1997 GMC Z-71

Routine

Owners filed 8 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the service brakes, hydraulic › antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip3
101
Steering › Hydraulic Power Assist System2
000
Service Brakes, Hydraulic1
000
Fuel System, Gasoline › Delivery › Fuel Pump1
000
Engine and Engine Cooling › Exhaust System › Manifold/Header/Muffler/Tail Pipe1
000

What owners reported

Newest filings
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
Filed May 1, 201089,400 milesMA

VEHICLE FAILED TO STOP BECAUSE OF BRAKE LINE FAILURE. BRAKELINE BUST BECAUSE IF RUST. HAD TO REPLACE BRAKELINE. *TR

Steering › Hydraulic Power Assist System
Filed May 25, 200514,000 milesNE

DT: POWER STEERING VIOLENTLY WENT OUT OF CONTROL, CAUSING THE DRIVER TO LOSE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. THIS HAS BEEN AN ONGOING PROBLEM, THE SENSOR HAS BEEN REPLACED ONCE. ALSO, WINDSHIELD WIPERS DID NOT WORK, THEY WERE NOT DEPENDABLE WHEN NEEDED. THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS WERE DEFECTIVE. AND THE CONSUMER HAD TO FIXED THEM. THE MANUFACTURER WILL NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THE PROBLEM IN THE 1997 YEAR VEHICLES. *AK

Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited SlipCrash1 injured
Filed Mar 8, 200497,741 milesNY

A VEHICLE WAS STOPPED ON THE ROADWAY WAITING FOR A VEHICLE IN FRONT OF HIM TO MAKE A LEFT TURN, I SAW THE TWO STOPPED VEHICLES AND WHEN TRYING TO APPLY THE BRAKES ON MY 1997 GMC TRUCK FROM ABOUT 200+ FEET AWAY, THE BRAKE PEDAL JUST BECAME ROCK HARD AND TRUCK DIDN'T SLOW DOWN OR BRAKE CAUSING ME TO HIT THE STOPPED VEHICLE. NO TYPICAL ANTI LOCK PULSATIONS WERE PRESENT OR FELT JUST A ROCK HARD PEDAL THAT COULDN'T BE PUSHED DOWN FURTHER NO MATTER HOW HARD I TRIED. THERE ARE ABSOLUTELY NO SKIP OR SKID TYPE MARKS ANYWHERE. I HAVE SINCE BEEN CITED WITH FOLLOWING TO CLOSE BY AN OFFICER NOT PRESENT DURING THE ACCIDENT, SINCE I COULDN'T STOP. I WISH TO REPORT THIS AND ALSO KNOW IF OTHER COMPLAINTS EXIST OF THIS NATURE FOR SIMILAR VEHICLES. I HAD OTHER PULSATIONS AND SIMILAR HARD PEDAL AND THIS WAS SUPOSEDLY REPAIRED BY REPLACING SPEED SENSOR AND MASTERCYLINDER AY APPROX 56000. AFTER STILL FEELING UNUSUAL BRAKE PEDAL PULSATIONS I WAS TOLD IT IS A CONDITION THAT MAY INTERMITENTLY EXIST AND IS NORMAL. 1997 GMC TRUCK VIN # [XXX]. *AK UPDATED 07/26/2012 *JS INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Engine and Engine Cooling › Exhaust System › Manifold/Header/Muffler/Tail Pipe
Filed Feb 11, 2003TX

THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED A COOLANT LEAK FROM THE MANIFOLD.*JB

Fuel System, Gasoline › Delivery › Fuel Pump
Filed Dec 20, 2002148,000 milesSC

CONSUMER STATED VEHICLE WILL INTERMITTENTLY STALL WHILE DRIVING. CONSUMER WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO RESTART UNTIL 15-30 MIN LATER. DEALER DISCOVERED THAT THE WIRING FROM THE TOP OF THE FUEL TANK INTO THE FUEL PUMP HAS COMPLETELY MELTED INSULATION CAUSING THE WIRE TO SPLIT. ALSO THE PLUG ON BOTH SIDES MELTED ALONG WITH THE WIRING IN TANK. TS

Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip
Filed Aug 30, 2000NY

ABS BRAKE PROBLEMS: WHEN APPLYING BRAKES THEY GRAB, THEN SLIP, AND PEDAL JERKS DOWN. CONSUMER HAS A SITUATION OF NOT BEING IN CONTROL. THIS HAPPENS AT SLOW SPEED. IT APPEARS THAT TRUCK WILL STOP IN PLENTY OF TIME, BUT DOES NOT. TRUCK WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR THIS PROBLEM. RIGHT HUB WAS REPLACED. *AK THE LEFT HUB REQUIRED REPLACING FRONT BRAKE. ABS SENSOR FAILED IN WHEEL HUB. *YH

Steering › Hydraulic Power Assist System
Filed Aug 9, 2000AR

STEERING SENSOR WENT OUT. VEHICLE'S STEERING DOES NOT RESPOND. CAN DO IT ANYWHERE ANYTIME WHEN MAKING TURNS. SEEMS TO BE MOST PREVALENT WHEN WEATHER IS HOT. DEALER REPLACED THE 1ST TIME AT NO COST. SAID THEY HAD REPLACED SEVERAL ALREADY. NEW COMPONENT IS NOW DOING THE SAME THING JUST NOT AS BAD YET. WHEN YOU MAKE A TURN OR COME OUT OF A TURN STEERING WHEEL MAY HAVE UP TO 1/2 A WHEEL OF TURN WITH NO RESPONSE. I KNOW THIS HAS OCCURRED ON OTHER VEHICLES. MY BROTHER IN-LAW HAS A SUBURBAN AND HIS DID THE SAME. THE POTENTIAL IS THERE FOR SERIOUS ACCIDENTS.

Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip
Filed Jul 26, 2000TX

WHEN BRAKING VEHICLE PULLS TO THE LEFT. DEALERSHIP IS NOT ABLE TO DUPLICATE ANY PROBLEMS WITH THE TRUCK. ALSO, BRAKES PADS HAVE BEEN REPLACED 6 TIMES IN TWO YEARS AND NINE MONTHS/ CALIPERS HAVE BEEN REPLACED ONCE AND REBUILT TWICE/ DRIVER'S SIDE ROTORS HAVE BEEN REPLACED TWICE IN THREE MONTHS, AND PASSENGER'S SIDE ROTORS WERE REPLACED ONCE. IN ADDITION, BRAKE HOSES HAVE BEEN REPLACED ONCE. OWNER IS STILL EXPERIENCING BRAKE PROBLEMS. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK

8 of 8 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 1999
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
20004000Routine
199911000Routine
19983000Routine
1997 — this page8000Routine
19964000Routine

Compare every Z-71 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.