Total Complaints
6 filings
GMC Sierra · model year
1988 GMC Sierra
6 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
- Complaints
- 6
- Recalls
- 0
The verdict
The 1988 GMC Sierra posts top-quartile complaint standing among its own model-year siblings.
- Top 14%
- fewest complaints, own model years
- 0
- recall campaigns
The 1988GMCSierra carries 6 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 1 fire, 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 1988 Sierra is tires:tread/belt with 2 filings, followed by service brakes, hydraulic:antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip (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 1988 Sierra. 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.
6
Complaints
0
Crashes
1
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
F
PlainCars Safety Score
0/100
1988 GMC Sierra
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
0 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 |
|---|---|
| TIRES:TREAD/BELT | 2 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP | 1 |
| SUSPENSION | 1 |
| POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:COOLING UNIT AND LINES | 1 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:LINKAGES | 1 |
Recent Complaints
20040810TIRES:TREAD/BELT
WHILE DRIVING CONSUMER HEARD A NOISE, . AFTER PULLING OVER AND EXITING THE VEHICLE IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT TIRE TREAD SEPARATED.*AK
20020312TIRES:TREAD/BELT
WHILE TRAVELING ON HIGHWAY AND WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING FRONT TIRE TREAD SEPARATED FROM VEHICLE. UNIROYAL LARADO ALL SEASON. *AK CONSUMER STATES WHILE PULLING A 24 FOOT TRAILER, WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING FRONT UNIROUAL LAREDO TIRE 37000 MILES ON, SIZE LT 245/75R16C, DOT#AN11DAU143, TREAD SEPARATED FROM VEHICLE. *YD
20010821VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:LINKAGES
THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THAT THE ACC.ELERATOR BRACKET BROKE AT THE POWER STEERING PUMP/I ALSO HAD A CHEVROLET ASTRO VAN THAT USED THIS SAME BRACKET AND IT BROKE ON ME AT THE SAME EXACT SPOT. *AK
19990217FirePOWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:COOLING UNIT AND LINES
WHILE DRIVING TRANSMISSION COOLING UNIT AND LINES MALFUCTIONED, CAUSING A LEAK IN THE TRANSMISSION, WHICH SPRAYED TRANSMISSION FLUID ONTO THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD, CAUSING A FIRE. DEALER CANNOT DETERMINE PROBLEM. PLEASE PROVIDE DETAILS. *AK
19981130SUSPENSION
ALIGNMENT KIT AND ADJUSTMENTS WERE NOT INSTALLED ON VEHICLE AT TIME OF PURCHASE.
19971223SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
WHEN THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED THEY BECOME HARD, RESULTING IN EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCES. THE DEALER HAS INSPECTED THE BRAKES, THEY CANNOT BE REPAIRED. *AK
Compare 1988GMCSierra to Similar Vehicles
NHTSA Investigations
Vehicle Safety Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
How many complaints does the 1988 GMC Sierra have?▼
The 1988 GMC Sierra has 6 NHTSA complaints, 0 crashes, 1 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What are the most common problems with the 1988 GMC Sierra?▼
The most-complained component for the 1988 GMC Sierra is TIRES:TREAD/BELT with 2 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP and SUSPENSION.
Is the 1988 GMC Sierra 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 1988 GMC Sierra; 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.