General Motors has dropped one available powertrain combination from the 2021 GMC Sierra 1500 SLE and Elevation trim levels.
For the time being, the automaker will no longer build the 2021 GMC Sierra 1500 with the 5.3L L84 V8 engine and GM ten-speed automatic transmission in either the SLE or the Elevation trim levels, although buyers will still be able to order the SLE and Elevation with the 5.3L L84 V8 engine and the older GM eight-speed automatic transmission. The 5.3L L84 V8 produces 355 horsepower and 384 pound-feet of torque in the 2021 GMC Sierra 1500.
GMC Sierra 1500 Elevation
As we pointed out in a previous article, the 2021 GMC Sierra 1500 with the 5.3L L84 V8 is available with either the GM eight-speed automatic or GM ten-speed automatic transmission. The ten-speed transmission carries a $200 premium over the eight-speed in trim levels where both are offered.
In addition to the 5.3L V8 engine, the 2021 GMC Sierra 1500 is also offered with the turbocharged 2.7L L3B four-cylinder engine and the Duramax 3.0L LM2 inline-six turbodiesel in the SLE and Elevation trim levels. The 2.7L L3B four-cylinder is the base engine in the SLE and Elevation trims and comes paired with the eight-speed automatic. The Duramax 3.0L inline-six turbodiesel engine is the priciest engine option in these two trim levels and is paired exclusively with the ten-speed automatic.
It’s wroth pointing out that there is still a way to get the 2021 GMC Sierra 1500 with the L84 V8 engine and ten-speed automatic transmission, as this powertrain combination is still available with the pricier SLT, AT4 and Denali trim levels.
The 2021 GMC Sierra also received a small price increase recently. Under the revised pricing structure, the base Sierra and SLT trim levels will be $400 more expensive than they were previously, while the Denali and AT4 trim levels will receive respective price increases of $500 and $600. The Elevation also gets a price increase of $900, while the SLE gets the biggest price increase of $1,000.
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Comments
All I can say to customers here is DO NOT BUY THIS GM 8 SPEED.
It IS junk !
Like one owner and commenter has said here, something like it is a product of Satan himself.
And he owns the great 2.7T
This is one way to kill that great engine, pair it with the GM 8 speed junk transmission.
And for those who say GM has this fixed !
These are people buying NEW trucks here, that are having troubles. NOT 2015 trucks !
GM has NO customer support, please do not go down this rabbit hole, you will regret it !
Dude, has darwin not hit you yet? Come on broken record. This has been told to you time and time again and you aren’t getting it. There is nothing wrong with the new 8 speeds, they are fantastic with the new fluid. You keep hanging on something that happened a few years ago, was identified and fixed. Either the new fluid handled it in most cases, some that went too long had to have a new torque converter installed and a few had to have a new transmission installed with the new fluid. Just because you had an issue that soured you that is rare doesn’t mean you need to go spreading rumors with some smear campaign. No one here is listening to your lies here, they know better. GM fans have done their homework, seen what was found and the fix and addressed it. It was a supplier issue with the fluid, not a GM issue.
Haven’t heard many issues with GM customer support, though it is a large business and all companies have their bad reps or issues. So the grass isn’t always greener, especially when talking about overall reliability which GM is pretty well known for. They may not have the fanciest interiors or best interior build quality (though they have gotten alot better) but their drivetrains are some of the best and most robust and trouble free, I will take that any day.
So again, please leave as you contribute nothing but crying and whining for something that doesn’t exist. In every single post regardless if the article is about a new window design or change in tires you jump to complaining about the 8 speed that is well reviewed and reliable and pout like a child calling it junk…
Dude, has darwin not hit you yet? Come on broken record. This has been told to you time and time again and you aren’t getting it. The GM 8 speed junk transmissions are JUNK !
Just a yesterday, MDSilveradoGuy, has said this 8 speed transmission is a product of Satan himself !
He literally drives this very truck, or the 2.7T – GM 8 speed junk transmission !
Sir YOU ARE WRONG !!
And your haven’t hears MANY issues is also WRONG !!
So again, please leave as you contribute nothing but lying and spreading false information for something that doesn’t cost the customer every time. In every single post regardless if the article is about a new window design or change in tires you jump to saying GM is the greatest and has no problems what so ever preaching that the 8 speed Is somehow a GM great and well received and reliable and pout like a child when the TRUTH is EVIDENT !
This transmission is JUNK people, JUNK !
There ARE SOME good ones out there !
PLEASE, before you buy one of these, find a REAL customer of one that has had troubles, PLEASE !
Talk to them, have coffee with them, talk over haw many trips to the dealership there was, how much personal time out of their lives was WAISTED back and forth to a GM dealership , over this ” Known Faulty ” JUNK !
You do NOT have to believe ME !!!!!
Look, Google it, TALK TO A REAL CUSTOMER, You will learn !
Commonsense, is a GM rep, a GM guy, a GM dealership !
Do not buy one of these !!!
GM WILL NOT HELP YOU !!!
GM does NOT have a service center. The dealership has the service center, NOT GM !
Buying this product will cost you $$$$$$$$$$
Do your RESEARCH !!!!!!
PLEASE !!!!!!!
Commonsense,
When this post hits 100 comments, your ONLY response will be.
Fake news.
As REAL CUSTOMERS, are LITERALLY TELLING YOU, this product is JUNK !!!!
Anyone out there who thinks gm trucks are better than Toyota trucks,should cut whatever their smoking in half.
My 8-speed has been great. 2 years into owning it and it’s been better than my buddy’s 2019 Ram’s 8-speed. His has a bad bump downshift that I’m guessing is due to FCA and ZF changing the design for the new truck.
I have a 2019 with the 5.3 and 8 speed and 50,000 miles and honestly i have zero issues with it. Best transmission i have ever had besides oldschool manuals in trucks. Could be i have a good one but i can assure you that not all of them are trash
Same here. I was nervous initially but after two years and 38k miles, I like it better than my previous 6-speed Chevy or 6-sp F-150.
I think your problem is with your 2.7L engine instead of the 5.3 EPA forces GM to sell those with milage standards. GM would rather not and the customers would rather the 5.3, however Uncle Sam will win every time.
If this article is correct then they need to edit the GMC website. It still allows you to build an elevation with 5.3/10sp in 4×4 trim.
I have the 5.3/10sp in my 2020 Elevation, there is no chance in hell I would go back to an 8. Why the hell do they even still make it?
I drove a 2019 sierra with the 8 speed and it was terrible.
Gm continues to unimpress. Does anyone REALLY wonder why the f150 outsells them and continues to increase the gap or why Ram passed them last year?
This is their #1 product. Enough excuses, they need new leadership and not just Mary, but she needs to go too.
Another reason not to buy GM crap!
From a owner of an 8 speed automatic to anyone wondering should I buy it.
Do not buy this piece of junk transmission
This just in. GM will be shipping the updated 2022 Silverado with the 4l60e transmission unless it’s the High Country. Which is also the only way to get power windows and ABS.
damn . Why not just offer a 3spd auto and a 305 w/4bbl carb. I heard nothing but bad reviews about their 8spd auto.
Yea, a turbo 350 0r 400 transmission and a 350 4 bolt main block !!! The good old days !!
As a long time retired GM employee, I can tell you that GM and our US Government are basically run the same way. They are both capable of doing great things, but don’t always, they are both constantly in question of things being done in ways that calls for some negative remarks by not only other government organizations but by consumer groups alike. The “Figureheads” of both GM and America is just that, no more, no less with limited powers and capabilities. They both have “inner workings” that defy any sort of common sense, they both produce with questionable consequences, there are many outside organizations pulling their strings and the end results are always the same, with some happy and some unhappy people having to deal with their obvious incompetencies….too many hands in the cookie jar, too many factions with their own plans and desires, never actually coming together for the good of their customers or their citizens.
One more thought here (trying not to be political but….) GM is a “Creature of Habit”, as is our US Government, and in GM’s case, I’ve had to deal with an organization that has the capabilities of out producing every other automaker in this world, in fact years ago, they were noted for doing this, but over the years, GM got “Fat & Lazy”, hired less than ideal people to run the company and changed it’s lofty goals from producing very well designed and produced products to building products that were “just good enough” to keep the production lines rolling and profits at their highest levels.
Bottom line here has been what I like to call “GM-eze Two Thirds Think”…that is design, engineer, produce and service every product at a “Two Thirds” capacity procedure. Think about it for just a second here…this is why GM is constantly in a quandary, changing constantly, never exercising any sort of “long term goals”, and watching some products, like the Chevy and GMC Light Duty Truck line go from a “half assed” second place finisher to a now “pathetic” third place finisher, actually watching the Dodge Ram move up to a second place sales spot behind the unstoppable Ford F-150.
You’d think this would be an embarrassing situation, and spur GM onto regaining it’s second place spot next to Ford, but no, GM would rather offer larger sales incentives to gain sales instead of building a superior product to gain customers.
Sadly this won’t work, and it fails miserably, and to those of us within the GM Organization it’s hard to watch GM keep falling farther behind in sales, both in American and World Wide sales. From it’s once proud Luxury line up (Cadillac) to it’s once amazing Light Duty Trucks (Chevy & GMC), GM has fallen behind, it is obvious and you’d think that “the powers that be” in Detroit would be seriously concerned, but….the downward sales of these products prove otherwise.
It just does not have to happen this way, GM (like our government) has the power to excel at anything that they need to do to stay a World Class Power…but it’s the constant inner workings of both factions that keep them from excelling.
Maybe one day, GM (and the US Government) will see that they’ve got the capability, the strength, the knowledge and the money (if properly distributed) to put the rest of the world “on notice” that they’ll accept nothing but the very best to run their organizations. Sadly, I don’t see either one ever going “all out” to attain World Superiority, and that’s got to hurt.
Just my own personal opinion…I know that there will be those who disagree , and they have every right to do that, but after you’ve seen your company go “downhill” after so many years and see others excel, you take on a negative outlook, and I hate to think this way, and I do own and drive three GM products (GMC SUV, Chevy Truck & Chevy Sports Car) and while I do love and appreciate these products, I can’t help but look at other products and see where they acell in many ways to what we build and it wouldn’t be hard to “up our game” and produce better products. If we just had the right people leading our company…I know we could do it, we have the capabilities…we just need the right leaders.
Do you actually think the government is capable of “doing great things”?
Without data, it’s just an opinion, and the sales data does not support your “GM falling behind” opinion.
In 2019, GM sold 2.88 million vehicles in America, more than any other, including Ford 2.42, Toyota, 2.38, and FCA 2.20
Pierre,
I’ll bite.
Remember GM is the wholesaler here OK.
So GM sells vehicles to their dealer network OK
Like right now, GM is buying Cadillac vehicles back from the 150 Cadillac dealerships that are closing.
Are those vehicles in your #s ?
How about the dealer inventory, do you know how many Equinoxes are sitting in dealer lost ?
Others ?
HD trucks are slim, why are HD trucks slim on inventory ? Because it is one of the only GM products with HP that can move, the whole full-sized line is slim, yet under that the vehicles are piling up, who paid for those unsold vehicles ?
Its a game, marketing game !
GM right now is trying to figure out how to build more of what they can sell and less of what is in large numbers on the lost,
Numbers, numbers, numbers, money, money, money !
“behind the unstoppable Ford F-150.”
The F-150 sells because their buyers are low-info suburbanites that see the smarmy bragging commercials narrated by Dennis Leary. Most of them dump their new F-150 after a year or two of constant Ecoboost warranty work, 5.0’s guzzling oil and rattling timing chains, or 10-speed nightmares.
Biden? Really?
I suspect that this may be due to supply and an early change over for the refresh.
Often things happen for unsaid reasons.
But we know a refresh is coming soon and odds are they will start that in or around March. Prior to these changes they often limit order options on the out going models.
The Ten Speed will be back in a few months with the new truck.
Models and options were limited with the mid size refresh. Ass the virus to this too and that also may limit some options. GM already has put a focus on crew truck before the extra cabs as supplies were focused on the higher sellers.
My 2019 GMC had the 8 speed. What a piece of crap. The dealer said there was nothing that could be done with the jerking and clunking. Plus the back window leaked like most do. Traded it in on a 2020 Silverado with a 6.2 and 10 speed. The new truck has been flawless.
Is that the rear door windows or the sliding window in the back of the cab?
So you bought the same truck from the same company that gave you a crap transmission and leaky windows?
Sure did. I’ve driven nothing but GM trucks since 1974, I’ve had at least 15. The 2019 SLT I had was one of the few I’ve ever had trouble with. GM trucks and Chevrolet classic cars are how I’ve always rolled. Love the new Silverado.
The GM 8 speed is junk! I can’t belive GM is still producing it. I think the GM CEO is out of touch with there products or is not being fed correct information on there products.
I love the 8-speed in my 2019 RST. It’s miles better than my last Chevy’s 6-speed or my previous F-150’s 6R80.
Why can’t GM be like Ford and throw them 10spd Trannies in everything? Ridiculous you tell me . Hopefully they get there act together
Because they spent hundreds of millions converting a plant to build 8-speeds several years before the 10-speed was even ready. Ford pushing the 10-speed into tons of trucks and cars was a huge mistake. Starting off a new transmission that’s relatively untested by putting it in millions of vehicles in a short period of time means dealers get slammed with huge numbers of customers with issues. My local Ford dealer dealt with a TON of Mustangs, F-150’s, and Expeditions with 10-speed problems. GM did a gradual intro of the 8-speed that limited the number of vehicles that had early design issues. Had GM offered it across their entire lineup on day 1, there would have been 3 or 4 times as many vehicles affected by early issues.
Had the new flush in my son’s 2017 Camaro V6 A8 ( bought new in August 2018)., about a year ago and no shutter or problems since. Great service in Tupelo, Ms. In and out in a couple of hours.
So axe the most popular combination in the fleet. Smart move gm 🤦♂️
Every time a post like this comes up: offer the 10speed and the o’ reliable 6 speed. The 8 speed experiment has ended. Anything you have to flush 3 times and possibly replace a torque converter… that’s brand new… Need not be offered. The 6 speed has been more than payed for and could go well in the Work truck and entry level stuff. 8 and the 6 have the same overdrive ratio.
The 10 speed 3.0L diesel combo is a match made in heaven. With 10 speeds that thing won’t be forced to rev out.
It’s painfully obvious you don’t understand what was wrong with the original formulation of Dexron HP, nor do you understand why some torque converters that were “brand new” required replacement. Go read ATRA where the discuss the problems that were found. I know a few people with early 8L90’s that haven’t had any issues after receiving the reformulated Dexron HP. My own 8-speed has been awesome for the last 35k miles. Far better than the 6L80, which I would never describe as “ol’ reliable”.
My 2018 Sierra has been a major pain in the ass. 1st the 6 speed trans blew apart at 80,000 miles. That cost me $4000 because of the warranty ridiculousness of GM overall. They wanted to take as much time as necessary disregarding my needs as a lifelong customer to disassemble the trans determine what is wrong wait for some bureaucrat to approve said repairs and then give me a 12 months 12,000 miles warranty. Useless because I could put 12,000 miles on the truck in 6 months. That’s would have cost me over $3,000 and had no time expectation to completion. So I opted for the crate unit to get a 3 year 100,000 mile warranty. I have also spent $1200 on the A/C condenser replacement, which GM is in a class action lawsuits over trans and a/c systems. Then the front wheel bearings needed replacing, worn and making noise and then latest is broken engine mounts. I wasn’t able even after multiple requests for the factory rep to discuss these issues not even a phone call. I have had it. I believe some people can only afford one $55,000 vehicle in those lives and this was mine but I m always in a state of what is next to break on this truck. I have also sworn off GM product after all my life of driving only those for ever. This is due to the utter lack of concern for this truck being a lemon and GM refusing to even allow me to plead my case for assistance. And simply I have lost confidence in the overall quality of the product.
Dude around that mile range those components are bound to fail if you push the truck every day revving it or manual switching and haven’t flushed the transmission around 50,000. If you baby the truck it’ll last. I have the 2016 5.3L RWD 6 speed, works just fine. Had a gear sticking issue 2-3 times before the flush, since then nothing. The bearings I can tell are horrible, then again my truck was involved in a small hit and run in the front left. Had the dealer repair the damage, couple months later hear a small metallic crink in the front area which most like stems from that incident.
From your post I’m assuming the dealership is the one dropping the ball on you. Because GM has been speedy to me
Warranty “ridiculousness”? No manufacturer would cover a transmission replacement on a vehicle that’s out of warranty by 20k+ miles.
All modern trucks are complex and therefore will be problematic. In order to get a full size truck to give you 20 to 25 mpg, you need to design a complex powertrain. I’ve had beautiful old GM pickup trucks with 350 c.i. and 454 c.i. engines mated to 4 speed manual trannies but they gave horrible fuel economy and comfort. I bought a brand new 2012 Duramax 2500 HD and had it for 6 years and was always scared of a problem light coming on the dashboard. That truck had lots of problem lights. I sold that truck with 70K kms and the new owner loves it. He keeps sending me texts from all different places in Canada and the US. He has put over 60K kms and they’ve been trouble free. He can’t thank me enough for that truck. GM is the still the best bet of the Big 3. Tundra trucks are solid but they’re only 1/2 ton trucks with very bad fuel economy and no diesel options. I found a beauty used 2009 Silverado with low low kms and a 4 spd tranny and it’s a beauty. It’ll take me to my grave. Stick with GM trucks.
Anyone out there who thinks gm trucks are better than Toyota trucks,should cut whatever their smoking in half.
I agree Toyota trucks are better than GMs at the 1/2 ton level. Tundra trucks also have amazingly high resale values. When I had my GMC Duramax 2500 HD, I needed to pull a 10,000 lb. RV trailer and carried over 1000 lbs. in the box. I got 15 to 16 mpg on an Imperial gallon when towing that rig and 21-22 mpg without the RV. The Tundra is hard pressed to deliver 16-17 mpg when empty. I’ve seen Tundras at the aggregate yards. It doesn’t take much to get the box squished down. Toyota needs to bring out a 3/4 ton or 1 ton Tundra and a diesel engine. Then GM, Ford and Ram better watch out.
I have a 2021 gmc sierra elevation with the 5.3l 4×4 with a 10 speed transmission
I bought a 2021 elevation in December. In August it still had less than 7000 miles and a lifter broke inside the motor and also bent a pushrod. This left me and my family stranded on vacation 500 miles away from home. We called gmc and they told us they would reimburse us for everything that we spent waiting on getting home and the rental car I had to pay for to get us home and drive until I got my truck back. It took a month to get the truck back and they have had the receipts for our expenses for over week. Now they are trying to get out of paying us for about half of them. Been a loyal customer all my life but this may make me go another direction