Recall Register

1979 GMC K20: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 2 recall campaigns for the 1979 GMC K20. The newest campaign is 81V010000. NHTSA received the report on 13 Jan 1981. The NHTSA record gives the component Service Brakes, Hydraulic / Power Assist / Vacuum. NHTSA has no complaint on file for this model year.

The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on these campaigns.

This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.

Remedy of the newest campaign, 81V010000, in the NHTSA record

Vehicles will be inspected for fatigue cracks in the brake vacuum booster. Those without cracks will have a support brace installed. Those with evidence of cracking will have a new brake vacuum booster and support brace installed. This service will be provided at no charge.
NHTSA VIN lookup

Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.

NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on . Complaint file through . Recall file through .

Since the last update

No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks

All updates to the register

Recall campaigns

2 campaigns, newest first. 336,005 units in total.

  1. 81V010000Received . 320,677 units.

    Service Brakes, Hydraulic / Power Assist / Vacuum

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Fatigue cracks may develop in the brake vacuum booster housing. This may cause a vacuum leak and reduce the effectiveness of the brakes. After prolonged use, the cracks may develop to the extent that the booster may separate from the vehicle.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Vehicles will be inspected for fatigue cracks in the brake vacuum booster. Those without cracks will have a support brace installed. Those with evidence of cracking will have a new brake vacuum booster and support brace installed. This service will be provided at no charge.

    Report filed by GENERAL MOTORS CORP..

  2. 79V142000Received . 15,328 units.

    Exterior Lighting / Brake Lights / Switch

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    On the involved vehicles the brake stoplight and cruise control switch which is operated by the brake pedal may have been assembled with an incorrect lubricant on the actuating plunger. This can cause the rear brake stoplights to become inoperative and the cruise control, if activated, to stay electrically engaged.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Dealer will inspect and, if necessary, replace the brake stoplight and cruise control switch at no cost to owner.

    Report filed by GENERAL MOTORS CORP..

The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.

Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

Complaints by component

The NHTSA complaint file has no complaint for this model year.

Investigations

The NHTSA investigation file has no investigation that names this model year.

Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.

Other model years

The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.

  1. 19761
  2. 19771
  3. 19792
  4. 19801
  5. 19821
  6. 19902

A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.

Official channels

Cite this page

Recall Register. 1979 GMC K20: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/gmc/k20/1979/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through .

Sources

Source
NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence
US government work, public domain
Recall file through
29 Sep 2026
Complaint file through
29 Mar 2018
First complaint in the file
1 Jan 1995
Manufacturer in the recall file
GENERAL MOTORS CORP.

The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 1979 GMC K20?
336,005 units in 2 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the GMC K20 have for all model years?
NHTSA lists 6 recall campaigns for the GMC K20, model years 1976 to 1990. 2 of them name the 1979 model year.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 1979 GMC K20 open?
The NHTSA investigation file has no investigation that names this model year.