2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Engine
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 MPH, the low oil warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to Pepboys, and the contact was informed that the engine was a quart and a half low on engine oil. The mechanic determined that a gasket was deteriorating, and the seal had fractured, causing the oil leak. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the contact was informed that the engine and transmission needed to be removed to replace the gasket. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and confirmed the repair was not covered under warranty. The manufacturer opened a case for the failure. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 84,000.
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that upon cold starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal ticking sound coming from the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was contacted, and suggested that a diagnostic test be performed. The contact called two other local dealers, Herndon Chevrolet Service (5617 Sunset Blvd, Lexington, SC 29072) and Jim Hudson Chevrolet Service (111 Newland Rd, Columbia, SC 29229), but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was taken to two independent mechanics and was diagnosed with engine failure. The manufacturer was contacted and offered a gift card towards the purchase of another vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.
Collapsible lifter and lift rod failure
Since purchase in 2018, my pickup truck has had a ticking and banging sound which includes rough idling and a check engine light. During routine maintenance, oil changes, etc. I have continued to ask about the noise but GM technicians have said nothing is wrong. In November 2025, i took the truck to a local shop for an oil change and that’s when I learned it has lifter issues. Upon investigating whether other Chevy Silverado truck owners are experiencing the same thing, I’ve learned about various recall and extended warranty programs offered by General Motors. I’m wondering when or if my 2018 Chevy Silverado might be included in a recall or could i be offered an extended warranty?
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while the accelerator pedal was depressed. No warning light was illuminated. In addition, the contact became aware of abnormal oil consumption and sound coming from under the hood. The local dealer was contacted; however, the warranty had expired. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that the engine was making an abnormal knocking sound while driving and during start-up. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V328000 (Engine). The contact was concerned that the engine might seize. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, and the failure was linked to the cylinders. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 155,000.
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that upon running a diagnostic scan on the vehicle, DTC: P0301 was displayed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed, and the contact was advised that the exhaust valve lifter was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 14,211.
I own a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado (8‑speed, ~81,000 miles). The engine has been audibly ticking, and the dealership confirmed hearing it during diagnosis. This aligns with known AFM lifter collapse issues in the L86 Gen V V8, a design failure rather than simple wear. I’ve consistently used premium Schaeffer 0W‑20 synthetic oil, changed regularly on schedule. Maintenance logs and receipts are available. So far, the engine hasn’t completely failed, but lifter collapse can spiral into catastrophic camshaft or short‑block damage—with no advance warning and high risk of sudden failure. I haven’t had an accident yet, but the ticking is driving home how precarious this is—one mile closer to a full grenade without warning. I’m reporting this in the hope NHTSA will identify a widespread safety risk in these L86 lifter failures and prompt a formal investigation or recall to prevent sudden engine failure in similar vehicles.
2018 Chevy Silverado 5.2L with V8 engine equipped with AFM system broke down while accelerating onto a on ramp for the highway going 40 mph. Truck failed to accelerate any faster and a loud knocking noise occurred with a check engine and traction failure light. Safety was put at risk as there was no where to pull off and my truck had no power to it while accelerating onto a very busy interstate. The truck was towed to a Chevy dealership and determined the lifter valves were ticking form both sides and require replacement of them all and the cam shaft.
Lifter problem misfire
On 4/18/25 I was driving to work and was about 2 miles from work when I started to get all kinds of faults displaying on my screen. The engine started to run rough; it sounded like it was not running on all cylinders. After work I drove it straight to the maintenance shop I have been using. They informed me that a lifter failed and went into the cam shaft and created all kinds of metal. I was informed that this was the second Chevrolet Silverado they have had this problem and replaced the engine.
I well maintained my 2018 Chevrolet Silverado, and now the motoer is failing, loss of power and just started smoking from exhaust, my mechanic said that the motor is in the process of blowing up. I made every oil change, and maintained the vehicle because I wanted it to last and be the last vehicle I had to purchase. It failing almost caused a bad accident on the interstate, but luckily I was able to avoid an incident and get to safety.
An independent service center confirmed that the water pump failed and fell apart. This water pump is a 4-groove pulley (part number 12685259) specific to my vehicle. Most other Silverados have a 6-groove pulley system. This 4-groove pulley water pump is unavailable from the dealer or any of the part stores, as they are on back order with no resolution or availability date. GM has notified some parts stores that this part has been discontinued and is no longer available. This truck is less than 10 years old. There are no other parts, either aftermarket or otherwise, to replace my water pump. The water pump is a vital engine component needed to prevent significant engine damage, and without it, the truck can not run independently without overheating. It is essentially the heart of the automotive cooling system, because the truck water pump function is to continuously circulate the engine coolant from the radiator to the engine and back to the radiator. I have had my truck in an independent service center since January 2025, waiting for this part, which is unavailable. I do have the original part at the shop available for inspection. There were no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem before the failure; it just started making a clanking sound, and I immediately took it to a shop, and have been out of a vehicle for 5 months.
Engine all of a sudden had no power or acceleration. Started shaking and thumping extremely loud.
Truck suddenly started slowing down and smoke came from the tailpipe. No warning issued before the failure. Transmission replaced in January of this year also.
In May 2023, my 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 with the 6.2L V8 engine experienced a catastrophic engine failure at 82,986 miles. The failure involved the camshaft, lifters, oil pump, and other internal components. I paid $7,319.63 out of pocket to have the engine disassembled and repaired by a certified mechanic. I recently learned GM issued a recall (NHTSA Recall No. 24V266) for 2021–2024 vehicles with the same engine due to internal engine failures caused by crankshaft and rod bearing defects. Although my 2018 model isn’t included, the failure I experienced closely mirrors the conditions cited in that recall. I believe the same defect may exist in earlier models like mine. I’m submitting this complaint to urge NHTSA to consider whether the recall should be expanded to include additional affected years.
This 2108 vehicle had 56174 miles on it in October 2023 when the starter went bad, then with 56382 miles on it in November 2023 the lifter failed and the engine had to be replaced and then with on 56838 miles on it in Dec 2023 the engine light came on and the dealership replaced the canister and solenoid. All in a 3 month time. Chevy says it happens. Then we start reading it is a problem with their 2019 to 2024 vehicles. Maybe it goes back more.
I was driving on the interstate and then all of a sudden my vehicle started shaking while driving and by the time I got home in less than 15 miles, the truck was producing huge clouds of smoke out of the exhaust. I took it to a dealership and it was determined the lifters were bad, less than 6 months after I paid off my vehicle and the extended warranty expired. In repairing the lifters it was determined there was a misfire in cylinder 6 which in conjunction with the lifter failure, it damaged rods and pistons to such an extent full engine replace was deemed necessary. I had every maintenance and inspection done on time since the purchase of the vehicle by a local Chevrolet dealership and there apparently was no warning or concern that my lifters were going to imminently fail and/or cause extensive engine damage. My truck was in the repair shop for nearly a 1 year while I waited for a new engine Chevrolet agreed to pay for half of an engine even though I was out of warranty by a few months, but I was under the mileage on the warranty by 30k miles. The truck was not heavily used. Most miles were highway interstate miles from long road trips, but the vehicle largely sat undriven most days of the week for a couple years leading up to the engine failure.
My 2018 Chevrolet Silverado with a 6.2 engine suffered a Connecting Rod Bearing failure causing the engine to seize/lock up. The engine components are available for inspection. The engine seized/locked up and could have caused a crash. The vehicle is at my mechanics shop right now and will remain there until it is repaired. The vehicle has been inspected by my mechanic but no one else. The engine had developed a "tick" at idle and while driving. My mechanic found a bent pushrod in the engine and then found the engine suffered a camshaft lifter failure. He replaced all the pushrods, camshaft lifters, and the camshaft. It had been repaired and had been driven for a test drive. There were no warnings the engine was going to to fail. The engine just locked up without warning. The engine was removed from the pickup and was then disassembled and found to have had a connecting rod bearing failure on cylinder 7 and cylinder 8.
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine. In addition, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle with coolant intrusion into cylinder #7, causing engine failure. The contact stated that metal shavings were found mixed in with the engine oil. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
The engine/ transmission has been rebuilt 3 times now and still having issues. The RPM goes up out of nowhere. Something is wrong with the truck. I have taken it to my mechanic over 10 times in the past year. It is still having transmission issues even after being repaired 3 times by a transmission shop.
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and the lifters collapsed. The contact was able to pull over safely. The contact stated that the engine and ABS warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The contact called the local dealer, who informed them about the diagnosis and the cost for the repair. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.
Two broken exhaust manifold bolts
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered abnormally. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated the failure was present when the vehicle was first purchased; however, the failure had since gotten worse. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer however, the cause of the failure could not be determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 24,000.
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the contact heard an abnormal ticking sound coming from the engine compartment. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the exhaust manifold bolts. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 100,000. The VIN was not available.
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Quick Summary
The 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 has 48 Engine complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.