1998 Chevrolet C/K Pickups problems
The 1998 Chevrolet C/K Pickups has 88 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (40%) concerns wipers, windshield & visibility. After that come brakes (27%) and steering (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 88 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Wipers, windshield & visibility 40% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 1 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 5 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 69,000 miles 64 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 1 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 8 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 17 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 18 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 8 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 7 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Among the 64 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 69,000 miles. For wipers, windshield & visibility specifically, the median reported mileage is about 67,000 miles (28 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 1 complaint mentions a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 5 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1998 ranks 1st most-complained-about out of 6 model years of the Chevrolet C/K Pickups with enough data (41 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tailgate cables broke while loading furniture onto truck. Damaged truck bed and injured two family members from the cables breaking upon loading furniture into bed of fairly new truck with only 30 thousand miles on it. (29,995) .
Steering wheel position sensor: steering will jerk when driving straight. Was told that the sensor had a "worn" spot and that the power steering boost was being added at pull power because the system did not know what the steering wheel was doing.
Windshield wipers start and stop. Sometimes you can get them to restart by switching them off and waiting a few seconds. Other times you have to turn the engine off and then restart it before they will operate again. Apparently this has been a problem with previous years up to 1997. Why 1998 was not included is a good question since the problem still exists.
Every so often it feels as if someone grabs the steering wheel and for a breif moment it feels as if there is no steering.