1999 Chevrolet Silverado 1500

Typical pattern

6.4% of complaints about the 1999 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 1999 vehicle — around the middle of the 201 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 11.1 yr in service. The most-reported system is service brakes, hydraulic (219 complaints), typically at 9.1 yr or about 89,000 miles.

Complaints: 661
Median age at failure: 11.1 yr
Median mileage: 110,000 n=498
Crash / fire / tow: 9.7% of reports
Safety recalls: 2

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

System

0y2y4y6y8y10y12y14y

Service brakes, hydraulic

219 reports · 89,000 mi

9.1 yr

7.3%

Service brakes

126 reports · 137,236 mi

15.1 yr

7.9%

Structure

53 reports · 134,000 mi

13.0 yr

5.7%

Seats

29 reports · 108,800 mi

12.7 yr

10.3%

Power train

23 reports · 100,000 mi

6.9 yr

4.3%

Electrical system

23 reports · 101,000 mi

9.9 yr

17.4%

Suspension

22 reports · 132,411 mi

9.1 yr

Fuel system

18 reports · 145,000 mi

10.1 yr

5.6%

Air bags

16 reports · 137,000 mi

5.0 yr

75%

Steering

15 reports · 140,000 mi

1.3 yr

6.7%

Speed control

15 reports · 100,000 mi

7.8 yr

20%

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

07E088000 2007-10-24

Equipment

CERTAIN HONEYWELL FRAM RACING BRAND HP4 AND HP8 OIL FILTERS THAT WERE MANUFACTURED FROM MAY 25, 2006, THROUGH SEPTEMBER 14, 2007, AND SOLD FOR USE AS REPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT FOR VEHICLES LIST ABOVE. THE AFFECTED FILTERS ARE MARKED WITH A DATE CODE A61451 THROUGH A72571 SEQUENTIALLY. THE DATE CODE AND PART NUMBER APPEAR ON THE FILTER HOUSING. FRAM RACING HP4 AND HP8 OIL FILTERS NOT BEARING A DATE CODE IN THIS RANGE ARE NOT AFFECTED BY THIS RECALL. THE GASKET OF THE OIL FILTER BECOMES MORE PLIABLE UNDER HIGH TEMPERATURES AND PRESSURES.

THIS CONDITION MAY CAUSE INADEQUATE SEALING AND LOSS OF ENGINE OIL, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A FIRE.

06E043000 2006-05-19

Fuel system

CERTAIN REPLACEMENT FUEL FILTERS, FRAM BRAND NAME P/N G3727, WITH DATE CODES X52911 THROUGH X60801 SEQUENTIALLY OR X600141 AND A MEXICO COUNTRY OR ORIGIN MARKING ON THE FUEL FILTER HOUSING MANUFACTURED FROM OCTOBER 18, 2005, THROUGH MARCH 21, 2006, SOLD FOR USE ON THE VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE AND ON CERTAIN SCHOOL BUSES. (TO SEE THE SCHOOL BUS ENGINE SIZES, CLICK ON "DOCUMENT SEARCH" AND THEN "BUS APPLICATIONS"). THE CONNECTOR ON THE FUEL FILTER WAS NOT MANUFACTURED TO HONEYWELL'S SPECIFICATION. AS A RESULT, THE O-RING MAY NOT SEAT CORRECTLY ON THE FUEL LINE.

THIS CONDITION MAY CAUSE AN INADEQUATE SEAL AT THE CONNECTION, POTENTIALLY LEADING TO A FUEL LEAK. IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE, A FIRE COULD OCCUR.

In owners’ own words

Suspension mileage not reported 2 mo in service

VEHICLE VIBRATES AT SPEEDS OF 60 TO 70. GENERAL MOTORS INDICATED THAT THIS WAS NORMAL FOR THIS VEHICLE. GM ALSO INDICATED IT WOULD BE 30 TO 60 DAYS BEFORE NEW SPRINGS AND SHOCKS COULD BE DESIGNED FOR THE FRONT AND REAR. VEHICLE VIBRATES AND IS HARD TO CONTROL ON UNEVEN SURFACES. ALSO, THE TRACK ON THE DRIVERS SEAT BROKE AND THE DEALER INDICATED THAT THERE WERE NO PARTS AVAILABLE TO REPLACE SEAT TRACK AT THIS TIME. THE SEVICE MANAGER INDICATED THIS WAS A PROBLEM WHEN A NEW MODEL HITS THE MARKET. SEAT WAS REPAIRED BY PLACING A WOODEN BLOCK UNDER THE SEAT UNTIL PARTS ARE AVAILABLE.

Suspension mileage not reported 7 mo in service

WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE ON ANY SPEED, VEHICLE VIBRATES, AND CONSUMER LOSES CONTROL, ALMOST GETTING OFF THE ROAD. *AK

Suspension mileage not reported 7 mo in service

WHILE DRIVING AT 40 MPH THERE IS SOME NOISE WITHIN THE STEERING. ALSO, WHEN GOING OVER A BUMP, THERE IS A LOUD NOISE, AND THE TIRES ARE OUT OF BALANCE. ALSO, WHEEL IS BEND. DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. *AK

Seats mileage not reported 2 mo in service

VEHICLE VIBRATES AT SPEEDS OF 60 TO 70. GENERAL MOTORS INDICATED THAT THIS WAS NORMAL FOR THIS VEHICLE. GM ALSO INDICATED IT WOULD BE 30 TO 60 DAYS BEFORE NEW SPRINGS AND SHOCKS COULD BE DESIGNED FOR THE FRONT AND REAR. VEHICLE VIBRATES AND IS HARD TO CONTROL ON UNEVEN SURFACES. ALSO, THE TRACK ON THE DRIVERS SEAT BROKE AND THE DEALER INDICATED THAT THERE WERE NO PARTS AVAILABLE TO REPLACE SEAT TRACK AT THIS TIME. THE SEVICE MANAGER INDICATED THIS WAS A PROBLEM WHEN A NEW MODEL HITS THE MARKET. SEAT WAS REPAIRED BY PLACING A WOODEN BLOCK UNDER THE SEAT UNTIL PARTS ARE AVAILABLE.

Other Silverado 1500 model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.