1999 GMC C1500 Suburban

Routine

Owners filed 12 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the service brakes, hydraulic. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Electrical System3
000
Suspension1
000
Structure › Body1
000
Steering1
000
Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Foundation Components › Hoses, Lines/Piping, and Fittings1
000
Service Brakes, Hydraulic1
000
Fuel System, Gasoline1
000
Engine and Engine Cooling1
010
Electrical System › Wiring › Interior/Under Dash1
000
Air Bags1
000

What owners reported

Newest filings
Suspension
Filed Jan 4, 2017NY

TRANSFER CASE PINHOLE DO TO PUMP IN TRANSFER CASE COMMON PROBLEM

Engine and Engine CoolingFire
Filed Apr 28, 2015126,000 milesNE

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 GMC C1500 SUBURBAN. WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, THE OIL FIELD EXPLODED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE FIELD FRACTURED AND CAUSED OIL TO SEEP INTO THE ENGINE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 126,000.

Air Bags
Filed Aug 14, 201493,000 milesCA

AIRBAG LIGHT IS ON. NEEDS NEW MODULE AND THE PART IS "CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE" FROM GMC. REPAIR SHOP WILL NOT GUARANTEE WORK ON INSTALLATION OF A THIRD PARTY PART. I HAVE SPOKEN EXTENSIVELY WITH GMC CORPORATE AND THEY CONTINUE TO DELEGATE THIS ISSUE TO THE DEALERSHIP LEVEL. IMO, THE DEALERSHIP (THORSON MOTOR CENTER, PASADENA, CA) HAS DONE ALL THEY CAN BY ORDERING THE PART FOR ME. IF THE PART IS UNAVAILABLE, THAT IS NOT THE DEALERSHIP'S FAULT. FURTHER, THERE IS NO ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL EVEN THOUGH THE ORDER HAS BEEN EXPEDITED. GMC CORPORATE SHOULD MAKE SURE THEY HAVE SUFFICIENT MANUFACTURERS WHO CAN PRODUCE PARTS IN A TIMELY MANNER. IN THE MEANTIME, MY CAR HAS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT IS UNRESOLVED. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR OVER SIX WEEKS NOW. *TR

Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Foundation Components › Hoses, Lines/Piping, and Fittings
Filed Jun 19, 201499,000 milesPA

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 GMC SUBURBAN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE BRAKES WERE WEARING PREMATURELY. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER, WHO STATED THAT THE BRAKE LINES, HARDWARE, BRAKE CYLINDER AND CALIPERS NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 99,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 137,960. ALSO, THE A/C WAS REPAIRED SEVERAL TIMES, AS IT WAS BLOWING OUT HOT AIR, THE REAR PASSENGER DOOR WAS INOPERATIVE, THE STARTER WAS REPLACED, THE RADIATOR WAS LEAKING. UPDATED 07/30/14

Electrical System
Filed Mar 11, 201420,000 milesNJ

CAR SHUT OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF DRIVING, THIS HAPPEN ONCE OR TWICE A YEAR OVER A 12 YEAR PERIOD, DEALER KEEP SAYING IT WAS SWITCH OR FUEL PUMP, THEY KEPT CHARGING ME EVERYTIME... *TR

Electrical System
Filed Mar 11, 2014150,000 milesNJ

CAR SHUT OFF WHILE DRIVING, MECHANIC SAID IT WAS ABS COMPUTER, CHARGED ME $1000 TO REPLACE. *TR

Electrical System
Filed Mar 11, 201490,000 milesNJ

CAR SHUT OFF WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY. *TR

Structure › Body
Filed Aug 29, 2012240,000 milesMD

WITHIN SEVERAL MONTHS BOTH FRONT DOORS - DRIVERS AND PASSENGERS HANDLES STOPPED WORKING. WITHOUT POWER TO LOWER THE WINDOW AND OPEN THE DOOR FROM THE OUTSIDE, THE OCCUPANTS ARE LOCKED INSIDE. WHEN REPLACING THE PARTS AND INVESTIGATING THE PROBLEM, IT WAS APPARENT THAT BOTH HANDLES BROKE AT THE SAME PLACE AND THE PART MAY BE FAULTY OR NOT SUFFICIENTLY STRENGTHENED TO SUPPORT EXITING THE VEHICLES - ESPECIALLY IN AN EMERGENCY. WE BELIEVE THAT ONLY THE ACTUAL HANDLE IS THE CONCERN AND NOT THE FULL ASSEMBLY. *TR

Service Brakes, Hydraulic
Filed Sep 12, 2011135,000 milesME

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 GMC C1500 SUBURBAN. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 15 MPH WHEN THE BRAKED WERE APPLIED AND THE PEDAL TRAVELED TO THE FLOOR ABNORMALLY. THE VEHICLE FAILED TO STOP AND THE CONTACT IMMEDIATELY ENGAGED THE EMERGENCY BRAKE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE CONTACTS RESIDENCE WHERE THE CONTACT DETECTED BRAKE FLUID LEAKING AND BELIEVED THAT THE FAILURE WAS RELATED TO A FAULTY BRAKE LINE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 135,000.

Fuel System, Gasoline
Filed Sep 4, 20111,080,310 milesMA

I HAVE PURCHASED 2 GMC SUBURBANS OVER THE LAST 13 YEARS. I'M A DIVORCED MOM OF 7 CHILDREN. I WAS DRIVING MY SUBURBAN ALONG WITH MY CHILDREN AND THE VEHICLE STALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC IN BOSTON. *TR I WAS ALMOST HIT FROM BEHIND AND FROM THE RIGHT HAND LANE AS I DESPERATELY TRIED TO STEER THE CAR INTO THE BREAK DOWN LANE. I TURNED MY HAZARDS ON, BUT DURING THIS TIME IN BOSTON, EVERYONE DRIVES OVER THE SPEED LIMIT. IT HAPPENED REPEATEDLY OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS. I CONTACTED GMC, IN WHICH I SPOKE TO A REPRESENTATIVE, WHO INFORMED ME I WAS OVER THE RECALL DATE. WHAT???? I EXPLAINED OVER AND OVER HOW DANGEROUS IT WAS FOR ME TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE WITH MY CHILDREN. TO NO AVAIL, I WAS TOLD, MY SUBURBAN MISSED THE RECALL DATES. SORRY, GM COULD NOT STAND BEHIND A LOYAL CUSTOMER. I DO NOT HAVE 2000.00 TO REPLACE THIS PART.

Steering
Filed Mar 7, 2011172,000 milesGA

GMC SUBURBAN 1999 STEERING SPEED SENSOR FAILS CAUSING THE STEERING TO SUDDENLY JERK WHILE TURNING UNDER SPEED. IT FEELS LIKE THE FRONT WHEELS HIT "SLIPPERY ICE". *TR

Electrical System › Wiring › Interior/Under Dash
Filed Jan 3, 2007153,500 milesWI

I CLICKED MY 4-WAY FLASHER BUTTON WHILE DROPPING MY SON OFF AT THE TRAIN STATION AND WHEN I CAME BACK IT WAS DIFFICULT TO PRESS THE BUTTON BACK DOWN. AFTER THAT, THE OPERATION OF MY EMERGENCY FLASHERS WAS INTERMITTENT AND EVENTUALLY MY REAR BRAKES LIGHTS STARTED WORKING ONLY INTERMITTENTLY AS WELL. NOW THE BRAKE LIGHTS DO NOT WORK AND MY GM DEALER SAYS IT WILL COST MORE THAN $500 TO REPLACE THE WHOLE WIRING HARNESS. THIS IS THE SECOND FAILURE OF THIS TYPE ON THIS SAME SUBURBAN. *NM

12 of 12 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 1999
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
1999 — this page12010Routine
19981000Routine
19974000Routine
19962000Routine
19942000Routine

Compare every C1500 Suburban 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.