2018 Chevrolet 5500hd Safety Report

The 2018 Chevrolet 5500HD has a very limited safety data profile available from NHTSA. There are 0 total complaints, 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 deaths reported, which suggests either a very robust vehicle or extremely low sales volume leading to minimal data. Given its commercial truck nature, it's likely the latter, as these vehicles are not typically subject to the same volume of consumer complaints as passenger cars. The vehicle has been subject to one recall. This recall, issued by Isuzu Technical Center of America, Inc., affects certain 2015-2017 Isuzu NPR, Reach, 2016-2020 Isuzu NPR XD, NPR HD, NQR, 2016-2021 Isuzu NRR, and 2017-2020 Chevrolet 4500XD, 4500HD, 5500HD models. The issue involves the rear suspension's leaf spring assembly U-bolt, which may be misaligned. The consequence of this misalignment is significant: it could cause the propeller shaft to separate, leading to a loss of power to the rear wheels and a stall, thereby increasing the risk of a crash. This is a critical safety concern that owners should ensure has been addressed. NHTSA has not provided any safety ratings for the 2018 Chevrolet 5500HD, including overall, frontal, side, or rollover ratings. This is common for heavy-duty commercial vehicles, as they are not typically subjected to the same crash test protocols as light-duty passenger vehicles. Therefore, direct crash test performance data is unavailable to assess its occupant protection capabilities. The overall safety picture is dominated by the single, but serious, recall related to the suspension and propeller shaft.

Our recommendation: Given the single, but serious, recall and lack of extensive complaint data or crash test ratings, prospective buyers should prioritize verifying that the recall for the propeller shaft issue has been completed.