Total Complaints
4 filings
GMC SAVANA 3500 · model year
4 NHTSA complaints. 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
The 2009GMCSAVANA 3500 carries 4 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 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 2009 SAVANA 3500 is service brakes, hydraulic with 1 filings, followed by wheels (1) and suspension (1). Complaint categories reflect owner reports and intake categorization; they do not establish a defect pattern or cause.
NHTSA currently has 2 investigation files overlapping the 2009 SAVANA 3500. 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.
Total Complaints
4 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | 1 |
| WHEELS | 1 |
| SUSPENSION | 1 |
| FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 |
FUEL TANK CORRODES AND LEAKS FUEL ON ROADWAY
Mileage: 150,000
FLEET VEHICLE I FOR SERVICE THOUGHT TIRE WAS BAD, UNDER CLOSER INSPECTION, WELD FAILED CAUSING RIM TO SPLIT FROM INNER MOUNTING HUB CAUSING 3/-1/2 INCH CRACK AT TIRE BEAD. I HAVE BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR 22 YEARS I HAVE NEVER SEEN A FAILURE LIKE THIS, I WILL KEEP THE RIM IN CASE YOU WANT IT FOR STUDY.
Mileage: 118,602
FLEET VEHICLE I FOR SERVICE THOUGHT TIRE WAS BAD, UNDER CLOSER INSPECTION, WELD FAILED CAUSING RIM TO SPLIT FROM INNER MOUNTING HUB CAUSING 3/-1/2 INCH CRACK AT TIRE BEAD. I HAVE BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR 22 YEARS I HAVE NEVER SEEN A FAILURE LIKE THIS, I WILL KEEP THE RIM IN CASE YOU WANT IT FOR STUDY.
Mileage: 118,602
WHEN TOWING A TRAILER WITH MY 1 TON GM VAN DOWN HILL AND BRAKING THE FRONT END SHAKES ALMOST UNCONTROLLABLY. THE MANUFACTURER KNOWS ABOUT IT AS THEY HAVE IT IN THE OWNERS MANUAL. THEY CLAIM THE BRAKES GET HOT AND TO DOWN SHIFT THE VAN. THEY ALSO SAY FAILURE TO DO SO COULD RESULT IN A COMPLETE LOSS OF BRAKES AND A CRASH. GM TECH SAYS ON MY REPAIR ORDER THAT WHEN BRAKES GET HOT THEY WILL PULSATE THEN WHEN THEY COOL THEY GO BACK TO NORMAL. PER TAC NO REPAIRS AT THIS TIME CASE [XXX]...[XXX]. ALL 1/2 TON, 3/4 TON, AND 1 TON VANS ARE IN THIS CATEGORY AS NO SPECIFIC MODEL OF SAVANA/EXPRESS WAS MENTIONED IN THE OWNERS MANUAL. OBVIOUSLY A DESIGN FLAW THEY KNEW ABOUT IN THE BEGINNING AND CHOSE NOT TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).*TR
Mileage: 17,500
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 2009 GMC SAVANA 3500; 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.