1998 Chevrolet Venture problems
Owners have filed 518 complaints about the 1998 Chevrolet Venture with NHTSA. Engine and engine cooling accounts for 22.4% of them — the clear leader, ahead of exterior lighting at 12.7%.
Complaints518
Crashes33
Fires4
Injuries50
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Engine and engine cooling 22.4% · 116
Exterior lighting 12.7% · 66
Steering 7.1% · 37
Electrical system 6.4% · 33
Structure 5.8% · 30
Air bags 5.6% · 29
Fuel system, gasoline 5.4% · 28
Service brakes, hydraulic 5.0% · 26
Severity
Of those complaints, 33 describe a crash, 4 describe a fire and 50 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 8 model years of the Chevrolet Venture in this data, 1998 ranks 2nd by complaint volume — 1997 draws the most.
Filings have fallen off, 4 in the last three years against 6 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 82,310 miles.
In owners' own words
1998 Chevy Venture, 77000 miles, no warning, engine light came on, pulled over, engine tapping & smoking. Walked 1.2 Miles on interstate, 8 miles to exit, took ride from unknown couple. Had van towed, diagnosed: collasped intake gasket caused rod to go through engine. Dealership & gm refused to help. Repeatable problem with gasket easily located on internet, overwelmed by severity. Engine and engine cooling · reported at 77,000 miles
1998 Chevy Venture mini-van. Have had to replace the radiator (now twice) due to overheating caused by "sludge" in the cooling system. Also, mechanic reports a coolant leakage in intake manifold gasket, which apparently is a well-known problem. Have only put dexcool in system, so wonder where sludge came from. Have not had gasket repaired yet because I think gm should do it for free. Engine and engine cooling
The intake gasket on my 98 Venture failed and leaked dexcool into the engine. The engine temp fluctuated and the vehicle overheated damaging the head gasket. I see gm is ignoring the issue as well as nhtsa. There is however a law firm in putting together a class action suit for this problem. I encourage all to join in the suit and to leave gm and become loyal honda owners. Engine and engine cooling · reported at 112,234 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…
Other Chevrolet Venture years
1997 612 complaints · 15.2% engine and engine cooling 1999 467 complaints · 25.5% engine and engine cooling 2000 464 complaints · 18.1% engine and engine cooling 2001 284 complaints · 15.8% engine and engine cooling 2002 284 complaints · 15.8% engine and engine cooling 2003 231 complaints · 13.9% exterior lighting