The Lemon IndexAll cars · GMC · GMC Sierra 2500HD/3500HD
2012 GMC Sierra 2500HD/3500HD problems, engines and recalls.
Owners filed 40 complaints with the government about the 2012 GMC Sierra 2500HD/3500HD, most often about airbags (22%).
Which engine is in it
35 of the 40 complaints have a VIN we could decode, which tells us the engine.
| Engine | Share | Complaints | What they name most |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.6 Duramax LML diesel | 69% | 24 | fuel system 33%, engine 25%, airbags 21% |
| 6.0 V8 gas | 31% | 11 | too few to split |
Each diesel's page: Duramax LML.
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 33,000 and 90,200 miles; the middle report was at 67,000 miles (29 complaints with a mileage).
How serious
| Crashes | Fires | Injury reports | Death reports | Towed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
As reported by owners to NHTSA, not verified.
In owners' words
Driving on the expressway around 60 mph when the truck went into limp mode slowing me down to 40 and then would not shift gears Tcm went out gm told me that there is a big problem
2012 GMC Sierra 2500HD/3500HD owner · NHTSA complaint 11542551
Truck is a diesel. Fuel pump blew up and died in the middle of the street. Now I'm being told the Fuel system needs completely re done and will cost me 10g. I also found a lawsuit for this issue as well.
2012 GMC Sierra 2500HD/3500HD owner · NHTSA complaint 11541273
The service brakes lights has come on a d disabled my brake controller. This is a safety issue while towing and completely unacceptable.
2012 GMC Sierra 2500HD/3500HD owner · NHTSA complaint 11455127
Recalls 4
21V054000 Feb 2021 Air Bags
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of AL, CA, FL, GA, HI, LA, MS, SC, TX, PR, AS, GU, the MP, and VI or "Zone A." Additionally GM is recalling certain 2011-2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, Yukon XL and 2011-2013 Cadillac Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of AZ, AR, DE, DC, IL, I
Fix. GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 25, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed to 40 VIN owners on May 11, 2021. A second owner notification letter was m
21V051000 Feb 2021 Air Bags
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2012 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." These vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger frontal inflators containing phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurri
Fix. GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 22, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 11, 2021. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458
18V267000 Apr 2018 Equipment
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2009-2014 Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD, 2009 GMC Topkick 5000, 6000, 7000 and 8000 Series and Isuzu F Series, and 2009-2018 Chevrolet Express, and GMC Savana vehicles, equipped with certain Plastic-Handle Fire Extinguishers or Push Button 'Pindicator' Fire Extinguishers. These extinguishers may become clogged, preventing the extinguisher from discharging as expected or requiring excessive force to activate the extinguisher. Additionally, in certain models, the nozzle may detach from the valve assembly with enough force that it could cause injury and also render the product inoperable. For a full list of the affected fire extinguishe
Fix. GM will notify owners, instructing them to contact Kidde to get a replacement fire extinguisher, free of charge. The recall began June 11, 2018. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782, and Isuzu customer service at 1-866-441-9638. GM's number for this recall is 18146.
17V664000 Oct 2017 Fuel System, Gasoline
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2011-2015 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 and GMC Sierra 3500 trucks equipped with dual fuel tanks. The low fuel level sensor for the front tank may stick causing the rear tank to overfill the front tank.
Fix. GM has notified owners, and dealers will replace the rear tank fuel pump or update the fuel-level sensor software, as well as inspect the front tank, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began December 11, 2017. Owners may contact GM customer service for Chevrolet 1-800-222-1020 or for GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 17399.
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 2012 Sierra HD reliable?
We can't score it per truck (heavy-duty sales aren't reported apart from the half-ton). Owners filed 40 complaints about it, most often about airbags (22% of them). Compare the diesel generations on their engine pages.
What engine does the 2012 Sierra HD have?
By the VINs in owner complaints: 6.6 Duramax LML diesel (69%), 6.0 V8 gas (31%).
How many recalls does the 2012 GMC Sierra 2500HD/3500HD have?
4. Recall repairs are free at any dealer; check the truck's VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
The whole-line score for 2012, mostly half-tons: 2012 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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