What breaks most · 1998 to 2002 model years
GMC Passenger Vehicle problems by year
Owners have filed 51 safety complaints with NHTSA about the GMC Passenger Vehicle across model years 1998 to 2002. Three years stand out: 1998 for visibility complaints, 1999 for powertrain and transmission complaints and 2000 for air bags complaints.
- Years to check closely: 1998, 1999, 2000
- Complaints on file
- 511998 to 2002, all trims
- Worst year
- 199814 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 31 fires · 3 injuries · 0 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 55kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 0Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 0 | 0 | Visibility (5) | |
| 13 | 0 | 0 | Powertrain and transmission (4) | |
| 12 | 2 | 0 | Air bags (2) | |
| 9 | 0 | 0 | Brakes (hydraulic) (2) | |
| 3 | 1 | 0 | Seat belts (1) |
What fails on the 1998 GMC Passenger Vehicle
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VisibilityMirrors and glass | 36% |
5 | 0 | Shop all visibility parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 14% |
2 | 0 | Shop all electrical system parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 14% |
2 | 0 | Shop all engine and cooling parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| SteeringPower steering pumps, racks and hoses | 14% |
2 | 0 | Shop all steering parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Tires | 7% |
1 | 0 | — |
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 7% |
1 | 0 | Shop all brakes (hydraulic) parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Parking Brake | 7% |
1 | 0 | — |
| Fuel System, Other | 7% |
1 | 0 | — |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
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
-
Transmission slips and makes noise in the first gear at initial start from a dead stop. Vehicle has less than 50,000 miles. Contacted dealer and they said that all of them do it. *jb
-
Airbag light in dash board indicates problem with system. Dealer tells us that the "switch" in seatbelt is defective. Swith indicates that seatbelt is in use and permits airbag to go off during collision. Faulty swith means airbag will not deploy. Car has about 55,000 miles on it. Dealer quotes $237 to repair.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which GMC Passenger Vehicle years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 1998, 1999, 2000 carry the most filings on the GMC Passenger Vehicle. The 1998 alone has 14 complaints, led by visibility.
What is the most common GMC Passenger Vehicle problem?
On the 1998 model year, the most-reported component is visibility with 5 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do GMC Passenger Vehicle problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all GMC Passenger Vehicle complaints that include mileage is about 55,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.