A dealership diagnosed that right/ front upper ball joint has failed and must be replaced. Also, dealership informed consumer that this vehicle was not affected by any recall. Consumer must cover all expenses for replacement of the ball joints. Please provide any additional information / documentation.
1996 GMC Sonoma: ball joint or control arm failure
5 of the 148 complaints about the 1996 GMC Sonoma describe ball joint or control arm failure.
- owner complaints
- 5
- of this car's complaints
- 3%
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
Ball joint or control arm failure by model year
- 20031
- 20011
- 20004
- 19991
- 19971
- 19965
- 19942
- 19911
What owners say
Ball joints broke twice while driving.
Drivers side upper ball joint failed while driving. Truck pulled immediately to the left, no oncoming vehicles. Upon further inspection, by two seperate facilities, all ball joints (upper/lower/drivers side/passengers side) were found to be defective. These parts are lubercated (greased) 3-4 times a year, typically every other oil change.
There are numerous, substantial safety hazards to these vehicles which appear to be common knowledge to mechanics but denied by dealerships. The ball joints are apparently common failures according to massachusetts safety inspectors and are deemed to be an extreme safety hazard. They state that dealerships regularly deny any responsibility for this failure. My vehicle is extremely well cared for, not abused in any way, and has experienced defects, which in my opinion demonstrate gross negligence on the part of gmc's engineering/production. I am also a professional engineer, and prepared to testify the same.
This is an update to a previously submitted report for ABS failure on this vehicle. The incident date on this report is approximate. The two wires to the right front ABS sensor were severed by interference with the upper control arm and the disk brake back plate/splash shield, to which the wiring is attached with riveted metal clips. It appears that the wires became trapped between the upper control arm stamping and the hub and/or disk brake back plate/splash shield, possibly during turns that cycled the front suspension. The wiring insulation is worn in several locations other than the break point, and the first metal clip has been torn off the pop rivet that holds it to the backplate/splash shield. This is the second time this wiring has failed due to this design or installation defect. The first failure was repaired under warranty. No repairs have been performed at this time as we have been waiting for recall information from gm, which arrived recently, but it addressed an ABS programming problem that affected braking on surfaces that transitioned from wet to dry and back.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 1996 GMC Sonoma ball joint
Is ball joint or control arm failure a common problem on the 1996 GMC Sonoma?
5 of 148 owner complaints about the 1996 GMC Sonoma (3%) mention ball joint or control arm failure. The model year with the most reports is 1996.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 1996 GMC Sonoma?
There is no recall or service bulletin for this area of the car on record.
Other symptoms on the 1996 GMC Sonoma
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