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2001 GMC C3

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Limited comparison data

There is not enough comparable history to draw a useful model-year comparison.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 4 of 4 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

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.

  • Air Bags. Review the 1 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Parking Brake. Review the 1 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 1 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

1 crash reports0 fire reports1 injury reports

What owners actually said

4 reports
78,000 miles · Jun 6, 2009
Service Brakes, Hydraulic

ABS AND BRAKE LIGHTS COME ON AT THE SAME TIME! I AM CONCERNED THAT MY BRAKES WILL FAIL! SOUNDS LIKE THIS IS A ON GOING AND EXPENSIVE PROBLEM. EBCM IS AT FAULT. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10273022

55,000 miles · Sep 4, 2006
Visibility

AUTO DIMMING MIRROR ( ON A 2001 GMC SIERRA C-3 PICKUP IS MALFUNCTIONING) TOOK TO DEALERSHIP ON AUG 21 TO HAVE MIRROR AND A/C WORKED ON. AUTO DIMMING FEATURE IS MALFUNCTIONING AND AT NIGHT CAUSES YOU TO SEE 3 IMAGES WHEN THERE IS ONLY ONE ACTUAL. FOR CITY DRIVING ESPECIALLY, THIS CAUSES A SAFETY PROBLEM, CAN'T TELL WHAT LAN…

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AUTO DIMMING MIRROR ( ON A 2001 GMC SIERRA C-3 PICKUP IS MALFUNCTIONING) TOOK TO DEALERSHIP ON AUG 21 TO HAVE MIRROR AND A/C WORKED ON. AUTO DIMMING FEATURE IS MALFUNCTIONING AND AT NIGHT CAUSES YOU TO SEE 3 IMAGES WHEN THERE IS ONLY ONE ACTUAL. FOR CITY DRIVING ESPECIALLY, THIS CAUSES A SAFETY PROBLEM, CAN'T TELL WHAT LANE OTHER VEHICLES ARE IN BEHIND YOU. DURING THE DAYLIGHT HOURS, A PURPLE HAZE OUTLINE IS AROUND ALL MIRROR IMAGES AND DEPENDING ON ANGLE LOOKED AT, SOMETIMES DUPLICATE IMAGES. DAYLIGHT HOURS ARE NOT REALLY A SAFETY PROBLEM, BUT NIGHT TIME DRIVING IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE IN MY OPINION. DEALER SAID THEY COULD NOT WORK ON AND STATED DOC. # 1841960 FROM GM STATING THAT THIS IS NORMAL ON AUTO DIMMING MIRRORS AND THAT NO REPAIRS WERE TO BE MADE ON SAID CONDITION. MY DRIVER SIDE MIRROR IS ONLY ONE WITH MALFUNCTION. CALLED THE CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE #'S WITH GM AND EVEN OFFERED TO PURCHASE NEW MIRROR AT MY COST. CA SAID THEY WOULD CHECK WITH THEIR FIELD REP'S AND CALL ME BACK IN 48 HOURS. AS OF NOW, 9 DAYS, LATER, HAVE CALLED TWICE MORE AND STILL HAVE NO CALLBACK OR FURTHER INFORMATION. *NM

NHTSA ODI #10167307

76,861 miles · Jul 27, 2005
Parking Brake

I WAS RECENTLY TOLD BY THE PREVIOUS OWNER OF MY TRUCK THAT HE THOUGHT THERE WAS A RECALL IN REGARDS TO THE BRAKES. SINCE I HAD NOT RECEIVED A NOTICE OF RECALL, I WENT TO YOUR WEBSITE AND LOOKED IT UP. I NOTICED THAT THERE WAS A RECALL IN REGARDS TO THE REAR PARKING BRAKE. NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID 05V161000. IN JANUARY OF THIS YEAR I TO…

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I WAS RECENTLY TOLD BY THE PREVIOUS OWNER OF MY TRUCK THAT HE THOUGHT THERE WAS A RECALL IN REGARDS TO THE BRAKES. SINCE I HAD NOT RECEIVED A NOTICE OF RECALL, I WENT TO YOUR WEBSITE AND LOOKED IT UP. I NOTICED THAT THERE WAS A RECALL IN REGARDS TO THE REAR PARKING BRAKE. NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID 05V161000. IN JANUARY OF THIS YEAR I TOOK MY GMC SIERRA C3 TO THE DEALERSHIP DUE TO A PULSING WHEN I WENT TO STOP. I THOUGHT THAT THE ROTORS MAY NEED TO BE REGROUND OR REPLACED. I WAS INSTRUCTED HOWEVER THAT IT WAS CAUSED BY THE REAR PARKING BRAKE ASSEMBLY SEIZING UP. I CALLED GMC AND INQUIRED ABOUT THIS, (GMC CUSTOMER SERVICE TRACKIING #1-337051820) BECAUSE THE PROBLEM FROM YOUR WEBSITE IS IDENTICAL TO WORK THAT WAS PERFORMED ON MY VEHICLE. GMC INDICATED THAT MY VIN NUMBER WAS NOT AFFECTED, AND WOULD NOT DISCUSS THE MATTER FURTHER. THE WORK THAT WAS PERFORMED ON MY VEHICLE IS AS FOLLOWS: CONCER: CK BRAKES PULSATE CORRECTION: REPLACE REAR BRAKE PADS ROTORS AND PARK BRAKE SHOES NESS TO REPLACE LR PARK BRSAKE MOUNTING PLATE R AND R TRANS IF ANY FURTHER INFORMATION OR DOCUMENTATION IS NEEDED PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CALL

NHTSA ODI #10130275

45,000 miles · Nov 26, 2003
Air BagsCrashInjury

THE DRIVER'S AIRBAG IN MY 2001 GMC SIERRA C3 DID NOT DEPLOY IN MY ACCIDENT. THE IMPACT WAS HEAD ON AND PRIMARILY DAMAGED THE VEHICLE ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE. THE VEHICLE WAS TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH AND I STRONGLY FEEL THAT MY INJURIES SUSTAINED FROM THE ACCIDENT COULD HAVE BEEN FAR LESS SEVERE IF THE AIRBAG HAD DEPLOYED AS D…

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THE DRIVER'S AIRBAG IN MY 2001 GMC SIERRA C3 DID NOT DEPLOY IN MY ACCIDENT. THE IMPACT WAS HEAD ON AND PRIMARILY DAMAGED THE VEHICLE ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE. THE VEHICLE WAS TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH AND I STRONGLY FEEL THAT MY INJURIES SUSTAINED FROM THE ACCIDENT COULD HAVE BEEN FAR LESS SEVERE IF THE AIRBAG HAD DEPLOYED AS DESIGNED. *LA

NHTSA ODI #10047612

Official recalls

0

No 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

1

EA06016 · Crank Position Sensor Failure - Stall

Opened Sep 14, 2006 · Closed Nov 9, 2007

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Engine And Engine Cooling; Engine And Engine Cooling:engine

IN A LETTER DATED NOVEMBER 7, 2007, GENERAL MOTORS (GM) REPORTED TO THE OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION (ODI) THAT IT WILL CONDUCT A SAFETY RECALL (07V-521) TO REPLACE THE CRANK POSITION SENSOR (CKP) IN APPROXIMATELY 12,000 MODEL YEAR (MY) 2001 CHEVROLET SILVERADO AND GMC SIERRA VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 8.1 LITER ENGINES MANUFACTURED ON OR BEFORE NOVEMBER 15, 2000.ACCORDING TO GM, THE CKP CAN FAIL INTERMITTENTLY OR PERMANENTLY.A PERMANENT CKP FAILURE WOULD RESULT IN AN ENGINE STALL WITHOUT RESTART.AN INTERMITTENT CKP FAILURE COULD CAUSE THE SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT TO ILLUMINATE, THE VEHICLE TO RUN ROUGH OR THE ENGINE TO STALL BUT ALLOWS RESTART.AS A REMEDY, AN IMPROVED CKP WILL BE INSTALLED IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES.THE RECALL CAMPAIGN WILL START IN DECEMBER 2007. DURING THE PRELIMINARY EVALUATION (PE06-016), AND THIS EA INVESTIGATION, GM AND ODI INDEPENDENTLY CONDUCTED DETAILED REVIEWS OF CERTAIN FIELD DATA TO UNDERSTAND THE NATURE AND RATE OF SUBJECT VEHICLE STALLING DUE TO CKP FAILURES.GM AND ODI REVIEWED GM'S WARRANTY CLAIMS FOR THE CKP WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF ASCERTAINING AN ESTIMATE OF THOSE CLAIMS REPRESENTING AN ENGINE STALL WHILE DRIVING.THE CKP WARRANTY CLAIMS WITHOUT VERBATIM TEXT WERE THE LARGEST SEGMENT OF WARRANTY CLAIMS.USING THOSE CLAIMS, GM SURVEYED VEHICLE OWNERS TO GATHER ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO DETERMINE IF THE CLAIM WAS ASSOCIATED WITH A STALL WHILE DRIVING EVENT.BASED ON THE SURVEY, GM ESTIMATED THAT APPROXIMATELY 49% OF ALL WARRANTY REPAIRS FOR THE CKP INVOLVED A STALL WHILE DRIVING.ODI?S REVIEW OF GM'S SURVEY DATA PRODUCED A HIGHER ESTIMATE (71%) FOR STALL WHILE DRIVING.GM FURTHER ESTIMATED THE RATE OF STALL WHILE DRIVING FOR THE SUBJECT VEHICLES OVER TIME.IT ESTIMATED STALLING WHILE DRIVING RATES OF 1.6%, 4.6% AND 8.9% AT 1, 3 AND 6 YEARS IN SERVICE RESPECTIVELY.ODI'S REVIEW OF THE GM'S SURVEY DATA FINDS HIGHER ESTIMATED STALL WHILE DRIVING RATES OF 2.2%, 6.8% AND 13% AT 1, 3 AND 6 YEARS IN SERVICE RESPECTIVELY. ODI ALSO CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF VEHICLE OWNERS USING CONSUMER COMPLAINTS REPORTED TO BOTH ODI AND GM.THE OBJECTIVE WAS TO ASCERTAIN THE POTENTIAL SAFETY CONSEQUENCES OF AN ENGINE STALL DUE TO THE ALLEGED DEFECT.WITH RESPECT TO THE ABILITY TO RESTART THE VEHICLE AFTER A STALL, 11% REPORTED IMMEDIATE RESTART, 69% REPORTED DELAYED RESTART AND 20% REPORTED NO RESTART.OVER HALF NOTED AT LEAST ONE ENGINE STALL INCIDENT AT SPEEDS IN EXCESS OF 40MPH. ABOUT ONE-THIRD NOTED THE VEHICLE WAS STRANDED EITHER PARTIALLY OR FULLY IN A LANE OF TRAFFIC AFTER THE ENGINE STALL.ALL OF THE CONSUMERS SURVEYED NOTED MULTIPLE STALLING EVENTS PRIOR TO PROPER DIAGNOSIS AND REPLACEMENT OF THE CKP.BASED ON GM'S DECISION TO CONDUCT A SAFETY RECALL, THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Engine And Engine Cooling:engine

IN A LETTER DATED NOVEMBER 7, 2007, GENERAL MOTORS (GM) REPORTED TO THE OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION (ODI) THAT IT WILL CONDUCT A SAFETY RECALL (07V-521) TO REPLACE THE CRANK POSITION SENSOR (CKP) IN APPROXIMATELY 12,000 MODEL YEAR (MY) 2001 CHEVROLET SILVERADO AND GMC SIERRA VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 8.1 LITER ENGINES MANUFACTURED ON OR BEFORE NOVEMBER 15, 2000.ACCORDING TO GM, THE CKP CAN FAIL INTERMITTENTLY OR PERMANENTLY.A PERMANENT CKP FAILURE WOULD RESULT IN AN ENGINE STALL WITHOUT RESTART.AN INTERMITTENT CKP FAILURE COULD CAUSE THE SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT TO ILLUMINATE, THE VEHICLE TO RUN ROUGH OR THE ENGINE TO STALL BUT ALLOWS RESTART.AS A REMEDY, AN IMPROVED CKP WILL BE INSTALLED IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES.THE RECALL CAMPAIGN WILL START IN DECEMBER 2007. DURING THE PRELIMINARY EVALUATION (PE06-016), AND THIS EA INVESTIGATION, GM AND ODI INDEPENDENTLY CONDUCTED DETAILED REVIEWS OF CERTAIN FIELD DATA TO UNDERSTAND THE NATURE AND RATE OF SUBJECT VEHICLE STALLING DUE TO CKP FAILURES.GM AND ODI REVIEWED GM'S WARRANTY CLAIMS FOR THE CKP WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF ASCERTAINING AN ESTIMATE OF THOSE CLAIMS REPRESENTING AN ENGINE STALL WHILE DRIVING.THE CKP WARRANTY CLAIMS WITHOUT VERBATIM TEXT WERE THE LARGEST SEGMENT OF WARRANTY CLAIMS.USING THOSE CLAIMS, GM SURVEYED VEHICLE OWNERS TO GATHER ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO DETERMINE IF THE CLAIM WAS ASSOCIATED WITH A STALL WHILE DRIVING EVENT.BASED ON THE SURVEY, GM ESTIMATED THAT APPROXIMATELY 49% OF ALL WARRANTY REPAIRS FOR THE CKP INVOLVED A STALL WHILE DRIVING.ODI?S REVIEW OF GM'S SURVEY DATA PRODUCED A HIGHER ESTIMATE (71%) FOR STALL WHILE DRIVING.GM FURTHER ESTIMATED THE RATE OF STALL WHILE DRIVING FOR THE SUBJECT VEHICLES OVER TIME.IT ESTIMATED STALLING WHILE DRIVING RATES OF 1.6%, 4.6% AND 8.9% AT 1, 3 AND 6 YEARS IN SERVICE RESPECTIVELY.ODI'S REVIEW OF THE GM'S SURVEY DATA FINDS HIGHER ESTIMATED STALL WHILE DRIVING RATES OF 2.2%, 6.8% AND 13% AT 1, 3 AND 6 YEARS IN SERVICE RESPECTIVELY. ODI ALSO CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF VEHICLE OWNERS USING CONSUMER COMPLAINTS REPORTED TO BOTH ODI AND GM.THE OBJECTIVE WAS TO ASCERTAIN THE POTENTIAL SAFETY CONSEQUENCES OF AN ENGINE STALL DUE TO THE ALLEGED DEFECT.WITH RESPECT TO THE ABILITY TO RESTART THE VEHICLE AFTER A STALL, 11% REPORTED IMMEDIATE RESTART, 69% REPORTED DELAYED RESTART AND 20% REPORTED NO RESTART.OVER HALF NOTED AT LEAST ONE ENGINE STALL INCIDENT AT SPEEDS IN EXCESS OF 40MPH. ABOUT ONE-THIRD NOTED THE VEHICLE WAS STRANDED EITHER PARTIALLY OR FULLY IN A LANE OF TRAFFIC AFTER THE ENGINE STALL.ALL OF THE CONSUMERS SURVEYED NOTED MULTIPLE STALLING EVENTS PRIOR TO PROPER DIAGNOSIS AND REPLACEMENT OF THE CKP.BASED ON GM'S DECISION TO CONDUCT A SAFETY RECALL, THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED.

Engine And Engine Cooling

IN A LETTER DATED NOVEMBER 7, 2007, GENERAL MOTORS (GM) REPORTED TO THE OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION (ODI) THAT IT WILL CONDUCT A SAFETY RECALL (07V-521) TO REPLACE THE CRANK POSITION SENSOR (CKP) IN APPROXIMATELY 12,000 MODEL YEAR (MY) 2001 CHEVROLET SILVERADO AND GMC SIERRA VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 8.1 LITER ENGINES MANUFACTURED ON OR BEFORE NOVEMBER 15, 2000.ACCORDING TO GM, THE CKP CAN FAIL INTERMITTENTLY OR PERMANENTLY.A PERMANENT CKP FAILURE WOULD RESULT IN AN ENGINE STALL WITHOUT RESTART.AN INTERMITTENT CKP FAILURE COULD CAUSE THE SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT TO ILLUMINATE, THE VEHICLE TO RUN ROUGH OR THE ENGINE TO STALL BUT ALLOWS RESTART.AS A REMEDY, AN IMPROVED CKP WILL BE INSTALLED IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES.THE RECALL CAMPAIGN WILL START IN DECEMBER 2007. DURING THE PRELIMINARY EVALUATION (PE06-016), AND THIS EA INVESTIGATION, GM AND ODI INDEPENDENTLY CONDUCTED DETAILED REVIEWS OF CERTAIN FIELD DATA TO UNDERSTAND THE NATURE AND RATE OF SUBJECT VEHICLE STALLING DUE TO CKP FAILURES.GM AND ODI REVIEWED GM'S WARRANTY CLAIMS FOR THE CKP WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF ASCERTAINING AN ESTIMATE OF THOSE CLAIMS REPRESENTING AN ENGINE STALL WHILE DRIVING.THE CKP WARRANTY CLAIMS WITHOUT VERBATIM TEXT WERE THE LARGEST SEGMENT OF WARRANTY CLAIMS.USING THOSE CLAIMS, GM SURVEYED VEHICLE OWNERS TO GATHER ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO DETERMINE IF THE CLAIM WAS ASSOCIATED WITH A STALL WHILE DRIVING EVENT.BASED ON THE SURVEY, GM ESTIMATED THAT APPROXIMATELY 49% OF ALL WARRANTY REPAIRS FOR THE CKP INVOLVED A STALL WHILE DRIVING.ODI?S REVIEW OF GM'S SURVEY DATA PRODUCED A HIGHER ESTIMATE (71%) FOR STALL WHILE DRIVING.GM FURTHER ESTIMATED THE RATE OF STALL WHILE DRIVING FOR THE SUBJECT VEHICLES OVER TIME.IT ESTIMATED STALLING WHILE DRIVING RATES OF 1.6%, 4.6% AND 8.9% AT 1, 3 AND 6 YEARS IN SERVICE RESPECTIVELY.ODI'S REVIEW OF THE GM'S SURVEY DATA FINDS HIGHER ESTIMATED STALL WHILE DRIVING RATES OF 2.2%, 6.8% AND 13% AT 1, 3 AND 6 YEARS IN SERVICE RESPECTIVELY. ODI ALSO CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF VEHICLE OWNERS USING CONSUMER COMPLAINTS REPORTED TO BOTH ODI AND GM.THE OBJECTIVE WAS TO ASCERTAIN THE POTENTIAL SAFETY CONSEQUENCES OF AN ENGINE STALL DUE TO THE ALLEGED DEFECT.WITH RESPECT TO THE ABILITY TO RESTART THE VEHICLE AFTER A STALL, 11% REPORTED IMMEDIATE RESTART, 69% REPORTED DELAYED RESTART AND 20% REPORTED NO RESTART.OVER HALF NOTED AT LEAST ONE ENGINE STALL INCIDENT AT SPEEDS IN EXCESS OF 40MPH. ABOUT ONE-THIRD NOTED THE VEHICLE WAS STRANDED EITHER PARTIALLY OR FULLY IN A LANE OF TRAFFIC AFTER THE ENGINE STALL.ALL OF THE CONSUMERS SURVEYED NOTED MULTIPLE STALLING EVENTS PRIOR TO PROPER DIAGNOSIS AND REPLACEMENT OF THE CKP.BASED ON GM'S DECISION TO CONDUCT A SAFETY RECALL, THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED.