1998 GMC Sonoma problems
Owners have filed 202 complaints about the 1998 GMC Sonoma with NHTSA. Visibility accounts for 27.7% of them — the clear leader, ahead of seats at 15.3%.
Complaints202
Crashes15
Fires2
Injuries2
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Visibility 27.7% · 56
Seats 15.3% · 31
Service brakes, hydraulic 7.9% · 16
Structure 7.4% · 15
Air bags 5.4% · 11
Power train 5.4% · 11
Engine and engine cooling 5.4% · 11
Electrical system 4.5% · 9
Severity
Of those complaints, 15 describe a crash, 2 describe a fire and 2 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 7 model years of the GMC Sonoma in this data, 1998 ranks 3rd by complaint volume — 1994 draws the most.
Filings have fallen off, 6 in the last three years against 8 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 68,180 miles.
In owners' own words
At first instance of failure windshield wipers would intermitently stop working. It has now progressed to total failure. Got under hood and traced to wiring plug in at wiper motor. If plug is jiggled the wipers will work for a short period of time. Vehicle cannot be driven during possible rain conditions due to safety issues. We are in the process of getting an estimate for repairs from a dealer. Visibility
Windshield wipers run for a while (5 to 15 min) then just stop. After a variable period of time (1min-10 min) they will come back on only to quit again after a short period of time. Last night it was raining hard and the failure caused a serious loss of visibilty, luckly no accident ensued.This was not the first time this failure occurred and I saw two other similar complaints on your web site. Visibility · reported at 44,475 miles
Windshield wipers have been sporadic for last two months; was able to get them started by getting out of truck and moving the blades by hand; last week, in heavy down pour, the wipers would not work at all; stopped at an autobody shop, the guy smacked the motor with a wrench and got them working well enough for me to get home. They are still not working. Visibility · reported at 68,500 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…