IllustrationDURING BBB ABRITRATION HEARING A CHEVROLET REPRESENTATIVE SDMITTED THAT THERE IS A KNOWN VIBRATION PROBLEM WITH THESE VEHICLES AND WAS UNWILLING TO REPAIR SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS OPPERATING WITH IN "SPECS" ASKED TO SEE SPECS. NONE AVAILABLE.
1998 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1998 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 525.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Silverado 1500 years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
110–25K
1725–50K
4050–75K
2075–100K
31100–150K
13150K+
132 reports with mileage · 229 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 109 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Visibility. Review the 59 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Steering. Review the 47 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
14 crash reports11 fire reports3 injury reports
What owners actually said
361 reportsMY WIFE AND I WERE DRIVING DOWN A CITY STREET AT ABOUT 30MPH WHEN WE SMELLED SMOKE, I PULLED OVER AND SAW FLAMES SHOOTING FROM THE INTERIOR OF THE DRIVER DOOR PANEL. I TORE OPEN THE DOOR PANEL AND SAW THAT THE ELECTRIC OUTSIDE MIRROR CONTROL WAS ON FIRE. I BEAT THE FIRE OUT WITH A TOWEL, AFTER THE SMOKED CLEARED I STARTED THE …
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MY WIFE AND I WERE DRIVING DOWN A CITY STREET AT ABOUT 30MPH WHEN WE SMELLED SMOKE, I PULLED OVER AND SAW FLAMES SHOOTING FROM THE INTERIOR OF THE DRIVER DOOR PANEL. I TORE OPEN THE DOOR PANEL AND SAW THAT THE ELECTRIC OUTSIDE MIRROR CONTROL WAS ON FIRE. I BEAT THE FIRE OUT WITH A TOWEL, AFTER THE SMOKED CLEARED I STARTED THE ENGINE AGAIN AND THE CONTROL BURST INTO FLAMES AGAIN, AT THIS POINT I SEVERED THE WIRING HARNESS.
WHEN DRIVING ENGINE REVS HIGH AND WILL NOT SLOW DOWN UNLESS BRAKES ARE APPLIED. DEALER HAS NO SOLUTION. *AK
BATTERY ACID ATE THROUGH THE BRAKE LINE, CAUSING THE CONSUMER NOT TO HAVE ANY BRAKES. THE ACID TRAVELED DOWNWARD TO A PLASTIC PAN. THE DESIGN OF THE PAN ALLOWED ACID TO DRIP DIRECTLY ONTO THE BRAKE LINE. *AK
WHEN DRIVING AT SPEED BELOW 40 MPH THE ABS SYSTEM IS KICKING IN AND LOCKING THE BRAKES UP. FRONT BRAKE ROTORS SOMETIMES HAUNG UP/OVERHEATED AND THE CONSUMER SMELLED THE BRAKES BURNING. WHEN CONSUMER TURNED THE KEY OFF, FRONT BRAKES UNLOCKED. VEHICLE HAS BEEN IN REPAIR SHOP FIVE TIMES FOR THE BRAKES AND THE ABS SYSTEM. DEA…
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WHEN DRIVING AT SPEED BELOW 40 MPH THE ABS SYSTEM IS KICKING IN AND LOCKING THE BRAKES UP. FRONT BRAKE ROTORS SOMETIMES HAUNG UP/OVERHEATED AND THE CONSUMER SMELLED THE BRAKES BURNING. WHEN CONSUMER TURNED THE KEY OFF, FRONT BRAKES UNLOCKED. VEHICLE HAS BEEN IN REPAIR SHOP FIVE TIMES FOR THE BRAKES AND THE ABS SYSTEM. DEALER COULN'T DETERMINE THE CAUSE. *AK
VEHICLE PULLS TO THE RIGHT AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. VEHICLE HAS BENN INSPECTED BY THE DEALER. *AK
ONGOING / INTERMITTENT PROBLEM BRAKING SYSTEM FAILING TO OPERATE WHENEVER THE VEHICLE ROLLS OVER BUMPY SURFACE. DEALER / MANUFACTURER NOTIFIED AND INFORMED CNSUMER THAT NOTHING COULD BE FOUND, OR COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. CAN NHTSA HELP IN THIS MATTER OR PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. *AK
WHILE MAKING A TURN, IT IS MORE DIFFCULTY ON LEFT TURNS BECAUSE STEERING BECOMES TOO HARD. DEALER REPLACED PARTS ON THE STEERING SYSTEM, HOWEVER, PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK
POWER STEERING SENSOR FAILED. NLM
STEERING COLUMN IS PULLING TO THE LEFT. *AK
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.