1998 Chevrolet Venture problems & reliability
409 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 1998 Chevrolet Venture, alongside 4 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
23 complaints report injuries (39 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 1998 Chevrolet Venture vehicles were involved in 3 fatal crashes with 2 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Engine and Engine Cooling → | 111 | 27% |
| Exterior Lighting → | 59 | 14% |
| Steering → | 36 | 9% |
| Electrical System → | 31 | 8% |
| Structure → | 30 | 7% |
| Air Bags → | 27 | 7% |
| Fuel System, Gasoline → | 25 | 6% |
| Visibility → | 23 | 6% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic → | 22 | 5% |
| Seat Belts → | 21 | 5% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 82,000 miles (middle 50% between 64,698 and 105,000 miles), based on 123 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Van was traveling at approx 65 mph..ford quad cab truck pulled out in front of me..I locked the brakes, some skid marks down the highway, and completely broadsided the truck. Damage to truck was on driver side door, and front corner panel. Several of trucks airbags deployed. Impact was at a high speed. Injuries to…”
Air Bags · filed Jan 10, 2016
“Tl* the contact owns a 1998 chevrolet venture. The contact stated that while making a left turn at approximately 5 mph, the steering wheel seized without warning. The failure recurred several times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced…”
Steering · filed Nov 27, 2015
“Tl*the contact owns a 1998 chevrolet venture. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to shift from the park position. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and stated that the vin was not included in nhtsa campaign number…”
Power Train · filed Mar 23, 2015
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- POWER-SLIDING DOOR
Preliminary Evaluation PE04064 · opened Sep 17, 2004 · closed Dec 22, 2004 · led to recall 04V597000
- REAR AXLE TRAILING ARM FAILURE
Engineering Analysis EA03005 · opened Apr 23, 2003 · closed Jan 12, 2004
- REAR AXLE TRAILING ARM FAILURE
Preliminary Evaluation PE02086 · opened Nov 18, 2002 · closed Apr 9, 2003
- SAFETY BELT ASSEMBLY FAILURE
Engineering Analysis EA02032 · opened Nov 18, 2002 · closed Nov 21, 2003
- SHOULDER HARNESS CLIP
Preliminary Evaluation PE02017 · opened Feb 11, 2002 · closed Aug 2, 2002
- AIR BAG TEAR DURING DEPLOYMENT
Preliminary Evaluation PE00045 · opened Nov 3, 2000 · closed Jan 11, 2001
- UNEXPECTED OPENING OF SLIDING DOOR
Investigation SQ00014 · opened Jul 25, 2000 · closed Oct 22, 2001 · led to recall 01V067000
Technical service bulletins
90 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 1998 Chevrolet Venture. The 10 most recent:
This warranty administration bulletin provides information regarding the field action courtesy transportation policy.
17-NA-073 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 21, 2023
This Preliminary Information communicates to the dealer the process for downloading or updating operating software for the Tire Pressure Monitor, Active Fuel Injector tester, multi media tester, PICO Scope, GR8…
PIP4723F · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 14, 2022
This Preliminary Information communicates to the dealer the process for downloading or updating operating software for the Tire Pressure Monitor, Active Fuel Injector tester, multi media tester, PICO Scope, GR8…
PIP4723D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 31, 2020
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician on how to unlock radios that are Delco TheftLock. Technician will use the radio to get the scrambled code. Technician will need to…
PIC4696E · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 22, 2019
This warranty administration bulletin provides information regarding the field action courtesy transportation policy.
17NA073 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 18, 2019
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician on how to unlock radios that are Delco TheftLock. Technician will use the radio to get the scrambled code. Technician will need to…
PIC4696D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 5, 2019
This warranty administration bulletin provides information regarding the field action courtesy transportation policy.
17NA073 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 15, 2019
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician on how to unlock radios that are Delco Theft Lock. Technician will use the radio to get the scrambled code. Technician will need to…
PIC4696C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 31, 2018
This Preliminary Information communicates to the dealer the process for downloading or updating operating software for the Tire Pressure Monitor, Active Fuel Injector tester, multi media tester, PICO Scope, GR8…
PIP4723C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 20, 2017
This warranty administration bulletin provides policy information with the field action courtesy transportation policy.
17-NA-073 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 15, 2017
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 1998 Chevrolet Venture has 4 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 1998 Chevrolet Venture?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 82,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.