1997 Chevrolet Express 3500

Routine

Owners filed 2 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the service brakes, hydraulic. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Service Brakes, Hydraulic1
000
Electrical System1
000

What owners reported

Newest filings
Electrical System
Filed Nov 23, 2014101,500 milesIA

I SEEM TO BE EXPERIENCING THE EXACT KIND OF IGNITION SWITCH MALFUNCTION THAT HAS BEEN THE CAUSE OF THE MASSIVE GM RECALL THIS YEAR. THE ONLY PROBLEM IS THAT THE RECALL DOESN'T SEEM TO GO BACK TO 1997. THIS PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED NUMEROUS TIMES SINCE IT FIRST STARTED TO HAPPEN A WEEK OR SO AGO. THE ENGINE AND EVERYTHING ELECTRICAL JUST SHUTS OFF FOR NO REASON. IT HAS HAPPENED AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, AT PARKING LOT SPEEDS, DRIVING AROUND TOWN, AND EVEN PARKED AT IDLE. IT JUST UP AND DIES FOR A SECOND OR TWO, FOLLOWED BY ALL THE WARNING LIGHTS COMING ON LIKE YOU HAD JUST TURNED THE KEY BACK ON. SEEMS TO ME LIKE THE GM IGNITION SWITCH RECALL SHOULD BE EXPANDED TO INCLUDE OLDER VEHICLES THAT WERE APPARENTLY AFFECTED AS WELL AS THE ONES ALREADY ON THE LIST. *TR

Service Brakes, Hydraulic
Filed Jan 4, 201277,540 milesNJ

I WAS PICKING UP ITEMS IN A HOME DEPOT PARKING LOT, WHEN THE BRAKES WENT TO THE FLOOR, AND I DISCOVERED THE BRAKE LINES TO THE REAR HAD RUSTED THROUGH AND EMPTIED OUT ALL THE BRAKE FLUID. WHEN IT WAS ON THE LIFT AND BEING REPAIRED, I FOUND THAT THE REAR LEAF SPRING MOUNTS ARE NEARLY CORRODED AWAY. THIS IS NOT A PART DESIGNED TO BE REPLACED. *TR

2 of 2 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 2005
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
20242000Routine
20211000Routine
20192000Routine
20141100Routine
20131000Routine
20125000Routine
20104100Routine
20099200Routine
200811100Routine
200711110Routine
200615110Routine
200517120Routine
200416010Routine
200312030Routine
20023100Routine
200111100Routine
20004100Routine
19994100Routine
19983000Routine
1997 — this page2000Routine

Compare every Express 3500 year →

Reading this record

No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.

Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.