Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 1998 record →
WHEN CONSUMER COMES TO A COMPLETE STOP CAR LURCHES FOWARD. CONSUMER HAS TO LEAVE A BIG GAP BETWEEN CONSUMER AND OTHER CARS BECAUSE CONSUMER DOESN'T KNOW WHEN VEHICLE IS GOING TO LAURCH FORWARD. TOOK TO DEALER , AND REPLACED THE MASTER CYLINDER.THE PROBLEM WAS CORRECTED FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS, AND CURRENTLY PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED AGAIN. *AK
TAIL LIGHTS DO NOT OPERATE WHEN THE DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS ARE ON. DEALER SAYS IT'S THE DESIGN. *AK DESIGN SHOULD INCLUDE DAYTIME TAIL LIGHTS ALSO, CONSUMER EASILY CAN FORGET TO TURN ON TAIL LIGHTS WHEN HEAD LIGHTS ARE AUTOMATICALLY ON. *MJS
SHAKES ON THE FREEWAY. PASSENGER DOOR CAME OPEN TWICE.
WHEN DRIVING AT ANY SPEED AND APPLYING THE BRAKES VEHICLE SHAKES, AND BRAKE PEDAL GOES HALF WAY TO FLOORBOARD. SOMETIMES VEHICLE WILL COME TO A STOP, AND SOMETIMES VEHICLE WON'T STOP. ALSO, DEALER TURNED THE FRONT BRAKE ROTORS. BUT CONSUMER IS STILL HAVING PROBLEMS, AND VEHICLE HAS BEEN TO THE REPAIR SHOP FOUR OR FIVE TIMES. HOWEVER, DEALER CAN'T DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM. *AK
WHEN THE VEHICLE IS MOVING REAR DIFFERENTIAL IS MAKING NOISES. CONSUMER CONTACTED DEALER. *AK
REAR END MAKES A LOUD NOISE WHEN THE VEHICLE EXCEEDS 45MPH. THE DEALER HAS REPLACED VARIOUS PARTS OF THE REAR END, BUT THE PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. *AK *ML
BRAKES FAIL TO STOP VEHICLE IN WET / ICY CONDITIONS; PULLS TO RIGHT IN PANIC STOP CONDITIONS; BRAKE PEDAL GOES TO FLOOR IF BRAKING OCCURS OVER ROUGH SURFACE, SUCH AS RR TRACKS THAT CAUSES THE TRUCK BED TO BOUNCE SLIGHTLY AND DOESN'T RECOVER IN TIME TO AVOID POTENTIAL ACCIDENT; PROBLEM ONLY OCCURS AT IRREGULAR INTERVALS SO HAS BEEN DIFFICULT FOR DEALER TO DIAGNOSE. *AK
ENGINE HAS KNOCKING SOUND LIKE A STUCK LIFTER DURING FIRST 10-15 MINUTES AFTER STARTING WHEN COLD; OCCURS 75 PERCENT OF THE TIME. *AK
WHENEVER MAKING A NORMAL STOP BRAKES WOULD RELEASE BUT NOT ALL THE WAY. WAS TRAVELING 50MPH & STARTED TO SLOW DOWN FOR A RED LIGHT, WHEN THE BRAKES FAILED. HAS BEEN TO DEALER TWICE & MECHANIC COULD NOT LOCATE THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM. *AK
FAULTY WIRING CAUSED DASHBOARD TO CATCH ON FIRE. *AK
SOMETIMES WHEN CONSUMER PUTS HER TRUCK IN PARK THE TRUCK WILL ROLL AWAY. *AK
VEHICLE DESIGNED WITHOUT AIR BAGS. *YC
FUEL INJECTOR FAILED. YH
REAR SIDE DOOR LATCH FAILED TWICE. *YC
BRAKES WILL NOT STOP VEHICLE ADEQUATELY ON WET / SLIPPERY SURFACES. STOPPING DISTANCE IS TWO TO THREE TIMES GREATER THAN NON ANTI LOCK BRAKES ON SPECIFIED ROAD CONDITIONS. WHEN OPTIONAL SNOWPLOW EQUIPMENT IS ON TRUCK , BRAKING EFFECTIVNESS DECREASES FURTHER.
PASSENGER SIDE DEFROSTER DOES NOT WORK. I WAS TOLD THIS WAS A NORMAL CHARACTERISTIC OF THE TRUCK AND IT WAS NOT A PROBLEM BY BUFFORD WARD CHEVROLET IN QUINCY ILLINOIS 62301. IT IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE OUT OF THE PASSENGER SIDE OF MY WINDSHIELD WHEN THE WEATHER IS BAD OR THERE IS ICE ON THE WINDSHIELD. THERE ARE VENTS FOR THE DEFROSTER AND HARDLY ANY AIR COMES OUT OF THEM. THE DRIVERS SIDE WORKS FINE. I CHECKED TWO OTHER 1998 CHEVROLET TRUCKS ON THE LOT AND THEY BOTH HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. I FEEL THIS IS VERY UNSAFE. I AM AN ILLINOIS STATE TROOPER AND I HANDLE MANY ACCIDENTS BECAUSE OF OBSTRUCTED DRIVERS VIEW. I WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR EARLIEST RESPONSE.
THE REAR BUMPER HAS THREE BOLTS MISSING FROM IT. NO LICENSE PLATE BULB OR WIRING GOING TO THE PLATES. SIX HOLES UNDER THE BED LINER IN THE TAILGATE, HARDWARE WAS IN. UNSATISFACTORY CONDITION WHEN DEALER ATTEMPTED TO REMEDY THE PROBLEM. *AK
BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER REPLACED. ERRATIC OPERATION OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, CAUSING RADIO TO BE RESET 2-3 TIMES A WEEK.
WHILE PARKED THE VEHICLE CAUGHT ON FIRE UNDER THE HOOD . THE VEHICLE WAS TOTALED. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED. *AK
REAR AXLE NOT SQUARE BEHIND THE FRONT AXLE, ASSEMBLY PROBLEM FRAME HOLES ON THE LEFT DID NOT MATCH HOLES ON THE RIGHT.
ABS BRAKES DO NOT STOP ON SANDY OR DIRT TYPE ROADS. PEDAL PULSATES AND GOES TO FLOOR. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER, AND THEY TESTED IT ON PAVEMENT, BUT NOT STOPPING ON DIRT. THEY FOUND VEHICLE TO OPERATE NORMALLY. *AK
BRAKES FAILED CAUSING VEHICLE COLLISION.
REAR AXLE COLLAPSED, CAUSING OTHER COMPONENTS TO FAIL.
NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Full record for the 1998 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 → · Every Silverado 2500 year → · How the figures are calculated →