2017 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 1500 Electrical System Problems

Trailer brake warning

The rear window of my 2017 Chevy Silverado exploded. I had the rear defrosters on, and they malfunctioned. I thought I smelled something hot before this happened. I am surprised this didn't cause a fire. I have researched this issue, and it appears to be an ongoing problem with the 2014 - 2019 Silverado and Sierra trucks. In fact, Canada has a recall on this issue, but the U.S. does not. Why is that?

After starting the vehicle. I heard a hissing noise coming from the rear of the cabin. I looked in the rear view mirror and saw a large amount smoke rising from the box where the rear defroster power connects to the window. I immediately shut the vehicle off, got out and walked around the passenger side of the vehicle. As I approached the passenger rear door, the rear passenger window exploded with a Loud pop, shooting glass across the bed of the truck. I know there is currently a recall for this issue in Canada.

When driving all gauges go to zero, truck doesn’t illuminate which gear it’s in, warning lights come on (service 4WD, service stabilitrak, service traction control, reduced power steering, service traction control, service trailer brake system ). When NOT driving if these issues show on the dash when parked and the car doesn’t illuminate which gear it’s in, it does not crank over, does not start, there is no clicking noise either like if it was a bad starter. All the dash lights, gauges, radio goes black as if I turn the vehicle off instead of on. This has been happening since around 2020-2021 in Colorado. It was in a shop for over a month with no resolution. In Idaho in 2022-2024 in a shop for a month with no resolution, and now CA in 2025. No mechanic shop can figure out what is wrong, no “certified GM” shop or “certified...

Issue is based off of this service bulletin, but GM has failed to call a recall on this for coverage. I was driving my daughter to softball practice. Every few minutes there would be a "stabilitrak" message showing on the driving information area. Then in slower speeds my dashboard screen would blank out and then go back to CarPlay. Then once I approached a parking lot at slower speeds my vehicle lost total power and shut down. Then had to switching the gear to park, then turn off the ignition key, then wait a few seconds and turn the key on to start the truck. It started as normal and was able to park in the parking space. Very scary and this is a very serious issue, I could have been in an accident with my daughter. This has to be addressed, I can't be the only one having this...

Electronic brakes lock up during driving. No power going to rear wheels.

Unknown system or component failure. Vehicle is available upon request to inspect. My families safety was at risk, power steering goes out while driving, all service lights come on, vehicle goes into “limp mode”, would go in and out of gear while driving, gears won’t work properly (P,R,D…), when shifting into R camera won’t come on. This problem is continuing. Have not been able to get it into dealership. Vehicle has not been inspected by police, dealership, or insurance. Stabilitrak notification, and all service lights go off. No problem or symptoms prior to failure. Vehicle was well maintained and I have service records of every repair, oil change, etc.

Electronics for hands free stopped working. This part was already replaced once. When backing up, the whole truck shut down. I restarted, it said to roll drivers side window down and up. Truck started up again. Few days later... returning from trip, lost power, windshield wipers came on, electronics in truck started blinking. Pulled over, rolled driver's side window up and down. started back on road. This has happened numerous times. Whenever I gave it extra gas, asking for power to pass, same thing mentioned above happened. Very stressful! Next day, hit a hole, truck totally shut down again. Husband was able to safely coast off road, however, if he had been pulling out at a major intersection, this could have been bad. Warning light that comes with shutdown says "stabltrack issue". I have not seen our dealer service department yet, but plan to very soon. VERY unsafe... and I...

The AFM system is a faulty system that starved my lifters of oil and they ended up collapsing causing a flat spot on my cam. The engine code would come up as a misfire but the code is caused by the flat spot created on the cam by the lifter it's a faulty system that cost me $7,000. My 8spd transmission also has a hard shift from 1st to 2nd pushing the vehicle forward and jerking it when it shifts. The dealer and GM said this was natural with this type of transmissions which we now know is a lie.

At night when in reverse, the dash camera does not dim as the rest of the dash does. The screen is far too bright inside the passenger compartment and you cannot safely maneuver the vehicle. There is no manual adjustments available.

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while in a drive-through, he noticed a smoky odor. The contact stated that he looked through the rearview mirror and noticed that smoke was coming from the rear window of the vehicle. The contact exited the vehicle and inspected the rear window. The contact noticed an inch-long fire at the bottom of the rear window. The contact was able to blow the fire away. The contact stated that upon entering the vehicle, the rear window shattered. No warning lights were illuminated. A fire report was not filed. A police report was not filed. There was no injury sustained. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The manufacturer referred the contact to the dealer for the vehicle inspection. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the vehicle inspection was performed, and the diagnostic...

I was parked at a gas pump, just got done fueling, hung hose up. I quickly ran into the gas station to grab a drink and as temps are 0°F, I remote started my vehicle from check out counter. When I returned to my vehicle the cab was filling with smoke. I sprung into action and quickly but safely drove away from gas pump with very little visibility, due to smoke, I assessed what was going on. Upon further investigating where the fire was coming from, I Could see the smoke was billowing from my rear window. As I Went to check on window heater that turns on automatically with remote start, the windows left panel exploded in my face from the outside of truck. Minor glass cuts, no major injuries. No insurance claims filed, no emergency services called as after I extinguished fire and turned off vehicle smoke seemed...

Rear defrost shorted and shattered the glass.

"Trailer Brake System Service" message continuously displays across the digital cluster menu while I drive.

2 times total electrical and engine failure while driving.

As I was driving I received a call while my phone was plugged in to the USB charging port and as I answered the call all the gauges on my dash, as well as the radio and all my warning lights shut off and turned back on and calibrated as if I first started the vehicle and reset. Then the radio and things wouldn't work. I had to pull over shut off the truck and restart it. This has happened 2 times already in less than as year I contacted the dealer and they really don't seem to care and keep putting me off or telling me they will call me which never happens. As of writing this still not fixed.

This is a complaint in regards to the trailer breaking system in my certified pre-owned 2017 Chevy Silverado that I purchased in April of this year, 2024. I purchased this truck in particular for its high ratings in safety and towing capabilities. (April- May 2024) While towing a 22ft trailer from Virginia to Washington state, there were several moments where the “service trailer braking system” alert would appear on the dash. Driving on the interstate for days on end is twice as stressful when you have to wonder if your trailer brakes are reliable. If the trailer brakes were to suddenly stop working it would be dangerous for me and my passengers, as well as those around me on the road. (Sept- Oct 2024) We aren’t towing a trailer anymore, but the “service trailer braking system” light has been going off every couple minutes.

I am filing a complaint regarding an electrical fire in the junction box of my 2017 Chevy Silverado 1500. The issue began when the front passenger side marker light would not turn off. I disconnected the battery overnight to troubleshoot the problem. However, when I reconnected the battery the next morning, an electrical fire occurred in the fuse junction box under the hood. At the same time, the engine unexpectedly attempted to turn over and start on its own. I immediately disconnected the battery again to stop the fire. Upon inspection, I found that several wires, plugs, and the top half of the junction box had sustained significant damage.

Engine shuts down on its own causing steering wheel to jerk and almost locks preventing control. Has been doing this for three weeks and is now getting much worse. Seems to do when making slow speed sharp turn. Almost hit another car in intersection yesterday due to steering control loss. I have seen numerous mentions of this on the internet but seems GM does not have a fix. The truck is now dangerous to drive as it can completely shut down in the middle of an intersection.

My vehicle radio goes crazy, but oddly the speedometer goes away as well. I was able to get it back by turning radio off completely, but this should be a recall issue. Please help.

Trailer brake service message appears on dash and integrated trailer brake will not work. While towing heavy load system stopped working. Took to dealer. was told there was a bad wire in harness. Remedy was to cut wire and run new wire from front to back and recut at plug. worked for one year. happened again this year. have not had repaired again.

What happens is my "ABS light" comes on and when I pull into the driveway... the truck shuts everything off. Locks the wheel!!! Lights off!! It's deadly seriously!!! Stabilitrak stops the truck from moving!!! This needs fixed bad!

We Bought a Chevy Silverado 1500 truck used in Nov 2021for purpose of towing RV trailer. In having axel bearings packed on trailer March [XXX], 2024, the RV mechanic noticed no wear or brake dust. He checked and determined RV brakes had never engaged and found no power to the RV brakes in the plug in port on back of truck. Took to dealer, Chesrown in Delaware Ohio, on [XXX], 2024. After having truck all day they said issue was brake modulator which they reprogrammed. We hooked up RV trailer and brakes still do not work. Hand brake controller on dash will engage the trailer brakes , but not the foot brake. In researching online, there is a great deal of discussion about GM knowing about and not addressing the issue. There’s a known defect in a wiring harness between two of the body control modules. This part is known...

While turning vehicle at slow speeds the trailer warning,no trailer on vehicle, stability control hill assist radio and steering stop working as well as vehicle will stall out. Depending on when it happens it may stall while turning into traffic. I have searched the issue and found there is a ground problem under dash near windshield. It has happened multiple times like 15 as of this date.

The radio/ my link is way to bright and there is no option to dim it. This makes an eye distraction and hard to see the road at night. there are many post about this concern online.

Stalling with no power transmission is putting me at risk since I first purchased this vehicle. Transmission needs to be replaced because of the defective drive shaft on all 2017 models . Really serious problem with a hard shift and multiple misfire. Just not sure what to do at this point. I’m still paying for a truck that’s not working.

Rear window drefroster began smoking. Pulled over and exited truck noticed defroster was glowing red. Window then shattered. This is a power slide window. Drivers side.

Failure of integrated wiring harness for trailer brake control. Wires broken, corroded and with brittle and cracked insulation causing trailer brakes to not engage thus creating a dangerous and possibly deadly condition for driver and others on the road.

The power sliding rear window circuit heated up so much that it produced smoke and shattered the rear window.

Complete loss of electrical system power and engine power, vehicle stalls and Coast to a stop. This has happened seven different times in the last 4000 miles driven. Possibly due to faulty ground connection electric power steering system and or stabilitrak I don't know but it is very dangerous. And there has been many other people experiencing this on Silverado Facebook groups.

Before leaving the house, it sounded like a static noise was coming from the speakers. I turned the radio off and the noise was still there. I get out of the truck to check the back seat area (where the noise was coming from). I put my ear near the window and it almost sounded like a can of something was being sprayed. It was weird, because nothing was in the back of the cab. Anyway, I thought "that's weird" and drove off, not giving it much thought. As I was walking to the truck at Sam's Club, I hit the automatic start. While loading the groceries in the truck, the noise now sounded like a sizzling, snapping sound. Then, I noticed few snowflakes landing near the back window were causing that sound. Again, I thought "that is so weird"!! I put the cart back, got in the truck and...

Not exactly sure of the root cause but the glass shop said it appeared that the rear defrosting element on my 2017 Chevy Silverado shorted out, became extremely hot and caused my rear window to shatter. Some documents that I read stated that the electrical connections could corrode over time and short out. I read that Canada does have a recall for this same problem.

Two times now when driving, vehicle has randomly lost all power. First time there was no warning of any sort of problem. Second time was on the express way running just fine, then all of a sudden engine light started flashing, and stabilatrac light up on dash. was able to get off right away. turned right Into a office complex and shut right off. after 3 minutes got power back and was able to get it safely in a parking spot, but then it started running rough, like multiple cylinder miss fire

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle was remotely started. The contact's husband entered the vehicle and turned on the rear defrost. The contact stated that her seven-month-old infant was seated on the passenger side rear seat. The contact's husband noticed a burning odor on the interior of the vehicle and smoke was coming from the rear passenger’s side rear window. The vehicle was turned off and the infant was removed from the vehicle immediately. The contact stated that she had noticed the odor of burning odor in the interior of the vehicle shortly after the vehicle was purchased. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact stated that the vehicle was scheduled for a service appointment in several weeks. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance....

Rear window defrost almost caught fire about 10 min into drive smoke emitted from near rear window and got worse and worse until I found the cause and shut off the rear defrost. Smokey electrical smell filled the interior.

Vehicle has abrupt, unexpected power failures and/or issues with "Stabilitrak" that causes immediate engine shut-off at highway speeds and/or causes the steering wheel to jerk unexpectedly potentially causing a run-in with traffic

An electrical issue of uncertain origin involving the stabilitrack system that causes the truck to jerk a different direction or stop completely in unexpected fashion

The Stabilitrak system is malfunctioning on my vehicle. It does it intermittently but can be available for inspection. When the stabilitrak system malfunctions, the vehicle will either shut down completely while driving, violently jerk the wheel to one side, or it shorts out the system for brief seconds while driving. Once the system malfunctions the "Stabilitrack" warning light comes on as well as the check engine light and traction control light. I have had the truck looked at on more than one occasion. The dealership I purchased it from first said they couldn't find anything wrong with the vehicle, but after showing them the video they came down to a bad power steering control module. I am having a second mechanic look at it to see if there is another solution. I have been reading this is a common problem on these vehicles and it is caused by a bad...

18V586. GM's own number for this recall is 18289. These are for the 2015 Silverado’s . The 2017 Silverado 1500 are doing the same thing as the recall from above describes . My wife had almost accidents cause of this . I almost had an accident today as well getting off the freeway . I know a lot of people are having these problems as well . Gm needs to own up to this mistake they did with these trucks . They should be held responsible for this defect on this truck .

The trailer brakes light keeps coming on for no reason at all times

Dear NHTSA, The truck has lost electrical power several times over the past few months but only 3 times while driving. Today it completely shutdown while making a right hand turn at a busy intersection causing the loss of power steering and braking while narrowly missing a car waiting for the traffic light It took both hands to turn the wheel and both feet to push the brake pedal enough to stop on the shoulder. Prior to this latest incident I removed the engine compartment splash pan, checked the starter and ground connections and all seemed well. I then unplugged, cleaned and reconnected all electrical connections in the engine compartment and fuse box. The complete shutting down of a vehicle and its electric system while driving is a very dangerous matter. Sincerely, [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

Service Power Steering message comes on and off at random time. Almost got into a accident a couple of times. One example is I was getting off the freeway and the exit made a U shape turn. The Power Steering message came on and I lost power steering and it became so hard to steer. The wheel almost jerked out of my hand and almost went straight into the wall had to use my whole body to turn the steering wheel. Checked grounds and connections all that seem good also checked for codes and there were no active codes

While driving down the highway in a torrential rain the wipers just stopped working. They were cutting on and off and now do not work at all. The problem appears to be in the engine compartment fuse block which is not servicable. It is currently not fixed and could be inspected. We could not see 50 feet in front of us and were blindly following the car in front of us. It hasent been to the dealer yet as the truck is out of warrenty and it would not be covered. This came without any warning lamps or messages.

I have had numerous repairs to electrical components in the truck. Most recently I have been getting the same wiring harness repaired on and off for almost 5 months now along with various modules that it damages. The dealer makes the repair and then after anywhere from 100 to 1000+ miles later the check engine light will come back on or another error message like Service Trailer Braking System. Wires keep breaking in the harness and the dealer keep repairing them. The dealer has been very good about this. This last time they repaired a broken wire and 2 more broke during the repair and had to be spliced. There is obviously a defect in this wiring harness. I have been in contact with GM but the truck is out of warranty and they do not seem willing to help out much. They suggested I trade it in, I just...

Rear defrost/sliding window began to smoke. Eventually, rear window exploded and shattered with a very loud noise. The noise was so loud it had my ears ringing and unfortunately happened also while I was driving down the road which cased me to swerve abruptly. Fortunately, I was able to steady myself and pull of the road. Prior to the explosion, there was smoke coming from the window that was continuing to intensify in my rear view window as I was driving. I pulled over into a cemetary quickly and noticed the rear defrost button was lit. I quickly depressed it to kill the electrical current to see if it would stop the smoking from the window. It did then disapate. I took off driving again presuming I stopped the issue. Within seconds the right side glass panel in the rear window exploded. The vehicle or component has not been reproduced...

Was driving down the road at 65 and the truck shut down completely and had control of steering that time. Put truck in neutral and it restarted. Then was in a gas station getting gas then went to pull out after filling up and the wheels jerked and almost broke my wrist the instrument cluster said stibilatrac and shut down. Went to restart then the instrument panel said lower driver window then close . It did this one more time in the gas station parking lot.

Rear defrost malfunctioned causing rear window to blow out smoke filled cab plastic started to melt I am in possession of vehicle it available for inspection in driveway at time buy sounded like a 22 going off behind my head had it at Brunswick auto mart for a week and told they can’t do anything dash had no indications at that time or after

I believe the General Motors Video Display Module Digitizer has a design flaw that affects vehicle safety. This is the appliance in the center of the dashboard to the right side of the driver controlling audio and clock operations. It is a large touch screen. Also, the instrument cluster located over the steering wheel is affected. This is the digital display that reports vehicle velocity, tire pressure, gas mileage. What are the symptoms? During vehicle operation, the video display to the driver's side will randomly cycle through alternate operations not requested by the user. For example, while listening to radio station "A", the unit will switch to radio station "B". Then, the clock will be displayed in "full screen mode". Then, the unit initiates phone calls to people from my contacts list on my phone. In addition, the display unit over the steering wheel is connected to the side unit...

While turning out of a parking space. I went into reverse, when I tried to turn the steering wheel it turned the other direction. The dash went dim, stabilitrac message came on the information display and the truck completely shut off. I had no lights no anything. I popped the hood touched the +battery terminal and lights came back on. Was able to drive home

Rear sliding widow automatic defroster caught fire filled truck with smoke causing driver to make emergency stoppage and open windows to clear deadly smoke condition to breathe when glass shatteted and created loud noise and danger of shattered glass to rear passengers. Recall in Canada for same exact dangerous rear window defect.