1998 GMC Suburban problems & reliability
100 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 1998 GMC Suburban, alongside 1 safety recall campaign. 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.
4 complaints report injuries (7 injured, 1 deaths reported).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 1998 GMC Suburban vehicles were involved in 6 fatal crashes with 3 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 26 | 26% |
| Visibility | 17 | 17% |
| Electrical System | 16 | 16% |
| Power Train | 15 | 15% |
| Tires | 11 | 11% |
| Steering | 7 | 7% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 5 | 5% |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 4 | 4% |
| Seat Belts | 4 | 4% |
| Equipment | 3 | 3% |
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 92,000 miles (middle 50% between 55,000 and 104,000 miles), based on 25 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“While sitting.. Standing still.. Parked.. The spare tire in the rear of the suburban exploded.. I discovered this several days later.. The explosion caused approximately $650 in damage.. Not including the cost of the tire itself.. I contacted b.f. Goodrich and was assigned a claim number .. A case number.. 2983357.. I…”
Unknown OR Other · filed Aug 1, 2011
“I have a 1998 gmc suburban just purchased and I experienced the same problem described in recall #05v379000. Result was my wife slammed into the back of another car in our driveway. Damage was minimal but I sure don't want her driving this vehicle until it is fixed! I called gm and they said this year (1998) is not…”
Service Brakes, Hydraulic · filed Oct 26, 2007
“Previous separation of the tread on passenger rear tire, replaced with spare on july 18, 2006. Checked all other tires showed good condition. July 24, 2006 while driving freeway separation of driver side tire tread caused major car accident. Summit premium plus tires. *jb”
Tires · filed Aug 1, 2006
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Technical service bulletins
35 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 1998 GMC Suburban. 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 informational bulletin provides information for dealers/technicians on Procedures to Unlock Delco Radio with Theftlock.
19NA273 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 2, 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…
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
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 GMC Suburban has 1 NHTSA recall campaign — 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 GMC Suburban?
- · 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 92,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.