RoadVitals

1997 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 Visibility Problems

Owner-reported complaints naming the visibility system, filed with NHTSA

Data refreshed

Visibility reportsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
11
Latest Jun 14, 2018
Share of all reportsThis category as a share of every owner report on file for this model year. One report can name more than one component, so the categories overlap.
17%
of 64 total
Crash or fire reportedReports in this category whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. The reporter's own answer on the NHTSA form, not a verified finding.
0
Injuries or deaths reportedTotals the submitters entered on their own reports in this category. Not verified by NHTSA and not a casualty statistic.
0

What this page shows

Reports naming windshields, glass, wipers, defrosters and mirrors. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1997 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 11 reports on file name it.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Owner reports naming visibility

Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed

Visibility
Filed Jun 14, 2018

WIPERS QUIT WHEN IN USE. WORK INTERMITTENTLY. THEY ARE UNPREDICTABLE. THEY HAVE BEEN THAT WAY FOR YEARS. MY 1999 TAHOE DOES THE SAME THING. MY 1996 SILVERADO DID THE SAME THING AS WELL AND I RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE AND THE DEALER REPAIRED PROBLEM. THESE TWO VEHICLES ARE VIRTUALLY IDENTICAL TO THE 1996 SILVERADO, AND ARE SHOWING THE SAME SYMPTOMS. THE WIPERS WILL WORK ERRATICALLY ESPECIALLY IF IT'S A HEAVY RAIN AND CAN QUIT IN THE MIDDLE OF OPERATION MAKING THE VEHICLE VERY UNSAFE. PLEASE FIND OUT WHY THE 1996 SILVERADO WAS COVERED UNDER A RECALL AND THE 1997 SILVERADO AND THE 1999 TAHOE WERE NOT COVERED UNDER THE SAME RECALL WHEN THEY ARE SHOWING THE SAME DANGEROUS FAULTY WINDSHIELD WIPER PROBLEMS. AGAIN THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR YEARS AND I'M FRUSTRATED THAT THE DEALER WILL NOT FIX THIS PROBLEM THAT WAS COVERED UNDER A RECALL FOR THE 96 SILVERADO. THANK YOU

NHTSA ID
11101786
Incident
Jun 14, 2018
Mileage
87,000 mi
Visibility
Filed Oct 12, 2010

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 CHEVROLET K2500. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE EXPERIENCED PROBLEMS WITH THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS BECAUSE THEY WOULD FUNCTION PROPERLY ON AN INTERMITTENT BASIS. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN INSPECTED OR REPAIRED. BOTH THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THE CONTACT WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR REPAIR COSTS AS THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN A RECALL RELATED TO THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS (COULD NOT FIND THE RECALL IN NHTSA DATABASE). THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 55,000. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 54,000. UPDATED 01/11/2011*LJ UPDATED 03/28/11

NHTSA ID
10360104
Incident
Sep 21, 2010
Mileage
54,000 mi
Visibility
Filed Apr 11, 2006

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED THE WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR FAILED DUE TO CRACKED SOLDER JOINTS ON THE CONTROLLER CIRCUIT BOARD. THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS WORKED INTERMITTENTLY OR NOT AT ALL. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN FOR INSPECTION. THERE IS A NHTSA RECALL, # 03V159000, REGARDING THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS. THE VEHICLE HAS THE SAME PROBLEMS AS INDICATED IN THE RECALL; HOWEVER IT IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL DUE TO THE VIN. UPDATED 05/02/06. *JB

NHTSA ID
10155049
Incident
Feb 1, 2006
Mileage
10,000 mi
Visibility
Filed Feb 4, 2005

TURNED THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS ON AND THEY ONLY CAME UP TO THE PARK POSITION FOR INTERMITTENT OPERATION. POSITIONED THE SWITCH TO LOW AND HIGH AND THE WIPERS DID NOT MOVE ANY FURTHER. SHUT OFF AND WIPERS SHUT OFF. WIPERS WOULD NOT RESTART ON REPEATED TRIES. TRIED LATER AND WIPERS WORKED PROPERLY. NOW THEY OPERATE SOMETIMES AND SOMETIMES ONLY ON INTERMITTENT AND LOW, NOT ON HIGH. BUT, SOMETIMES ON HIGH. I HAVE NOT HAD THE PROBLEM REPAIRED YET, BECAUSE EVERYTIME I GO TO THE DEALER, THEY ARE WORKING. *JB

NHTSA ID
10109850
Incident
Dec 29, 2004
Mileage
106,000 mi
Visibility
Filed Mar 5, 2004

WHILE DRIVING IN INCLEMENT WEATHER WINDSHIELD WIPERS CAME ON AND WENT OFF ON THEIR OWN. THIS CAUSED POOR VISIBILITY FOR THE DRIVER. CONSUMER WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION, AND MECHANIC INFORMED CONSUMER VEHICLE WAS NOT UNDER A RECALL.*AK

NHTSA ID
10061454
Incident
Mar 5, 2004
Visibility
Filed Aug 26, 2003

CONSUMER IS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM AS MENTIONED IN RECALL ON WINDSHIELD WIPERS. RECALL NUMBER UNKNOWN. DEALER WOULD NOT REPAIR BECAUSE THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED.*AK

NHTSA ID
10037651
Incident
Aug 17, 2003
Visibility
Filed Mar 19, 2003

WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR FAILED AT NIGHT, IN HEAVY RAIN CAUSING LOSS OF VISIBILITY. I PULLED OVER AND MANUALLY MOVED WIPER BLADE TO RESTART WIPERS. MOTOR CONTINUED TO FAIL INTERMITTENTLY UNTIL IT WAS REPLACED *NLM.

NHTSA ID
10010760
Incident
Nov 10, 2000
Mileage
55,000 mi
ElectricalEngineSuspension+1 more
Filed Apr 29, 2002

USING WINDSHIELD WIPERS, THEY WILL WORK FOR A COUPLE OF MINUTES, THEN STOP FUNCTIONING COMPLETELY, RESULTING IN A VISUAL PROBLEM. *AK CONSUMER HAD TO REPLACE ALTERNATOR AND BATTERY, REPLACING TIRES EVERY 30000 MILES, AND ALSO ENGINE BELT FAILED. *YD

NHTSA ID
8008741
Visibility
Filed May 20, 2000

THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS FAIL INTERMITTENTLY. WHEN I WAS DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY IN A BLINDING RAIN STORM, THEY STOPPED WORKING WITH THE WIPERS STRAIGHT UP AND DOWN. I HAD A HORRIBLE TIME GETTING TO THE SHOULDER TO STOP. THEN THEY STARTED WORKING AGAIN A FEW MINUTES LATER. THEY'VE DONE THIS FOUR TIMES IN DIFFERENT STATES ON DIFFERENT ROADS AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS. FROM READING YOUR SITE, CHEVROLET APPARENTLY HAD THE SAME PROBLEM ON 1.5 MILLION TRUCKS IN THE PREVIOUS MODEL YEAR (1996), WHICH WAS FIXED WITH A RECALL. I ALSO NOTED THAT YOU HAVE LOGGED OTHER COMPLAINTS FOR THE SAME MODEL YEAR (1997). THANK YOU. SINCERELY, [XXX]. *AK INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

NHTSA ID
722959
Incident
May 3, 2000
Visibility
Filed Apr 4, 2000

WINDSHIELD WIPERS BECAME INOPERABLE, OBSTRUCTING THE VIEW OF THE DRIVER. A RECALL HAS BEEN ISSUED ON VEHICLE'S MAKE/MODELS. HOWEVER THIS VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED. DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED.

NHTSA ID
859678
Incident
Apr 3, 2000
Visibility
Filed May 27, 1998

DURING DUST STORMS VENTS ALLOW SAND AND DEBRIS TO ENTER VEHICLE, EVEN WHEN THEY ARE CLOSED.

NHTSA ID
535965

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Other components reported on this vehicle

Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own

Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .