2009 Chevrolet Silverado

Typical pattern

2.9% of complaints about the 2009 Chevrolet Silverado came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2009 vehicle — around the middle of the 212 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 5.2 yr in service. The most-reported system is electrical system (17 complaints), typically at 5.2 yr or about 72,000 miles.

Complaints: 103
Median age at failure: 5.2 yr
Median mileage: 59,000 n=86
Crash / fire / tow: 13.6% of reports
Safety recalls: 0

In owners’ own words

Electrical system 1,000 mi 1.3 yr in service

ENGINE JUST SHUTS DOWN. NO POWER. HAVE TO PULL OVER AND WAIT 5 MINUTES OR SO AND THEN IT WILL RESTART. NO PATTERN. HAS HAPPENED TRAVELING ON HWY. *TR

Electrical system mileage not reported 3.2 yr in service

AT 46,487 MILES HAD TO SPEND $415.75 TO CORRECT ENGINE LIGHT COMING ON. NOW DOOR CHIME COMES ON AT RANDOM TIMES WHEN KEY IS NOT IN IGNITION. *KB

Electrical system mileage not reported 3.4 yr in service

THIS HAS BEEN ON GOING FROM DAY ONE MY TRUCK HAS 30900 MILES ON IT AND ALMOST 3 YEARS OLD HEAD LIGHTS FLICKER OR DIM OUT FOR NO REASON ALONG WITH THE DASH LIGHTS DEALER SAID IT WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO IT WAS JUST THAT TYPE OF VOLTAGE REGULATOR. *TR

Air bags 46,000 mi 3.1 yr in service crash / fire / tow

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 CHEVROLET SILVERADO. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH, HE FELL ASLEEP AND LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE CRASHED INTO A CEMENT WALL AND THE FRONT DRIVER'S AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. THE CONTACT SUFFERED HEAD INJURIES DURING THE CRASH. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER INVESTIGATED THE FAILURE AND CONCLUDED THAT THE AIR BAG PERFORMED AS DESIGNED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 46,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 55,000.

Other Silverado 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.

2009 Chevrolet Silverado

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

In owners’ own words

Other Silverado model years

How to read this