IllustrationINTERMITTENTLY POWER STEERING GOES OUT AT 25MPH AND LOWER. DEALER HAS DUPLICATED THE PROBLEM, BUT HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. *AK
1997 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1997 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 525.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Silverado 1500 years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
60–25K
1725–50K
2850–75K
3975–100K
35100–150K
22150K+
147 reports with mileage · 408 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Steering. Review the 140 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 123 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Visibility. Review the 75 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
29 crash reports13 fire reports13 injury reports
What owners actually said
555 reportsWHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED ANDWHEN CHANGING LANES OR TURNING A CORNER, STEERING SEEMS TO GET VERY LOOSE. OWNER HAS TRIED TO REPORT THIS PROBLEM TO THE DEALERSHIP. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK
BRAKES FAILED WHILE DRIVING WITH ENTIRE FAMILY IN CAR.
FUEL LINE IS LEAKING FROM FUEL INJECTION, CAUSING FUEL TO GO THROUGH WIRE HARNESS, AND EAT AWAY AT HARNESS AND THEN COMPUTER. *AK
TRUCK STEERS ERRACTICALLY WHEN TAKING (NAVIGATING CURVES) A MILD RIGHT TURN AT MODERATE SPEEDS (20-50MPH). THIS DOES NOT OCCUR ON LEFT TURNS AND SEEMS TO MANIFEST ITSELF BY GIVING MORE "ASSIST" TO STEERING EFFORT THAN NEEDED. WHEN STEERING INTO A CURVE, WITH A STATIC, STEADY GRIP AND FORCE ON THE STEERING WHEEL, THE POWER ASSIST…
Read full complaint
TRUCK STEERS ERRACTICALLY WHEN TAKING (NAVIGATING CURVES) A MILD RIGHT TURN AT MODERATE SPEEDS (20-50MPH). THIS DOES NOT OCCUR ON LEFT TURNS AND SEEMS TO MANIFEST ITSELF BY GIVING MORE "ASSIST" TO STEERING EFFORT THAN NEEDED. WHEN STEERING INTO A CURVE, WITH A STATIC, STEADY GRIP AND FORCE ON THE STEERING WHEEL, THE POWER ASSIST MECHANISM SUDDENLY "MAKES IT EASIER" TO STEER, HENCE CAUSING OVERSTEER. ONE DEALER CLAIMS THAT A STEERING POSITION SENSOR HAS GONE DEFECTIVE. THIS IS DEFINITELY A SAFETY ISSUE AND IT WAS BROUGHT TO THE FOREFRONT WHEN TODAY, DRIVING AT 30MPH, I NEARLY OVERSTEERED INTO A YOUNG WOMAN AND HER BABY ON THE SIDEWALK WHEN NEGOTIATING A VERY MILD RIGHT CURVE. I'M GETTING THIS FIXED AT THE NEXT OIL CHANGE ...
WHEN SHIFTING GEAR INTO REVERSE VEHICLE ACCELERATED OUT OF CONTROL. DRIVER STEEPED ON BRAKE PEDAL, BUT VEHICLE CONTINUED TO ACCELRATE. *AK
FUEL INJECTORS FAILED CAUSING LEAKAGE ONTO ENGINE WIRING HARNESS AND ENGINE COMPONENTS RESULTING IN SEVERAL COMPONENT FAILURES AND REPLACEMENTS. MJS
SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT FAILED. YH
POWER STEERING INTERMITTENTLY EXPERIENCES OVER SENSITIVITY RESULTING IN UNPREDICATABLE STEERING CONTROL.
WHILE DRIVING AT 55 MPH APPLIED THE BRAKES AND VEHICLE WA S MOVING TO THE RIGHT. UPON TAKING FOOT OFF THE BRAKES, VEHICLE WAS MOVING TO THE LEFT. *AK
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.