1997 Chevrolet Silverado problems
Owners have filed 365 complaints about the 1997 Chevrolet Silverado with NHTSA. Service brakes, hydraulic account for 18.4% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of steering at 16.4%.
Complaints365
Crashes25
Fires15
Injuries26
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Service brakes, hydraulic 18.4% · 67
Steering 16.4% · 60
Visibility 10.7% · 39
Power train 10.4% · 38
Engine and engine cooling 6.0% · 22
Suspension 5.8% · 21
Fuel system, gasoline 5.8% · 21
Electrical system 4.4% · 16
Severity
Of those complaints, 25 describe a crash, 15 describe a fire and 26 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 19 model years of the Chevrolet Silverado in this data, 1997 sits 7th by complaint volume. 1999 draws the most.
Filings are rising — 9 in the last three years against 5 in the three before. For a vehicle this age that usually points to a wear-related failure owners are hitting now.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 72,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Consumers master cylinder and brake booster failed causing vehicle to loose steering and braking ability while driving and she crashed into the highway divider, as a result the air bag deployend, trapping and suffocating her. The inside of the vehicle became filled with smoke, the doors were jammed and she was unable to open the until someone came to her vehicle and opened the door from the outside. Nlm Service brakes, hydraulic
Vehicle pulls to the right when brakes are engage with no pressure to the brake pedal. (Front and right) there is a slight pulsating at 35 mph that gets sharp and acute at 55 mph. Upon inspection right outer disc pad was missing the lower 1 1/2 inch of pad. All brake pads were replaced. The slight intermittent pull has happened once after the pads were replaced. Dealer can't locate the problem. Service brakes, hydraulic
There is intermittent brake failure, pedal will go to floor. Consumer feels problem is rear abs brakes. Vehicle taken to dealer 3 times, cannot duplicate problem, cannot remedy. *Ak consumer states he can not haul his trailer or haul any large loads because of faulty rear brakes, the front shoes have been replaced with lifetime brake pads twice and the rear ones look brand new. *Slc Service brakes, hydraulic
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…