FaultScore report
Owners have filed 14 complaints about the 1997 GMC Sierra 2500 with NHTSA between 1997 and 2012. The largest single group is the brakes. Across this model's run it ranks 27 of 30 worst.
FaultScore 27/100
Higher is worse. Measured against the other years of the GMC Sierra 2500.
How this is worked out14
Complaints
1
Crashes reported
0
Fires reported
1
Injuries reported
100,000 mi
Median mileage at failure
Half of reported failures happened before this
0%
Failed under 36,000 miles
Inside a typical bumper-to-bumper warranty
The letter says how bad. This says what kind — whether this year drew an unusual number of complaints, unusually dangerous ones, or failures that arrived unusually early.
Click any bar to open that year's report.
Every complaint is filed against a part. Follow any row for the complaints about that part alone.
1 crashes, 0 fires · median 132,500 mi
Median failure at 120,500 miles
Median failure at 160,000 miles
Median failure at 56,000 miles
Median failure at 98,000 miles
Odometer readings owners gave when they filed. About half of all complaints include one.
A spike years after the car went on sale usually means a part wearing out on schedule across the whole fleet — the kind of pattern no single owner can see from inside their own car.
Reports where the owner recorded a crash, a fire, an injury or a death.
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS
WAS PREPARING TO STOP AT ABOUT 30 MP IN DRY CONDITONS DURING NORMAL STOPPING OPERATION, BUT BRAKES BECAME INOPERATIVE, CAUSING CONSUMER TO HIT PEDESTRIAN. DEALER CANNOT DETERMINE PROBLEM.
NHTSA complaint #822795 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
In the owners' own words, exactly as filed with NHTSA.
TIRES
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 GMC C2500 PICKUP EQUIPPED WITH COOPER MASTERCRAFT TIRES, SIZE P265/75/R16. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 60 MPH, THE TREAD SEPARATED FROM THE TIRES AND CAUSED DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO SAFELY DRIVE THE VEHICLE TO A LOCAL BODY SHOP. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE ON THE TIRES WAS 31,000 THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES ON THE VEHICLE WAS 100,000.
NHTSA complaint #10462167 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
CORRODED BRAKE LINE FAILURE. LOSS OF REAR BRAKES, FRONT WORKED.
NHTSA complaint #10455585 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
TIRES
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 GMC SIERRA 2500 WITH BF-GOODRICH ALL TERRAIN TIRES, LINE SIZE LT265/75/16. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING, THE VEHICLE EXHIBITED A LOUD ABNORMAL NOISE AS THE CONTACT LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. THE DRIVER SIDE REAR TIRE TREAD SEPARATED CAUSING DAMAGE TO THE BACK OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION OR REPAIRS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE WHO ADVISED THAT THEY WOULD CONTACT HIM AT A LATER DATE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VIN AND DOT NUMBERS WERE UNAVAILABLE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 141,000.
NHTSA complaint #10413093 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL
1997 GM 6.5 TURBO DIESEL PMD FAILURE. LOSS OF CONTROL VERY UNSAFE. WHY DOES GM FAIL TO RECALL THE PMD????
NHTSA complaint #10380169 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
BRAKE LINE FAILURE ON 1997 GMC PICKUP. @ DIFFERENT OCCASIONS AND SEPARATE AREAS IN BRAKE LINES. OLD LINES DISCARDED. APPEARED TO BE A RUST ISSUE.
NHTSA complaint #10324677 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER:MOTOR
WHILE DRIVING IN RAINY WEATHER FRONT WINDSHIELD WIPERS FAILED INTERMITTENTLY. DEALERSHIP WAS NOTIFIED, BUT DID NOT RESOLVE THE PROBLEM.
NHTSA complaint #10083927 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH
I OWN A 97 GMC TRUCK. CURRENTLY, THE TRUCK HAS A LITTLE OVER 55,000 MILES. APPROXIMATELY, 2 YEARS AGO THE INTERIOR DOOR HANDLE FAILED TO OPEN THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO LEHMERS IN CONCORD AND THEY REPAIRED THE PROBLEM AT NO CHARGE TO ME... IT WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY. LAST WEEK THE SAME PROBLEM OCCURRED ON THE DRIVER SIDE AND "STARTED TO SHOW SIGNS OF THE SAME PROBLEM" ON THE PASSENGER SIDE DOOR. SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS OUT OF WARRANTY, I DECIDED TO "SAVE A BUCK" AND FIX THE PROBLEMS MYSELF. AFTER REMOVING THE DRIVER SIDE INTERIOR HANDLE ASSEMBLY, I WAS SHOCKED TO FIND THE HANDLE ITSELF CRACKED I.E. THE HANDLE ASSEMBLY IS POORLY DESIGNED. (IT'S PLASTIC.) I TOOK THE HANDLE ASSEMBLY TO THE DEALERSHIP AND SHOWED THE BROKEN HANDLE TO THE SERVICE MANAGER AND EXPLAINED HOW THIS WAS THE SECOND HANDLE. THE SERVICE MANAGER SAID, "THEIR HANDS WERE TIED" AND COULD NOT HELP ME BECAUSE EVERYTHING WAS OUT OF WARRANTY. THE SERVICE MANAGER DID NOT FIND ANY SERVICE BULLETINS CONCERNING DOOR HANDLES. (I ALSO SUBSCRIBE TO AN ONLINE SERVICE MANUAL PROVIDER CALLED ALLDATA.COM. THEY INCLUDE TECHNICAL BULLETINS THE SERVICE SHOPS GET FROM GM. I DID NOT FIND ANY BULLETINS CONCERNING DOOR HANDLES.) WHILE STILL AT THE DEALERSHIP, I BOUGHT A NEW HANDLE. IT LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE THE OLD ONE. IT COMES WITH A 1-YEAR WARRANTY. I CALLED GMC AND THEY SAID THAT BECAUSE THE ITEM IS OUT OF WARRANTY, THEY COULDN'T HELP ME. THE CUSTOMER SERVICE REP ALSO SAID THERE WAS NO RECORD OF ANY OTHER DOOR HANDLE PROBLEMS.
NHTSA complaint #10047133 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
WHEN APPLYING BRAKES HARD THEY DO NOT WORK. ALSO, WHEN APPLYING BRAKES TO STOP VEHICLE, THEY LET GO AND DONOT HOLD. VEHICLE IS AT DEALERSHIP.
NHTSA complaint #898507 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
FALSE ENGAGEMENT OF ANTI-LOCK BRAKES.
NHTSA complaint #720894 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER:MOTOR
WHILE RAINING WINDSHIELD WIPERS WILL MOVE REAL SLOW OR THEY MAY STOP COMPLETELY. IT IS AN INTERMITTENT REOCCURRING PROBLEM. DEALER CLAIMS VEHICLE IS NOT UNDER WARRANTY.
NHTSA complaint #856164 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
BRAKES FAIL TO STOP VEHICLE. WOULD ROLL 6 TIMES OR MORE BEFORE SLOWING DOWN. SPEED VARIES. BRAKE PEDAL GOES TO FLOOR. BEEN TO DEALERS 8-10 TIMES FOR PROBLEM. AN INTERMITTENT BRAKING PROBLEM.
NHTSA complaint #824799 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
BRAKES INSUFFICIENT FOR VEHICLE WEIGHT, LOCK ON WET ROADS AND DON'T APPLY ENOUGH STOPPING POWER TO ACTIVATE ABS. QCAW
NHTSA complaint #539345 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS
WAS PREPARING TO STOP AT ABOUT 30 MP IN DRY CONDITONS DURING NORMAL STOPPING OPERATION, BUT BRAKES BECAME INOPERATIVE, CAUSING CONSUMER TO HIT PEDESTRIAN. DEALER CANNOT DETERMINE PROBLEM.
NHTSA complaint #822795 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEATS
RECALL RELATED 97V037000, SEAT, NOTICED IN MARCH 1997, DEALERSHIP WILL NOT PERFORM RECALL DUE TO THE TIME FACTOR INVOLVED, THE MANUFACTURER STATES THERE ARE NO PARTS AVAILABLE.
NHTSA complaint #811433 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.