1999 GMC Jimmy SLS 4.3L from North America

Summary:

A headache

Faults:

Thermostat broke and heater blower relay, replaced Door hinge, upper and lower pins, bushings with retainers on driver side door. Replaced engine block heater.

Fuel sending unit, and fuel pump.

Replaced both sets of oil coolant lines.

Water pump replaced.

Loose bolt on lower steering shaft. Replaced SIR Coil, had to reseal power steering pump.

Right inner axle CV boot split and replaced.

General Comments:

Basically once my 1999 Jimmy hit between 100,000-150,000 Km, everything started to go wrong. Other than routing maintenance such as brakes, oil changes, replacing a battery, almost every major component to this vehicle has been fixed other than the engine and transmission.

To answere he question about the gas gauge not working at 1/2 full I had the same problem. When I got it checked out it was diagnosed as the fuel sending unit. Because the part automatically comes with a new pump and the labor to remove and fix was over $1000, I decided to clock my mileage for quite some time. However, eventually my fuel pump went. The smartest thing to do, is what I did. Find a used fuel pump as it comes all together with a sending unit, and replace it all at once. My mechanic, (one that I could trust) got me the used fuel pump and sender for $300. Took 2 hours in labor. So for $500 the problem was fixed. (DO NOT GO TO A GMCDEALER)

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 18th March, 2007

1999 GMC Jimmy from North America

Summary:

Bad vehicle, buyer beware

Faults:

Alternator went at 37,000 miles.

Passenger side hub assembly and ABS sensor went 52,000 miles.

Driver side hub assembly at 62,000 miles.

Driver side door is to heavy for pins (Over $200.00 to replace, have not done that yet)

Has some sort of electrical problem as headlights, and dash boards lights flicker when they want.

Major oil leak at 65,000 miles.

General Comments:

This is the worst vehicle ever made in my opinion. There are no recalls on the 1999 GMC Jimmy and there should be for the hub assembly's at the very least. This vehicle was used by a dealer for a loaner, we bought it when it had 33,000 miles on it and it now has 68,000 miles and I beg my husband to sell it. We still could get a good price and now would be the time before something eles happens.

Two thumbs down on the GMC Jimmy.

2 other family members own the same vehicle and have had all the same problems and more as the miles get racked on.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 15th February, 2007

1999 GMC Jimmy SLS 4.3L Vortec V6 from North America

Summary:

Half-baked SUV

Faults:

Alternator died at 101,000 miles.

Driver's seat has large hole in it.

Hinges on both doors sagging badly, driver's side seems almost to the point of falling off - not to mention nearly impossible to shut.

Oil leaking from valve covers, etc, etc.

4 Wheel drive system broken; front axle does not engage, transfer case control module persistently confused about encoder motor's position, resulting in 4x4 low range lock-in.

A/C motor constantly switches on and off every few seconds, even when A/C is not on at the control panel.

Strange grinding/vibration coming from the front left wheel.

Suspension too soft and floaty.

Overly sensitive steering.

General Comments:

The subject GMC Jimmy is not owned by me personally, my sister-in-law actually owns it. That being said, I do drive it from time-to-time and recent experiences have driven me to warn others about this poor quality vehicle.

This vehicle has just over 100k miles and is starting to fall apart!

It left me stuck in 4x4 low-range, requiring me to drive home at ~35 mph, then I had to pull the transfer case "encoder" motor to manually switch it back.

The front doors are nearly impossible to shut correctly with the hinges failing.

The ride is comfortable and the seats are also fairly comfortable.

However, the suspension is actually too soft and floaty, making the truck difficult to keep going straight.

The steering is short on positive feedback and a little too sensitive.

This vehicle does not provide a confident-feeling driving experience. Though not terribly unconfident-feeling, it could be much better.

There are many nice luxury features in the Jimmy SLS, but the poor quality and engineering put into it make many of those features prone to break.

My "well-used" Honda CR-V has only about 30k miles less than the Jimmy and has had no problems.

...now tell me again why the American auto industry is struggling to stay afloat ;-)

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 3rd January, 2007

23rd Jun 2008, 15:42

How can you comment on a vehicle that you don't drive on a regular basis?

Is there proper maintenance done on it? I see a lot of Jimmys on the road that are way older than mine... telling me the vehicle has longevity... but from reading these comments, is/was it at a price?

6th May 2009, 16:22

I drive a 1999 GMC Jimmy 4x4 with over 100,000 miles on it, and even after a pretty hard front end collision recently, the only thing wrong with it was that the fan was broken and had to be replaced. The quality of the vehicle depends on the owner. Regular basic service and maintenance can do wonders, so please don't condemn a vehicle because of bad maintenance.