1996 GMC C/K Suburban (gmc)

Routine

Owners filed 3 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the engine and engine cooling › engine › gasoline › belts and associated pulleys. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Service Brakes, Hydraulic1
000
Service Brakes1
000
Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Gasoline › Belts and Associated Pulleys1
000

What owners reported

Newest filings
Service Brakes
Filed Jul 22, 201282,359 milesVA

APPLIED BRAKES TO STOP FOR RED TRAFFIC LIGHT AND PEDAL WENT TO FLOOR. FRONT SECTION OF METAL BRAKE LINE HAD FAILED DUE TO RUST. HAD LEAKING BRAKE LINE REPLACED. GARAGE NOTED THAT REAR SECTION OF METAL BRAKE LINES WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED IN FUTURE BECAUSE THEY WERE RUSTED AND WOULD PROBABLY START TO LEAK. ON JULY 20, 2012 THE REAR SECTION OF LINE FAILED. MILEAGE 87,697. *TR

Service Brakes, Hydraulic
Filed May 8, 2012245,000 milesWA

COMING TO A STOP BEHIND A LINE OF CARS (NOT TOO LONG AFTER SUBURBAN PURCHASED) & BRAKE PEDAL STARTED GIVING RESISTANCE & MAKING NOISE (GROWLING-LIKE/PUSHING BACK) & DID NOT WANT TO STOP. HAD ALMOST CONSTANT TROUBLE W/ IT AFTER THAT, ESPECIALLY IN COLD & WET CONDITIONS & WE LIVE IN THE NORTHWEST, SO THIS IS HAPPENS A LOT! COUPLE OF TIMES, ALMOST SLID OFF OF ROADWAY OR INTO BACK OF PEOPLE, EVEN W/ MORE THAN ENOUGH STOPPING DISTANCE. BEFORE WE BOUGHT VEHICLE (WE HAVE GONE LESS THEN 5K MI) SEVERAL BRAKE COMPONENTS WERE CHANGED (PADS/DRUMS/ROTORS/CALIPERS, ALL PARTS MORE THAN ONCE OR TWICE) & BRAKES WERE CONSTANTLY BEING CHECKED OUT, SO THIS IS AN ONGOING ISSUE, NOT JUST W/ OUR 96 SUBURBAN, OTHER SURBURBANS HAVE HAD ISSUES AS WELL, OF ALL YEARS. TOOK OUT ABS FUSE AND BRAKE SYSTEM SEEMS TO BE WORKING BETTER, BUT THIS IS NOT A PERMANENT FIX. MECHANICS CAN NEVER FIND ANYTHING WRONG AND THERE OBVIOUSLY IS (ABS LIGHT ALWAYS ON & BRAKE LIGHT ONCE FUSE IS PULLED). SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE BEFORE PEOPLE GET SERIOUSLY INJURED OR EVEN DIE! THESE TRUCKS ARE WAY TOO BIG NOT TO BE ABLE TO STOP. *TR

Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Gasoline › Belts and Associated Pulleys
Filed Oct 24, 2007OH

THE SERPENTINE BELT COMES OFF WHILE I AM DRIVING,THE POWER STEERING GOES OUT AND VAN OVER HEATS AND I CANNOT MOVE THE VAN. I CAN BARLEY GET TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, BECAUSE OF THE STEERING.IT HAPPENS WHEN IT RAINS . AND SOMETIMES WHEN IT IS NOT RAINING. THIS HAS HAPPEN TO ME AT LEAST 12 TIMES IN THE PAST 2 YEARS. I GAVE THE DATE OF THE LAST TIME . IT IS IN MY DRIVE NOW BECAUSE I CAN'T AFFORD TO SEND IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AGAIN. I HAVE HAD DIFFERENT GARAGES WORK ON IT BUT IT STILL CAME OFF. SO I TOOK IT TO SCORE A DEALERSHIP. THEY HAVE HAD IT 4 TIMES I THE PAST 3 MONTHS. I HAVE ALSO HAD MY SON AND MY HUSBAND COME AND PUT IT ON WHEN I WAS ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD SO MANY TIMES I CANNOT COUNT THEM. MY VAN IS A 1996 PLYMOUTH GRAND VOYAGER. SOMEONE HAS TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS PROBLEM. *TR

3 of 3 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 1999
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
19999000Routine
19981000Routine
19971000Routine
1996 — this page3000Routine
19943000Routine

Compare every C/K Suburban (gmc) 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.