IllustrationBRAKES REPAIR ON FOUR OCCASIONS HOWEVER STILL EXPERIENCE PROBLEMS. MJS
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
Service Brakes, Hydraulic complaints
109 reportsVACUUM POWER BRAKE BOOSTER FAILED WHILE BRAKING ABRUPTLY TO AVOID HITTING ANOTHER VEHICLE. NLM
MASTER CYLINDER LEAKS, CAUSING BRAKE FLUID TO LEAK, AND RESULTING IN NO BRAKING ABILITY. MASTER CYLINDER PARTS WERE REPLACED 3 TIMES. HOWEVER, PROBLEM IS REOCCURRING. DEALER CANNOT DETERMINE THE CAUSE. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK
WITH ONLY 20000 MILES OF LIGHT DRIVING (NO PULLING CONDITIONS), THE FRONT PADS WERE WORN TO THE POINT NEEDING REPLACEMENT. THE DEALER ADMITTED THAT THEY HAVE SEEN PADS WEAR OUT ON MY VEHICLE AT 15000 MILES IN SOME CASES. THIS, TO ME AND EVERY MECHANIC I'VE SPOKEN TO, SEEMS EXTREMELY EXCESSIVE.
REAR BRAKE FLUID LEAK. *YC
BRAKE PEDAL WOULD GO TO THE FLOOR WHEN THE ABS BRAKES ARE APPLIED. THIS WOULD CAUSE AN EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE. AN INTERMITTENT PROBLEM. SOMETIMES THERE ARE NO BRAKES. HAS BEEN TO DEALER NUMEROUS TIMES FOR THE PROBLEM, BUT EACH TIME THE MECHANIC COULD NOT LOCATE PROBLEM. *AK
WHEN CONSUMER APPLIES THE BRAKES THE VEHICLE PULLS TO THE RIGHT.-THE SHOP REPAIRED IT, AND NOW IT PULLS TO THE LEFT. *AK
ROTORS WARPED CAUSING VIBRATION.
VEHICLE WOULD SQUEAL AND GRIND. ALSO, PULLED TO THE LEFT WHEN STOPPING. DEALER FOUND THE LEFT CALIPER SLID/FROZE UP. IN ADDITION, ROTORS AND FRONT PADS HAD TO BE REPLACED DUE TO GRINDING OF ROTORS, REPAIRS WERE MADE AT OWNERS EXPENSE.*AK
CONSUMER WAS DRIVING ABOUT 45 MPH WHEN HE WAS REAR ENDED BY ANOTHER VEHICLE. APPLIED BRAKES AND THE BRAKES WENT STRAIGHT TO THE FLOORBOARD. CONSUMER HIT THE CURB, AND THE VEHICLE CAME TO A STOP. DRIVER'S AIR BAG FAILED TO DEPLOY. CONTACTED THE DEALER FOR REPAIR SERVICE. *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.