How many miles will a 1998 GMC Sierra 1500 last?
Half of the 38 NHTSA owner complaints on the 1998 GMC Sierra 1500 that list mileage came after 79,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 164,000 miles. NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026 holds 59 complaints on this model year; each mileage is the odometer when an owner reported a safety problem, not how long the vehicle lasted.
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See what the paid report includes →Of the 38 complaints on the 1998 GMC Sierra 1500 that list mileage, the middle half came between 55,000 and 120,000 miles; 15 (39%) came after 100,000 miles, 5 (13%) after 150,000 and 1 (3%) after 200,000.
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How many miles will a 1998 Sierra 1500 last?
The 38 mileages owners gave run from 2 to 230,000 miles. A quarter are at or under 55,210 miles, half at or under 80,000, three quarters at or under 120,000 and nine in ten at or under 165,000; 15 (39%) came after 100,000 miles, 5 (13%) after 150,000 and 1 (3%) after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 1998 Sierra 1500 wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 2 miles |
| 25th percentile | 55,210 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 80,000 miles |
| 75th percentile | 120,000 miles |
| 90th percentile | 165,000 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 230,000 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 15 (39%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | 5 (13%) |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | 1 (3%) |
Every model year together: Half of the 4,247 NHTSA owner complaints on the GMC Sierra 1500 that list mileage came after 58,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a GMC Sierra 1500 last? →
Common problems with the 1998 Sierra 1500
NHTSA's file holds 59 owner complaints on the 1998 GMC Sierra 1500. Owners named the brakes most often: 15 complaints, and half of the 9 that list a mileage came after 75,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 15 | 9 | 76,000 |
| Visibility | 11 | 8 | 72,000 |
| Power Train | 7 | 5 | 81,000 |
| Steering | 6 | 3 | Under 5 mileages |
| Air Bags | 4 | 2 | Under 5 mileages |
Of the 59 complaints, 6 report a crash, 2 report a fire and 4 report an injury (5 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 1998 Sierra 1500 a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 1998 is a good or a bad Sierra 1500: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 1998 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 59 complaints, the 1998 ranks 30th of the 31 GMC Sierra 1500 model years from 1994 to 2026 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2014 (744). The fewest: the 1994 (13).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 Sierra 1500 | 13 | 10 | 120,000 |
| 1997 Sierra 1500 | 83 | 38 | 80,000 |
| 1998 (this page) | 59 | 38 | 80,000 |
| 1999 Sierra 1500 | 158 | 128 | 107,000 |
| 2000 Sierra 1500 | 181 | 152 | 90,012 |
| 2001 Sierra 1500 | 140 | 123 | 97,000 |
| 2002 Sierra 1500 | 166 | 153 | 80,000 |
| 2003 Sierra 1500 | 180 | 162 | 75,000 |
| 2004 Sierra 1500 | 212 | 185 | 60,000 |
| 2005 Sierra 1500 | 177 | 158 | 70,000 |
| 2006 Sierra 1500 | 145 | 129 | 52,000 |
| 2007 Sierra 1500 | 263 | 142 | 72,000 |
| 2008 Sierra 1500 | 381 | 195 | 75,000 |
| 2009 Sierra 1500 | 234 | 117 | 72,750 |
| 2010 Sierra 1500 | 168 | 100 | 63,000 |
| 2011 Sierra 1500 | 284 | 150 | 55,000 |
| 2012 Sierra 1500 | 107 | 67 | 60,440 |
| 2013 Sierra 1500 | 116 | 68 | 70,000 |
| 2014 Sierra 1500 | 744 | 514 | 55,000 |
| 2015 Sierra 1500 | 721 | 467 | 47,000 |
| 2016 Sierra 1500 | 344 | 187 | 47,000 |
| 2017 Sierra 1500 | 357 | 139 | 39,000 |
| 2018 Sierra 1500 | 305 | 121 | 34,000 |
| 2019 Sierra 1500 | 662 | 222 | 14,200 |
| 2020 Sierra 1500 | 484 | 128 | 34,800 |
| 2021 Sierra 1500 | 603 | 125 | 50,000 |
| 2022 Sierra 1500 | 607 | 94 | 39,541 |
| 2023 Sierra 1500 | 516 | 52 | 31,230 |
| 2024 Sierra 1500 | 384 | 50 | 20,000 |
| 2025 Sierra 1500 | 130 | 14 | 16,000 |
| 2026 Sierra 1500 | 150 | 19 | 3,900 |
The linked 2015–2022 pages show NHTSA's September 15, 2026 collection, so their counts can differ from this table's.
Every Sierra 1500 year compared on NHTSA’s complaints and recalls: GMC Sierra 1500 years to avoid →
1998 GMC Sierra 1500 recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 4 recall campaigns that name the 1998 GMC Sierra 1500 (2 vehicle campaigns and 2 equipment or tire campaigns that name this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
| Campaign | Report received | Component |
|---|---|---|
| 07E088000 | Oct 24, 2007 | EQUIPMENT |
| 06E043000 | May 19, 2006 | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE |
| 98V187000 | Aug 10, 1998 | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY |
| 98V033000 | Feb 17, 1998 | SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:ROTOR |
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 1998 Sierra 1500 lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 1998 Sierra 1500.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 21 of the 59 complaints on the 1998 GMC Sierra 1500 give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA name counted: SIERRA 1500. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only this one.
- Recall-file name matched: SIERRA 1500.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
1998 GMC Sierra 1500 questions
How many miles will a 1998 GMC Sierra 1500 last?
Half of the 38 NHTSA owner complaints on the 1998 GMC Sierra 1500 that list mileage came after 79,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 164,000 miles. Of the 38 complaints on the 1998 GMC Sierra 1500 that list mileage, the middle half came between 55,000 and 120,000 miles; 15 (39%) came after 100,000 miles, 5 (13%) after 150,000 and 1 (3%) after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem, not a lifespan: the file holds no 1998 Sierra 1500 that never had one.
What are the most common 1998 GMC Sierra 1500 problems?
NHTSA's file holds 59 owner complaints on the 1998 GMC Sierra 1500. Owners named the brakes most often: 15 complaints, and half of the 9 that list a mileage came after 75,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 59 complaints, 6 report a crash, 2 report a fire and 4 report an injury (5 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 1998 GMC Sierra 1500 a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 1998 is a good or a bad Sierra 1500: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 1998 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 59 complaints, the 1998 ranks 30th of the 31 GMC Sierra 1500 model years from 1994 to 2026 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2014 (744). The fewest: the 1994 (13).
How many recalls does the 1998 GMC Sierra 1500 have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 4 recall campaigns that name the 1998 GMC Sierra 1500 (2 vehicle campaigns and 2 equipment or tire campaigns that name this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 1998 GMC Sierra 1500 before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 1998 GMC Sierra 1500.