Utility Trailer Problems by Model Year
NHTSA recorded 67 consumer complaints across the 8 model years of the Utility Trailer (1992–1999) that have at least 5 complaints. 1998 has the most, with 12. Across all years, the part named most often is brakes (30 mentions). Pick a model year below to see its parts, mileage, recalls and service bulletins.
All Trailer model years
Years with fewer than 5 complaints are not listed. The score compares years of the same model, allowing for the era and for how long each year has collected complaints: 50 is a typical year, lower means fewer complaints. It is not adjusted for sales volume.
| Year | Complaints | Median mi | Recalls | TSBs | Score (50 = typical) | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 5 | — | 1 | 3 | — | Not enough data |
| 1998 | 12 | — | 2 | 3 | — | Not enough data |
| 1997 | 10 | — | 1 | 3 | — | Not enough data |
| 1996 | 7 | — | 1 | 3 | — | Not enough data |
| 1995 | 12 | — | 1 | 3 | — | Not enough data |
| 1994 | 9 | — | 1 | 3 | — | Not enough data |
| 1993 | 6 | — | 1 | 3 | — | Not enough data |
| 1992 | 6 | 350 | 1 | 3 | — | Not enough data |
Parts named most often, all years
Counts add up complaint mentions across the listed years. A complaint can name several parts.
- Brakes30 42%
- Tires12 17%
- Other or unknown10 14%
- Transmission and drivetrain5 6.9%
- Wheels4 5.6%
- Suspension4 5.6%
- Equipment4 5.6%
- Body and structure3 4.2%
Example complaints
One per model year, chosen for length and detail. Personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
1992: “I have 2 bluestar tires that I was told are not part of the recall. The place I bought the tires from is very adamant saying these tires are not part of the recall. I was driving down the road with a 2 wheel Trailer which the tires are mounted on. I heard a loud pop sound and I stopped to find out what happened. At first I could not find anything wrong. But then I noticed 2 bulges on the sidewall of one of the tires. I was pulling it with our tractor and only going about 10 MPH. Sometimes I pull this Trailer with our pickup, which could cause an accident, because of the faster travel speeds. …”
NHTSA complaint #10702768, filed 2015-03, 350 miles1993: “I was sitting at the light at new jersey and new york avenues (I was on new york avenue) at approximately 7:00 am. A dump truck was on new york avenue southbound and instead of waiting for the green light he made a right turn on red into oncoming traffic pulled into the left lane instead of staying in the right lane which in turn caused me to put on brakes and caused everyone behind me to slam on brakes which almost caused an accident. I blew my horn at the african american male driver and he proceeded to slam on brakes and then began driving slow in the left lane. …”
NHTSA complaint #10025605, filed 2003-071997: “While driving approximately 65 MPH the front left dual tires on the 1997 Utility box Trailer came off the wheels. The wheel went through the median, struck a guardrail face, jumped the guardrail, jumped the right away fence and came to rest in a field.”
NHTSA complaint #10146478, filed 2005-12About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Methodology