AI Damage1998 Chevrolet Tahoe: common problems
Owners of the 1998 Chevrolet Tahoe filed 263 complaints with NHTSA, most often about service brakes and visibility. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 263
- involving a crash
- 18
What fails most often
- 1 Service brakes 29% of all complaints
- 2 Visibility 19% of all complaints
- 3 Steering 12% of all complaints
- 4 Engine and cooling 8% of all complaints
- 5 Powertrain 8% of all complaints
- 6 Electrical system 8% of all complaints
- 7 Fuel system 6% of all complaints
- 8 Suspension 5% of all complaints
- Service brakes: 76 complaints (29% of all), 7 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Visibility: 50 complaints (19% of all).
- Steering: 31 complaints (12% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Engine and cooling: 21 complaints (8% of all), 3 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Powertrain: 21 complaints (8% of all).
Engines and transmissions
US-market versions per EPA. On the right: how many NHTSA complaints name this engine or transmission type.
- 5.7 L · petrol · 8 cylnamed in 1 complaints
- 6.5 L · diesel · turbo · 8 cyl
- automatic, 4-speed
Drive: AWD, RWD
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 263 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service brakes | 76 | 7 | 0 |
| Visibility | 50 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering | 31 | 1 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 21 | 3 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 21 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 20 | 1 | 0 |
| Fuel system | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| Tires | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Air bags | 9 | 7 | 0 |
| Equipment | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheels | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat belts | 3 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
As a result, the contact crashed into a ditch and the air bags failed to deploy. The crash caused the driver to suffer head injuries. The police were contacted and report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to a body shop. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vin was unknown.
I was in a front end accident and my airbags didn't deploy.
When the contact went to apply the brakes, the abs engaged and the brake pedal went to the floor and the vehicles crashed. The contact's vehicle received no damage; however, the other vehicle sustained property damage to the rear bumper. The police were called to the scene although there were no injuries.
The air bags never deployed causing and driver to be thrown from the vehicle. The driver did have surgery on his leg because of the severity of the break. The driver will not be able to put any pressure on the leg for a minimum of three months. And after that it will be very minimal and will gradually increase.
Engine quit during heavy rain,at 40 mph, brakes locked up, resulting in loss of steering and control. Vehicle ran off road and hit a tree. Air bags did not deploy. No injuries, but major damage to vehicle.
Century car seat model: 45100sth, manufacturer's date: 06-30-2000; purchase date approximately 8/00. Seat was properly installed in chevrolet tahoe and child was properly seated and buckled into car seat. Accident occurred on 2/9/02; approximate travel speed: 50 mph, in 4-wheel drive.
Vehicle was stopped at a red light and another vehicle rearended consumer's vehicle. Front seats collapsed backwards. Consumer will add vin. 2 people were injured with back, neck, leg, and arm injuries.
Intermittently vehicle just shut down while driving on the freeway. This has happened 5 tmes since may of 99, resulting in a rear end crash on 3/23/00. Dealer was not able to find what was causing vehicle to shut down. Please provide any further information.
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
Comparison
By complaint count this model year ranks 1,548 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 4% most complained about).
On average one model year of the Tahoe has 258 complaints (39 years in the data). This year has 263, about average.
What to check before buying
- Service brakes. Pedal feel, ABS operation, leaks, discs and hoses.
- Visibility. Wipers, mirrors, defrosters, cracked glass.
- Steering. Steering play, power assist, rack and tie rods after a wheel impact.
- Engine and cooling. Radiator and fan after a frontal hit, coolant level and condition, overheating.
Other years of this model
- Tahoe 19913 sources
- Tahoe 19926 sources
- Tahoe 19938 sources
- Tahoe 199419 sources
- Tahoe 1995246 sources
- Tahoe 1996283 sources
- Tahoe 1997410 sources
- Tahoe 1999552 sources
- Tahoe 2000282 sources
- Tahoe 2001512 sources
- Tahoe 2002449 sources
- Tahoe 2003507 sources
- Tahoe 2004467 sources
- Tahoe 2005293 sources
- Tahoe 2006114 sources
- Tahoe 20071,177 sources
- Tahoe 2008528 sources
- Tahoe 2009284 sources
- Tahoe 2010314 sources
- Tahoe 2011447 sources
- Tahoe 2012178 sources
- Tahoe 2013233 sources
- Tahoe 201490 sources
- Tahoe 2015659 sources
- Tahoe 20161,469 sources
- Tahoe 20171,171 sources
- Tahoe 2018873 sources
- Tahoe 2019841 sources
- Tahoe 2020850 sources
- Tahoe 20211,942 sources
- Tahoe 20221,534 sources
- Tahoe 20231,314 sources
- Tahoe 2024816 sources
- Tahoe 2025519 sources
- Tahoe 2026242 sources
- Tahoe 20279 sources
- Tahoe 99993 sources
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 1998 Chevrolet Tahoe?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: service brakes, visibility, steering. Total complaints: 263. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: rust, corrosion (5%), fuel system, fuel smell (4%), smoke, burning smell, fire (3%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 1998 Chevrolet Tahoe?
NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.
Should I buy a 1998 Chevrolet Tahoe from a US auction?
Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.
Other 1998 models
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.