IllustrationWHILE STANDING ON THE TAILGATE, THE SUPPORT CABLES BROKE. THE CONSUMER DROVE THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION, AND THE MECHANIC REPLACED THE TAILGATE. *AK *SC *JB
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 reportsWINDSHIELD WIPER DOESN'T WORK ALL THE TIME. OCCASSIONALLY WHEN THE WIPER IS TURNED ON, IT WON'T WORK.*AK
WINDSHIELD WIPERS QUIT WORKING. SOMETIMES THEY ARE SLOW. SOMETIMES THEY ARE REGULAR. PROBLEM IS GETTING WORSE SO I WILL HAVE TO GET IT FIXED. FORTUNATELY I HAVE NOT BEEN CAUGHT IN A BAD RAINSTORM. *AK
PROBLEM WITH STEERING, FEELS LIKE LOOSE WHEEL, LIKE HITTING ICE ON ROADWAY, BUT NO ICE . REPLACED IDLER ARM ASSEMBLY. BETTER FOR AWHILE BUT STILL JERKS.
FRONT/REAR SEAT BELT RETRACTOR ARE PLASTIC. THIS CAUSES THE PLASTIC RETRACTOR CASING TO SPLIT, CUTTING INTO THE SEAT BELTS WHEN PULLING BACK AND FORTH. THE DEALERSHIP WAS NOTIFIED, BUT DID NOT RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. *AK
WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH FUEL PUMP FAILED, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO STALL. DEALERSHIP WAS NOTIFIED, BUT DID NOT RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. *AK
WHILE DRIVING IN REVERSE FROM THE DRIVEWAY AND TURNING THE WHEEL TO THE LEFT STEERING COLUMN FAILED. DEALER REPLACED THE STEERING GEAR BOX SHAFT SECTOR. *AK
WHILE DRIVING IN THE RAIN THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS FAILED, CAUSING THE DRIVER TO PULL OFF THE ROAD. *AK
CONSUMER COMPLAINED ABOUT A STEERING PROBLEM. WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS STEERING JERKED FROM ONE SIDE TO THE OTHER. *AK
I OWN A 1998 CEVROLET K-1500 4WD SILVERADO PICKUP TRUCK. I'VE BEEN HAVING A PROBLEM WITH THE SLIP YOKE ON THE TRANSMISSION AND DRIVESHAFT NOT PERFORMING PROPERLY FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS. IT MAKES A "SQUAKING"SOUND AND FEELS LIKE IT IS TAKING OUT THE SLACK IN THE DRIVESHAFT WHEN YOU PUSH ON THE GAS PEDAL. IT DOES THE SAME WHEN…
Read full complaint
I OWN A 1998 CEVROLET K-1500 4WD SILVERADO PICKUP TRUCK. I'VE BEEN HAVING A PROBLEM WITH THE SLIP YOKE ON THE TRANSMISSION AND DRIVESHAFT NOT PERFORMING PROPERLY FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS. IT MAKES A "SQUAKING"SOUND AND FEELS LIKE IT IS TAKING OUT THE SLACK IN THE DRIVESHAFT WHEN YOU PUSH ON THE GAS PEDAL. IT DOES THE SAME WHEN YOU ARE COMING TO A STOP. I WROTE TO CHEVROLET 2 YEARS AGO AND THEY TOLD ME I SHOULD GET A HOLD OF MY DEALER TO HAVE THE PROBLEM INVESTIGATED. I DID THAT AT BERGEY'S CHEVROLET IN HATFIELD, PA 19440 ON 02/20/2002-02/21/2002 AT A COST OF $103.67. THEY THOUGHT THERE WAS A REPLACEMENT SLIP YOKE FOR MY TRUCK, BUT WHEN I SHOWED UP THEY SAID THE NEW PART WAS ACTUALLY FOR A 1999 OR NEWER TRUCK SO IT WOULDN'T FIT MY TRUCK. THEY SAID THEY COULD PROBABLY REPLACE IT WITH THE SAME PART EXACTLY AS I ALREADY HAD, BUT WOULD EXPERIENCE THE SAME PROBLEMS DOWN THE ROAD. THEY INSTED TOOK MY TRUCK INTO THE SHOP TO GIVE IT A "FIX" BY DISASSEMBLING THE SLIP YOKE, FILING THE SPLINES ON IT, GREASE IT WITH "MAGIC GREASE" AND THEN REASSEMBLED IT. THE PROBLEM REAPPEARED TWO DAYS LATER. I CALLED THEM BACK. THEY SAID THEY'D CALL ME WHEN A NEW PART WAS DESIGNED TO FIT MY TRUCK BECAUSE UNTIL THEN THEY COULD DO NOTHING TO HELP ME. I FOLLOWED UP WITH THEM OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, BUT NOTHING EVER CAME OUT OF IT. IT'S NOW TWO YEARS LATER AND THE PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. I HOPE YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP ME BECAUSE NOONE ELSE SEEMS TO BE ABLE TO. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND HELP. [XXX],\.*AK INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR
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.