What are the common problems with the 1991 GMC Sonoma?
Owners of the 1991 GMC Sonoma have filed 29 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the brakes (14) and engine cooling (4). In NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026, 4 of its 29 complaints list a mileage (80,000 to 104,000 miles), too few to say when problems were reported; a complaint is an owner's report, not a proven defect.
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See what the paid report includes →NHTSA's file holds 29 owner complaints on the 1991 GMC Sonoma. Owners named the brakes most often: 14 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 29 complaints, 3 report a crash, 3 report a fire and 1 reports an injury (1 person reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
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Common problems with the 1991 Sonoma
NHTSA's file holds 29 owner complaints on the 1991 GMC Sonoma. Owners named the brakes most often: 14 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 14 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
| Engine And Engine Cooling | 4 | 2 | Under 5 mileages |
| Electrical System | 3 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
| Power Train | 2 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
| Steering | 2 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
Of the 29 complaints, 3 report a crash, 3 report a fire and 1 reports an injury (1 person reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Mileage when owners reported a problem with the 1991 Sonoma
Too few complaints on the 1991 Sonoma list a mileage to say when owners reported problems: 4 of its 29 complaints list a mileage (80,000 to 104,000 miles), and a median is given here only with 10 or more.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 1991 Sonoma wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
Every model year together: Half of the 325 NHTSA owner complaints on the GMC Sonoma that list mileage came after 58,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a GMC Sonoma last? →
Is the 1991 Sonoma a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 1991 is a good or a bad Sonoma: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 1991 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 29 complaints, the 1991 ranks 12th of the 13 GMC Sonoma model years from 1991 to 2003 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 1994 (224). The fewest: the 1992 (25).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 (this page) | 29 | 4 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1992 Sonoma | 25 | 1 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1993 Sonoma | 58 | 0 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1994 Sonoma | 224 | 14 | 106,000 |
| 1995 Sonoma | 213 | 7 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1996 Sonoma | 148 | 12 | 90,000 |
| 1997 Sonoma | 111 | 27 | 66,000 |
| 1998 Sonoma | 156 | 59 | 67,000 |
| 1999 Sonoma | 57 | 24 | 55,000 |
| 2000 Sonoma | 136 | 63 | 56,400 |
| 2001 Sonoma | 89 | 48 | 51,300 |
| 2002 Sonoma | 57 | 38 | 41,000 |
| 2003 Sonoma | 40 | 28 | 35,000 |
1991 GMC Sonoma recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 2 recall campaigns that name the 1991 GMC Sonoma (1 vehicle campaign and 1 equipment or tire campaign that names this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 1991 Sonoma lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 1991 Sonoma.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 25 of the 29 complaints on the 1991 GMC Sonoma give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA names counted: SONOMA and SONOMA CREW. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only these.
- Recall-file name matched: SONOMA.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
1991 GMC Sonoma questions
What are the most common 1991 GMC Sonoma problems?
NHTSA's file holds 29 owner complaints on the 1991 GMC Sonoma. Owners named the brakes most often: 14 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 29 complaints, 3 report a crash, 3 report a fire and 1 reports an injury (1 person reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
At what mileage do owners report problems with the 1991 GMC Sonoma?
NHTSA's file gives no mileage figure for the 1991 GMC Sonoma: 4 of its 29 complaints list a mileage (80,000 to 104,000 miles), and this page gives a median only with 10 or more. These are mileages at a reported problem; they do not say how many miles a 1991 Sonoma can cover.
Is the 1991 GMC Sonoma a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 1991 is a good or a bad Sonoma: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 1991 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 29 complaints, the 1991 ranks 12th of the 13 GMC Sonoma model years from 1991 to 2003 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 1994 (224). The fewest: the 1992 (25).
How many recalls does the 1991 GMC Sonoma have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 2 recall campaigns that name the 1991 GMC Sonoma (1 vehicle campaign and 1 equipment or tire campaign that names this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 1991 GMC Sonoma before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 1991 GMC Sonoma.