--- title: "3.0L Duramax Diesel has known long crank start issues, but no recall" url: "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2021/08/3-0l-duramax-diesel-has-known-long-crank-start-issues-but-no-recall/" publisher: "Pickup Truck + SUV Talk" content_signal: "search=yes, ai-input=yes, ai-train=no" author: "Erica Mueller" published: "2021-08-23T22:28:55+00:00" modified: "2026-07-19T11:37:34+00:00" image: "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Chevy-Silverado-3.0L-Duramax-diesel-long-crank-start.jpg" --- # 3.0L Duramax Diesel has known long crank start issues, but no recall By Erica Mueller Published: 2021-08-23T22:28:55+00:00 Updated: 2026-07-19T11:37:34+00:00 ![Featured image]() If you own a GM truck or SUV with a 3.0-liter Duramax Diesel engine, you may follow some forums or YouTube channels where owners are talking about the Duramax diesel long crank start or no-start issues experienced on some of these engines. Publisher Tim Esterdahl gets messages about this a lot, and he decided it was time to sit down, do some research and [put together a video]() about it. ### Which GM vehicles are affected? At first glance it seems that any vehicle with a 3.0-liter Duramax diesel — including the [Silverado](), [Sierra](), [Suburban](), [Tahoe](), [Yukon]() and [Escalade]() — can have issues with long crank start times or no start. And that means [light-duty trucks]() and SUVs GM has made in the last three years — specifically 2019, 2020 and 2021. ### The 3.0L Duramax diesel long-crank culprit If this is a known issue (and it is), people want to know why there hasn’t been a recall. Well, that’s because even though the long crank or no-crank has been documented by many owners and dealership mechanics, the cause is not always the same. When you have a long list of possible culprits you can’t just say, “oh, this is the problem,” and then fix it for everyone. According to forums, message boards and YouTube, it seems the No. 1 culprit can be a bent or warped camshaft wheel. If the wheel isn’t making contact in all the right places, you may wait a while for the wheel to spin and make enough contact to turn over. Or the engine may not start at all. If this is the issue, you’re looking at a 40- to 50-hour job to lift and completely remove the truck cab to replace this part. If the part is bad, why hasn’t it been replaced? Because there haven’t been enough issues to nail down a specific part (see below) or the batch number for the part. It could be a bad supply batch, but it’s hard to nail down when it’s such an intermittent issue, and the cause isn’t always the same. ### Replacing the wheel isn’t alway the fix Truck owners are reporting multiple culprits that when addressed have fixed the long crank issues on their 3.0-liter Duramax diesel engines. These include, but aren’t limited to, a faulty wiring harness, updated ECU, camshaft position exciter wheel, fuse boxes needing to be torqued, faulty actuators and faulty fuel pumps. Of course, a lot of dealer mechanics are going to start with the simple things and move down the line, meaning your truck could be in and out of the dealership multiple times to troubleshoot and hopefully correct the problem. This only adds to the frustration owners are experiencing. What do you think? Is this something that would worry you or keep you from purchasing a vehicle with a 3.0-liter Duramax diesel? *Editor’s note: Since posting this article, GM has [halted not discontinued]() the production of this engine. They’re saying it’s due to supply chain issues, but we also have to wonder if the long-crank start isn’t also playing a role. When production resumes, will this issue be fixed?* [Embedded video]() **Related posts** - [GM 3.0L Duramax diesel production halted, not discontinued]() - [Does the Chevy 3.0L Duramax diesel have a design flaw?]() - [2020 GMC Sierra 3.0L Duramax Diesel towing MPG]() - [2021 Chevy Silverado 1500 Duramax: Subject to change]() ## Structured page information ~~~json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Article", "@id": "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2021/08/3-0l-duramax-diesel-has-known-long-crank-start-issues-but-no-recall/#article", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2021/08/3-0l-duramax-diesel-has-known-long-crank-start-issues-but-no-recall/" }, "author": { "name": "Erica Mueller", "@id": "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/#/schema/person/28ea7673f6c33cc560979055b335c167" }, "headline": "3.0L Duramax Diesel has known long crank start issues, but no recall", "datePublished": "2021-08-23T22:28:55+00:00", "dateModified": "2026-07-19T11:37:34+00:00", 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