GMC Yukon 1992–1999
1st generation · GMT400 (GMT410/430)
NHTSA data through 13 August 2026852 complaints, 197 with mileageMethod
- Reports with mileage
- 197
- Median of reported failures
- 92,000 mi
- Most-reported system
- Hydraulic brake circuit (29.9%)
- Recalls
- 0
Before-you-buy checklist ↓Check this VIN — NHTSA ↗
On this generation, failures are spread across the mileage range, with the middle half between 70,000 and 120,000 miles.
Figure 1 · GMC Yukon 1992–1999 · 197 reports with mileage
Mileage at failure
Complaints per 20,000-mile bin, 0 to 200,000 miles, equal bins on a linear scale. Tallest bar = 47 complaints.
- Rest of the range
- Median
- 200,000+ — 5 complaints (2.5%), plotted separately
- 10%
- 50,000
- 25%
- 70,000
- Median
- 92,000
- 75%
- 120,000
- 90%
- 161,000
Show the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 0–20,000 | 5 | 2.5% |
| 20,000–40,000 | 8 | 4.1% |
| 40,000–60,000 | 16 | 8.1% |
| 60,000–80,000 | 41 | 20.8% |
| 80,000–100,000 | 47 | 23.9% |
| 100,000–120,000 | 30 | 15.2% |
| 120,000–140,000 | 12 | 6.1% |
| 140,000–160,000 | 17 | 8.6% |
| 160,000–180,000 | 11 | 5.6% |
| 180,000–200,000 | 5 | 2.5% |
| 200,000+ | 5 | 2.5% |
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, public domain. Complaint counts reflect what owners reported and are not a measure of failure rate per vehicle sold.
What this can and cannot tell you: these are complaints owners chose to file, not a failure rate. Popular models accumulate more of them simply by being common. How this is built.
Owners filed 852 complaints with NHTSA about the 1992–1999 GMC Yukon, and 197 of them record the mileage at which the failure happened. That is enough to show not just what fails, but when.
Failures are spread across the mileage range, with the middle half between 70,000 and 120,000 miles. The median is 92,000 miles.
The most-reported areas are the hydraulic brake circuit (29.9% of complaints, typically around 90,000 miles), the steering (11.3% of complaints, typically around 92,000 miles), visibility equipment (9.3% of complaints, typically around 98,000 miles).
If you arrived asking “is it reliable?” — this page answers the version of that question the data can support: which problems owners reported, and at what mileage.
How many miles does a 1992–1999 GMC Yukon last?
Half of the failure reports on the 1992–1999 GMC Yukon were filed by 92,000 miles and 90% by 161,000 miles — figures drawn from 197 NHTSA complaints that record an odometer reading, so they time reported failures, not the cars whose owners never filed one.
5 reports (2.5%) came in past 200,000 miles — each one proof a Yukon reached that mileage, not that it died there.
Before you buy a 1992–1999 Yukon: the 3-minute check
Generated from 197 mileage-tagged complaints, 3 documented problem areas. Print this page — the checklist survives print.
- Check fuel system on 1996–1999 (5.7L Vortec) cars. Central Sequential Fuel Injection (CSFI) 'spider' injector assembly on the Vortec 5.7L: the poppet-valve nozzles and pressure regulator leak internally, causing hard starting, rough idle, misfire and raw fuel odor. GM's…
- Check transmission on 1992–1999 cars. 4L60-E 3-4 clutch pack and sun shell failure producing loss of 3rd/4th or flare shifts, especially in towing use.
- Check brakes on 1992–1999 cars. Kelsey-Hayes EBCM / wheel speed sensor faults causing ABS activation at low speed and extended stopping distance; steel brake line corrosion in road-salt states.
- Complaint reports are not spread evenly across model years here — see the by-model-year table below before you settle on a year.
- End with a pre-purchase inspection of this car. Aggregate data describes the population; the example in front of you has its own history.
For a buyer, failures on this generation are spread rather than concentrated: the middle half falls between 70,000 and 120,000 miles, with a median of 92,000. There is no single mileage threshold to watch, which means condition and maintenance records are more informative than the odometer.
On inspection, the hydraulic brake circuit and the steering are where this generation's reports concentrate, so those are the areas worth a specific look. The hydraulic brake circuit in particular shows a median failure mileage of 90,000, which gives a concrete number to compare against the odometer of any car you are considering.
None of this is a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection on the individual car. Aggregate patterns describe a population; the example in front of you has its own history.
What fails, and when
Figure 2 · GMC Yukon 1992–1999
When each system fails
Bar spans the middle half of reports; the notch inside each bar is the median. Miles at failure on a proportional scale — equal distances are equal ratios, not equal miles.
- Hydraulic brake circuit255 reports90,00069,000–114,000Hydraulic brake circuit: 255 reports, median 90,000 miles, middle half 69,000 to 114,000 miles.
- Steering96 reports92,00070,000–102,000Steering: 96 reports, median 92,000 miles, middle half 70,000 to 102,000 miles.
- Visibility equipment79 reports98,00078,000–132,000Visibility equipment: 79 reports, median 98,000 miles, middle half 78,000 to 132,000 miles.
- Transmission and driveline59 reports100,00098,000–140,000Transmission and driveline: 59 reports, median 100,000 miles, middle half 98,000 to 140,000 miles.
- Your odometer — appears after you enter it in “Where your car sits”
Ordered by median mileage, earliest first. The first 12,000 miles are shaded: that is the boundary this site uses between a manufacturing defect and ordinary wear, not a property of the world.
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, public domain.
| System | Complaints | Share | Median | 25–75% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hydraulic brake circuit | 255 | 29.9% | 90,000 | 69,000–114,000 |
| Steering | 96 | 11.3% | 92,000 | 70,000–102,000 |
| Visibility equipment | 79 | 9.3% | 98,000 | 78,000–132,000 |
| Transmission and driveline | 59 | 6.9% | 100,000 | 98,000–140,000 |
| Seats | 50 | 5.9% | — | — |
| Electrical system | 45 | 5.3% | — | — |
| Fuel system | 39 | 4.6% | — | — |
| Engine and its cooling system | 35 | 4.1% | — | — |
| Suspension | 33 | 3.9% | — | — |
| Tyres | 24 | 2.8% | — | — |
Where your car sits
Failure reports by the odometer reading they were filed at. Pick the anchor nearest your car — or type the exact mileage: your marker lands on this curve and on the timing chart above.
Figure 3 · GMC Yukon 1992–1999 · 197 reports with mileage
Share of reports below each mileage
Share of mileage-tagged reports filed at or below each odometer reading. Steps rise only at bin edges, by exact counted shares.
- 60,000 mi — 15% of reports below
- 120,000 mi — 75% of reports below
- Median — the staircase crosses the 50% line here
- Your odometer — appears after you enter it below
The staircase tops out at 97%: the remaining 2.5% of reports (5) came above 200,000 miles.
Nothing is smoothed or interpolated. Linear axis, same as Figure 1.
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, public domain.
At 60,000 miles
15% of the failure reports on this generation came below this mileage. That describes reports, not your odds.
Mostly reported later
- Hydraulic brake circuit — middle half 69,000–114,000 mi
- Steering — middle half 70,000–102,000 mi
- Visibility equipment — middle half 78,000–132,000 mi
- Transmission and driveline — middle half 98,000–140,000 mi
At 90,000 miles
45% of the failure reports on this generation came below this mileage. That describes reports, not your odds.
In the reporting window
- Hydraulic brake circuit — middle half 69,000–114,000 mi
- Steering — middle half 70,000–102,000 mi
- Visibility equipment — middle half 78,000–132,000 mi
Mostly reported later
- Transmission and driveline — middle half 98,000–140,000 mi
At 120,000 miles
75% of the failure reports on this generation came below this mileage. That describes reports, not your odds.
Reported earlier than this mileage — ask for repair records
- Hydraulic brake circuit — median 90,000 mi
- Steering — median 92,000 mi
In the reporting window
- Visibility equipment — middle half 78,000–132,000 mi
- Transmission and driveline — middle half 98,000–140,000 mi
Which systems, and when
Complaints about this generation are not spread evenly across the vehicle, and the systems that generate the most of them do not all fail at the same point in a car's life. The median failure across all systems here is 92,000 miles; the figures below show which parts of the car run ahead of that and which run behind.
The hydraulic brake circuit accounts for 29.9% of complaints (255 reports, 72 of them with a mileage figure), with a median of 90,000 miles, close to the vehicle's overall pattern. The middle half of these reports falls between 69,000 and 114,000 miles.
A single system taking 29.9% of all complaints is a concentration worth noting. It means that for this generation, most of what owners reported came back to one area of the car rather than being distributed across many small faults.
The steering accounts for 11.3% of complaints (96 reports, 21 of them with a mileage figure), with a median of 92,000 miles, close to the vehicle's overall pattern. The middle half of these reports falls between 70,000 and 102,000 miles.
Visibility equipment accounts for 9.3% of complaints (79 reports, 23 of them with a mileage figure), with a median of 98,000 miles, close to the vehicle's overall pattern. The middle half of these reports falls between 78,000 and 132,000 miles.
The transmission and driveline accounts for 6.9% of complaints (59 reports, 11 of them with a mileage figure), with a median of 100,000 miles, close to the vehicle's overall pattern. The middle half of these reports falls between 98,000 and 140,000 miles.
Differences between model years
Within this generation, complaint volume is not constant across model years. The 1999 model year drew the most — 262 complaints — while 1992 drew the fewest at 23. The median year sits at 90.
That makes 1999 an outlier: roughly 2.9 times the median year of this generation. A single year standing that far apart usually reflects either a first-year issue that was later corrected, or a component change introduced for that year. Anyone shopping this generation has a straightforward reason to prefer a different year, all else being equal.
Recalls and what they cover
No recall campaigns covering this generation appear in NHTSA's post-2010 recall file. That is not the same as an absence of problems — recalls address safety defects specifically, and many of the complaints above concern faults that are expensive or annoying without meeting that threshold.
Reported severity
What owners reported alongside the failure itself, out of 852 complaints against this generation:
- Crashes
- 76 (8.9%)
- Fires
- 11
- Injury reports
- 35
- Fatality reports
- 4
These flags are self-reported by complainants and unverified by NHTSA; one report can carry several flags, so the counts overlap and do not sum to a total. They are not adjusted for how many of these vehicles are on the road. No chart is drawn here on purpose: overlapping counts spanning very different magnitudes cannot be honestly encoded as lengths.
Documented problems
Fuel System 1996–1999 (5.7L Vortec)
Central Sequential Fuel Injection (CSFI) 'spider' injector assembly on the Vortec 5.7L: the poppet-valve nozzles and pressure regulator leak internally, causing hard starting, rough idle, misfire and raw fuel odor. GM's later fix was the MFI conversion kit with individual injectors.
Transmission 1992–1999
4L60-E 3-4 clutch pack and sun shell failure producing loss of 3rd/4th or flare shifts, especially in towing use.
Brakes 1992–1999
Kelsey-Hayes EBCM / wheel speed sensor faults causing ABS activation at low speed and extended stopping distance; steel brake line corrosion in road-salt states.
By model year
| Year | Complaints | With mileage |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 23 | 0 |
| 1993 | 19 | 0 |
| 1994 | 71 | 14 |
| 1995 | 117 | 4 |
| 1996 | 90 | 10 |
| 1997 | 180 | 27 |
| 1998 | 90 | 42 |
| 1999 | 262 | 100 |
What owners reported
Vehicle experienced the same defect with its windshield wipers as stated in recall 03 v 159 000. The consumers vehicle was not included in the recall due to VIN. The windshield wiper worked almost 70% of the time. Sometimes the wiper wouldn't shut off by using the switch but when the would finally go off the stopped…
1994 · 38,000 miles · Visibility equipment
When braking hard, especially in a downhill motion on wet or snowy roads the brakes lock up. Removing one's foot from the pedal does not release the braking action. Only when the tires stop skidding does the braking action release, allowing for one to "try again" by applying the brakes more gently. By then the vehicle…
1994 · 90,000 miles · Hydraulic brake circuit
Built from 197 NHTSA complaints with mileage · snapshot 2026-08-18 · open data · reproduce this page