1997 Chevrolet Suburban fuel system problems

Filed Jul 15, 2012 · Brakes, Fuel system · 223,000 miles · NJ

December 2009, replaced ruptured brake lines above the rear differential. Severely rusted. July 15, 2012, ruptured brake line by the driver side floor board and fire wall. Severely rusted. Fuel lines under the vehicle is also severely rusted. Leak can cause fire. Brake failure occurred during driving on road.

Filed Mar 9, 2006 · Fuel system · 98,000 miles · IL · fire

1997 chevy suburban in-tank fuel sending unit fire: bought vehicle used with 88000 miles. Events leading up to the failure / burn up of the unit included intermittent fuel pump and fuel gauge failure, had pump replaced by patrick gmc, problem persisted, had dealer wolf chevrolet check fuel pressure throughout system (ok). Also noticed an intermittent burning smell. I then purchased from the dealer a replacement sending unit and another fuel pump, as soon as I took the sender out of the tank it was obviously charred and the modular connector burnt to a crisp, wires completely exposed with the insulation gone partially disintegrated the ABS plug. This thing got really hot repeatedly. The lower explosive limit was luckily never reached within the tank or there could have been a spontaneous explosion, especially if the tank lost its seal and allowed outside air inside, (such as when the tank is empty and is pulling vacuum), for instance unscrewing the gas cap in ideal conditions next to a gas pump with a 44 gallon tank void sucking in as much oxygen in as the filler tube will allow, and hitting that glowing red hot sending unit. Old part is in my possession and is the original factory sender. Incident date is approx. When I performed the repair and discovered the burned up sender.

Filed Nov 30, 2004 · Fuel system · 180,000 miles · VA

The fuel injection pump failed intermittently, causing the vehicle to stall. Dealership repaired the problem, but problem recurred.

Filed Jul 6, 2004 · Fuel system · 128,300 miles · CA

The fuel injection pump has failed again on my 1997 chevy suburban, 6.5 liter diesel engine. I have owned this car for two years. The vehicle history from my dealership shows this will be the 6th fuel injection pump to be installed on this vehicle, all of which are covered by gm's 120,000 factory warranty & a 12 month 12,000 mile service guarantee after the 5th pump was installed. August of 2003, the pump failed while driving in my neighborhood & was replaced when the mileage was at 116,503, under factory warranty. June 27, 2004, and mileage of 128,300 (11,800 miles later) the pump has failed again. The pump failed on a very busy & dark street at nighttime on a bend in the road as I was driving home with my wife & two kids in the car. When it failed the engine died and we were stuck in traffic. The car is black and it was dark, unable to move, we were almost rear ended by several cars coming up the hill and rounding the bend in the road. Eventually I was able to get the car started and it ran just enough to allow me to get the car out of harm's way before dying again. I then had it towed to the dealership that had performed the last fuel injection pump. At this point, it is still in the shop and the service writer told me that injection pump had gone bad and that he is currently waiting for warranty approval for replacement as well as the new pump itself to arrive. I have spoken to many owners of chevy and gmc trucks and suburbans with the 6.5 liter diesel, years 1994-1999, via the following website http://thedieselpage.com. Apparently, this is a very common problem that gm should resolve. To date, gm has only increased the factory warranty from 100,000 miles to 120,000 in an attempt to make good. This is still a serious safety issue when you lose power and become a serious safety hazard in traffic. Gm needs to come up with a permanent fix that prevents this from happening again, not just one that lasts for a few miles and then happen all over again.

Filed Mar 18, 2004 · Fuel system · 130,000 miles · FL

Fuel injection system injectors failed twice. As a result, vehicle stalled. The part was replaced four times,however problem still exists.

Filed Feb 14, 2004 · Fuel system · NM

1997 chevrolet suburban fuel tank safety concerns electric fuel pump failure, wiring harness inside tank melted per certified mechanics at motor car mall, peralta, nm is there no circuit protection?

Filed Sep 15, 2003 · Fuel system · KY · fire

Wire harness caught on fire in fuel tank without warning.

Filed Aug 1, 2003 · Electrical, Fuel system · MI

Consumer states that fuel pump failed due to electrical connectors inside the gas tank melting against the pickup tube. The problem was made apparent because of constant fuses blowing out.

Filed Jul 25, 2003 · Brakes, Fuel system · 79,275 miles · CA

Fuel pump wiring inside the fuel tank short circuited, and could have caused my suburban to blow up, since I had just filled it with over 30 gallons of gas that morning. My fuel pump had to be replaced, along with a new wiring assembly and float mechanism. My mechanic said the short circuit was more than likely due to over amperage of the fuel pump. That in turn, caused the wires inside the fuel tank to melt together and short out the ECM fuse, twice. I believe chevrolet is very lucky that no one was hurt. I hope others are as lucky as I was! P.s. Power steering and brakes are also very poor!! Bad design...1997 was a lemon suburban, and should have been recalled and designed all over again!

Filed Jul 21, 2003 · Fuel system · 112,300 miles · OH

Had fuel pump failure. When serviced, the electrical wires inside the gas tank were burned and the connector was melted inside the tank. The insulation on the gray wire was melted off and the wire was burnt. Was very lucky that it did not explode. If the tank had been empty, it would have because of the presnece of oxygen in an empty tank. Went to bob richards chevrolet in august,ga and they said it was not a safty issue and that they knew of the problem. Had to pay $700.00 out of my pocket because of this problem that chevrolet knows about and won't recall.