Total Complaints
5 filings
GMC GMC · model year
1989 GMC GMC
5 NHTSA complaints, 1 crash report. A VIN lookup is required to determine whether a specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
- Complaints
- 5
- Recalls
- 0
The verdict
The 1989 GMC GMC posts below-average complaint volume among its own model-year siblings.
- Top 48%
- fewest complaints, own model years
- 0
- recall campaigns
The 1989GMCGMC carries 5 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 1 crash, 0 fires, 2 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
The most frequently selected component label in reports for the 1989 GMC is service brakes, hydraulic:foundation components with 1 filings, followed by vehicle speed control:accelerator pedal (1) and steering (1). Complaint categories reflect owner reports and intake categorization; they do not establish a defect pattern or cause.
NHTSA currently has 1 investigation file overlapping the 1989 GMC. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should read the complaint-by-year trend as report volume, not a causal diagnosis. Use the related-complaint feed and the official recall lookup when researching a specific vehicle.
5
Complaints
1
Crashes
0
Fires
2
Injuries
0
Deaths
F
PlainCars Safety Score
0/100
1989 GMC GMC
PlainCars' own composite of NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings and rollover-risk assessment, each dimension normalized against the federal scale or the full national model-year corpus. Not an official NHTSA figure, and not a substitute for a specific vehicle's VIN-level recall check.
NHTSA Overall Rating N/A
Not rated
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program overall crash-test rating.
Front Crash N/A
Not rated
Frontal barrier crash-test rating.
Side Crash N/A
Not rated
Side barrier and pole crash-test rating.
Rollover Resistance N/A
Not rated
Static stability factor + dynamic rollover test rating.
Rollover Risk N/A
Not reported
NHTSA single-vehicle rollover probability, dynamic test.
Crashes Reported
1 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
Complaints vs. fleet median (215)
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
Complaints by Component
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS | 1 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL | 1 |
| STEERING | 1 |
| SEAT BELTS:FRONT:ANCHORAGE | 1 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS | 1 |
Recent Complaints
20011203EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS
WHY DO I SEE SO MANY LATE 80'S TO CURRENT MODEL GM PICK-UPS DRIVING AROUND WITH THEIR HIGH-BEAM HEADLIGHTS ON. I NOTICED THIS SEVERAL YEARS AGO AND LATELY HAVE BEEN KEEPING TRACK. THE SCORE SO FAR IS GM PICKUPS, 15; ALL OTHERS, 3. THESE ARE NOT THE VEHICLES WITH DAY TIME RUNNING LAMPS THESE ARE PEOPLE WITH THEIR HEAD-LIGHTS ON WHO DON'T REALIZE THEIR HIGHBEAMS ARE ON. I LOOKED AT THE DASH PANEL CONFIGURATION IN A FRIENDS CHEVY TRUCK AND THE INDICATOR LIGHT IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PANEL AND IS NOT NOTICABLE AND IS ALSO EASILY OBSCURED. WILL GM EVER FIX THIS.*AK
19980407VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL
GAS PEDAL STICKS ON OCCASION.
19980407STEERING
VEHICLE PULLS TO THE RIGHT, CAUSING LOSS OF CONTROL/COLLISION, RESULTING IN FATALITY.
19980407SEAT BELTS:FRONT:ANCHORAGE
DURING COLLISION SEAT BELTS FAILED, CAUSING INJURY AND DEATH.
19950608CrashSERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS
BRAKES FAILED, CAUSING LOSS OF CONTROL/ACCIDENT. *SKD
Compare 1989GMCGMC to Similar Vehicles
NHTSA Investigations
Vehicle Safety Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
How many complaints does the 1989 GMC GMC have?▼
The 1989 GMC GMC has 5 NHTSA complaints, 1 crashes, 0 fires, 2 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What are the most common problems with the 1989 GMC GMC?▼
The most-complained component for the 1989 GMC GMC is SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS with 1 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL and STEERING.
Is the 1989 GMC GMC safe to buy?▼
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?▼
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.
Data vintage: August 2026. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Every figure on PlainCars is rendered directly from NHTSA complaint and safety data, no number is typed in by an editor. This year-specific record is rendered from NHTSA ODI, recall, and NCAP rows for the 1989 GMC GMC; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.