1997 GMC Suburban Engine Problems

THE IGNITION SWITCH STARTED TO FAIL WHILE DRIVING. FIRST THE HEATER FAN WOULD QUIT AND THE ABS LIGHT WOULD INSTANTLY TURN ON, AND THE CRUISE CONTROL WOULD FAIL TO OPERATE. WHEN THE ABS LIGHT WOULD BE ON THE ABS WOULD FAIL TO OPERATE. THEN SUDDENLY ALL OPERATIONS WOULD GO BACK TO NORMAL. IT WOULD BE UNPREDICTABLE WHEN THE HEATER FAN AND THE ABS WOULD FAIL AND COME BACK. THEN YESTERDAY, THE SUBURBAN STARTED AND DIED 3 SECONDS AFTER STARTING. I RESTARTED THE SUBURBAN AND ALL SEEMED GOOD. I PUT THE SUBURBAN IN DRIVE AND ROLLED AT ABOUT 5 MPH AND THE TRUCK DIED. I STOPPED AND PUT THE SUBURBAN IN TO PARK AND RESTARTED. PLACED IT INTO DRIVE AND MADE IT HOME. WHEN I GOT HOME, I TURNED OFF THE SUBURBAN AND TRIED TO RESTART IT. IT WOULD CRANK BUT NOT FIRE THE ENGINE. THE RADIO AND HEATER AND ALL OTHER ELECTRONICS WOULD OPERATE AS NORMAL, BUT THE DASH LIGHTS WOULD NOT TURN ON I.E. THE "SERVICE ENGINE SOON", "BRAKE", "AIR BAG", "ABS". THE IGNITION SWITCH HAS FAILED ON IT AND NOW SITS IN MY DRIVEWAY. *TR

NHTSA ID

10593726

Incident

May 21, 2014

Mileage

130,000 mi

1997 GMC SUBURBAN- MULTIPLE ENGINE & TRANSMISSION FAILURES. AT 60,000 MILES, VEHICLE BEGAN TO SHIFT HARD. RETURNED TO SHOP FOR DIAGNOSIS AND REPAIRS SEVERAL TIMES FOR WORK. FINALLY, WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE IN CITY TRAFFIC, THE TRANSMISSION FAILED COMPELETLY. REQUIRED VALVE COVER AND TRANSMISSION REBUILD @ COST OF $2,000. ON DECEMBER 27 '03, HAD TO REPLACE THE RADIATOR. ON JAN 17 '04, DISCOVERED THAT THERE WAS NO ANTIFREEZE IN NEW RADIATOR. RETURNED TO MECHANIC WHO REPLACED THE RADIATOR. SAID THE INTAKE MANIFOLD NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. COST: ~$600. TOOK TO ANOTHER MECHANIC FOR SECOND OPINION. SAME DIAGNOSIS. BOTH STATE THAT GM IS AWARE OF BOTH PROBLEMS, HOWEVER, THEY WILL NOT COVER THE COSTS OF REPAIRS OR REPLACEMENT. ADDITIONALLY- REPLACED ALTERNATOR TWO TIMES; REPLACED WATER PUMP TWO TIMES; REPLACED THE MASTER CYLINDER IN FALL 2003. *AK

NHTSA ID

10054576

Incident

Jan 17, 2004

Mileage

60,000 mi

WHILE DRIVING THE SERPENTINE BELT TENSIONER BROKE FROM ITS MOUNTING AND RESULTED IN LOSS OF POWER STEERING AND OTHER COMPONENTS INCLUDING CHARGING OF THE BATTERY. THE ALTERNATOR ALSO SHORTED OUT. THE MANUFACTURER AND THE DEALER WERE NOTIFIED. *AK THE CONSUMER WAS TOLD THAT THE WARRANTY NOT LONGER COVERED THE BELT. THE BRAKES SHUTTERED WHILE BRAKING FROM 60 MPH. THE DEALER REPLACED THE FRONT BRAKE PADS AND RESURFACED THE ROTORS. *NLM

NHTSA ID

10042591

Incident

Jan 9, 2000

Mileage

46,801 mi

MANIFOLD GASKET FAILED ON MY VEHICLE AT 67,000 MILES AND PROBABLY WELL BEFORE THIS BUT I WAS NOT AWARE OF THE PROBLEM UNTIL PICKED UP ON ROUTINE MAINTENACE CHECK. NORMALLY, I WOULD FIX THE PROBLEM AND MOVE SINCE I HAVE GMPP (EXTENDED WARRANTY) WITH NO OUT OF POCKET COSTS. NOT IN THIS CASE. THE PROBLEM HERE WITH THE MANIFOLD GASKET IS NOT ABOUT NOISE POLLUTION. IT IS ABOUT CARBON MONOXIDE AND OTHER NOXIOUS GAS LEAKING INTO THE VEHICLE. BEFORE THE LAWYERS AT GMC PICK UP THEIR PENCILS AND START TAKING NOTES, THE END RESULT IN MY CASE WAS ONLY ONE OF FEELING TIRED AT THE WHEEL. PROBLEM SOLVED WHEN THE NEW MANIFOLD GASKETS WERE INSTALLED. EVERYONE HAPPY, NO ACCIDENTS--NOT QUITE SO FAST.. WELL HERE IS THE PROBLEM: I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT THIS PROBLEM IS ENDEMIC TO THIS SERIES OF VEHICLE AND TO BE EXPECTED EVERY 36,000. IF TRUE, THEN THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE DRIVING 1997 AND EARLIER GMC SUBURBANS AROUND TIRED OR WORSE. AS A PHYSICIAN, I AM WELL AWARE THAT THE LONG TERM EFFECTS OF EXPOSURE TO LOW LEVELS OF VEHICLE EMISSIONS IS UNHEALTHY. I WOULD LIKE GMC TO PRODUCE DATA TO THE NHTSA ON THE FREQUENCY OF MANIFOLD GASKET LEAKS IN THIS SERIES VEHICLE/ENGINE, THE LIKLIHOOD OF SUCH LEAKS SENDING EXHAUST EMISSIONS INTO THE VEHICLE AND THE PROBABILITY OF SUCH LEAKS PRODUCING CATASTROPHIC RESULTS ON THE HIGHWAY. THE NEXT TIME I PICK UP A PAPER AND READ THAT SOMEONE DRIVING A GMC VEHICLE "FELL ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL" I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THAT IT WAS AN ACCIDENT UNRELATED TO CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING.*AK

NHTSA ID

761813

Incident

May 1, 2002

CONSUMER STATED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS THE RUNNING BOARDS WERE BENT AND LOOSE, DEALER TIGHTENED AND REPLACED BRACKETS. *TT

NHTSA ID

563531

Incident

Sep 24, 1998

EVERY TIME DRIVER MAKES A RIGHT HAND TURN ENGINE SPUTTERS LIKE IT WANTS TO STALL, HAS NEVER STALLED. VEHICLE HAS BEEN AT DEALER FOR 30 DAYS, CANNOT FIND PROBLEM.*AK

NHTSA ID

894170

Incident

Jul 1, 2001

HAVE HEAR MANY AND SEEN MANY RIGHT SIDE HEADGASKET LEAKING COOLENT THINK THERES SOMETHINK WRONG WITH THEM! DEALER IS NO HELP! THANKS.*AK

NHTSA ID

748252

Incident

Mar 20, 2001

VEHICLE WOULD STALL OUT AT ANY SPEED, WHICH CAUISED FUEL PUMP TO BURN OUT, VEHICLE WOULD NOT RESTART AFTER THIS INCIDENT. CONSUMER HAD REPL THREE FUEL PUMPS REPLACED, BUT, PROBLEM WAS STILL REOCCURRING. ASKING NHTSA ASSISTANCE IN THIS MATTER. PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS MATTER.*AK

NHTSA ID

891736

ENGINE SHUT COMPLETELY WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY/FREEWAY, LOST CONTROL OF BRAKE, STEERING WHEEL AND GEAR. DRIVER WAS ABLE TO STEER INTO SAFETY ALL 3 TIMES. TOOK TO DEALER, 1ST TIME SAID IT WAS "MASS AIR FLOW CONTROLLER" 2 WEEKS LATER THE SAME PROBLEM HAPPENED, THIS TIME DEALER COULD NOT FIND WHAT IS WRONG GUESSING IS FUEL INJECTION PUMP. NEED ASSISTANCE BECAUSE THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND COULD CAUSE INJURY OR DEATH IF HAPPEN AGAIN.

NHTSA ID

744562

Incident

Mar 13, 2001

ENGINE SHUTS OFF, ALL WARNING LIGHTS FLICKER. ENGINE SURGE AT 65MPH...FLUCTUATES BETWEEN 65 & 10 MPH CONTINUOUSLY & ALL WARNING LIGHTS FLICKER. DEALER DIAGNOSTICS SAYS NOTHING WRONG. I FEEL IT'S DANGEROUS & LIFE THREATENING. DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT NOT TAKING ME SERIOUSLY. PLEASE HELP! *AK

NHTSA ID

741103

Incident

Feb 1, 2001

ROADS WERE SNOWY WHEN ENGINE DIED FOR NO REASON. LOST CONTROL OF VEHICLE & ENDED IN A DITCH. TOWED TRUCK/ PULLED VEHICLE OUT OF DITCH. HAD BEEN TO DEALERSHIP MANY TIMES FOR PROBLEM WITH ENGINE. VEHICLE PLACED ON DIAGNOSTIC MACHINE. NO CODES OF PROBLEM SHOWED. MECHANIC REPLACED FUEL PUMP ON DIESEL ENGINE LAST MOMENT.*AK

NHTSA ID

878015

Incident

Dec 4, 2000

VEHICLE HAS BEEN OWNED SINCE NEW. SHORTLY AFTER PURCHASE TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER WITH COMPLAINT THE VEHICLE HAD EXCESSIVE STOPPING DISTANCES AND IT APPEARED ABS WAS MALFUNCTIONING. THE DEALER ADVISED THE BRAKE PERFORMANCE WAS "NORMAL". HAVING OWNED 30 VEHICLES OF ALL TYPES I DO NOT BELIEVE SAME. ALSO TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER WITH A COMPLAINT THE STEERING WAS EXTREMELY VAGUE AND WOULD FEEL LIKE IT HAD A TIME DELAY. AGAIN WAS ADVISED STEERING WAS "NORMAL". DEALER TREATED COMPLAINANT LIKE THE PROVERBIAL VILLAGE IDIOT. NOW, THREE YEARS LATER I HAVE DISCOVERED I AM NOT THE ONLY VILLAGE IDIOT THAT OWNS A GMC SUBURBAN. I FOUND NUMEROUS OTHER COMPLAINTS FROM OWNERS WITH THE EXACT SAME COMPLAINTS I HAD. I JUST WANT TO VERIFY WHAT THEY HAVE REPORTED. RECENTLY THE VEHICLE'S COOLING SYSTEM HAS HAD NUMEROUS AND SEQUENTIAL LEAKS. THE DELAER SHRUGS HIS SHOULDERS WHEN QUERIED ABOUT THE CONDITION.*AK

NHTSA ID

735227

Incident

Mar 27, 1997

ON APRIL 10, TRANSMISSION FAILED AND VEHICLE WAS RETURNED TO DEALERSHIP. ON APRIL 18, THE VEHICLE WAS RETURNED TO THE OWNER AFTER HAVING REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION, THE TRANSMISSION COOLER, AND INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET. ON APRIL 27, 2000, THE ENGINE FAILED ON A BUSY ROAD AS SCHOOLS WERE LETTING OUT. THE ENGINE FAILURE, PUT BOTH THE OCCUPANTS OF THE VEHICLE AT RISKS AND THE SCHOOLCHILDREN ALSO, AS THE ENGINE FAILURE RESULTED IN LOSS OF POWER STEERING AND POWER BRAKES. THE DRIVER AVOIDED COLLISION BUT WITH NO STEERING AND LOSS OF BRAKING POWER, THE RESULTS COULD HAVE BEEN CATASTROPHIC. *AK

NHTSA ID

722058

Incident

Apr 27, 2000

OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS THERE HAS BEEN STALLING PROBLEM. THIS PROBLEM COULD CAUSE A CRASH.TRUCK HAS BEEN TO THE DEALERSHIP THREE TIMES SINCE OCTOBER, 1999 FOR THIS PROBLEM. DEALER WAS NOT ABLE TO FIND OUT WHATWAS CAUSING THE TRUCK TO STALL. *AK *ML

NHTSA ID

860566

Incident

Apr 14, 2000

ONGOING / INTERMITTENT PROBLEM WITH ENGINE STALLING WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY OR SLOW SPEED. ALSO, STALLS WHILE MAKING A TURN/STOP POSITION/REVERSE OR WHILE PARKING. VEHICLE BEEN IN / OUT OF DEALER SHOP ON ELEVEN OCCASIONS, AND PROBLEM IS STILL OCCURRING. *AK

NHTSA ID

853366

Incident

May 28, 1997

THE VEHICLE HAS CONSUMES OIL AT APPROXIMATELY 1 QUART EVERY 600 MILES,NO LEAKS VISIBLE. THE DEALER WORKED ON THE OIL PROBLEM IN MAY BUT DID NOT FIX IT. ANOTHER PROBLEM IS THAT SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS NEW IT HAS HAD A VIBRATION WHEN SPEEDS APPROACH 50 MILES PER HOUR AND INCREASES WITH MORE SPEED, NEW TIRES, CONTINUOUS BALANCING OF TIRES, DOES NOT HELP.

NHTSA ID

712620

Incident

Aug 27, 1999

VEHICLE EXPERIENCES COMPLETE ENGINE FAILURE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. MJS

NHTSA ID

545931

THE CHILD SAFETY SEATS DO NOT WORK WITH THE SEAT BELT SYSTEM OF THE SUBURBAN. ONLY THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT WILL SECURELY HOLD THE SEAT. I CONTACTED NHTSA TWICE AND GMC CUSTOMER SERVICE 3 TIMES AND MANY OTHER PLACES. FINALLY A GM ENGINEER IN THE SAFETY DEPT. CALLED ME TOOK MY COMPLAINT. HE TRIED TO PUT A SEAT IN A SUBURBAN AND SAID YES THEY DO NOT WORK RIGHT. THEY WANTED TO TAKE CARE OF PROBLEM IN HOUSE. I HAVE HEARD NOTHING MORE FROM THEM. THE VECHILE PULLED TO THE RIGHT FROM DAY ONE HAD IT ALIGNED PROBLEM CONTINUES TO THIS DAY. THE LEFT REAR DOOR HINGE ON DRIVERS SIDE BUSTED OFF. THE DOOR DID NOT OPEN AND SHUT PROPER. HAD PROBLEMS WITH FUSES BLOWING CONSTANTLY. THE BRAKES WORE OUT AT 26000 MILES AND EVERY 10 TO 15 SINCE. THE BRAKES AFTER 10,000 MILES WORE THROUGH THE ROTORS. THE PEDAL WILL OFTEN GO TO THE FLOOR OR THE VECHILE WILL PULL TO THE RIGHT WORSE THAN IT ALREADY DOES. THE EGR VALVE ALSO FAILED AND HAD TROUBLE GETTING IT HOME. I HAVE COMPLAINED TO THE DEALER MANY TIMES THEY SAY THEY HAVE NEVER HEARD OF ANY PROBLEMS WITH THE BRAKES ON ANY OTHER GM PRODUCT. I TALKED TO GM CUSTOMER SERVICE AND THEY SAID THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHY SO MANY PROBLEMS AND THEY DIDN'T CARE. THEY WOULD NOT LOOK INTO IT. I AM FILLING OUT ANOTHER FORM WITH THE CONTINUATION OF SAFETY PROBLEMS.

NHTSA ID

704363

Incident

Mar 5, 1997

INTERMITTENTLY WHILE DRIVING BELOW 20 MPH, VEHICLE WILL STALL UNEXPECTEDLY, LOSING ALL POWER STEERING/BRAKES. ALSO, MAY LOSE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. BEEN TO DEALER. DEALER CANNOT DETERMINE THE PROBLEM. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK

NHTSA ID

835433

Incident

Jan 1, 1997

WHILE DRIVING THE SUBURBAN JUST SHUTS OFF WITHOUT WARNING, THIS HAPPENS ON FLAT ROADS AS WELL AS HILLY ROADS, THE DEALER WAS NOT ABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM, BUT THE ENTIRE COMPUTER IGNITION AND THE ALTERNATOR WERE REPLACED. HOWEVER, THE TRUCK CONTINUES TO DO THE SAME THING. *AK *JB

NHTSA ID

828624

Incident

Sep 4, 1998

THE ENGINE HAS MADE A TAPPING/KNOCKING NOISE ALMOST SINCE NEW. DEALER CANNOT IDENTIFY CAUSE. *AK

NHTSA ID

518323

Incident

Dec 1, 1996