2021 Sierra X31

Hey everyone, haven’t posted in a while. I thought I would provide my experience so far with the 3.5” Rough Country lift I had installed on my 2021 GMC Sierra 1500. The lift was installed with about 40,000 miles on the truck. By 50,000 miles, my drivers side CV axle blew the boot. Dealer wouldn’t cover it under warranty. $650. Had it replaced and 2,000 miles later, boot blew again. This time they replaced it free of charge since it happened so quickly. Fast forward another 10,000 miles, I now have a little over 61,000 miles on the truck. I started hearing a very loud creaking/screeching noise on front drivers side when turning the wheels or hitting bumps. Took it back to the 4 wheel drive shop. They told me the lower ball joint is causing the noise and that it has to be replaced. They ordered an entire new LCA, which has a new ball joint installed in it already. $400. Getting them to install the LCA this Friday and fingers crossed it fixes the noise. I also have a clunk in steering when making slow speed turns. I suspect that lower ball joint has play in it. Just figured I would share. I know putting more than 2” of lift on these trucks and we are asking for lots of suspension issues. Unless you go with a full on 4” lift and spend $3k to get all the angles correct, you’re going to have problems.

Well I was driving home the other day and saw my trucks reflection and noticed that my passenger side DRL finally has failed and turned purple also. So now both my lights match at least

Just took mine in a second time. They are replacing the headlamp again. There is another thread on here about this, one or 2 of the guys said that replacing the entire assembly fixed theirs... so it now seems they had a huge batch of these lights that had an issue in manufacturing, and that now they are finally producing units that don’t have the problem. I asked the dealership if this issue was document yet via a TSB. They said no. GM knows they have a large problem and they are just trying to damage control at this point I’m sure. One of these headlights is over $1000 each. They ordered me a new one that was actually sitting in North Carolina. Who knows if this is one that has had the issue corrected or not. They aren’t releasing any dates on when or if they have fixed the problem. I’ll keep taking it in until they fix it.

Hmmm... so sounds like the headlight unit they replaced mine with was also defective. Maybe they finally fixed the issue in production. Guess I’ll get mine swapped again.

Do you have a copy of the service ticket on your ‘19? I’d like to know what they did to fix. GM already replaced the entire headlight unit on mine and it turned purple a week later. I haven’t been able to find anyone on any forum that has actually stated anything replaced that actually fixed the problem.

BUMP again..

Yeah, now I do love the way my Sierra drives. 8 speed has been smooth so far. Quiet ride down the road at 80 mph. And soft ride over bumps. However, I completely agree about the downhill decline in quality and reliability we have all seen the past 20 years. I’ve had around 10 different vehicles, never have I had any of them have major engine problems, never. Granted, I don’t keep vehicles very long usually (2-3 years max). But I’ve only had the Sierra 1 year so far. It’s sad to see where we’ve gone as a country. Outsourcing people, parts, assembly, etc, all in the name of profits over quality. Car manufacturers have all been forced down this road, or face complete bankruptcy. Oh well. I’ve ranted enough.

Geez... you had a rash of problems. Funny you mention the bed issue. I noticed my bed was crooked right away. I'm OCD. I loosened all the bolts (located on bottom side of bed) and slid mine so that it was all lined up. Then the DRL light color issue, and now the lifters. So far, that's the only issues i've had. The engine issues really chap my hide.

Ahhh... thank you. I'll locate that sticker today or tomorrow and let you all know.

Is it just me, or is there not a date shown there? If not, how do you interpret date codes?

Curious what other issues you have had. I've got the issue with the driver's side DRL light that has turned purple in color. GM can't figure that out either. They replaced the entire headlight assembly and the new one turned purple the next week. I agree. Not sure how long i'll keep this one. It's just the uncertainty of not being able to get my hands on a new truck. Unless I build one and wait 5 months I suppose.

*Edit - I see now you actually have 100k warranty on engine. Well, your powertrain warranty should be thru 60,000 miles. Which, should cover any issues with the lifters/engine. That's my understanding anyways. But, getting rid at 36K might be the safest route! I really like this truck and wanted to keep it 3-5 years. But, I just can't see it at this point. Not with problems like this already.

Yep, found it. Thanks. Looks like my build date is also 11/2020... so you and I are in the exact same boat. As far as demanding they replace both sides, that's going to go nowhere. That would mean the dealership would be taking around a $2000 hit. I actually just got back from dealer again today. I had them change the oil (they were supposed to when lifter was replaced) and look at why the truck is now idling rough after they replaced one bank of lifters. The shop foreman drove the truck, acknowledged that it does idle rough. He wants me to drive it 2,000 miles first, since it was a major repair, and see if it still persists. If it does, they are going to look into it further. We all know it's not going to correct itself. So, I will be taking it back in 2000 miles from now.

Where is the build date listed? I looked around engine bay. I see dates on individual parts, they all vary. Looked at paperwork on truck, didn't see it there.

2021 Sierra SLT here, 5.3 Liter... 25,000 miles on the clock. Was driving home from work the other day, stop and go traffic and stop lights. I start to take off from a stop light and I hear a loud "tap, tap, tap", the truck loses power and continued to make the loud tapping noise. I knew it was bad right away. Limped it along until I could get it parked in a parking lot. As I made my way to the parking lot, the computer started flashing a bunch of codes. I quickly got it parked and shut it down. Called a tow truck and had it towed to my local dealership. They looked at it the next day and let me know that there was a intake valve lifter failure on cylinder 7. Subsequently, the collapsed lifter also caused other damage and bent a pushrod. I immediately asked the tech to please replace ALL lifters in the engine. He told me that per GM, they aren't allowed to do that unless the truck has 8,000 miles or less. So, I had no choice. They replaced only the lifters on the bank of cylinder 7. I'm extremely disappointed that with a brand new truck i've already had a catastrophic valvetrain failure. I'm sure they are sourcing half or more of the engine parts from CHINA. Now I just am driving and expecting any minute that i'll have the other side of lifters fail. Not to mention, I don't even know if they installed parts that are actually sound, or if they are no different and will fail again. Finally, after the lifters were replaced, now my truck idles more rough, and I can feel more vibration coming from the engine at different RPM's. Just really sucks. This was also my first GM product... so this leaves a really sour taste.

Any update? Did they get it fixed without replacing it?

That’s a good point. I noticed the other day when I remote started my truck, it turns on the DRLs at the same light level as when the headlights are on. I also noticed that my drivers side was not purple at all. Once I actually pressed the start button and the truck was fully up and running, the DRLs switched to full power and then my drivers side turned purple.

That’s actually promising if they think they have a fix without replacing it. I’ve suspected for a while that it’s probably not related to the actual light unit. Almost always the drivers side light, and when replaced with brand new headlight unit, it turns purple within a week or 2. Keep us posted as I will be taking mine back and explaining what they did to fix yours, assuming they actually know what the problem is.

Don’t waste your time. I haven’t heard one single person confirm that theirs being replaced even lasted longer than a couple weeks.

10-4. Let us know. I’m just living with mine as I have no other choice now.

Following back up. Your light still white like it should be?

They are playing dumb and hoping you take the bait. Take it to another dealer. Get second opinion. Most I’ve talked to have had zero issues getting GM to admit it’s faulty and order replacement.

Glad they got yours fixed and didn’t hassle you. Hopefully it lasts! BTW: Mine is the same way, with the headlights on, I don’t see any purple with the surround. Someone else mentioned that the surround dims when the headlights are on, but I don’t understand why that would have an impact on the color. Who knows.

well, mine still isn’t fixed. They have to replace the entire headlight assembly, as it is built in one piece. I took mine to the dealer a couple of weeks ago, they swapped the light for the new one. I drove it for four days and it had already turned purple again. Now I’m just kind of waiting it out to hear that they have actually issued a bulletin or have confirmed to have headlight units that are no longer affected with the issue. Obviously the one day swapped me for Was an older production unit that still has the problem. Or, possibly there is an issue on the truck side that is not related to the light that is causing it. I have not talked to anybody that really knows what is causing the failure. You could always have them order a new light and give it a shot. No guarantees.

I understand it’s trivial in the grand scheme. It’s more principle. It’s something GM hasn’t seemed to figure out... or care enough to issue a bulletin yet. Seeing as how this is a very prevalent defect, GM needs to take some action. Also, my frustration is taking off work, taking the time to get it scheduled, the entire day to get it replaced, and 4 days later it’s back to screwed up. Yes, I’m OCD and it bothers me more than most, I’m sure.