1998 Chevrolet Venture problems
NHTSA has received 518 complaints about the 1998 Chevrolet Venture, and 18% of them involve engine. After that come lighting (13%) and steering (7%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 518 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 18% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 33 and 4
- Injuries and deaths
- 50 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 82,000 miles 155 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 | 4 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 7 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 18 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 38 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 41 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 10 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 15 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 9 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 9 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Among the 155 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 82,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 72,000 miles (56 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 33 complaints mention a crash; 4 complaints mention a fire; 50 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1998 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 9 model years of the Chevrolet Venture with enough data (335 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 7 safety recall campaigns.
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.
While traveling east approximately 35-40MPH, another vehicle traveling west, entered eastbound lane. Both vehicles collided head-on on driver's side. Upon impact, neither air bag deployed. Driver's seat belt was intact, but driver suffered minor injuries. Children, in rear, sustained some bruises from seat belts, but no treatment. Vehicle was totaled.
We had a manifold gasket on our 1998 chevy venture go bad earlier this year. It leaked anti-freeze into the oil. It appears that the anti-freeze leaking into the engine oil has caused failures in the strength of the crankshaft. And since this site does not combine similar problems, it may appear that there are just a few problems with the cooling system, gaskets and crankshaft on the 1998-2000 venture vans. You need to look at all the cooling system problem reports. Now the crank shaft has broken.
The upper and lower intake gaskets were leaking coolant and oil onto the engine. This resulted in vehicle overheating, and burning up the engine motor. Also, fuel injectors had to be cleaned numerous times due to them misfiring.