It has recently surpassed 172,000 miles, the most of any car we have owned. The Safari's performance and longevity has come to surprise me. General Comments:Īfter my scathing review of this vehicle 5 or 6 years ago which has spawned many comments of frustration and hatred toward the Safari, my outlook on the vehicle has changed. The dealer service was very bad, always claimed they could not duplicate problematic conditions, but as soon as we picked it up, it still had the same problems it was brought in for. Many odd early on problems early on, wipers, power windows, sticking accelerator pedal that almost put me into the back of a stopped vehicle. It use to shift so hard between 1st and 2nd that it would chirp the tires. Transmission was always a trouble spot with this Safari until it was rebuilt at 150,000. It recently broke from a faulty shrader valve, which leaked the refrigerant out. After the multiple trips to the dealer early in its life, it was fine for several years. If older Toyota Land Cruisers were more affordable and available I may have gone there, but I don't think they would have handled the plywood.ĭon't buy one if you don't own a toolbox, but a great 'do it all' design.Īir conditioning seems to be a weak point on our Safari, it has gone out several times. My devotion is to the versatility of having a minivan on a truck frame. My reassurance lies in my history in having done it all before. Conceptually incredibly versatile while electrically pathetic. Of course, it is also a shame that the engineers at GM couldn't make a van/truck that wasn't notorious for failing electrical motors in the windows and locks, terrible ignition problems with coils and wires. It's a shame they stopped making these vans in 04. His feet could not operate only 1 pedal at a time. The Toyo 4runner we looked at did not have room for him behind the wheel and was manual transmission. It will carry 7 people (we have 4 teenagers and a dog), sheets of plywood and tow my boat. I feel safe with my teenagers driving because it is a rugged and roomy performer with great visibility. I cannot find a better vehicle for versatility and rugged performance. I have looked at trucks, SUVs, jeeps and cars and found the perfect vehicle, a 97 Safari in great shape with 230,000K. The A/C has stopped working as well on the 96 and the brakes are due (300,000K). Turns out that the fan shroud, pulley etc has to be removed to get to the pump and cost to replace is $500. That van has been donated to teen challenge farms after 5 years, because I do not want to pay to have the power steering pump replaced. Just bought my second used Safari after searching for a replacement for our 1996.
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