1997 GMC Suburban problems & reliability
200 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 1997 GMC Suburban, alongside 2 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
8 complaints report injuries (16 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 1997 GMC Suburban vehicles were involved in 12 fatal crashes with 5 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic → | 57 | 28% |
| Steering → | 39 | 20% |
| Power Train → | 24 | 12% |
| Fuel System, Gasoline → | 22 | 11% |
| Electrical System → | 21 | 11% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling → | 20 | 10% |
| Tires → | 16 | 8% |
| Visibility → | 12 | 6% |
| Air Bags | 5 | 3% |
| Suspension | 5 | 3% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 96,800 miles (middle 50% between 62,000 and 130,000 miles), based on 30 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Car lurches when turning right and left, intermittently feeling like you are loosing control of vehicle.”
Unknown OR Other · filed Nov 18, 2015
“Pulled out of my driveway got up to speed of roadway that is 50 mph felt a vibration in the front end, slowed down it went away, so I started to speed up again to see if it came back, then boom my front passenger tire literally blew up, the tread separated and the tire almost blew completely off the rim. I temporarily…”
Tires · filed Aug 24, 2015
“The ignition switch started to fail while driving. First the heater fan would quit and the abs light would instantly turn on, and the cruise control would fail to operate. When the abs light would be on the abs would fail to operate. Then suddenly all operations would go back to normal. It would be unpredictable when…”
Steering · filed May 23, 2014
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- WINDSHIELD WIPER FAILURE
Engineering Analysis EA02006 · opened May 31, 2002 · closed Jul 23, 2003 · led to recall 03V210000
- OEM HITCH RECEIVER PLATFORM CRACKING
Defect Petition DP00001 · opened Jan 31, 2000 · open
- BATTERY LEAKS ACID
Preliminary Evaluation PE99073 · opened Dec 3, 1999 · closed May 2, 2000
- ERRATIC STEERING BOOST WHILE DRIVING
Preliminary Evaluation PE98060 · opened Nov 13, 1998 · closed May 12, 1999
- POOR BRAKE PERFORMANCE
Engineering Analysis EA95026 · opened Sep 20, 1995 · closed Sep 20, 2001 · led to recall 01I006000
Technical service bulletins
33 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 1997 GMC Suburban. The 10 most recent:
This warranty administration bulletin provides information regarding the field action courtesy transportation policy.
17-NA-073 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 21, 2023
This Preliminary Information communicates to the dealer the process for downloading or updating operating software for the Tire Pressure Monitor, Active Fuel Injector tester, multi media tester, PICO Scope, GR8…
PIP4723F · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 14, 2022
This Preliminary Information communicates to the dealer the process for downloading or updating operating software for the Tire Pressure Monitor, Active Fuel Injector tester, multi media tester, PICO Scope, GR8…
PIP4723D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 31, 2020
This informational bulletin provides information for dealers/technicians on Procedures to Unlock Delco Radio with Theftlock.
19NA273 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 2, 2019
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician on how to unlock radios that are Delco TheftLock. Technician will use the radio to get the scrambled code. Technician will need to…
PIC4696E · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 22, 2019
This warranty administration bulletin provides information regarding the field action courtesy transportation policy.
17NA073 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 18, 2019
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician on how to unlock radios that are Delco TheftLock. Technician will use the radio to get the scrambled code. Technician will need to…
PIC4696D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 5, 2019
This warranty administration bulletin provides information regarding the field action courtesy transportation policy.
17NA073 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 15, 2019
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician on how to unlock radios that are Delco Theft Lock. Technician will use the radio to get the scrambled code. Technician will need to…
PIC4696C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 31, 2018
This Preliminary Information communicates to the dealer the process for downloading or updating operating software for the Tire Pressure Monitor, Active Fuel Injector tester, multi media tester, PICO Scope, GR8…
PIP4723C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 20, 2017
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 1997 GMC Suburban has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 1997 GMC Suburban?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 96,800 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.