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1994 GMC Safari problems

The most common problem on the 1994 GMC Safari is brakes. It has 6.6 times the complaints of a typical Safari model year.

Typical year6.6x the typical complaints
Owner complaints
119
Recalls
1
Service bulletins
23
Worst area
Brakes
Fuel economy
15-17mpg

The worst 1994 GMC Safari problems

Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.

Problems by type

Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.

  • Brakes
    39
  • Visibility
    30
  • Suspension
    15
  • Airbags
    8
  • Electrical
    8
  • Engine
    5
  • Steering
    5
  • Fuel system
    4
  • Seats
    4
  • Transmission
    4
  • Acceleration
    3
  • Body
    3
  • Seat belts
    2
  • Wheels
    1

Specific symptoms reported on the 1994 GMC Safari

Wipers 28ABS 15No deployment 6Brake failure 5

Recalls 1

Equipment: other: labelsReported May 9, 1994 · 2,255 vehicles affected
What is wrong
The manufacturer's certification label and/or the driver air bag advisory label may be missing from the vehicles, which does not conform to the requirements of 49 cfr 567.
Risk
Consequence of non-compliance: owners of vehicle would be unaware of the load capacity of the vans, the van build date, and would not have any assurance that the vans meet the federal motor vehicle safety standards.
Remedy
The labels will be furnished to owner's for installation on the vehicles.

Recall number 94V087000 · Recall details

See all 1 recalls for the 1994 GMC Safari

Defect investigations

Windshield wiperOpened March 8, 1999, closed May 31, 2002

RQ99003

Technical service bulletins for the 1994 GMC Safari 23

Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.

See all 23 bulletins for the 1994 GMC Safari

1994 GMC Safari fuel economy

Official EPA estimates in miles per gallon (MPGe for electric). Ranges cover trims that share the same engine.

EngineDriveCityHighwayCombined
4.3L 6‑cylRWD14-1519-2016-17
4.3L 6‑cyl4WD14-1517-1915-16

What 1994 GMC Safari owners say

Most recent owner complaints, unedited.

Filed Jan 30, 2007 · Transmission · 155,000 miles · MN · crash

Tl*- the contact stated that while fueling the 1994 gmc safari (15 with the vehicle running the transmission switched gears from park to reverse,, resulting in striking the vehicle behind it. The contact reentered the vehicle, shifted the loose gear into drive and moved the vehicle forward to a parking space. The vehicle w2asa drivable, but the gear shift was loose.

Filed Aug 16, 2005 · Suspension · 165,000 miles · MI

Driving a 1994 gmc safari awd and at a stop had the 41" torsion bar snapped. Searched for replacement from salvage yards but they have stopped selling them due to liability reasons, need to install adjustment equipment sold by gm with a cost of $800.

Filed Apr 5, 2005 · Visibility · 69,000 miles · CA

When driving during rainy weather, the windshield wiper failed intermittently. The dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak there were numerous recalls on other year and makes of the safari vans for the same problem. *sc

Filed Sep 29, 2004 · Suspension · 148,100 miles · CO

The van was going down the i25 north of denver when the left front torsion bar snapped. I have driven many race cars and brining the van to a stop was the hardest I have ever done. By driving skills, luck and the good lord I am here today to write this complaint. Does general motors need to wait for a family to die before they will step up to the plate. I did not know of this problem until I went to get parts and that is when I find that gm knows they have defective torsion bars and supersedes the part numbers to shorter (from 40" to 36" bars) these bars are redesigned and must be replaced in pairs. I have the van torn down now with the failed part and it upsets me enough that I am going to let the van sit until general motors does something about this. Note that the gmc safari awd vans and the chevrolet astro awd vans are the same vehicle with the same problem.

Filed Jan 15, 2004 · Electrical, Engine · 123,000 miles · GA

We purchased this vehicle 2 years ago. Shortly thereafter, we had a problem in a mall parking lot wherein the electrical system (dash board, power windows, A/C, radio) failed at the very same time as the transmission, which would not shift out of 1st gear. The problem went away after we turned the car off and waited a few minutes. It happened only two other times. Recently, it happened again, but is not fixed by turning the car off and restarting. It has been suggested that it is a wiring problem, but to date, we have not found anyone familiar with the problem and they all want to replace our transmission. It seems odd that the transmission and electrical problems happen at the same time, so electrical sounds more likely to us. The van has been sitting idle for almost 2 months now, as we are hesitant to spend a lot of money to fix it and even more hesitant to take it to someone who is not familiar with the problem and just wants to replace the transmission without guarantee that this will fix the problem. Please let me know if you have heard of this before and, if so, what the problem is.

Filed Nov 13, 2003 · Visibility · 89,000 miles · VA

Windshield wipers failed on several occasions on a trip, during travel in a rainstorm. On one occasion, I pulled over and damaged the right side running board due to inability to see. This is a dangerous flaw and needs to be addressed by the factory.

Filed Nov 10, 2003 · Visibility · 58,710 miles · IN

Recall complaint the federal safety agency recall no. 03v159/gm recall no. 03023.the (above) recall is concerning the failure of a windshield wiper system that fails due to a bad circuit board/motor assembly. There are many vehicles involved including 1994 vehicles, but for the gmc safari only 1995-1997 models are listed. My 1994 gmc safari experienced the same failure mode as the other 1994 vehicles listed and the 1995-19997 safari models. The service repair receipt indicates the failure mode in agreement with the recall notice description. I had my vehicle repaired due to non-operation of my wiper system at a cost of $341.75. When the recall notice for this failure mode was announced it did not include the 1994 safari model year. I have had repeated conversations with gmc recall office and they indicate that my vehicle is still not part of the recall. Upon my own investigation, I found a 1995 gmc safari and found it had the same wiper motor assembly as my (1994) vehicle, this vehicle is covered for the failure recall, but mine is not. I indicated this to gmc but there was nothing they can do but accumulate complaints on other vehicles not covered in the recall. I have waited over 8 months since the recall announcement for an update, but they indicated no update was available. I believe the federal safety agency should investigate adding the 1994 gmc safari to the recall complaint notice the federal safety agency recall no. 03v159/gm recall no. 03023. Please indicate what further action I can take in order to recover my expense ($341.75) in repairing the same defect which has been recalled on other safari models and on other 1994 general motors vehicles with the same failure mode description. Thank you joseph d. Jaklic 317.877.3304 [email protected] .

Filed Sep 15, 2003 · Visibility · 74,000 miles · UT

The vehicle experienced the same failure with its windshield wiper motor as stated in recall 03 v 159 000, but the vehicle was not included in the recall due to the vehicle. *ak the incident occurred during a heavy rain storm. *scc

Filed Sep 10, 2003 · Acceleration · 10,250 miles · MS

Our 1994 gmc safari accelerated suddenly twice within 2 hours. First incident on i40 near brinkley, ar while my wife was passing another vehicle. She switched the A/C from max to normal and the accelerator suddenly went to the floor. She stopped the problem by using both feet on the brakes and pumping 3 or 4 times to prevent the accelerating van from hitting the car in front of her. The cruise control switch was off. The second time occurred while driving about 35 to 40 MPH. She touched nothing on the dash or the turn signal stalk. The accelerator went to the floor again and it took several pumps of the brakes to stop the car. It appears to be connected to the cruise control since pumping the brakes stops the acceleration.

Filed Sep 8, 2003 · Visibility · 100,000 miles · MI

The vehicles windshield wipers experienced the same defect as stated in recall 03v159000. The vehicle was not included in the recall due to VIN.

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Compare the 1994 GMC Safari

Other model years

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Questions about the 1994 GMC Safari

Is the 1994 GMC Safari reliable?

Owners have filed 119 complaints about the 1994 GMC Safari, 6.6 times a typical Safari model year.

What is the most common problem with the 1994 GMC Safari?

Brakes, with 39 complaints. Next is visibility (30).

How many recalls does the 1994 GMC Safari have?

1 recall, covering equipment.

What year does the GMC Safari have bad brakes?

The GMC Safari model years with the most brakes complaints are 1995 (60 complaints), 1994 (39 complaints) and 1993 (30 complaints).

What gas mileage does the 1994 GMC Safari get?

Official estimates for the 1994 GMC Safari range from 15 to 17 mpg combined. The most efficient version (4.3L 6-cyl, RWD) gets 14-15 city and 19-20 highway.

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