Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (struts, shocks, control arms, ball joints, springs).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1995 GMC Safari owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Right torsion bar broke overnight in my garage.only has 66K miles, parked in a garage at all times. Most astro/Safari vans break on the left side. The dealer informed me that I can no longer buy the 41 inch bar, I must buy the new 36 inch bar and adjuster arm for both sides. The adjusters are welded into the frame which must be cut out and rewelded in. I liked our van until I starded dealing with this problem. I have found a GM replacement kit from overlandvans.com for much less than the dealer is asking. I do not understand why the NHTSA does not issue a recall on this and the only thing GM can say is "your van is not under warranty". No one seems to care about all the families traveling in these vehicles. I hope that no one gets hurt, there will be more failures. I feel there must be a recall issued for this known defect. …
When right front torsion bar on all wheel drive minivan was replaced two years ago, van began exhibiting unstable, extremely sensitive, and dangerous handling characteristics at highway speeds. Replacement of tires, two sets of shock absorbers, and multiple realignments at my expense did not solve this problem. If I had needed to make an emergency evasive maneuver under these conditions, my van would very likely have rolled over. When left front torsion bar was replaced this week, I was informed that GM had developed a new torsion bar design, and that I was now required to replace both left and right bars if either failed. This dual replacement finally solved my handling problems. The manufacturer should recall and replace such defective parts free when they endanger passengers! I have paid for replacing three defective torsion bars over a two year period.
Tl contact owns a 1995 GMC Safari. While the vehicle was parked in the garage, the front torsion bar on the front driver side snapped in half. The entire driver side front end dropped down on the tire. The contact called GM and was informed that the vehicle was out of warranty and that he would be responsible for the repair. The purchase date was unknown. The current mileage was 156,000 and failure mileage was 144,000.
I do have 95 GMC Safari AWD w/99,000 mile on it and I drive a lot at highway all the time. Last month July 31, 03 I drove my van at highway early morning to go work it was fine and during before go to lunch head out to my van and I notice my left frt suspension went down. I hoist to the lift and notice it my left frt torsion bar was broken. I call my dealer at GMC about the safety problem of my van they said no recall. I love my van and my families ride with it, too. This suspension is unsafe and now I'm affraid to put my family to this van again, very dangerous. I spent $450.00 to replace both side torsion bar and brkt, I do it myself. By the way I'm auto tech mechanic for 18yr's and I do hope you make this concern...
Failure of left torsion bar while vehicle parked in driveway, resulting in the left front bodywork dropping down on tire. There has been at least 55 other complaints of the same occurance reported for the 1995 astro/Safari. This seems to be an unusually high number for a somewhat low production vehicle. I would like to see this investigated further, as if a failure occurred at highway sppeds results could be devastating. I would like to see a recall on this as this part was modified, indicating that the old design had a known defect. Also, this part failed with no previous indication of failure. Torsion bars should last the life of the vehicle.
While my wife and 5 small children were in our 1995 GMC AWD Safari van, the torsion bar broke and the front end of the van dropped to the ground. Fortunatly this happened in town and no one was hurt. When the wrecker arrived, the driver said, this is the second one this week. When I asked the GMC dealer about it, they also said they were aware of the problem. If this would have happened at highway speeds, serious injury could have occured. GMC customer service was less then concerned.
The consumer owns a 1995 GMC Safari. The contact says while the vehicle was sitting in the garage they heard a loud banging noise. When they went out to the garage they noticed that the torsion bar snapped. The mechanic noticed several of the same vehicles with the same problem. Also on the NHTSA website there were 26 complaints for this same problem. The consumer requested reimbursement. The dealer replaced both the left broken torsion bar and the right torsion.
The left torsion bar broke and the left front of the van fell on the tire. The van was towed to an independ garage and the manager said he has seen six or more of the same type of failure in the past six momths. I contacted the delar and they said that there is no recall on that van. The replacement part has been redesinged and both the left and right torsion bar must be ordered
Front torsion bar broke while in parking lot. Vehicle towed to dealer, and manufacturer was notified. Manufacturer informed consumer that vehicle was out of its warranty, and it was not covered under a recall. When replacing the torsion bar, a new style arm had to be installed also. The cunsumer wonders if the old arem was the cause for break down.
1995 GMC Safari. Consumer states the rear springs are carbon fiber and have delaminated. The consumer stated it caused an unstable condition while driving at highway speeds as the vehicle's body was not properly supported and could drop onto the frame at any time, which could result in an uncontrollable behavior of the vehicle and cause an accident.
Related recalls
Suspension › Front › Control arm › Lower arm
These vehicles were assembled with the left-hand lower control arm-to-frame rear nut not tightened to the specified torque.
Remedy: Dealers will tighten the left-hand lower control arm-to- frame rear nut to the proper torque specification.
Suspension complaints in other Safari years
Frequently asked questions
How common are suspension problems on the 1995 GMC Safari?
NHTSA has 33 complaints about the suspension of the 1995 GMC Safari, 17% of the model year's 195 complaints. The component named most often is front › springs › torsion bar (28 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1995 GMC Safari suspension problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 95V-175 (lower arm, Sep 13, 1995). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 1995 GMC Safari suspension problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 75,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 0 injuries to suspension problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.