1998 GMC Safari from North America - Comments

No major problems, routine brake maintenance, oil changes, etc.

Plastic thing along the bottom of the driver's seat came off and the rubber things at the bottom of the cupholders came out and needed re-gluing.

The engine is kind of hard to service since half of it is in the van.

This is a great van if you have a large family or need a lot of cargo space. It has tons of room, the beefy V6 has plenty of power, and the 4WD works great in winter.

My only complaints are lack of footroom in the front and the gas mileage isn't that great. It rides and handles like a truck but it's built on a truck chassis so that's expected. I like the interior options, no flimsy cupholders or thinly padded seats.

This van is in a class by itself, none of those other minivans can compare. Don't listen to Consumer Reports; listen to someone who actually owns this van, it's been very reliable. Good for towing a trailer or boat. If you don't want a large vehicle or don't want a boxy looking van then you should probably stick with a smaller van, but if you want a rugged family workhorse and don't mind driving a truck then this is the van for you.

I have a 99 GM Safari AWD. I guess if you call replacing pads AND rotors every 20,000 miles normal brake maintenance then you're right. Front end goes out of wack every 15,000. None of which, of course, is backed by GM.

I agree with this person, don't listen to some know it alls like Consumer Reports, listen to Safari owners. Check out what they have to say at Edmunds.com about this wonderful piece of machinery.

I use to own a 98 GMC Safari also. Two weeks after I bought it, I was cut off and when I hit the brakes, the entire pedal snapped in half leaving me to run into the back end of a Blazer. On top of that, the airbags did not deploy.

During light snow, this van would slip and slide all over the place. It was virtually impossible to go over 35mph without losing fishtailing.

I own a 98 safari AWD, Its the best Van I've owned.It has great load capacity and the motor has lots a power to spare. All though I had My share of break problems warping driver side rotor which turned out to be a sticking break caliper. Small price to pay for the exceptional traction in the winter which I would say is better than a 4wd because of the traction control. If you were thinking of a 4wd pickup, but have a family this Van is the way to go!!!

We own a 1998 GMC Safari, AWD Van. We purchased it used at Marty's GMC dealership, Kingston, MA in 2001 with 31,000 miles on it. Having owned two prior Chrysler Mini Vans, we needed a more substantial vehicle to occaisionally tow our boat. Vans have been preferable for us over SUV type vehicles for their comfort, room and practicality. The Safari Van has been quite comfortable and relatively reliable. However, the front brake pads seem to wear out every 8k-10K miles. In 30K miles we've had several ABS issues. The ABS sensors on two occaisions had to be replaced along with the ABS Booster. The vehicle design is great, the fuel economy is not. The towing ability is super and the All Wheel Drive System works exceptionally in the snow. However, between the several brake issues and other small items, i.e. replacing both power window motors,

shocks and tires (3rd set) currently at 60,000. miles this vehicle is a bit pricey to operate. I guess as we learned with Chrysler, the design is good, but the quality greatly lacks...also, the dealers and GMC warranty is of little value. We've found Marty's GMC service department to be outrageously priced, nothing short of criminal the way they7 operate!

I have owned a 1998 GMC Safari (conversion van) bought new in 1998. I bought an extended warranty since I had heard bad things about the Safari and Astro (sister to Safari). I'm now at 96000 miles and have had no problems until 50,000 miles. Since then I have had:

a new alternator,

new water pump,

replaced air conditioner tubing,

window motor,

three brake pad replacements,

two sets of tires,

fan belt,

and a vacuum connector.

Almost all under extended warranty.

Would I buy another one? Remarkably the answer is yes! But I would suggest buying an extended warranty. It is comfortable, tows well - except get significant sway (until put in a sway bar and powerful Monroe Sensatrac rear shocks). It uses a lot or gas - but after all it is a powerful engine...

We are at 78,500 on our 1998 Safari. I would not buy another. I admit we didn't research the van much prior to purchase, and most definitely agree with another poster that we should have purchased the extended warranty. We have had serious problems with the front end, needing an alignment about every 15k-20k miles because the shims drop out. I can always tell when it's about to happen by the clattering noise at the right side. The van doesn't feel stable (feels like it floats) running down the freeway - comment from the dealer was "they all do that". Needless to say, the dealer hasn't been any help at all with this issue. In addition, we've replaced the fuel pump (BIG ticket item), water pump and think we're probably going to need to replace the alternator due to difficulty starting and there's no charge indicated on the gauge. Whoever bought a Safari from the same batch that came off the line the day our's was manufactured must be having the same problems. I'm sorely disappointed with this GMC product. It's the worst vehicle I've ever owned.

I have a 1998 Safari AWD SLX at around 81,000 miles.

Praises: This vehicle is well-matched for a large, active, and practical family. It is built on a truck chassis to handle your family, their stuff, and still tow the boat. The AWD and significant ground clearance places it more qualified to handle rough conditions than some SUV's and much better than other minivans. I should know since I live in the Western Pennsylvania/West Virginia mountains. Every year I am amazed at the AWD's ability to handle snow/ice conditions on sharp mountain roads. Also been to the Rockies on AWD/4WD vehicle only roads. The reliability has been decent as well, with only one major problem.

Complaints: Bit of a gas hog (but it is a giant box). One major problem was having to replace idler arms once; apparently a common problem on these vehicles. Replace brake pads often, but the pads are covered by their manufacturer's warranty. Top-heavy and "boxy" vehicle that really sways around turns when loaded. Not-so-smooth work vehicle feeling. Seems a bit underpowered for such a large vehicle, but the engine still gets the job done. I'm tall and could use more leg room in the driver's seat.

I have a 1998 Safari, and it is by far the absolute worst vehicle I have ever owned in my life. I couldn't begin to list all the parts I have been through, many of them multiple times. Things you would never dream of going bad on a new vehicle (these problems started at about 12,000 miles).It has just been one thing after another. Even when some of them were covered by warranty, you still had the inconvenience of being without a vehicle while repairs were made, which usually took two trips to the dealer to convince them to fix it right. My biggest complaint is faulty wiring that has melted a.c. switches more than once in the dash and engine compartment. There are wires that get so hot you can't touch them with your hand. Window motors, catalytic converters, alternators, front end problems, a.c. switches and system problems, wiper motors, mirror switches (burned). GMC blew it on this vehicle.

I bought a used GMC 1998 AWD safari 2 yrs ago and use it for traveling. I've really enjoyed it and look forward to another road trip this fall in it. However I couldn't agree more with lot of theses comments on the problems with this van. Front end etc. I've had to have extensive front end work done. brakes/ front end parts had to be replaced and now I worried about the front alignment going out. If the front alignment goes out it will ware out the driver side front tire so fast it isn't funny.

Jim from

N.e Ohio.

Beware and avoid the GMC Safari or GM vehicles from 1996 to 2000+. We bought one new in 1998; it had a random missfire in the engine that wasn't noticeable until it had over 50,000 miles.

The engine light would come on and it would run rough at random, then snap out of it. Then at 97,000 miles it started running rough and missing, and the shaking of the van knocked the transmission out, so it cost 2500.00 to get another one.

One week later it wouldn't start. I was told all the fuel injectors and valves and wiring harness would have to be replaced. The code was rp300 which was a random misfire of over 30,000 times since it left the factory, and to get it fixed would cost 3 to 5 thousand dollars on top of the 2500.00 I just spent. I was told it happens in 1996 up to 2000+ GM motors, so we called GM and they said to take it to an authorized dealer and have it fixed, then call them with the total and they would maybe pay labor and parts or a portion of the bill.

Well GM would not help in any way to make it right, but said they would give a discount on the purchase of a new van. I guess they don't want to make recalls becouse there are so many with this problem.

I truly believed Chevy was #1 until this happened and they wouldn't back up this problem with under 100 thousand miles on this vehicle.

THIS IS A BAD DEAL WITH THE RANDOM MISSFIRE AND ALL THE WORK THAT HAS BEEN DONE AND COST, AND THE MECHANIC SAID EVENTUALLY THE GAS COULD GET INTO THE COMPUTER AND COUSE A FIRE. WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET A RECALL ON A PROBLEM THEY KNOW EXISTS IN MANY GMC VEHICLES? A FIRE TRAGEDY OF A INNOCENT PERSON OR FAMILY IN ONE OF THESE DEFECT VEHICLES???

So I guess my next vehicle won't be a Chevy of any sort. THANKS GM.

If you wonder how I got to this page, let me tell you that in all my entire existence, I've never been so discourage, upset, disapointed, furious, angry, frustrated and mad of buying a GMC safari 1998, from day one it broke down, continuous problems with fuel injection, gas pump, no ignition on cold and every time I went to the car dealer, they try to charge me a ridiculous price on repairs, right at this very moment that piece of junk is seating in my driveway useless bad piece of junk.

I didn't want to buy Japanese, but I got no choice ASTA LA VISTA GMC.

Potencial buyers good luck.

Pros - Vortec V6 runs forever!

Con's - Everything else sucks.

Under-dash wiring is bad.

Window motors have been replaced. Passenger side twice.

Window switches have a mind of there own. Windows roll down half way and stop. I have to shut the ignition off and turn it back on to get the switches to work again.

Exterior electric mirror switch is works sometimes.

Wiper switch has a mind of its own... sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. I try not to drive on days when I know it is going to rain.

Turn signals work sometimes.

AC blows only thru the defroster vent. Been fixed once under warranty and then started to blow through the defroster vent again after 6 mos.

Ignition switch is bad. Sometimes it starts and sometimes nothing.

Fuel pump just shut off one day while I was sitting at a stop light. Been replaced, but now makes a whining noise.

Windshield seal leaks on passenger side.

Rear door handle has been replaced twice.

Rear door locking mechanism failed. Could not open door.

Drivers door handle has been replaced.

Side sliding door interior panel came loose and was crushed when I tried to open the door. Now it just hangs there.

Sliding door weather stripping comes off sometimes when the door is opened.