1988 GMC C3500 Recalls

Recalls on record Updated July 2026

The 1988 GMC C3500 has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 1,702,880 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 1 complaint with NHTSA, most often about the service brakes, hydraulic. Last updated July 5, 2026.

Recall campaigns

POWER TRAIN 93V016000 1993-02-01 1,702,880 affected
Defect

UNANTICIPATED HEAT IN THE TRANSMISSION CAN FORCE THE TRANSMISSION FLUID OUT OF THE VENT TUBE.

Consequence

THE VENTED TRANSMISSION FLUID CAN CATCH FIRE IF EXPOSEDTO A SOURCE OF IGNITION.

Remedy

INSTALL A LONGER TRANSMISSION VENT HOSE ROUTED TO THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT OF THE VEHICLE.

Complaints by component

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS
1
Total complaints1

What owners report

Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.

“While driving at 45 mph and applying brakes, brakes went straight to the floorboard, and consumer lost all power steering and brakes. *ak”

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS · reported 1999-04-05

Defect investigations

Investigation EA92041 Opened 1992-12-08 · closed 1995-03-09

FUEL SYSTEM INTEGRITY

There is no summary currently available

Investigation PE88019 Opened 1988-01-19 · closed 1988-03-31

REAR BRK LIGHTS STAY ON

SUMMARY OF INFORMATION FROM MANUFACTURER:ON SOME 1988 C/K MODEL TRUCKSTHE BRAKE LIGHTS HAVE BEEN FOUND TO STAY ON AFTER THE BRAKE PEDAL HAS BEENRELEASED.IN A MAJORITY OF CASES, THE STOPLAMP SWITCH BEING MISADJUSTEDHAS BEEN THE CAUSE.OTHER POSSIBILITIES INCLUDE (A) BINDING AT THE EYELET OF THE BRAKE BOOSTER ROD AND…

Sources & methodology

Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1988 GMC C3500 as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.