Wiper or washer failure on the 1997 GMC Sierra 1500
When wiper or washer failure gets reported
Owners of the 1997 GMC Sierra 1500 report wiper or washer failure at a median of 80,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 70,000 miles and a quarter after 100,000 miles, from 9 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 80,000 miles. It is the 2nd most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 60,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 115,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 58,372 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
Reports bunched into a band this tight usually mean the component has a life of its own: it goes at roughly the same mileage regardless of who owns it.
11% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 59,040 miles | 70,000 miles | 80,000 miles | 101,900 miles | 117,412 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $120–$800 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure, every year of the GMC Sierra 1500
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Power steering assist tends to pull the wheel to the right or left with too much assist after barely turning the wheel one way or the other (has always done this since new). Windshield wipers have recently been acting up when activating the washer mechanism. Sometimes they won't work, sometimes they stop in the middle of the wipe cycle. The date below is a required field, but the incidents have happened numerous times since I purchased the vehicle new.
1997 gmc sierra has windshield wipers malfunction. Windshield wipers quit working at ifferent times usually when it is raining. Currently there is a recall for this type of ehicle but according to gm, not for my vehicle based on the VIN#. The VIN # is [xxx]. I have not repaired the vehicle yet.*ak updated 07/25/2012 *js information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)
Ref: recall number: 03v159000. (gm recall no. 03023) I have just learned about this recall. I have had intemittent issues with my windshield wipers as described. I have allready replaced entire motor, then realized there was a recall. Gmc states to me that my VIN does not fall in the group effected in the recall. Service invoice states that it is indeed the circuit board, but they are not willing to pay for repairs. I retained old part for testing puposes. This is a very dangerious issue.*ak
Also reported on the 1997 GMC Sierra 1500
Other steering problem
ABS module or sensor failure
Water pump failure
Other brake problem
Other suspension problem
Fuel pump failure
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 12 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does wiper or washer failure happen on the 1997 GMC Sierra 1500?
Across 9 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 80,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 70,000 miles and a quarter after 100,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is wiper or washer failure on the 1997 GMC Sierra 1500?
12 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.3 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed