Skip to main content
2021 Chevy Silverado Trail Boss in red parked in front of some mountains

Your 2020 Chevy Silverado Might Have the Wrong Towing Label

eneral Motors is sending out new trailering and towing information for 2020 Chevy Silverado 1500 models and the 2020 GMC Sierra. You should check on your updated towing level before hauling anything to avoid exceeding the maximum payload or trailering capacity.

Hold on, if you have a 2020 Chevy Silverado 1500 or GMC Sierra, you need to check your towing label. General Motors is sending out updated trailering and towing labels for the Chevy Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra because they may list the wrong information. 

The 2020 Chevy Silverado might have the wrong towing label 

According to TorqueNews, General Motors is sending out new trailering and towing information for 2020 Chevy Silverado 1500 models and the 2020 GMC Sierra. You should check on your updated towing level before hauling anything to avoid exceeding the maximum payload or trailering capacity. 

2021 Chevrolet Silverado LT Trail Boss driving down a dirt road
2021 Chevrolet Silverado LT Trail Boss | GM

GM is sending out new towing capacity labels for owners of the trucks to install. The new labels will replace the ones that came with the trucks. Also, dealerships are being asked to hold their new trucks until the labels have been updated. 

Why isn’t this a Chevy Silverado recall? 

According to GM Authority, the wrong trailering and payload capacity labels on the 2020 Chevy Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra do not post an immediate safety risk to drivers and passengers. But it’s ideal to have the correct information before putting the trucks to work. 

They literally said it’s ideal for the information to be correct. Users refer to these labels to determine the maximum payload capacity, maximum towing capacity, gross combined weight rating, the truck’s gross vehicle weight rating, curb weight, and more. You can find the towing label for your Chevy Silverado or GMC Sierra on the driver’s side door or in the owner’s manual. 

GM has not revealed the number of trucks that were delivered with the wrong payload and trailering labels. They also started a customer satisfaction program to address this issue.

The General Motors customer satisfaction program is similar to the one they started last year when the 2021 Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon were sent out with the wrong towing labels. 

What happens if you exceed the Chevy Silverado’s towing capacity? 

No matter what truck you have, it’s never a good idea to exceed the maximum towing or payload capacities. I have to provide a quick shout-out to Josh Clark from the podcast, Stuff You Should Know for providing this information. 

Loading your 2020 Chevy Silverado 1500 with too much weight could make the transmission work harder than it’s designed to. It could overheat and seize as a result, causing major damage. 

2021 GMC Sierra 1500 towing a boat down a winding road
2021 GMC Sierra SLT | GM

Exceeding the weight limit can also accelerate brake wear, damage your tires, and warp the chassis. You may not notice the damage to your truck at first, but gradual wear and tear can lead to early failure. 

Also, driving with an overweight load can be dangerous. The extra weight pulling on the back of your truck can affect your steering control, braking ability, and traction control. With an overloaded payload, the back of your truck may dip, causing the front to rise. 

Then the front tires aren’t firmly on the ground. This could make your truck unstable. Plus, your truck’s brakes are only designed to stop a certain amount of weight. So if it’s overloaded, your truck could take longer to stop than usual unless the brakes fail and don’t stop at all. 

Related

The Chevy Silverado Finally Stomped the Ford F-150