1997 GMC Suburban problems
The 1997 GMC Suburban has 268 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (26%) concerns brakes. After that come steering (15%) and fuel system (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 268 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 27% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 22 and 4
- Injuries and deaths
- 28 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 91,000 miles 41 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 2 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 3 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 4 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 11 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 7 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 0 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 8 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 4 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Among the 41 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 91,000 miles. For brakes specifically, the median reported mileage is about 53,000 miles (10 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 22 complaints mention a crash; 4 complaints mention a fire; 28 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1997 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 10 model years of the GMC Suburban with enough data (168 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Lost control traveling down interstate I-20 eastbound in conyers, ga. Axle separated, and rear wheel came off. Suburban flipped 3x, skidded on passenger side & came to rest upside down. Airbags did not deploy but car was totally destroyed, including multiple hits on front bumper. 1 passenger airlifted to medical ctr; 3 others transported by ambulance. All alive & healing (thank god), but don't understand why airbags didn't deploy & axle could separate.
Vehicle pulled to the left when applying brakes , went to dealer, replaced brake master cylinder. After this repair, defect was still occurring which resulted in an accident, causing the consumer to rearened a another vehicle at approx 40-45 MPH. ,brakes completley faile. ,no ABS warning light. Driver's and passenger's side air bags did not deploy.
Dt: the contact stated when stopping at low speeds the ABS will activate. The dealership said it happened because the ABS sensor rusted. The repairs have not been made. The problem was the same as mentioned in NHTSA recall 05v379000 in the 1999-2002 models.
Tl*the contact owns a 1997 GMC suburban. The contact stated that the windshield wipers work intermittently. The manufacturer stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign id number 03v159000 (visibility:windshield wiper/washer), although the failures were identical. The failure mileage was 130,000. Updated 01/07/09. Updated 01/12/09.