2002 Chevrolet Silverado 1500

Typical pattern

2.1% of complaints about the 2002 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2002 vehicle — around the middle of the 230 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 10.3 yr in service. The most-reported system is service brakes (184 complaints), typically at 12.9 yr or about 116,000 miles.

Complaints: 609
Median age at failure: 10.3 yr
Median mileage: 90,000 n=531
Crash / fire / tow: 11.2% of reports
Safety recalls: 0

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

System

0y2y4y6y8y10y12y14y

Service brakes

184 reports · 116,000 mi

12.9 yr

8.7%

Service brakes, hydraulic

167 reports · 70,000 mi

8.2 yr

10.2%

Structure

30 reports · 90,000 mi

11.0 yr

6.7%

Power train

27 reports · 75,000 mi

6.6 yr

11.1%

Steering

25 reports · 38,000 mi

5.9 yr

Parking brake

20 reports · 66,000 mi

5.1 yr

Electrical system

19 reports · 99,000 mi

12.3 yr

26.3%

In owners’ own words

Service brakes, hydraulic mileage not reported 5 mo in service

WHILE APPROACHING A STOP SIGN AT 30 MPH DRIVER STARTED TO APPLY THE BRAKES, AND THERE WAS NO RESPONSE. DRIVER USED ADDITIONAL PRESSURE BUT VEHICLE WOULD NOT STOP. THEN BRAKES CAUGHT, AND DRIVER STOPPED VEHICLE. THIS PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED MORE THAN ONCE.*AK

Service brakes, hydraulic mileage not reported 1.3 yr in service

WHEN THE BRAKE WAS APPLIED, THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE.*JB

Service brakes, hydraulic mileage not reported 1.6 yr in service

WHILE PRESSING ON THE BRAKE PEDAL, THE DRIVER WOULD ALSO PRESS ON THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO SURGE FORWARD. OWNER HAS MADE CONTACT WITH THE DEALERSHIP. *PH THE BRAKE PEDAL HAS TO TRAVEL PAST THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL TO ACTIVATE THE BRAKES. AS A RESULT THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL IS ACCIDENTALLY PRESSED SIMULTANEOUSLY .*TS *NLM

Power train mileage not reported 7 mo in service

WHEN SHIFTING FROM FIRST TO SECOND GEAR, AND SECOND TO THIRD GEAR, TRANSMISSION SHIFTS HARD. LOUD NOISE FROM THE TRANSMISSION/ REAREND. OCCURRED AFTER FREEWAY DRIVING REPEATEDLY.*AK

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.