IllustrationWINDSHIELD WIPERS WILL STOP WORKING INTERMITTENTLY, VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN TAKEN TO A DEALERSHIP AT THIS TIME.*AK
1998 GMC Sonoma
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most Sonoma years
Owner complaints for the 1998 GMC Sonoma are substantially higher than the model-year median of 57.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Sonoma 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
30–25K
1325–50K
2050–75K
1275–100K
7100–150K
4150K+
59 reports with mileage · 97 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.
- Visibility. Review the 55 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Seats. Review the 29 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 15 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
9 crash reports2 fire reports1 injury reports
What owners actually said
156 reportsTRANSMISSION WAS NOISY AT ANY SPEED, DEALER DETERMINED A BEARING NEEDED TO BE REPLACED IN TRANSMISSION. MILEAGE AT REPAIR WAS 30000. AT THIS TIME BEARING NEEED TO BE REPLACED AGAIN.*AK
CONSUMER STATES THE AIR BAG LIGHT WILL CONTINUOUSLY COME ON AND OFF CONTACTED DEALER AND THE DEALER CANNOT FIND THE PROBLEM.*JB
WINDSHIELD WIPERSS FAILED AND WORK SPARADICALLY. CONNECTION AT PLUG TO MOTOR FAULTY. DEALER REFUSES TO FIX.*AK
WHEN APPLYING BRAKES IN SNOWY WEATHER THERE IS CLICKING SOUND PRESENT AND VEHICLE WILL NOT STOP. DEALER HAS NOT SEEN VEHICLE. *AK
SEAT HANDLE ON THE SIDE OF DRIVER SEAT THAT ADJUSTS BACK OF THE SEAT TO DIFFERENT POSITIONS HAS BROKEN. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS.*AK
THE COMPLAINT IS ABOUT MY TRANSMISSION IN MY 1998 GMC SONOMA. ENGINE SERVICE LIGHT CAME ON SO I TOOK THE TRUCK IN FOR SERVICE. I WAS TOLD THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REBUILT OR REPLACED AS PER THE SERVICE BULLETIN. A $2,200-DOLLAR FIX. THE TRUCK IS NOT QUITE 3 YEARS OLD THOUGH I HAVE 59000 MILES ON IT. I CAN TELL YOU TH…
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THE COMPLAINT IS ABOUT MY TRANSMISSION IN MY 1998 GMC SONOMA. ENGINE SERVICE LIGHT CAME ON SO I TOOK THE TRUCK IN FOR SERVICE. I WAS TOLD THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REBUILT OR REPLACED AS PER THE SERVICE BULLETIN. A $2,200-DOLLAR FIX. THE TRUCK IS NOT QUITE 3 YEARS OLD THOUGH I HAVE 59000 MILES ON IT. I CAN TELL YOU THAT IM THE ONLY ONE THAT HAS DRIVEN THIS TRUCK AND IT HAS HAULED NO MORE THAN GROCERIES I CALLED THE CUSTOMER CARE CENTER AND GM HAS SAID THEY WOULD PAY 40 PERCENT OF THE REPAIR REF CASE NUMBER: C05710638. AT FIRST I THOUGHT THIS WAS BETTER THAN NOTHING. BUT I BELIEVE THERE IS A MAJOR PROBLEM WITH THE TRANSMISSION AND GENERAL MOTORS SHOULD STAND BEHIND THE PRODUCT DUE TO THE NATURE OF THE FAILURE, WARRANTY OR NOT. THIS IS NOT RIGHT. THIS IS A MAJOR PART OF THE VEHICLE AND SHOULD NOT HAVE GONE BAD THIS QUICKLY. I WILL CONTINUE TO DO ALL THE RESEARCH I CAN TO SHOW THAT THIS FAILURE IS NOT NORMAL. IF A SERVICE BULLETIN WAS ISSUED THEN I THINK IT WAS A KNOWN PROBLEM, GM HAS ADMITTED THAT THEY HAVE SEEN THIS PROBLEM BEFORE BUT BECAUSE THE VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY THIS IS ALL WILL DO. *AK
ALUMINUM HANDLE FOR RECLINING MECHANISM OF DRIVER'S SEAT BROKE, AND HAS BEEN REPAIRED BY DEALERSHIP. HOWEVER, HANDLE FOR RECLINING MECHANISM OF FRONT PASSENGER'S SEAT BROKE, AND WAS NO LONGER COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. *AK CONSUMER STATES THAT THE SHAFTS THAT ARE USED ARE MADE OUT OF CAST ALUMINUM AND ARE SOFT MATERIAL. *JB
THE "METAL" STUD FOR THE SEAT RECLINER HAS BROKEN ON BOTH FRONT SEATS. THE SEATS CAN ONLY BE LEFT IN ONE POSITION, WHICH MENAS ONLY I CAN DRIVE THE VEHICLE. THE SEAT CANNOT BE MOVED FOR A DIFFERENT SIZED DRIVER.*AK
POSITIVE BATTERY TERMINAL ON AC DELCO SIDE POST 72MONTH BATTERY POPPED OUT OF BATTERY, RESULTING IN AN ACID SPILL. I RETURNED TO THE DEALERSHIP THAT LAST PERFORMED WARRANTY WORK ON THE TRUCK TO INFORM THEM OF MY CONCERNS. I FEEL THE TECHNICIAN THAT WORKED ON THE VEHICLE OVER-TIGHTENED THE BOLT, CAUSING THE LEAD TERMINAL TO COME …
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POSITIVE BATTERY TERMINAL ON AC DELCO SIDE POST 72MONTH BATTERY POPPED OUT OF BATTERY, RESULTING IN AN ACID SPILL. I RETURNED TO THE DEALERSHIP THAT LAST PERFORMED WARRANTY WORK ON THE TRUCK TO INFORM THEM OF MY CONCERNS. I FEEL THE TECHNICIAN THAT WORKED ON THE VEHICLE OVER-TIGHTENED THE BOLT, CAUSING THE LEAD TERMINAL TO COME LOOSE. BECAUSE THE GM WARRANTY WAS EXPIRED, AC DELCO INFORMED ME THAT THE 5 YEAR WARRANTY ON THE BATTERY HAD ALSO EXPIRED(AT 3 YEARS), SO THIS WASN'T THEIR PROBLEM. I FEEL THIS IS MORE THAN JUST A PROBLEM FOR ME, THIS SHOULD BE LOOKED AT AS A PROBLEM FOR EVERYONE. FIRST AS A POTENTIAL FIRE AND SAFETY ISSUE, AND SECONDLY AS AN ENVIROMENTAL ISSUE, SULFURIC ACID AND IT'S FUMES CAN CAUSE FIRE AND DEATH. AC DELCO DIDN'T SEEM TO CARE ABOUT ANY OF THIS, I WAS ONLY TOLD THAT THEY WOULD SUE ME FOR SLANDER IF I WAS TO TALK ABOUT THIS PROBLEM.
Official recalls
300V220000 · Exterior Lighting
Aug 11, 2000
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: LIGHT DUTY PICKUP TRUCKS AND SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES. THESE VEHICLES FAIL TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FMVSS NO. 108, "LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT." THE DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS BUILT WITH A CANDELA VALUE GREATER THAN 3,000 CANNOT BE MOUNTED HIGHER THAN 864MM ABOVE THE ROAD SURFACE.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: THESE VEHICLES DO NOT COMPLY WITH REQUIREMENTS OF FMVSS NO. 108.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSTALL A REVISED WIRING HARNESS THAT CHANGES THE DRL'S FROM HIGH BEAM TO LOW BEAM DRL'S, AND INSTALL NEW LONG-LIFE LOW BEAM BULBS.
97V208001 · Electrical System:wiring:front Underhood
Nov 25, 1997
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: LIGHT DUTY PICKUP TRUCKS AND MULTI-PURPOSE VEHICLES. AN ENGINE ELECTRICAL WIRING-HARNESS CLIP CAN MELT AND DRIP ONTO THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: THE CLIP MATERIAL ON THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD CAN IGNITE AND SUBSEQUENTLY IGNITE OTHER COMBUSTIBLE COMPONENTS RESULTING IN A VEHICLE FIRE.
Remedy: DEALERS ARE CONTACTING OWNERS BY TELEPHONE TO HAVE THEIR VEHICLES TOWED TO THE DEALER AND ALTERNATE TRANSPORTATION PROVIDED TO THEM UNTIL THE DEALER CAN REROUTE THE ELECTRICAL WIRING-HARNESS.
97V218000 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic:foundation Components:hoses, Lines/piping, And Fittings
Nov 24, 1997
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: LIGHT DUTY PICKUP TRUCKS AND MULTI-PURPOSE PASSENGER VEHICLES. A FATIGUE FRACTURE OF THE REAR AXLE RIGHT-HAND BRAKE PIPE CAN OCCUR CAUSING A SLOW BRAKE FLUID LEAK RESULTING IN A SOFT BRAKE PEDAL. IF THE BRAKE PIPE BREAKS, THE DRIVER WOULD EXPERIENCE A SUDDEN DROP IN THE BRAKE PEDAL, THE INSTRUMENT PANEL BRAKE LIGHT WOULD ILLUMINATE, AND THERE WOULD BE A LOSS OF REAR BRAKE PERFORMANCE.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: PARTIAL LOSS OF BRAKING AT A TIME WHEN MINIMUM STOPPING DISTANCE WAS REQUIRED COULD RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND REPLACE THE BRAKE PIPE.
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.