1997 Chevrolet Tahoe

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE ON THE HIGHWAY ON NORMAL ROAD CONDITIONS, THE ENGINE SUDDENLY STALLED WITHOUT ANY WARNING LIGHTS. IT WAS ALSO VERY DIFFICULT PULLING OVER AND CONTROLLING THE VEHICLE WITHOUT POWER STEERING AND POWER BRAKES. THIS FAILURE HAS BEEN OCCURRING SINCE JANUARY 20TH, 2006 AND IT HAS OCCURRED ABOUT 100 TIMES. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN TAKEN 10 TIMES TO VARIOUS CHEVROLET SERVICE DEALERS FOR THIS PROBLEM. IT WAS ALSO TAKEN TO TWO AUTO REPAIR SHOPS WITH INDEPENDENT CERTIFIED MECHANICS. DIAGNOSTIC TESTING RESULTS FROM ALL DEALERSHIPS AND INDEPENDENT MECHANICS SHOWED NO MALFUNCTIONS.

DEAR NHTSA: I AM A SENIOR MECHANICAL ENGINEER AND OWNER OF A 1997 CHEVY TAHOE 4WD VEHICLE. I HAVE OWNED THE VEHICLE SINCE MID-2001. A FEW MONTHS AGO I STARTED TO NOTICE THAT PERIODICALLY, THE BRAKES WOULD NOT WORK PROPERLY WHEN PULLING TO A STOP. I CAN HEAR AND FEEL THE ABS SYSTEM PULSING THE BRAKES RAPIDLY, BUT IT PROVIDES EXTREMELY POOR STOPPING ABILITY. I HAVE HAD SEVERAL CLOSE CALLS WITH CARS IN FRONT OF ME, NOT TO MENTION PEDESTRIANS IN CROSSWALKS. THIS IS NOT CORRECT. I AM A FORMER ENGINE DESIGNER AND HAVE WORKED FOR FORD MOTOR COMPANY. I UNDERSTAND MECHANICAL SYSTEMS AND CAN TELL YOU THIS ISN'T GOOD...OR SAFE. I NOTICED IN THE PAPER THAT THERE IS A KNOWN ISSUE REGARDING GM TRUCK ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEMS. ADDITIONAL INTERNET RESEARCH CONFIRMED THIS. I AM LOGGING THIS COMPLAINT SO THAT NHTSA IS AWARE OF MY PROBLEM IN THE HOPES THAT GM WILL FIX THE PROBLEM FOR ME. I HAVE NOT TAKEN THE VEHICLE IN FOR REPAIR YET, AS I WAS RESEARCHING TO SEE WHAT COULD BE DONE ABOUT IT. IS NHTSA AWARE OF THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION? I LIVE IN MADISON, WISCONSIN...LAND OF A LOT OF SALT AND METAL CORROSION. PLEASE LET ME KNOW. SINCERELY, TIM HIGGINS. *NM

DT: THE CONTACT COMPLAINED ABOUT WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER MOTOR PROBLEM. THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS WORKED INTERMITTENTLY OR NOT AT ALL. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN INSPECTED TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM. THE CONTACT RECEIVED A LETTER FROM THE MANUFACTURER APPROXIMATELY 2 YEARS AGO, AND IT STATED THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER MOTOR FOR THIS TYPE OF VEHICLE. AT THE TIME OF THE LETTER IF SHE WAS HAVING PROBLEMS WITH VEHICLE SHE NEEDED TO BRING IT TO DEALER FOR SERVICE. *AK

THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS INTERMITTENTLY FAIL ON MY 1997 CHEV TAHOE. ALSO, HAVE EXPERIENCED TEMPORARY POWER LOSS OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS. OBSERVABLE AFFECTED COMPONENTS ARE THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS, ALL DASHBOARD LIGHTS, HEAD LAMPS AND INTERIOR LIGHTS, ACCOMPANIED BY BUZZING SOUNDS. HAS OCCURRED MORE THAN ONCE. HAS CAUSED NEAR ACCIDENTS DURING RAINY WEATHER AND IN POORLY LIT ROADWAYS. *JB

DT: THE CONTACT COMPLAINED ANTI LOCK (ABS) BRAKE SYSTEM. THE ABS WILL ACTIVATE WHILE DRIVING AT SLOW SPEEDS. THE SPEEDS WHEN THE ABS ACTIVATE VARIED FROM 3-10 MPH. THIS HAPPENED UNDER ANY DRIVING CONDITIONS. NO INDICATOR LIGHTS CAME ON TO INDICATE THERE WAS A BRAKE FAILURE. THE DEALERSHIP WAS CALLED AND ASKED HIM TO BRING THE VEHICLE FOR REPAIRS AT CONTACT'S EXPENSE. THERE WAS A RECALL BUT IT DDID NOT INCLUDE THIS VEHICLE. *AK

WINDSHIELD WIPERS WORK INTERMITTENTLY IF AT ALL, I UNDERSTAND THERE WAS A RECALL FOR THIS IN THE 1997 CHEVROLET TAHOES AND OTHER VEHICLES, I UNDERSTAND THAT IT ONLY COVERED CERTAIN MANUFACTURING PLANTS, I AM FLABBERGASTED THAT IF THIS IS A PROBLEM IN ALL THE VEHICLES WHY THEY WILL NOT FIX THIS PROBLEM FOR CONSUMERS. IT IS A VERY BIG SAFETY CONCERN. *JB

NO ACCIDENT YET. MY 1997 TAHOE IS EXHIBITING THE SAME SYMPTOMS AS DESCRIBED IN THE MEDIA FOR 1999 AND NEWER GM TRUCKS REGARDING THE WHEEL SPEED SENSOR FOR THE ANTILOCK BRAKES. STOPPING FROM SPEEDS UNDER 5 MPH, THE BRAKE PEDAL CHATTERS, THE ANTILOCK BRAKE UNIT MOANS, AND THE TRUCK IS SLOW TO COMPLETELY STOP. THIS STARTED SPORADICALLY LAST WINTER AND HAS GOTTEN WORSE, NOW ABOUT 30% OF THE TIME. I CALLED CHEVROLET'S CUSTOMER SERVICE TODAY (10/13/2005) AT 11:10, SPOKE TO BAGAYA BONNER WHO TOLD ME THE RECALL AFFECTED 2000-2002 TAHOES. MINE WOULD NOT BE INCLUDED, AND IF I HAD THE PROBLEM FIXED, IT WOULD BE AT MY EXPENSE (GM WOULD NOT REIMBURSE SINCE THERE WAS NO RECALL ON MY VEHICLE). I AM USING TODAY'S DATE AS THE INCIDENT DATE, BUT THE PROBLEM BEGAN LATE FALL 2004 AND IS ONGOING. *NM

DT: 1997 CHEVROLET TAHOE. THE CONTACT FOUND RECALL 03V159000, BUT BASED ON THE AGE AND MILEAGE OF THE VEHICLE, THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT WILLING TO COVER IT ANY LONGER. THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN HAPPENING SINCE APPROXIMATELY SEPTEMBER 5, 2005. THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS WERE WORKING INTERMITTENTLY. THERE HAS NOT BEEN ANYTHING DONE TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM YET. *AK