IllustrationNO SUMMARY
1997 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1997 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 525.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Silverado 1500 years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
60–25K
1725–50K
2850–75K
3975–100K
35100–150K
22150K+
147 reports with mileage · 408 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Steering. Review the 140 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 123 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Visibility. Review the 75 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
29 crash reports13 fire reports13 injury reports
Power Train complaints
57 reportsTHE VEHICLE HAS EXPERIENCED CONTINUED INTERMITTENT STEERING PROBLEMS, WHICH PULLS THE VEHICLE UNEXPECTEDLY, UNABLE TO REMEDY THE PROBLEM. *MJS
THE TRANSMISSION FAILED. YH
THE CLUTCH ROD CONNECTS THE CLUTCH PEDAL IN MASTER CYLINDER WAS MISSING. YH
TRUCK WAS TAKEN IN MANY TIMES TO COMPLAIN ABOUT TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. ONLY ONCE OUT OF FIRST 3 TIMES DID THEY FIND THE PROBLEM. TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED WITH A REMANUFACTURED TRANSMISSION. ON OR ABOUT JULY 22 OF 1998. NOW AS VEHILCE IS APPROACHING 60,000 MILE WE ARE EXPERIANCING THE SAME EXACT PROBLEM AS WE HAD FIRST ENCOUN…
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TRUCK WAS TAKEN IN MANY TIMES TO COMPLAIN ABOUT TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. ONLY ONCE OUT OF FIRST 3 TIMES DID THEY FIND THE PROBLEM. TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED WITH A REMANUFACTURED TRANSMISSION. ON OR ABOUT JULY 22 OF 1998. NOW AS VEHILCE IS APPROACHING 60,000 MILE WE ARE EXPERIANCING THE SAME EXACT PROBLEM AS WE HAD FIRST ENCOUNTERED WITH CLUNKING AND ROUGH SHIFTING. *AK
I HAVE HAD NUMEROUS PROBLEMS WITH MY CHEVROLET TRUCK. AT 31,000, MILES THE REAR LEAF SPRINGS WENT BAD. AT 41,000 MILES THE BRAKE MASTER CYLENDER AND PITTMAN ARM AND IDLER ARM ASSEMBLIES NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. BEING THAT IT WAS OVER THE WARRANTY PERIOD, I DID NOT TAKE IT TO A CHEVEROLET DEALER INCURRING THE COST MYSELF. AT 49…
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I HAVE HAD NUMEROUS PROBLEMS WITH MY CHEVROLET TRUCK. AT 31,000, MILES THE REAR LEAF SPRINGS WENT BAD. AT 41,000 MILES THE BRAKE MASTER CYLENDER AND PITTMAN ARM AND IDLER ARM ASSEMBLIES NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. BEING THAT IT WAS OVER THE WARRANTY PERIOD, I DID NOT TAKE IT TO A CHEVEROLET DEALER INCURRING THE COST MYSELF. AT 49,000 MILES THE REAR U JOINT NEEDED REPAIR. AT THIS POINT, I STARTED TO BELIEVE THAT THERE WAS MORE TO THIS PROBLEM WITH THE TRUCK AS THESE PARTS DO NOT USUALLY NEED REPAIR AT SUCH LOW MILAGE. TO TOP IT OFF, AT 51,000 THE TRANSMISSION HAS FAILED.
THE REAR SEALS ARE LEAKING, IF THIS IS NOT STOPPED THE GREASE COULD LEAK ONTO THE BRAKES, CAUSING A DEFECTIVE BRAKE SYSTEM. *AK THE REAR AXLE SEALS ARE LEAKING. IF THIS IS NOT STOPPED THE GREASE COULD LEAK ONTO THE BRAKES, CAUSING A DEFECTIVE BRAK…
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THE REAR SEALS ARE LEAKING, IF THIS IS NOT STOPPED THE GREASE COULD LEAK ONTO THE BRAKES, CAUSING A DEFECTIVE BRAKE SYSTEM. *AK THE REAR AXLE SEALS ARE LEAKING. IF THIS IS NOT STOPPED THE GREASE COULD LEAK ONTO THE BRAKES, CAUSING A DEFECTIVE BRAKE SYSTEM. DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. *AK
STEERING SPEED SENSOR REPLACED TO FIX OVERSTEER PROBLEM; ABS REGULARLY FAIL TO KEEP WHEELS FROM LOCKING UP DURING EMERGENCY BRAKING; ELECTRONIC 4WD TRANSFER CASE CONTINUES TO STICK IN 4HIGH FOR SEVERAL MINUTES AFTER DISENGAGED WITH BUTTON. *AK
THE DEALERSHIP'S SERVICE ADVISOR AT MOLLE CHEVROLET (816) 229-8800, MARK POTTER, SAID IT WOULD BE 7-8 DAYS TO HAVE MY FRONT DIFFERENTIAL REPAIRED BECAUSE THEY HAD 7 IN LINE (FOR THE SAME PROBLEM) AHEAD OF MINE!!! BY THE WAY, I HAVE ONLY HAD MY 4-WD ENGAGED ON SIX OR 7 OCCASIONS SINCE I PURCHASED IT (NEW) IN NOVEMBER OF 1996. I…
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THE DEALERSHIP'S SERVICE ADVISOR AT MOLLE CHEVROLET (816) 229-8800, MARK POTTER, SAID IT WOULD BE 7-8 DAYS TO HAVE MY FRONT DIFFERENTIAL REPAIRED BECAUSE THEY HAD 7 IN LINE (FOR THE SAME PROBLEM) AHEAD OF MINE!!! BY THE WAY, I HAVE ONLY HAD MY 4-WD ENGAGED ON SIX OR 7 OCCASIONS SINCE I PURCHASED IT (NEW) IN NOVEMBER OF 1996. I HAVE NEVER "4-WHEELED" IT. I HAVE ONLY ENGAGED 4-WD ONCE IN THE MUD. THE OTHER 5-6 TIMES THE 4-WD WAS ENGAGED WAS IN LIGHT SNOW (CENTRAL MISSOURI). GM NEEDS TO DO A RECALL ON THIS ISSUE. *AK
A MARK VIII, WHILE DRIVING AND PULLING A TRAILER, TRANSMISSION COOLING UNIT LINE CRACKED, CAUSING A TRANSMISSION LEAK, SPRAYING TRANSMISSION FLUID ONTO THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD, RESULTING IN A FIRE ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE OF THE VEHICLE WHICH BURNED THE WIRING HARNESS. DEALER REPAIRED THE WIRING HARNESS AND REPLACED THE TRANSMISS…
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A MARK VIII, WHILE DRIVING AND PULLING A TRAILER, TRANSMISSION COOLING UNIT LINE CRACKED, CAUSING A TRANSMISSION LEAK, SPRAYING TRANSMISSION FLUID ONTO THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD, RESULTING IN A FIRE ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE OF THE VEHICLE WHICH BURNED THE WIRING HARNESS. DEALER REPAIRED THE WIRING HARNESS AND REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION SYSTEM. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.