IllustrationWHEN DRIVING AT ANY SPEED THERE IS A GRINDING NOISE WITHIN THE STEERING. WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES, BRAKES LOCK UP, AND ROTORS HAVE BEEN CHANGED TWICE. ALSO,THERE IS A LEAKAGE WITHIN THE T-TOP. VEHICLE HAS BEEN IN SHOP FOR REPAIR SERVICE SEVERAL TIMES, AND THE PROBLEMS STILL EXIT. *AK
1998 Chevrolet Camaro
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most Camaro years
Owner complaints for the 1998 Chevrolet Camaro are substantially higher than the model-year median of 32.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Camaro 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
Limited mileage data: 13 of 173 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.
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 84 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 17 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 16 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
15 crash reports5 fire reports11 injury reports
What owners actually said
173 reportsNO SUMMARY LISTED FOR THIS VEHICLE.
I HAVE HAD MY ROTORS TURNED ONCE IN SEPT OF 1998. I WENT BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP SINCE THE PROBLEM CAME BACK ON 3-30-99 AND THEY REFUSED TO TURN IT SAYING IT WAS NOT UNDER WARRANTY AND THAT IT WOULD COST ME $435. I REFUSED TO PAY IT AND WANT THE DEALERSHIP TO REPLACE MY ROTORS FREE OF CHARGE AS WELL AS MY FRONT TIRES DUE TO EXCES…
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I HAVE HAD MY ROTORS TURNED ONCE IN SEPT OF 1998. I WENT BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP SINCE THE PROBLEM CAME BACK ON 3-30-99 AND THEY REFUSED TO TURN IT SAYING IT WAS NOT UNDER WARRANTY AND THAT IT WOULD COST ME $435. I REFUSED TO PAY IT AND WANT THE DEALERSHIP TO REPLACE MY ROTORS FREE OF CHARGE AS WELL AS MY FRONT TIRES DUE TO EXCESSIVE WEAR AND TEAR BEACUSE OF THE ROTORS. I HAVE ALREADY WROTE THEM A LETTER BUT HAVENT GOTTEN A RESPONSE YET. *AK
THE BRAKE ROTORS ON THIS CAR WARP OVER A 10,000 MILE PERIOD, CAUSING STEERING WHEEL SHAKING AND POSSIBLE LOSS OF CONTROL. THIS CAR IS 18 MONTHS OLD AND HAS 42240 MILES ON IT. THE ROTORS WERE RESURFACED BY THE DEALER ON 4/9/98 AT 11,633 MILES, AGAIN ON 8/11/98 AT 21,181 MILES, THEN THEY REPLACED THE ROTORS ON 12/23/98 AT 31,376 M…
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THE BRAKE ROTORS ON THIS CAR WARP OVER A 10,000 MILE PERIOD, CAUSING STEERING WHEEL SHAKING AND POSSIBLE LOSS OF CONTROL. THIS CAR IS 18 MONTHS OLD AND HAS 42240 MILES ON IT. THE ROTORS WERE RESURFACED BY THE DEALER ON 4/9/98 AT 11,633 MILES, AGAIN ON 8/11/98 AT 21,181 MILES, THEN THEY REPLACED THE ROTORS ON 12/23/98 AT 31,376 MILES, THEN THESE NEW ROTORS WARPED AND WERE RESURFACED ON 5/20/99 AT 41,830 MILES. AS YOU CAN SEE, THE BRAKE ROTORS NEED TO BE DONE EVERY 10,000 MILES. THE SHAKING IN THE STEERING WHEEL BEGINS TO APPEAR AGAIN AT ABOUT 8,000 MILES AFTER THE LAST WORK IS DONE AND GETS WORSE UNTIL THE SHAKE IS UNCONTROLABLE AT ABOUT 10,000 MILES. THE DEALER AND CHEVROLET SAY THEY CANNOT FIGURE OUT WHAT IS CAUSING THIS (I HAVE CALLED CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE MANY TIMES AND HAVE SENT A CERTIFIED LETTER TO CHEVROLET MOTOR DIVISION). I HAVE HEARD OF MANY OTHER CAMARO AND TRANS AM OWNERS (WITH V-8 ENGINES) WITH THIS SAME PROBLEM. I DON'T KNOW IF THE ROTORS ARE DEFECTIVE, IF THE BRAKE PADS ARE TOO HARD (CAUSING THE ROTORS TO OVER HEAT & WARP) OR IT IS ANOTHER PROBLEM WITH THE BRAKING SYSTEM. *AK
BRAKES REPAIRED 10/98 @14000 MI. BRAKES REPLACED 12/98 @ 20,700 MI. BRAKES REPAIRED 5/99 @ 25,035 MI. ALSO - STARTER MOTOR @ 7700 MI., WATER PUMP @ 20,00 MI., AND NOW THE A/C COMPRESSOR AND BLOWERR MOTOR ARE ON ORDER BECAUSE THE A/C IS NOT COLD. WHAT'S NEXT?*AK
ON TWO OCCASIONS DUAL AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. CONSUMER REARENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE AT APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH,AND AT 80 MPH HIT A TRUCK HEAD-ON UPON IMPACT, AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. DRIVER SUSTAINED INJURIES.DEALER DID NOT DETERMINE WHY AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. *AK
DESIGN OF THE SUSPENSION SYSTEM CAUSES VEHICLE'S BOTTOM TO DRAG ON INCLINES. MJS
ROTORS WARPED AT 6K MILES, DEALER RESURFACED SAME. ROTORS WARPED AT 12K MILES AGAIN. DEALER REPLACED ALL 4 ROTORS. SINCE THE NEW ROTORS ARE THE SAME AS ORIGINAL, I'M EXPECTING THE PROBLEM TO RETURN. PROBLEM OCCURS AT TURNPIKE SPEED (65 +) AND CAUSES VIOLENT SHAKING OF CAR. IN A PANIC SITUATION COULD RESULT IN LOSS OF CONTROL. *…
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ROTORS WARPED AT 6K MILES, DEALER RESURFACED SAME. ROTORS WARPED AT 12K MILES AGAIN. DEALER REPLACED ALL 4 ROTORS. SINCE THE NEW ROTORS ARE THE SAME AS ORIGINAL, I'M EXPECTING THE PROBLEM TO RETURN. PROBLEM OCCURS AT TURNPIKE SPEED (65 +) AND CAUSES VIOLENT SHAKING OF CAR. IN A PANIC SITUATION COULD RESULT IN LOSS OF CONTROL. *AK
AT 8700 MILES THE ROTORS WERE TURNED UNDER WARRANTY, AT 16700 I HAD TO PAY FOR THEM TO BE RESURFACED AT THE CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP. I AM AFRAID TO BRAKE MY CAR HARD BECAUSE I THINK I WILL WARP MY FRONT ROTORS AGAIN. THIS IS A SAFTY CONCERN FOR ME. *AK
WHEN DRIVING ABOVE 60MPH AND APPLYING THE BRAKES, THE STEERING WHEEL VIBRATES ALOT DUE TO ROTORS BEING WARPED. *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.