1996 GMC Sonoma problems
Owners have filed 190 complaints about the 1996 GMC Sonoma with NHTSA. Service brakes, hydraulic account for 29.5% of them — the clear leader, ahead of visibility at 16.3%.
Complaints190
Crashes34
Fires1
Injuries9
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Service brakes, hydraulic 29.5% · 56
Visibility 16.3% · 31
Engine and engine cooling 11.1% · 21
Power train 8.9% · 17
Air bags 5.3% · 10
Electrical system 4.7% · 9
Vehicle speed control 3.7% · 7
Seats 3.2% · 6
Severity
Of those complaints, 34 describe a crash, 1 describe a fire and 9 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 7 model years of the GMC Sonoma in this data, 1996 sits 4th by complaint volume. 1994 draws the most.
Filings have fallen off, 5 in the last three years against 16 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 94,325 miles.
In owners' own words
In snowey or rainey weather, antilock brakes pulsate irradically at various speeds (including 5 mph) when brakes are applied, even when no skid or hard breaking is occuring. Braking when this occurs, which is intermittently, is poor and uneven. Dealer and gm corp. Contacted, but all say no recalls have been initiated. This is a dangerous condition, and an accident (law suit) waiting to happen. Service brakes, hydraulic
Abs problems; when traveling about (35-45) mph and applying the brakes, the pedal did not go down at all, and truck ran into the back of another truck. This happened on normal road conditions. Mechanic stated that the master cylinder and the power booster stopped working. GMC refuses to fix vehicle because of crash. Truck still under warranty. Service brakes, hydraulic
Driving down the highway and the car in front of the truck made a sudden stop, applied pressure to the brake pedal and the truck didn't slow down. Had to press harder on the brake pedal, and the pedal was hard and went to the floor. Took truck to the dealer, and was told that the abs motor had failed. The dealer replaced the motor. Service brakes, hydraulic
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…