2001 GMC Safari SLE AWD from North America - Comments

Within the first week, the starter had failed due to moisture seeping in, and it had to be towed to the dealer.

At around 50,000 km, I would notice when turning a tight circle, the inside back wheel would spin and hop, the vehicle would shudder. I was told by the dealer this was normal, initially. Actually, the problem was in the all wheel drive transfer case.

It was supposedly repaired, the "hopping" and shuddering was gone, but after winter arrived, it was apparent that it was only operating in 2 wheel drive. The back wheels would sit and spin. It took 2 more visits to get the All wheel drive working properly.

That work lasted for almost 1 year, then the "service all wheel drive" light came on. It was again only working in 2 wd. This time, the AWD encoder motor had failed.

The service engine light comes on frequently, and the code indicates a problem with too rich fuel mixture, yet the dealer says the setting for fuel injection are normal, my mileage is fine so I am told to ignore the indicator.

I had a 1996 Astrovan before this and it was much more reliable, except the transmission went at 102,000 kms. But no all wheel drive problems. Repairs were $1200.

Unless GM gets their act together, I would not recommend buying anything with all wheel drive made by them.

Also the dealer's first line of defence seems to be to tell you nothing is actually wrong. It is up to you to prove otherwise. Very annoying.

I have a 1994 GMC Safari van and have over the past 2 years spent over Can$285.00 per month just on repairs. Now it needs another 950.00 to fix the rear transfer case. We had a Dodge van before and no such problems with the same mileage on it, around 200'000. On the Safari, two years ago we had to rebuild the motor for 4500.00. Now the power steering pump leaks, the heater fan quit and the cruise control at the wheel is broken. We will now just fix the transfer case and have it for sale. All in all I do not recommend this car. I believe that components such as the motor and transmission should not fail at this point of age. I am fed up and now bought a smaller, but more reliable car. Also pay less fuel costs. Anyone wants to buy a Safari for Can$ 3500.00 is welcome to contact me

W. Gysi, Enderby, BC, Canada, wgysi@hotmail.com.

I have a 2001 gmc safari slt all wheel drive, it works fine. I had it three years and never had any problems. Now it has 49,000 miles on it. I shopped hard for thirty days and looked at almost every brand of minivan there was. Decided to buy the gmc after all the research and time and I'm happy I did. Sorry to hear about all of the problems other poeple have, but it might not be the van, it might be driving habits, who drives the vehicle and the basic regular vehicle maintenance that is the problem here.

I own a 2001 GMC Safari. Within 3 months of having it I need to have the rear sliding door actuators replaced. Leaving the dealership after having that replaced my steering column started grinding. I had to turn around and have that checked. I was told nothing was wrong with the car. My husband had to get indignant with the service manager to get in the car and hear for himself.

Steering column repaired the same day. 2 Years later I had to have the whole turning switch replaced which also affected my brake lights. this cost me 600.00 (including the brake light ticket I received that alerted me to the problem!) 1 year after that I need to have major suspension work done 800.00. 2 months after that my whole instrument panel, radio and cd player went out due to a major shortage in the cassette player (never used) more money!!! I wish I had done my homework on this van. I let the sturdy appearance fool me!!! Also, their customer service leaves a lot to be desired.

I have had 5 different GMC Safari AWD vans. My last one, a 2001 model I opted to purchase after its' lease was up.

While I had some early concerns, they were all minor in nature and could more properly be traced back to the selling dealer as they were fixed easily when I took the van to a different GMC dealer.

I spent about $4,000.00 CDN. when I bought out the lease having everything on the van overhauled, brakes done, all fluids drained and flushed and a front drive shaft C/V joint replaced.

Other than this (and I was picky... I wanted EVERYTHING overhauled.) The only maintenance costs I have had for any of the five vans have been for brakes & tires. I found that Nokian Hakkapalita tires (in 215/70R15 size) lasted best on these vans as well as improving the handling considerably... and I typically put about 60,000 km/yr on the vans.

My current van has over 184,000 km on it and still looks and drives like it rolled off the showroom floor. I am quite disappointed that GM has seen fit to discontinue this model as it was the best combination of family vehicle and cargo hauler I have ever seen.

I will continue to own this unit and with proper maintenance, I expect it to last for some time to come.