Overheating on the 2008 GMC Sierra 1500
Only 3 reports for this mode came with an odometer reading, which is too few for percentiles to mean anything. The page is here because someone linked to it; treat the figures as anecdotes, and see the full report for this year instead.
When overheating gets reported
There are 3 reports of overheating on the 2008 GMC Sierra 1500, 3 with a mileage attached. That is too few to place the failure on the odometer with any confidence.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 102,000 miles. It is the 13th most-reported problem on this model year.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | 20,000 miles | — | — |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $400–$3,500 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 8 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2019, at a median of 20,000 miles, and latest on the 2018 at 130,000 miles.
By volume the 2022 carries the most reports, with 7; the 2008 has 3. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
2008 gmc sierra 1500 sle has had to have front rotors and pads replaced at 20,000 miles. Replaced rotors and pads with aftermarket parts. At 30,000 miles pads and rotors are worn down to metal again. Dealership stated that calipers are working but rear brakes need to be replaced also. I have always had brake issues since the day I bought the truck brand new with brakes overheating. *tr
Brake rotors warped at 15k miles, had them turned under warranty at dealer vehicle was purchased from. At 30k miles rotors warped again, this time 1 brake pad was worn down to 2mm thick, the rest appear almost new in thickness. Dealer turned rotors again and replaced pads for $200. Requested and was denied that the brake work be covered under warranty by dealer and gm cs. I took old brake hardware home with me and still have it. I contend there is something wrong with the design or materials in the brake system of this truck causing premature wear and failure of "non warranty" brake items such as the pads and rotors. I contend that there has been a hanging brake pad causing the rotors to overheat and warp since the vehicle was new and any work performed at the time of the 15k mile rotor turning did not correct the problem. If brake work needs to be performed on this truck every 15k miles there is a reason that should be covered under warranty. One time freak failure I can see, two times evenly spaced at 15k mile intervals and I think something is wrong with the vehicles brakes design and/or materials. Vehicle is daily driver, 15…
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 gmc sierra 1500. The contact was driving approximately 35 MPH when the temperature warning indicator light illuminated. The vehicle was in the process of overheating and the contact allowed the vehicle to cool down. The vehicle was later driven to the contact's residence and was not taken to for diagnosis of repairs. The manufacturer was not made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 3,664.
Also reported on the 2008 GMC Sierra 1500
Airbag inflator rupture
Other body or interior problem
Other electrical problem
Instrument cluster or gauge failure
Seat belt or retractor failure
Other engine problem
How far this goes
This page is kept out of search results because 3 reports is not enough to publish percentiles from. It stays reachable because somebody looking at this exact car would rather see the reports than be told there are none.
Complaints are voluntary, so 3 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does overheating happen on the 2008 GMC Sierra 1500?
Across 3 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 20,000 miles. A quarter were filed before — and a quarter after —. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is overheating on the 2008 GMC Sierra 1500?
3 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.1 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed