1998 GMC Sierra 1500 problems
The 1998 GMC Sierra 1500 has 68 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (28%) concerns brakes. Next are wipers, windshield & visibility (16%) and steering (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 68 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 28% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 6 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 5 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 81,000 miles 42 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 | 3 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 1 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 8 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 8 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 5 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 6 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 42 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 80,000 miles. For brakes specifically, the median reported mileage is about 78,000 miles (10 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 6 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention 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 30th most-complained-about out of 30 model years of the GMC Sierra 1500 with enough data (16 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 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.
Intermittently steering wheel becomes loose, and it will steer either to the left or to the right. The dealer has been notified.
Windshield wipers will not always work. When raining they go off or stall. Pulling on wippers manually will retart them occationaly.
"takata recall" on 02/17/2015 I [xxx] was involved in a single passenger (me) mva at "the macinac bridge" on the north side of the mackinac bridge rolling my truck into the toll booths located on the north end of the macinac bridge in the city of st ignace, mackinac county, michigan. The weather conditions that day were horrible. There were high winds, snow, sleet, rain, and I black ice ! 100% humidity ! After the accident came to a complete stop I opened my eyes and an inflator was launched directly at my head.
Windshield wipers fail to work intermittently, obviously I only attempt to use my wipers when it is raining. The last time I was driving in heavy rain on the interstate. I managed to get to the shoulder without incedent. This is a very dangerous situation.
Tl* the contact owns a 1998 GMC sierra 1500. The contact stated that the windshield wipers would fail sporadically. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 103,000 and the current mileage was 107,000.