Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 6 of 45 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
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.
Steering. Review the 10 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Visibility. Review the 9 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 8 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
4 crash reports3 fire reports3 injury reports
What owners actually said
45 reports
1,408,292 miles · Mar 29, 2011
Engine And Engine Cooling
STARTED OVER HEATING REALLY BAD NO COOLANT LEAK,NO WATER IN OIL, VERY SMALL LOSE OF WATER. SEVERAL DIFFERENT NOISES NOT NORMAL. BEFORE I KNEW WHAT WAS HAPPENING MY TRUCK MADE A LOUD BANG AND TRUCK DIED HARD. WOULDN'T RESTART. GOT IT HOME AND PULLED ENGINE OUT AND FOUND BIG HOLES ON BOTH SIDES OF OIL PAN WHERE NUMBER 4 CYLINDER P…
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STARTED OVER HEATING REALLY BAD NO COOLANT LEAK,NO WATER IN OIL, VERY SMALL LOSE OF WATER. SEVERAL DIFFERENT NOISES NOT NORMAL. BEFORE I KNEW WHAT WAS HAPPENING MY TRUCK MADE A LOUD BANG AND TRUCK DIED HARD. WOULDN'T RESTART. GOT IT HOME AND PULLED ENGINE OUT AND FOUND BIG HOLES ON BOTH SIDES OF OIL PAN WHERE NUMBER 4 CYLINDER PISTON SNAPPED AND [XXX] MY TRUCK UP. ALSO SEVERE DAMAGE FROM DEXCOOL IN COOLING SYSTEM. MADE REALLY BAD GUMMY BUILD UP IN COOLING SYSTEM. ALSO REALLY BAD CARBON BUILD UP. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR
NHTSA ODI #10393666
130,000 miles · Jun 30, 2008
Steering
ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS I EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF STEERING CONTROL. IT WAS NOT SPEED RELATED - IT HAPPENED FROM LOW TO HIGH SPEEDS. THE VEHICLE WOULD SUDDENLY JERK TO ONE SIDE. NO INSTANCE LASTED LONGER THAN ONE SECOND. MY MECHANIC DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS A FAULTY EVO SENSOR. NO SENSORS ARE AVAILABLE FOR REPLACEMENT, BUT GM HAS…
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ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS I EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF STEERING CONTROL. IT WAS NOT SPEED RELATED - IT HAPPENED FROM LOW TO HIGH SPEEDS. THE VEHICLE WOULD SUDDENLY JERK TO ONE SIDE. NO INSTANCE LASTED LONGER THAN ONE SECOND. MY MECHANIC DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS A FAULTY EVO SENSOR. NO SENSORS ARE AVAILABLE FOR REPLACEMENT, BUT GM HAS A "KIT" THAT ELIMINATES THE SENSOR. ELIMINATION OF THE SENSOR FIXED THE PROBLEM. THE FAILURES THAT I EXPERIENCED WERE EXTREMELY SHORT IN DURATION AND CAUSED NO HARM OTHER THAN A VERY ELEVATED HEART RATE! I FEAR THAT A GREATER FAILURE WOULD HAVE RESULTED IN A CRASH. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10232673
127,390 miles · Oct 15, 2006
Visibility
I AM THE NEW OWNER OF A 1998 CHEVY K1500 Z71. MY GIRLFRIEND AND I WERE GOING TO A FOOTBALL GAME AND SHE TRIED TO CLEAN THE WINDSHIELD AND THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS WOULD NOT WORK. TWO DAYS LATER I WAS COMING HOME WHEN A RAIN STORM STARTED I TURNED ON THE WIPERS AND THEY DID NOT WORK. AFTER GETTING OUT OF VEHICLE AND PICKING UP TH…
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I AM THE NEW OWNER OF A 1998 CHEVY K1500 Z71. MY GIRLFRIEND AND I WERE GOING TO A FOOTBALL GAME AND SHE TRIED TO CLEAN THE WINDSHIELD AND THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS WOULD NOT WORK. TWO DAYS LATER I WAS COMING HOME WHEN A RAIN STORM STARTED I TURNED ON THE WIPERS AND THEY DID NOT WORK. AFTER GETTING OUT OF VEHICLE AND PICKING UP THE WIPER BLADES THEY STARTED TO WORK. WHEN I GOT HOME I TURNED OFF THE ENGINE, AND MY GIRLFRIEND GOT INTO THE TRUCK TO LEAVE AND TAKE DAUGHTER HOME AND THE WIPERS DID NOT WORK. PICKED UP WIPERS AND THEY WORKED ONCE AGAIN. MY GIRLFRIEND SAID WHILE SHE WAS OUT WIPERS KEPT GOING OFF AND ON EVEN WITH THE CONTROL TURNED TO ON. AT ONE POINT SHE HAD TO PULL OVER IN HEAVY RAIN FOR FEAR OF HAVING A WRECK BECAUSE SHE COULD NOT SEE AND THE WIPERS HAD CUT OFF. WHEN SHE CAME HOME, SHE LOOKED ON THE INTERNET FOR RECALLS AND CAME ACROSS INFO ON OTHER 1998 CHEVY K1500 OWNERS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM. SHE COPIED ONE RECALL BUT MY VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED. RE: RECALL 98 V 150 001/WINDSHIELD WIPER WIRING: WIPERS WORK INTERMITTENTLY, THIS CAN RESULT IN INOPERATIVE WIPERS, REDUCING A DRIVER'S VISIBILITY, AND INCREASING THE RISK OF A VEHICLE CRASH. WILL IT TAKE SOMEONE GETTING KILLED FOR A RECALL TO BE PUT OUT??
NHTSA ODI #10170879
Mileage unknown · Aug 26, 2006
Tires
THE FRONT END OF MY TRUCK BEGAN SHAKING AT 50 MPH. TIRES WERE CHECKED BY THE DEALER AND NOTHING WRONG WAS FOUND. TIRE PRESSURE WAS 32 PSI. ABOUT TWO WEEKS LATER THE RIGHT REAR TIRE EXPLODED AT 67 MPH ON THE INTERSTATE CAUSING ME TO SWERVE ACROSS TWO LANES. THE TIRE TREAD CAME COMPLETELY OFF OF THE TIRE CAUSING 2500.00 DOLLARS IN…
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THE FRONT END OF MY TRUCK BEGAN SHAKING AT 50 MPH. TIRES WERE CHECKED BY THE DEALER AND NOTHING WRONG WAS FOUND. TIRE PRESSURE WAS 32 PSI. ABOUT TWO WEEKS LATER THE RIGHT REAR TIRE EXPLODED AT 67 MPH ON THE INTERSTATE CAUSING ME TO SWERVE ACROSS TWO LANES. THE TIRE TREAD CAME COMPLETELY OFF OF THE TIRE CAUSING 2500.00 DOLLARS IN DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE. THE TIRE WAS SENT TO THE MANUFACTURER AND I WAS TOLD THE FAILURE WAS DUE TO THE TIRE BEING CUT, AND NO DAMAGES WOULD BE PAID. THE TIRE WAS SENT BACK TO ME AND I RECONSTRUCTED THE TIRE AND COULD NOT FIND ANY EVIDENCE OF A CUT. THE DOT # OF THE TIRE IS DOT V4LT M132702. *JB
NHTSA ODI #10166617
Mileage unknown · Aug 31, 2004
Visibility
WHILE DRIVING ON A HEAVY RAINING DAY WINDSHIELD WIPERS BECOME INOPERABLE AND RESULTED IN POOR VISIBILITY. DEALER WAS NOTIFIED, AND INDICATED THIS VEHICLE WAS NOT RECALLED DUE TO VIN. *AK
NHTSA ODI #10090074
24,000 miles · Jan 13, 2004
Service Brakes, AirSteeringVisibility
CONSUMER COMPLAINED ABOUT A BRAKE PROBLEM. WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY BRAKES WERE SLOW TO STOP VEHICLE. WHEN DRIVING AROUND TOWN BRAKES WORKED FINE. ALSO, WINDSHIELD WIPERS OPERATED POORLY, POWER STEERING WORKED INTERMITTENTLY. *AK
NHTSA ODI #10053937
Mileage unknown · Nov 12, 2003
Exterior LightingVisibility
WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR IS NOT WORKING . DEALER STATED THERE WAS NO RECALL ON THIS VEHICLE. *AK THE CONSUMER'S VEHICLE ALSO HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE TAIL LIGHT BULB PLATES WHICH WERE REPLACED THREE TIMES AT $58.00 DOLLARS EACH. *PH *JB
NHTSA ODI #10042464
78,500 miles · Sep 12, 2003
Visibility
WINDSHIELD WIPERS DON'T WORK OR QUIT DURING RAIN STORMS. HAVE TO PULL OVER AND WAIT FOR SEVERAL MINUTES BEFORE GETTING THEM TO WORK. *PH
NHTSA ODI #10038804
Mileage unknown · Jul 10, 2003
Service Brakes, AirCrash
CONSUMER'S SON WHILE DRIVING AT 5MPH AND APPLYING THE BRAKES, PEDAL WENT DOWN TO THE FLOOR, AND VEHICLE WAS AT THE WALL OF THE BUILDING. INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOP DIDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE BRAKES. MODELZ71. YEAR 1999. *AK
NHTSA ODI #10026982
Mileage unknown · Jun 27, 2003
Visibility
WINDSHIELD WIPERS WORK ONLY INTERMITTENTLY. *NLM
NHTSA ODI #10025113
Official recalls
0
No 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
0
No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.
1998 Chevrolet Z71 Problems, Complaints & Recalls | Skip That Year