1998 GMC Passenger Vehicle

Routine

Owners filed 14 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the electrical system. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Visibility › Windshield Wiper/Washer › Motor2
000
Visibility › Windshield Wiper/Washer › Switch/Wiring1
000
Visibility › Windshield Wiper/Washer1
000
Visibility › Defroster/Defogger/Hvac System › Windshield › Electrical Heating Element1
000
Tires › Tread/Belt1
000
Steering › Rack and Pinion › Rack1
000
Steering › Linkages › Arm › Idler and Attachment1
000
Parking Brake1
000
Fuel System, Other › Storage › Tank Assembly › Filling/Charging1
011
Exterior Lighting › Hazard Flashing Warning Lights › Switch1
000

What owners reported

Newest filings
Steering › Rack and Pinion › Rack
Filed Apr 29, 2005MD

MY DAUGHTERS PONTIAC SUNFIRE RECEIVED A RECALL ABOUT THE STEERING. I TOOK IT IN TO BE FIXED. THEY FIXED IT WITH NO PROBLEM. THE DEALER EXPLAINED WHAT WOULD BE HAPPENING IF IT WERE TO GO OUT. THE STEERING TO THE LEFT WOULD BE HARD TO TURN. I TOLD HIM THAT I WAS HAVING PROBLEMS WITH MY PONTIAC TRANS SPORT MINI VAN. HE SUGGESTED THAT I CALL GM. I DID AND THEY SAID IT WAS DOING ALL THE THINGS THAT THE RECALL WAS CALLED IN FOR, BUT BY MY VIN # MY CAR WAS NOT IN WITH THE RECALL. THEY TOLD ME TO CHECK IT OUT WITH THE DEALER AND CALL BACK. I TOLD THEM THAT I DID AND HAD IT IN WRITING, BUT THEY SAID THEY WOULD NOT FIX IT. I SAID THAT THEY FIXED MY DAUGHTERS CAR AND NOTHING WAS WRONG WITH IT, BUT MY CAR WAS DOING THE HARD TURN TO THE LEFT AND THEY WOULD NOT FIX IT. THEY SAID NO THEY COULD NOT HELP ME. I CALLED BACK MONTHS LATER AND THE PERSON I SPOKE WITH TOLD ME THE SAME THING. I ASK TO SPEAK TO THE MANAGER, AND HE SAID THAT HE WAS THE MANAGER AND HE COULD NOT DO ANYTHING AT THAT TIME, THAT MAYBE THEY WOULD RECALL IT LATER. HE SUGGEST THAT I CONTACT YOU AND MAYBE YOUSWILL DO SOMETHING.*AK NOW IT SEEMS TO ME THAT IF THERE IS A RECALL AND YOU HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM, BUT YOUR CAR WAS NOT MADE IN THE SAME FACTORY AS THE OTHERS, THAT THE OTHER FACTORIES CAN NOT GET BAD PARTS. I FEEL THAT THEY SHOULD FIX MY CAR AND NOT EXPECT ME TO FIX IT AND THEN HOPE THAT THEY WILL RECALL IT AND THEN I CAN GET MY MONEY BACK. THIS SHOULD BE DONE JUST AS A COURIOUS, SO I WILL CONTINUE TO BY THEIR PRODUCT. MY

Engine and Engine Cooling › Exhaust System › Manifold/Header/Muffler/Tail Pipe
Filed Jan 6, 2005115,000 milesRI

COOLANT IN OIL, OIL IN COOLANT. INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET LEAK. 8AK

Visibility › Windshield Wiper/Washer › Motor
Filed Sep 14, 2004112,200 milesCA

WINDSHIELD WIPER FAILURE

Exterior Lighting › Hazard Flashing Warning Lights › Switch
Filed Jul 19, 2004126,000 milesIN

MY WINDSHIELD WIPERS DO NOT WORK IN THE RAIN AND MY TURN SIGNAL ON SIGNAL CLICKS WHEN THE TURN SIGNAL ISN'T ON. BOTH ARE PROBLEMS WITH THE 1997 MODEL, AND SEEM TO BE AN ONGOING PROBLEM WITH THE 1998 MODELS. *JB

Steering › Linkages › Arm › Idler and Attachment
Filed Jun 22, 200490,000 milesMN

STEERING LINKAGE IDLER ARM FELL APART, CAUSING LOSS OF STEERING ON VEHICLE. THIS HAS HAPPENED ON BOTH SIDES OF LINKAGE. HAD JUST COME FROM A LONG TRIP ON THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY. WAS TRAVELING AT LOW SPEED WHEN TIS HAPPENED, BACKING OUT OF DRIVEWAY. HAPPENED ONCE IN MISSISSIPPI AND ONCE AT HOME. REPLACED WITH IMPROVED PARTS FROM AUTO PARTS STORE. COULD HAVE CAUSED SERIOUS ACCIDENT IF TRAVELING AT HIGH SPEED. *AK

Tires › Tread/Belt
Filed Jun 14, 2004GA

FIRESTONE TREAD SEPARATION. NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO CORRECT THE FAILURE. *AK

Visibility › Defroster/Defogger/Hvac System › Windshield › Electrical Heating Element
Filed Apr 22, 200449,000 milesWI

WINDSHIELD WIPERS WORK ONLY INTERMITTENTLY. FAIL TO START, OR QUIT WHILE TURNED ON. THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD WHEN DRIVING IN THE RAIN. SEEMS TO HAPPEN MORE IN WARM WEATHER THAN WINTER. HAS BEENHAPPENING SINCE I BOUGHT THIS USED VEHICLE A COUPEL OF YEARS AGO, BUT IS NOT BECOMING MORE FREQUENT.*AK

Parking Brake
Filed Nov 4, 200324,000 milesGA

AUTOMATIC PARK FAILURE WITH P-30 1998 MOTORHOME RESULTING IN COMPLETE BREAKDOWN ON INTERSTATE NECCESSITATING EXPENSIVE TOWING. *AK

Fuel System, Other › Storage › Tank Assembly › Filling/ChargingFire1 injured
Filed Oct 9, 2003SC

FIRES AT THE GAS PUMPS CAUSED BY STATIC ELECTRICITY. VEHICLES ARE CATCHING FIRE WHILE ATTEMPTING TO FUEL VEHICLE. FEWER VEHICLES DOES NOT PROPERLY GROUND WHEN FUEL NOZZLE INSERTED INTO FILL SPOUT OF VEHICLE. I HAVE PERFORMED A STUDY TO SHOW DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OLDER FUEL SPOUTS WITH A GROUNDING CABLE AND NEWER SPOUTS THAT DO NOT HAVE CABLE. ALSO, THE MATERIAL OF THE SPOUTS HAVE CHANGED FROM ALL METAL TO A METAL WITH A PLASTIC INSERT. THIS WOULD PREVENT VEHICLE FROM BEING GROUNDED. IN MY STUDY, I FOUND MANY DIFFERENT MAKES AND MODELS OF VEHICLES CONTAINING THESE TYPE FILL SPOUTS. I ALSO HAD MY FINDINGS CONFIRMED BY A PROFESSOR OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING FROM A LOCAL UNIVERSITY. *LA

Visibility › Windshield Wiper/Washer › Switch/Wiring
Filed Sep 24, 200360,000 milesUT

WINDSHIELD WIPERS WON'T TURN ON. WHEN YOU MANUALLY START THEM BY MOVING WIPER, THEN THEY START.

Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine
Filed Jul 31, 200390,000 milesCA

DEX COOL DETERIATION OF COOLANT SYSTEM. *PH

Visibility › Windshield Wiper/Washer › Motor
Filed Jul 22, 200366,000 milesCA

INTERNMITTMENT OPERATION OF WINDSHIELD WIPERS. *AK

Visibility › Windshield Wiper/Washer
Filed Jun 18, 2003KY

THE FRONT WINDSHIELD WIPERS WILL SUDDENLY STOP WORKING WHEN IT IS RAINING. THEY WILL COME BACK ON AFTER A FEW MINUTES OR MAYBE NOT AT ALL. YESTERDAY THEY DID NOT COME ON AT ALL, TODAY THEY WORKED FOR ABOUT AN HOUR AND THEN THEY JUST STOP. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR THE LAST MONTH. THE REAR WIPERS DO FINE. *NLM

Electrical System
Filed Dec 26, 200260,000 milesMN

ON 4 DIFFERENT OCCASSIONS THE "CLUSTER" (DASHBOARD DISPLAY) HAS GONE OUT ON US. NO SPEEDOMETER, NO GAS GUAGE, NO BLINKERS, NOTHING. WE'VE RETURNED IT TO THE DEALER EACH TIME. THIS LAST TIME, 12/26/02, THEY REFUSED TO DO ANYTHING FOR US.

14 of 14 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 1998
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
20023000Routine
20019000Routine
200012000Routine
199913000Routine
1998 — this page14010Routine

Compare every Passenger Vehicle 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.