The Lemon IndexAll cars · GMC · GMC Sierra 2500HD/3500HD
2008 GMC Sierra 2500HD/3500HD problems, engines and recalls.
Owners filed 88 complaints with the government about the 2008 GMC Sierra 2500HD/3500HD, most often about airbags (64%).
Which engine is in it
81 of the 88 complaints have a VIN we could decode, which tells us the engine.
| Engine | Share | Complaints | What they name most |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.6 Duramax LMM diesel | 68% | 55 | airbags 62%, fuel system 11%, tires 5% |
| 6.0 V8 gas | 27% | 22 | too few to split |
| 5.3 V8 gas | 5% | 4 | too few to split |
Each diesel's page: Duramax LMM.
Nearby model years
What owners complain about
Share of this year's complaints that name each area.
When problems show up
Half of the owners who gave a mileage reported the problem between 34,000 and 100,000 miles; the middle report was at 68,000 miles (40 complaints with a mileage).
How serious
| Crashes | Fires | Injury reports | Death reports | Towed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
As reported by owners to NHTSA, not verified.
In owners' words
Dashboard cracked in two places several years ago. I showed this to my local dealer and the told me there was nothing they could do. it cracked by the air bag and the instrument cluster. very disappointing.
2008 GMC Sierra 2500HD/3500HD owner · NHTSA complaint 11208721
Dash is badly cracked fragments of dash fall off daily. could cause severe injury during airbag deployment.
2008 GMC Sierra 2500HD/3500HD owner · NHTSA complaint 11197092
Dash board severely cracked,second time it happened, gmc refuses to repair again. if airbag goes off entire dash will likely explode.
2008 GMC Sierra 2500HD/3500HD owner · NHTSA complaint 11067204
Recalls 3
20V011000 Jan 2020 Air Bags
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2007-2008 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 and 3500 and GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 vehicles equipped with non-desiccated, passenger frontal air bag inflators containing phase stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant that were used as interim remedy parts for previous Takata recalls. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
Fix. GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began February 11, 2020. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or GMC customer service at 1-866-522-9559. GM's number for this recall is N192290990.
15V324000 May 2015 Air Bags
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2007-2008 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD and 3500HD trucks manufactured November 28, 2006, to August 29, 2008, and 2007-2008 GMC Sierra 2500HD and 3500HD trucks manufactured November 27, 2006, to August 29, 2008. The affected vehicles are equipped with a passenger side frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture upon its deployment.
Fix. GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on July 27, 2015. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's numbers for this recall are 15438 and 15817.
14V407000 Jul 2014 Electrical System
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.
Fix. 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.
NHTSA recalls for this model year under every name these trucks are filed under. A recall that names an engine applies only to trucks with it. Free at any dealer: check the VIN.
Quick answers
Is the 2008 Sierra HD reliable?
We can't score it per truck (heavy-duty sales aren't reported apart from the half-ton). Owners filed 88 complaints about it, most often about airbags (64% of them). Compare the diesel generations on their engine pages.
What engine does the 2008 Sierra HD have?
By the VINs in owner complaints: 6.6 Duramax LMM diesel (68%), 6.0 V8 gas (27%), 5.3 V8 gas (5%).
How many recalls does the 2008 GMC Sierra 2500HD/3500HD have?
3. Recall repairs are free at any dealer; check the truck's VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
The whole-line score for 2008, mostly half-tons: 2008 GMC Sierra.
No Lemon Index score: automakers report heavy-duty pickup sales together with the half-ton (one F-Series, Ram or Silverado number), so there is no honest per-truck denominator. These are counts and shares of owner complaints, not failure rates. Complaints: NHTSA owner complaints filed under the truck's 2500/3500 (F-250/F-350) names, all years filed, one per complaint number. Engine: decoded from the complaint's VIN (position 8 is the engine code) with NHTSA's vPIC decoder. Complaints filed as just “Silverado” or “Sierra” are left out (they mix 1500s and HDs). Older trucks have had more years to collect complaints, and popular years draw more because more were sold.
Updated · Free to use with credit: Source: The Lemon Index (lemonindex.com)
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