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Makes / Chevrolet / Silverado 1500 / Silverado 1500 (K2XX) / 2016

Chevrolet3 independent sources—/100 owner ratings

2016 · Pickup (Regular Cab, Double Cab, Crew Cab)

2016 Chevrolet Silverado 1500

A mid-generation K2XX Silverado 1500. Three EcoTec3 engines were offered, all direct-injected and all with cylinder deactivation. The transmission is the thing to pin down on this year: the 6.2L came with the 8-speed, the 4.3L with the 6-speed, and the 5.3L was sold with either, so two trucks with the same badge and the same engine can have different gearboxes.

Photo coming
Power285–420 hpTorque305–460 lb-ftEPA comb.17–20 mpgTows up to12,500 lbs

Facelift year

What changed for 2016

  • Mid-generation refresh of the K2XX Silverado: revised front-end styling and a reworked interior.
  • The eight-speed automatic became available behind the 5.3L V8, alongside the existing six-speed.

Before you hand over money

Check before you buy

Checks by mechanism
  1. Check the title status first — clean, salvage, rebuilt or flood. Work trucks of this age turn up with branded titles more often than passenger cars do.
  2. Establish which transmission the truck has. The 5.3L was sold with both the 6-speed and the 8-speed in this model year, and they do not drive the same.
  3. Brakes are the largest single complaint category filed with NHTSA against this model year. Ask when the pads, rotors and brake lines were last inspected, and pay attention to pedal feel on the test drive.
  4. Look for open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov. This model year carries 11 recall campaigns and dealers fix open ones free.

Three engines offered that year

Engines

Which engine a listing has is the first thing that changes the answer.

Engines offered in the 2016 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
EnginePowerTorqueTransmissionDriveEPA
LV34.3L V6285 hp305 lb-ft6-speed automaticRWD or 4WD18 city / 23 hwy / 20 combined2WD
L835.3L V8355 hp383 lb-ft6-speed or 8-speed automaticRWD or 4WD16 city / 23 hwy / 19 combined2WD
L866.2L V8420 hp460 lb-ft8-speed automaticRWD or 4WD15 city / 21 hwy / 17 combined2WD

EPA city / highway / combined, from fueleconomy.gov.

NHTSA public records

Complaints and recalls

793complaints filed
11recall campaigns

Where the complaints land

SERVICE BRAKES225
POWER TRAIN177
STEERING109
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM74
UNKNOWN OR OTHER48
ENGINE36

A complaint count is not a failure rate. It tracks how many of these were sold and how much attention a problem drew, so a popular car will always show more complaints than a rare one. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, retrieved 2026-08-11.

Documented mechanisms

Known problems

Wear item

Charging system: battery and alternator

The alternator charges the battery while the engine runs and powers everything electrical. Both are consumable parts with a service life, and on a used car at least one of them has usually been replaced already — or is due.

Slow cranking, a battery light that comes on under load, headlights that dim at idle and brighten when revved, or electronics that behave oddly before anything else fails.Electrical →
Moderate repair

Air conditioning compressor failure

The compressor is the pump in the air conditioning loop. When it seizes it can send metal debris through the whole system, which turns a component replacement into a system job.

Air that is not cold, a clutch that cycles rapidly or not at all, a rattle or squeal that appears only with the A/C switched on.Climate →
Wear item

Suspension and steering noise

Bushings, ball joints, link rods and strut mounts are rubber and grease components that wear continuously. They rarely fail suddenly; they get gradually noisier and vaguer, which is why a test drive on a rough road tells you more than one on smooth pavement.

Clunks over bumps, a knock when turning the wheel at low speed, uneven tyre wear, or a car that wanders and needs constant small corrections.Suspension →
Moderate repair

Carbon buildup on intake valves

In a direct-injection engine the fuel is sprayed into the cylinder rather than at the intake valve. Nothing washes the back of that valve, so deposits from crankcase ventilation and exhaust gas recirculation accumulate there over time.

Rough or shaky cold idle, a misfire code, hesitation under light load, or gradually worse fuel economy without an obvious cause.Engine →
Moderate repair

Shudder and shift quality on the GM 8L45 and 8L90 eight-speed

GM's eight-speed automatic drew two distinct complaints: a shudder felt at steady speed, and harsh or hesitant shifting. Both were litigated together across nine GM models. The case is worth reading carefully rather than citing loosely — an appeals court described the symptoms on the record, then the same court threw out the class structure a year later.

The Sixth Circuit summarised the accounts as vehicles that "slip, buck, kick, jerk and harshly engage". The shudder is described as "a shake / shudder feeling that may be described as driving over rumble strips or rough pavement" — felt through the floor at a steady cruise rather than during a gearchange. The shift complaint is separate: hesitation or a lurch when pulling away or changing gear.Transmission →
Safety recall

Brake assist loss from the engine-driven vacuum pump

The pedal goes hard and the truck takes longer to stop. GM recalled 3,456,719 trucks and SUVs for this in 2019, but the recall remedy is a software change, not a new pump — the pump itself is covered by a separate programme that has an expiry date, and on a 2016 truck that date has now passed. Worth checking both before buying.

"Increased brake pedal effort, hard brake pedal, and/or potentially increased stopping distance" — GM's own wording. The brakes still work; what is missing is the assist, so the pedal feels wooden and needs a much harder push. It shows up first at low speed and light braking, which is exactly the situation where a test drive on an open road will not find it.Brakes →

What it is good at

Strengths

01Three engine choices across one body
02Deep parts and independent shop coverage
03Steel bed and conventional body repair

Running it

Ownership and maintenance

Drivetrain

RWD or 4WDTows up to 12,500 lbs (6.2L V8, properly equipped)

Tow and payload ratings vary with engine, cab, bed length, axle ratio and whether the truck has the Max Trailering package. The door-jamb label gives the figures for that specific truck; a model-level range does not.

Parts

Common — parts and independent shops are easy to find

One of the two highest-volume vehicles in the US. Original and aftermarket parts are stocked everywhere and independent shops know the platform well. The steel body means ordinary collision shops can repair it, unlike the aluminium-bodied F-150 of the same era.

Transmission note

6-speed automatic · 6-speed or 8-speed automatic · 8-speed automatic

Two transmissions were sold behind the 5.3L in this model year — the 6L80 6-speed and the 8L90 8-speed. Establish which one a truck has before comparing it with another, and ask whether the transmission control software has been updated.

Service intervals

Engine oil and filterPer the Oil Life MonitorCalculated rather than fixed. The system tracks how the truck is actually driven.
Transmission fluidPer the manufacturer's stated intervalThe 6-speed and 8-speed take different fluids. Confirm which transmission is fitted before any service.
Spark plugsPer the manufacturer's stated interval
Engine air filterPer the manufacturer's stated interval, shorter in dusty use
Brake pads and rotorsBy wearLoads and towing shorten this considerably.

Cost items

Relative bands only. What a job costs depends on your region, the shop and where the parts come from, so a dollar figure written here would be wrong for most readers — and a wrong number costs more trust than a missing one.

MediumBrake serviceThe most-reported category on this model year.
HighTransmission service or repair
MediumSteering components
MediumSuspension wear itemsLoaded and towing use shorten these intervals.
HighEngine internal workThe largest single expense if it comes up, and labour is the bigger share.