1998 GMC Jimmy

THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED, I STARTED THE VEHICLE AND LEFT THE PARKING LOT, STOPPED AT A STOP SIGN, PROCEEDED INTO THE ROADWAY AND ENGINE DIED. EVERYTHING WENT OFF - ALL POWER ALL ELECTRICAL. I HAD JUST PURCHASED THE VEHICLE SECOND HAND AND THE OWNER TOLD ME LATER THAT SHE HAD BATTERY PROBLEMS, BUT SHE PUT IN A NEW BATTERY. THE DEALER COULD NOT FIX IT. MY HUSBAND FIGURED IT WAS THE IGNITION SWITCH. I KEPT THE CAR FOR TWELVE YEARS AND HAD TO CHANGE IT TWICE, PLUS THE INITIAL REPAIR WAS WARRANTIED. WHEN IT FIRST OCCURRED IN 2000 I LOOKED FOR A RECALL, BUT THERE WAS NONE. I REMEMBER THE PREVIOUS OWNER HAD A VERY LARGE KEYCHAIN, AND WE DID FIGURE OUT ON OUR OWN TO CARRY A SINGLE KEY, BUT AFTER ABOUT 5-6 YEARS YOU STILL NEED TO CHANGE THE IGNITION, YOU CAN TELL CAUSE THE ELECTRONICS START GOING WACKY IN THE VEHICLE. THEN IT WON'T START, LIKE YOU THINK ITS THE BATTERY. IT IS SAD THAT PEOPLE DIED FROM THIS AND THAT GMC CANNOT ADMIT THAT THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON, I KNOW SINCE 1998. I NOW KNOW WHY I GOT SUCH A GOOD DEAL ON THE VEHICLE, THAT PERSON COULD HAVE KILLED ME, BY NOT TELLING ME THE TRUTH! *TR

I HAVE A GMC JIMMY THAT IS EXPERIENCING MULTIPLE DASHBOARD FAILURES. WHEN I FILL THE GAS TANK THE GAUGE GOES TO EMPTY, THEN WHEN I DRIVE A WHILE IT GOES TO FULL AND THEN BACK TO EMPTY. I NEVER HAVE A PARTIALLY FULL READING. ALSO THE AIR BAG LIGHT COMES OFF AND ON. MY OIL PRESSURE GAUGE REVES UP AND DOWN LIKE I AM OUT OF OIL. I PULL OFF THE ROAD AND CHECK AND THE OIL IS FINE. I AM NOT SURE WHAT TO DO ABOUT THIS. I TOOK IT TO THE GM DEALER AND THEY WANT MORE THAN I CAN AFFORD JUST TO LOOK AT IT AND CAN'T GUARANTEE ANYTHING. I DID PAY $85 TO PUT IT ON THE DIAGNOSTIC TESTER BUT THIS NEVER SHOWED UP. PLEASE HELP! *TR

I WAS DRIVING A 1998GMC JIMMY FROM OKLAHOMA CITY, OK TO WALTERS, OK. EVERYTHING WAS GREAT AND THE CAR WAS DRIVING PERFECTLY. I WAS ON THE HE BAILEY TURNPIKE ON HIGHWAY MARKER 30 - I COULD SEE THE SIGN AND PULL OFF FOR THE FAXON EXIT AND THE BIG SIGN FOR WALTERS. A FEW WISPS OF WHITE SMOKE APPEARED AND THEN HEAVY GREY SMOKE STARTED TO BILLOW INTO MY FACE THROUGH THE RIGHT SIDE VENT OF THE DRIVER'S SEAT. I STARTED TO COUGH AND COULDN'T SEE SO I PULLED OVER TO THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD. AS I GOT OUT OF THE CAR, I PULLED THE HOOD RELEASE AND RAN TO THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLES. UNDER THE HOOD, HALF OF THE ENGINE BAY WAS ALREADY BURNED AWAY - LIKE THE BOTTLE FOR ANTI-FREEZE AND HOSES.... THE WHOLE ENGINE BAY WAS ON FIRE. THE CAR WAS GONE AT THAT POINT - THERE WAS NO WAY TO SAVE IT. I RAN TO THE PASSENGER FRONT SEAT AND GRABBED A BASKET THAT HAD MY CENSUS ID AND I THREW IT AWAY FROM THE CAR. I GRABBED SOME CDS THEN TOO, BUT THEY WERE ON FIRE. THE DASH WAS ON FIRE AND WAS SPREADING INTO THE FRONT SEAT. I THREW THE CDS IN THE DIRT TO EXTINGUISH THE FIRE. I GRABBED THE PASSENGER SIDE DOOR OF THE BACK SEAT AND GRABBED A HAMPER WITH PRESENTS FOR MY DAUGHTER. I RAN TO THE OTHER SIDE BACK SEAT AND GRABBED THE LEGAL PAPERS OF CENSUS APPLICANTS - THEY WERE ON FIRE AND I SNUFFED OUT THE FIRE IN THE DIRT. I GRABBED MY JEAN JACKET WITH MY MILITARY ID AND DRIVER'S LICENSE - THE BACK SEAT AND FRONT SEAT WERE ON FIRE AND I RAN AWAY FROM THE VEHICLE AND IT FIREBALLED AND EXPLODED. TWO MEN FROM THE TURNPIKE MAINTENANCE SAW ME DRIVING - SMOKING POURING OUT FRONT HE VEHICLE; THEY SAW ME PULL OUT ON THE SHOULDER AND SAW ME RUNNING TO SALVAGE WHAT I COULD FROM THE BURNING VEHICLE. THEY CAME TO HELP ME AND CALLED THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND HIGHWAY PATROL. MINOR INJURIES I HAD SMOKE INHALATION, MINOR BURNS TO FACE - SOOT ON HANDS & FEET. UNK MILEAGE. 1ST SOLD 12/31/97 BOUGHT FROM ORG OWNER 1/19/09 THESE ARE PICS HTTP://S229.PHOTOBUCKET.COM/ALBUMS/EE16/GFERCAKS33/MOM%20CAR/. *TR

DRIVE AN 1998 GMC JIMMY WITH AROUND 172,000 MILES ON IT (I KNOW THIS IS A LOT OF MILES). HAD THE LOCAL GM DEALER WORK ON MY REAR DEFROSTER (ONE OF THE CLIPS FELL OFF). AFTER RECEIVING THE VEHICLE BACK FROM THE DEALER I TURNED MY DEFROSTER ON ABOUT TWO WEEKS LATER. THE BACK WINDOW EXPLODED LIKE A SHOTGUN AFTER ABOUT 15-20 SECONDS. DEALER SAYS REAR DEFROSTER VOLTAGE REGULATOR MUST HAVE WENT BAD. I ARGUED THAT A FUSE SHOULD HAD BLOWN BEFORE AN EXPLOSION TOOK PLACE. GM COMPLAINT DEPARTMENT ALSO DISAGREES, SAYING THAT THE VEHICLE IS OLD AND THINGS LIKE THIS HAPPEN. LUCKILY, NO ONE WAS STANDING BY THE REAR WINDOW WHEN IT EXPLODED BECAUSE IT PROBABLY WOULD HAVE KILLED THEM. IF I'M WRONG TELL ME I'M WRONG BUT I BELIEVE GM IS RESPONSIBLE FOR NO ONLY REPLACING THE WINDOW BUT FIXING THE REAR DEFROSTER VOLTAGE REGULATOR. I HOPE THIS IS AN ISOLATED CASE BUT MAYBE BY REPORTING THIS I CAN PREVENT SOMEONE FROM GETTING HURT (INCLUDING A GM TECHNICIAN). *TR

THE ENGINE CONTINUALLY MISFIRES. THERE IS A TSB BULLETIN #00-06-04-003B. DEPOSIT BUILDUP ON POPPED VALVE BALL &/OR SEAT, CAUSING IT TO STICK. THERE IS A RECALL BECAUSE OF THIS BUT ONLY IN CALIFORNIA. I LIVE IN ALASKA. I GOT AN ESTIMATE OF $1200 BUCKS TO FIX THIS PROBLEM. BECAUSE OF THIS, I ONLY GET 5-7 MPG, AND HAVE LITTLE POWER. ALSO, MY ABS LIGHT TURNS ON AND THE ABS ACTIVATES AT LOW SPEEDS ON DRY GROUND. MY ELECTRICAL SYSTEM IS TOTALLY MESSED UP. MY RIGHT CLICKER JUST THE SOUND NOT LIGHT) GOES OFF WHEN DRIVING. IT IS COMPLETELY ERRATIC AND UNPREDICTABLE. MY SPEAKERS TURN OFF AND ON SPORADICALLY. *AK MY DRIVER SIDE SEAT ADJUSTER BROKE OFF WITH LITTLE PRESSURE. MY STEERING WHEEL CONTINUOUSLY PULLS TO THE RIGHT. THIS MANY PROBLEMS IN A VEHICLE IS RIDICULOUS. WHAT A LEMON. ESPECIALLY SINCE I HAVE SEEN THE SAME EXACT COMPLAINTS ALL OVER THIS SIGHT ABOUT THIS SPECIFIC VEHICLE.

I HAVE A GMC JIMMY AND THE ELECTRICAL SWITCH KEEPS GOING ON IT. FOR TWO YEARS NOW THIS IS THE THRID ONE I HAD TO REPLACE. WHEN THE SWITCH GOES, YOU NO LONGER HAVE ANY DASH LIGHTS AND YOUR TRANSMISSION DOES NOT WORK PROPERLY. YOU ONLY HAVE 2ND, AND 3RD GEAR WHICH CAUSES A HAZARD BECAUSE YOU HAVE VERY LITTLE POWER WHEN YOU ARE AT A COMPLETE STOP AND THEN PROCEED TO GO. YOU BETTER MAKE SURE NOTHING IS COMING AS FAR AS YOU CAN SEE BECAUSE YOU START OUT VERY VERY SLOWLY AND IT TAKES A WHILE TO GET GOING AT A FASTER RATE TO KEEP UP WITH TRAFFIC. YOU ALSO DO NOT KNOW ON HOW FAST YOU ARE TRAVELING FOR A SAFE SPEED. I FIND THIS PROBLEM TO BE VERY DANGEROUS FOR THE DRIVER AND OTHERS OUT THERE ON THE ROAD AND CONSIDERING IT HAS HAPPENED 3 TIMES WITHIN 2 YEARS, I BELIEVE SOMETHING SHOULD BE LOOKED INTO FURTHER ON THIS.

NOTED ISSUES WITH MY 98 JIMMY (PURCHASED 12/97)THAT I HAVE HAD TO REPAIR WHICH I BELIEVE WERE DEFECTIVE PARTS: 1) 10/00 MILEAGE=57248 REPLACED FAULTY IGNITION SWITCH DUE TO DASH BOARD LIGHTS NOT WORKING 2) NOT REPAIRED TO DATE: WIPERS HAVE HAD OCCASIONS THEY DID NOT WORK. I USUALLY CAN GET THEM WORKING BY TURNING THEM ON/OFF A FEW TIMES. INTERMITTENT MODE TAKES A LONG TIME(3-10 SECONDS) TO START RUNNING IN BEST SCENARIO. 3) BOTH FRONT RECLINING SEAT LEVERS BROKE OFF(BRITTLE METAL ROD)WITHIN FIRST 3 YEARS OF USAGE. I HAVE NOT REPLACED DUE TO COST OF REPLACING COMPLETE SEAT ASSEMBLIES IS ONLY FIX. 4) 12/04 MILEAGE=129,518 THROTTLE CHOKE PLATE ASSEMBLY DISINTEGRATED PARTIALLY AND JAMMED THROTTLE OPEN. THIS ALMOST CAUSED AN ACCIDENT AS COULD NOT COME TO A COMPLETE STOP WHILE CAR WAS RUNNING. AFTER BROKEN PIECE WORKED ITS WAY PAST THE VALVES I NEEDED $1900 IN CYLINDER HEAD REPAIRS. *JB