GMC C3500
The GMC C3500 appears on NHTSA's register for model years 1970 to 1996: 9 recall campaigns (15 model-year entries) and 26 consumer complaints.
The component named most often in complaints is service brakes, hydraulic (302.3 per 1,000 component mentions), followed by power train (116.3).
The 1994 model year has the most complaints (8). Recall campaigns peaked in 1990 with 1; complaints were received in the largest number in 1995 (6). Within GMC, this line ranks 43 of 129 by total complaints.
Complaints are consumer reports and have not been verified by NHTSA.
Model years
| Model year | Recalls | Complaints | vs line average | Units in campaigns |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 GMC C3500 NHTSA record | 1 | 0 | 0% | 11,328 |
| 1971 GMC C3500 | 3 | 0 | 0% | 152,850 |
| 1974 GMC C3500 NHTSA record | 1 | 0 | 0% | 2,788 |
| 1986 GMC C3500 NHTSA record | 0 | 1 | 50% | — |
| 1988 GMC C3500 NHTSA record | 1 | 1 | 50% | 1,702,880 |
| 1989 GMC C3500 | 2 | 1 | 50% | 1,897,123 |
| 1990 GMC C3500 | 2 | 0 | 0% | 1,897,123 |
| 1991 GMC C3500 NHTSA record | 1 | 2 | 100% | 1,702,880 |
| 1992 GMC C3500 | 2 | 2 | 100% | 1,703,057 |
| 1993 GMC C3500 NHTSA record | 1 | 4 | 200% | 1,702,880 |
| 1994 GMC C3500 NHTSA record | 1 | 8 | 400% | 988,587 |
| 1995 GMC C3500 NHTSA record | 0 | 5 | 250% | — |
| 1996 GMC C3500 NHTSA record | 0 | 2 | 100% | — |
"vs line average" is the model year's complaints as a share of the line's average per model year (100% = average). A campaign covering several model years counts once per year. Model years with one campaign and fewer than 25 complaints are listed but have no page of their own; the NHTSA link opens the agency's record.
Components most reported
Per 1,000 component mentions across all GMC C3500 complaints (43 mentions).
Campaigns by year reported
Complaints by year received
Other GMC model lines
- Sierra 98 recalls · 3,850 complaints
- Sierra 1500 117 recalls · 3,489 complaints
- Yukon 129 recalls · 2,788 complaints
- Jimmy 41 recalls · 2,716 complaints
- Acadia 72 recalls · 2,564 complaints
- Envoy 41 recalls · 2,336 complaints
- Suburban 36 recalls · 1,814 complaints
- Sonoma 26 recalls · 1,341 complaints
- Sierra 2500 93 recalls · 1,183 complaints
- Safari 36 recalls · 1,135 complaints
- Terrain 40 recalls · 1,076 complaints
- Yukon Denali 1 recalls · 853 complaints
- Yukon XL 92 recalls · 843 complaints
- Envoy XL 12 recalls · 590 complaints
- Canyon 54 recalls · 507 complaints
- Yukon Denali XL 0 recalls · 453 complaints
- Savana 132 recalls · 313 complaints
- Yukon XL 1500 2 recalls · 304 complaints
- Sierra 3500 99 recalls · 279 complaints
- Envoy XUV 0 recalls · 175 complaints
- GMC 47 recalls · 155 complaints
- Denali 4 recalls · 153 complaints
- L Series 0 recalls · 151 complaints
- C1500 13 recalls · 133 complaints
- S Utility 0 recalls · 131 complaints
- Envoy XL 370 0 recalls · 124 complaints
- Envoy Denali 0 recalls · 117 complaints
- S Series 0 recalls · 106 complaints
- K1500 18 recalls · 91 complaints
- Yukon XL Denali 1 recalls · 80 complaints
- Envoy 360 0 recalls · 69 complaints
- 1500 4 recalls · 64 complaints
- Vandura 2 recalls · 62 complaints
- C/K Pickup 1 recalls · 61 complaints
- S15 17 recalls · 54 complaints
- Yukon Hybrid 0 recalls · 54 complaints
- C2500 14 recalls · 49 complaints
- K2500 19 recalls · 47 complaints
- Envoy Denali XL 0 recalls · 42 complaints
- C15 37 recalls · 40 complaints
- Savana 1500 3 recalls · 40 complaints
- T Series 6 recalls · 32 complaints
- C3500 15 recalls · 26 complaints
- K15 28 recalls · 23 complaints
- Savana 3500 3 recalls · 22 complaints
- G25 13 recalls · 16 complaints
- Topkick 25 recalls · 15 complaints
- K3500 9 recalls · 12 complaints
- C25 32 recalls · 11 complaints
- W4500 17 recalls · 9 complaints
- G35 19 recalls · 8 complaints
- C5500 5 recalls · 8 complaints
- C35 41 recalls · 7 complaints
- S10 3 recalls · 7 complaints
- K25 25 recalls · 6 complaints
- W3500 15 recalls · 5 complaints
- C6500 14 recalls · 5 complaints
- G20 7 recalls · 5 complaints
- Sierra HD 5 recalls · 5 complaints
- C10 4 recalls · 5 complaints
Questions and answers
Which GMC C3500 model years have the most recalls?
1971 (3), 1989 (2), 1990 (2). Across model years 1970–1996 there are 9 distinct campaigns.
Which GMC C3500 model year has the most complaints?
1994, with 8 of the line's 26 complaints. Newer model years have had less time to accumulate reports.
What do owners of the GMC C3500 complain about?
service brakes, hydraulic (302.3 per 1,000 mentions), power train (116.3 per 1,000 mentions), steering (116.3 per 1,000 mentions). Complaints are consumer reports and have not been verified by NHTSA.
Where does this data come from?
NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation recall and complaint flat files, public domain, dated 29 Sep 2026 and 15 May 2019.
Provenance
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation recall, complaint and investigation flat files, public domain, dated 29 Sep 2026 and 15 May 2019. Model names are as NHTSA records them; variants such as "Accord" and "Accord Hybrid" are separate lines. See the methodology.