NHTSA Complaint #716570 — 1996 GMC JIMMY

ON 12-21-99 AS I WAS DRIVING ON THE SOUTHERN TIER EXPRESSWAY IN WESTERN NY, THE RIGHT UPPER BALL JOINT BROKE, CAUSING ME TO LOSE CONTROL OF MY 1996 GMC JIMMY. THANKFULLY I WAS SLOWING DOWN TO PREPARE TO EXIT FROM THE 65 MPH SPEED LIMIT AT THIS TIME. AT THE TIME OF THE MALFUNCTION, I ESTIMATED MY SPEED TO BE 45 MPH. I HAD MY VEHICLE TOWED TO THE CLOSEST REPAIR GARAGE AND ON 12-22-99 THE HEAD MECHANIC TOLD ME THAT ALL OF THE BALL JOINTS (UPPER AND LOWER) WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED ON MY VEHICLE. THE COST OF THESE REPAIRS WERE $499.60. MY VEHICLE IS ONLY 3+ YEARS OLD WITH ONLY 38,985 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. I ALSO NOTICED THAT THERE WERE TWO OTHER DEFECT INVESTIGATIONS ON GMC BALL JOINTS ON THE 96 GMC JIMMY. I FILED THIS REPORT BECAUSE I COULD HAVE BEEN SEVERELY INJURED OR KILLED AS A RESULT OF THESE DEFECTS IN THE BALL JOINTS. *AK