What are the common problems with the 2021 GMC Canyon?
Owners of the 2021 GMC Canyon have filed 13 complaints with NHTSA. In NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026, 6 of its 13 complaints list a mileage (10,000 to 78,378 miles), too few to say when problems were reported; a complaint is an owner's report, not a proven defect.
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See what the paid report includes →NHTSA's file holds 13 owner complaints on the 2021 GMC Canyon. Owners named the airbags most often: 2 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 13 complaints, 2 report a crash, 1 reports a fire and 2 report an injury (5 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
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Common problems with the 2021 Canyon
NHTSA's file holds 13 owner complaints on the 2021 GMC Canyon. Owners named the airbags most often: 2 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Bags | 2 | 1 | Under 5 mileages |
| Power Train | 2 | 2 | Under 5 mileages |
| Steering | 2 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
| Back Over Prevention | 1 | 1 | Under 5 mileages |
| Electrical System | 1 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
Of the 13 complaints, 2 report a crash, 1 reports a fire and 2 report an injury (5 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Mileage when owners reported a problem with the 2021 Canyon
Too few complaints on the 2021 Canyon list a mileage to say when owners reported problems: 6 of its 13 complaints list a mileage (10,000 to 78,378 miles), and a median is given here only with 10 or more.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2021 Canyon wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
Every model year together: Half of the 752 NHTSA owner complaints on the GMC Canyon that list mileage came after 47,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a GMC Canyon last? →
Is the 2021 Canyon a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2021 is a good or a bad Canyon: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2021 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 13 complaints, the 2021 ranks 17th of the 18 GMC Canyon model years from 2004 to 2024 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2015 (304). The fewest: the 2011 (12).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 Canyon | 80 | 57 | 74,456 |
| 2005 Canyon | 113 | 87 | 50,106 |
| 2006 Canyon | 48 | 33 | 60,000 |
| 2007 Canyon | 42 | 38 | 73,318 |
| 2008 Canyon | 38 | 31 | 68,000 |
| 2009 Canyon | 27 | 22 | 45,000 |
| 2011 Canyon | 12 | 8 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2012 Canyon | 23 | 15 | 45,000 |
| 2015 Canyon | 304 | 219 | 54,680 |
| 2016 Canyon | 271 | 124 | 46,046 |
| 2017 Canyon | 66 | 40 | 27,606 |
| 2018 Canyon | 53 | 20 | 19,000 |
| 2019 Canyon | 17 | 6 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2020 Canyon | 15 | 9 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2021 (this page) | 13 | 6 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2022 Canyon | 29 | 6 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2023 Canyon | 63 | 12 | 3,000 |
| 2024 Canyon | 208 | 9 | Under 10 mileages |
2021 GMC Canyon recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 2 recall campaigns that name the 2021 GMC Canyon. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2021 Canyon lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2021 Canyon.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 7 of the 13 complaints on the 2021 GMC Canyon give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA name counted: CANYON. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only this one.
- Recall-file name matched: CANYON.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2021 GMC Canyon questions
What are the most common 2021 GMC Canyon problems?
NHTSA's file holds 13 owner complaints on the 2021 GMC Canyon. Owners named the airbags most often: 2 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 13 complaints, 2 report a crash, 1 reports a fire and 2 report an injury (5 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
At what mileage do owners report problems with the 2021 GMC Canyon?
NHTSA's file gives no mileage figure for the 2021 GMC Canyon: 6 of its 13 complaints list a mileage (10,000 to 78,378 miles), and this page gives a median only with 10 or more. These are mileages at a reported problem; they do not say how many miles a 2021 Canyon can cover.
Is the 2021 GMC Canyon a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2021 is a good or a bad Canyon: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2021 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 13 complaints, the 2021 ranks 17th of the 18 GMC Canyon model years from 2004 to 2024 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2015 (304). The fewest: the 2011 (12).
How many recalls does the 2021 GMC Canyon have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 2 recall campaigns that name the 2021 GMC Canyon. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2021 GMC Canyon before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2021 GMC Canyon.