2021 Chevy Silverado Radio loses HD feature

For months now truck production has been halted due to an international semiconductor shortage. A few months into this production dilemma, GM announced it would start producing and selling Silverado and Sierra pickup trucks without the fuel-saving technology that relied on the semiconductors. This week they said that some of these trucks would have one more piece of tech missing: The 2021 Chevy Silverado radio would lose HD radio capabilities. The same goes for the 2021 GMC Sierra radio and all the radios in the 2022 HD trucks.

What is HD radio and do I really need it?

HD radio is a free service that basically boosts and digitizes you local AM/FM radio station’s offerings so you get a clearer, crisper listening experience. It can also enable the player to display artist information, song titles and more. Plus, it allows for up to three additional digital radio signals, so one station can rebroadcast three different programs within the same frequency allocation. The two extra signals are kind of like “hidden” radio stations because you can only access them on HD.

Sounds amazing, right? It is, but it isn’t used by every radio station. For example, there are many radio stations in my home town, and only three of them offer HD radio and none of them are the stations I listen to on a regular basis. So, I’m not really getting to experience HD radio, even if my vehicle has the ability to play it.

Sierra and Silverado radio changes

It looks like GM is going to do away with HD radio in the 1500 pickup trucks for the foreseeable future, and there doesn’t seem to be any plans to bring it back according to this report from gm-trucks.com. However, it won’t affect every single 2021 truck, so if the lack of HD radio technology matters to you, talk to your dealer about the truck you intend to buy (if produced on or after July 12, 2021), and pay attention to the window sticker, looking for the RPO code RG0 – Not Equipped with HD Radio. It seems a $50 MSRP credit will be offered for these vehicles as well.

The bottom line on the Silverado Radio

After a really long year for truck buyers, we’re excited to see GM doing everything it can to get new trucks on the lots for its customers, even if it means a few compromises have to be made. And, really, of all the things that could be omitted so truck production can resume, is HD radio really that big of a deal? We don’t think so. Do you?