1993 GMC SAFARI — Complaint #363084
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about SUSPENSION:FRONT:SPRINGS:TORSION BAR filed July 19, 2002
NHTSA complaint #363084 (ODI reference 764355) concerns a 1993 GMC SAFARI and was filed on July 19, 2002. The owner reports the failure occurred on July 14, 2002. The report was geocoded to Maine based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as suspension:front:springs:torsion bar, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same GMC SAFARI cohort independently describe similar suspension:front:springs:torsion bar failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 1993 GMC SAFARI shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
EXCEPTIONALLY DANGEROUS SPONTANEOUS SHEARING OF FRONT LEFT TORSION BAR. GMC MUST KNOW OF THIS PROBLEM, BECAUSE THEY HAVE COMPLETELY REDESIGNED THE TORSION BARS, REQUIRING A MAJOR RETROFITTING (AT THE OWNER'S EXPENSE) OF THE VAN'S CROSS FRAME MEMBER. FORTUNATELY FOR US, THIS MAJOR COMPONENT OF THE SUSPENSION BROKE WHILE THE CAR WAS PARKED. OTHER REPORTS ON THE INTERNET DESCRIBE THE PART AS BREAKING WHILE DRIVING, INSTANTLY DROPPING THE LEFT SIDE OF THE CAR UNTIL THE TIRE HITS THE WHEEL WELL AND THROWING THE CAR VIOLENTLY TO THE LEFT.*AK
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 363084 |
| ODI Number | 764355 |
| Date Filed | July 19, 2002 |
| Failure Date | July 14, 2002 |
| VIN | 1GKEL19WOPB |
Similar SUSPENSION:FRONT:SPRINGS:TORSION BAR Complaints for 1993 GMC SAFARI
1993 GMC SAFARI ALL WHEEL DRIVE 7-PASSENGER STANDARD WHEEL BASE VAN WITH 42" TORSION BAR FRONT SPRINGS AND 182,000 MILES. THE DRIVER'S SIDE FRONT TORSION SPRING BROKE INSIDE THE ADJUSTER SLEEVE AT TH
WHEN ENTERING VEHICLE LEFT FRONT END DROPPED DUE TO TORSION BAR SNAPPING. DEALER SAID BOTH TORSION BARS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *AK
GM OF CANADA AND THE TRANSPORT CANADA HAS BEEN NOTIFIED OF THIS PROBLEM. GM RESPONSE IS THAT IF THEY DETECT A PROBLEM WITH A COMPONENT THEY WILL INVESTIGATE ALTHOUGH IT SOUNDED MORE LIKE A BRUSH OFF.
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.