1996 GMC SAFARI — Complaint #424994
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about SUSPENSION:FRONT:SPRINGS:TORSION BAR filed August 14, 2003
NHTSA complaint #424994 (ODI reference 10032813) concerns a 1996 GMC SAFARI and was filed on August 14, 2003. The owner reports the failure occurred on August 3, 2003. The vehicle had 103,265 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to New York 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 1996 GMC SAFARI shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
WHILE TRAVELING AT 65 MPH DRIVERS SIDE TORSION BAR INEXPLICABLY AND WITHOUT WARNING BROKE. ENTIRE VEHICLE SHUDDERED AND PULLED SHARPLY TO THE LEFT. FORTUNATELY FOR MY PASSENGERS AND MYSELF I WAS ABLE TO QUICKLY REGAIN CONTROL AND COME TO A SAFE STOP. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. SUCH A FAILURE COULD EASILY RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH. SINCE THE TORSION BAR FAILURE I HAVE BEEN TOLD BY DIFFERENT MECHANICS "THEY BREAK ALL THE TIME" AND "IT IS A DESIGN FLAW". I UNDERSTAND THAT GENERAL MOTORS IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM AND HAS REDESIGNED THE AFFECTED PARTS. THIS IS A FAR MORE SERIOUS AND DANGEROUS ISSUE THAN THOSE ADDRESSED BY OTHER RECALLS ON THIS VEHICLE (SEATBELT WARNING BUZZER AND WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR FAILURES). IN THE INTEREST OF SAFETY FOR ALL OWNERS, PASSENGERS AND ANYONE IN THE PROXIMITY OF THE AFFECTED VEHICLES I BELIEVE A RECALL IS IN ORDER.*AK
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 424994 |
| ODI Number | 10032813 |
| Date Filed | August 14, 2003 |
| Failure Date | August 3, 2003 |
| VIN | 1GKEL19WXTB |
Similar SUSPENSION:FRONT:SPRINGS:TORSION BAR Complaints for 1996 GMC SAFARI
GMC SAFARI VAN WAS PARKED IN DRIVEWAY, NEXT MORNING IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THE FRONT HAD COLLAPSED AND WAS JUST 2 INCHES OFF THE PAVEMENT, INNER FENDERS WERE TOUCHING THE TIRES. DISCOVERED THAT THE T
WHILE DRIVING 25 MPH CONSUMER HEARD A BOOMING NOISE COMING FROM THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE. CONSUMER WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE, AND PULLED OVER. CONSUMER NOTICED THAT PASSENGER SIDE
WHEN COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP, THE VEHICLE HIT A POTHOLE, CAUSING THE LEFT SIDE OF THE TORSION BAR TO BREAK. *AK WHILE DRIVING SLOWLY APPROACHING A STOP SIGN, THE LEFT SIDE OF THE VAN HAD DROPPE
THE CONSUMER HEARD A LOUD "BANG." FRONT RIGHT SIDE WAS VERY LOW TO THE GROUND. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER ON 7/7/2003 WHO REPAIRED THE TORSION BAR. *AK
WHILE DRIVING TORSION BAR BROKE ON THE FRONT LEFT SIDE OF THE VEHICLE DOWN ON THE FRONT TIRE. THE CONSUMER STATED THAT GMC NEEDS TO NOTIFY THE CUSTOMERS ABOUT THE DEFECTS OF HOW BAD OF A DESIGN THE T
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.