | This warranty administration bulletin provides information to clarify proper transaction administration of GM Dealer Empowerment Program and Goodwill Cases. |
NHTSA manufacturer communications (public domain)