GMC Sonoma
The GMC Sonoma appears on NHTSA's register for model years 1984 to 2005: 15 recall campaigns (26 model-year entries) and 1,341 consumer complaints.
The component named most often in complaints is service brakes, hydraulic (284.1 per 1,000 component mentions), followed by visibility (138.3).
The 1994 model year has the most complaints (223). Recall campaigns peaked in 1997 with 5; complaints were received in the largest number in 1999 (160). Within GMC, this line ranks 8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 GMC Sonoma NHTSA record | 0 | 1 | 1% | — |
| 1990 GMC Sonoma NHTSA record | 0 | 1 | 1% | — |
| 1991 GMC Sonoma | 1 | 29 | 37% | 1,125,749 |
| 1992 GMC Sonoma | 1 | 25 | 32% | 1,125,749 |
| 1993 GMC Sonoma | 2 | 58 | 74% | 1,198,413 |
| 1994 GMC Sonoma | 2 | 223 | 283% | 1,711,807 |
| 1995 GMC Sonoma | 3 | 213 | 270% | 3,269,392 |
| 1996 GMC Sonoma | 6 | 148 | 188% | 3,440,520 |
| 1997 GMC Sonoma | 2 | 111 | 141% | 732,225 |
| 1998 GMC Sonoma | 3 | 156 | 198% | 67,968 |
| 1999 GMC Sonoma | 0 | 57 | 72% | — |
| 2000 GMC Sonoma | 3 | 135 | 171% | 237,815 |
| 2001 GMC Sonoma | 1 | 89 | 113% | 156,305 |
| 2002 GMC Sonoma | 0 | 56 | 71% | — |
| 2003 GMC Sonoma | 1 | 38 | 48% | 183,922 |
| 2004 GMC Sonoma NHTSA record | 1 | 0 | 0% | 183,922 |
| 2005 GMC Sonoma NHTSA record | 0 | 1 | 1% | — |
"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 Sonoma complaints (1,735 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 Sonoma model years have the most recalls?
1996 (6), 1995 (3), 1998 (3). Across model years 1984–2005 there are 15 distinct campaigns.
Which GMC Sonoma model year has the most complaints?
1994, with 223 of the line's 1,341 complaints. Newer model years have had less time to accumulate reports.
What do owners of the GMC Sonoma complain about?
service brakes, hydraulic (284.1 per 1,000 mentions), visibility (138.3 per 1,000 mentions), engine and engine cooling (74.9 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 24 Sep 2026 and 15 May 2019.
Provenance
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation recall, complaint and investigation flat files, public domain, dated 24 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.