1998 CHEVROLET LUMINA — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 222 complaints · 4 recalls

Verdict & Safety Summary

Most-reported system: STEERING (54 complaints · 24.3%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 8
  • Fires 6
  • Injuries 12
  • Deaths 0
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution STEERING appears in 54 of 222 owner complaints (24.3%) in this vehicle snapshot. STEERING: 54 complaints, 24.3% of reports STEERING 54 · 24.3% ENGINE: 37 complaints, 16.7% of reports ENGINE 37 · 16.7% · 4 fire reports SERVICE BRAKES: 29 complaints, 13.1% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 29 · 13.1% · 2 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 14 complaints, 6.3% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 14 · 6.3% · 1 fire reports AIR BAGS: 13 complaints, 5.9% of reports AIR BAGS 13 · 5.9% · 4 crash reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 10 complaints, 4.5% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 10 · 4.5% · 1 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 9 complaints, 4.1% of reports POWER TRAIN 9 · 4.1% VISIBILITY: 9 complaints, 4.1% of reports VISIBILITY 9 · 4.1% FUEL SYSTEM: 8 complaints, 3.6% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 8 · 3.6% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 144 complaints, 64.9% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 144 · 64.9% · 5 crash reports 2 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
STEERING 54 24.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 37 16.7% 0 crashes · 4 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 29 13.1% 2 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 14 6.3% 0 crashes · 1 fires
AIR BAGS 13 5.9% 4 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 10 4.5% 0 crashes · 1 fires
POWER TRAIN 9 4.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 9 4.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 8 3.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 144 64.9% 5 crashes · 2 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 1998; the first recall shown was reported in Dec 2003. 1998-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 1998-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 1999-Q1: 16 owner reports 16 1999-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 1999-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 1999-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2000-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2000-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2000-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2000-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2001-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2001-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2001-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2001-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2002-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2002-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2003-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2003-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2003-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2004-Q1: 13 owner reports 13 2004-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2004-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2004-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2005-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2005-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2006-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2009-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2009-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2016-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jan 1998 Jan 2020 Recall campaign 03V527000 ◆ Recall campaign 03V527000 Recall campaign 07E021000 ◆ Recall campaign 07E021000 Recall campaign 09V116000 ◆ Recall campaign 09V116000 Recall campaign 15V701000 ◆ Recall campaign 15V701000 Investigation EA02030 ● Investigation EA02030 Investigation RQ03001 ● Investigation RQ03001 Investigation EA03019 ● Investigation EA03019
  • Campaign 03V527000 was reported 1,774 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 07E021000 was reported 2,924 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 15V701000 was reported 6,423 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1998-Q1 Owner reports 2
1998-Q2 Owner reports 5
1998-Q3 Owner reports 2
1998-Q4 Owner reports 7
1999-Q1 Owner reports 16
1999-Q2 Owner reports 3
1999-Q3 Owner reports 3
1999-Q4 Owner reports 5
2000-Q1 Owner reports 8
2000-Q2 Owner reports 6
2000-Q3 Owner reports 9
2000-Q4 Owner reports 7
2001-Q1 Owner reports 8
2001-Q2 Owner reports 7
2001-Q3 Owner reports 5
2001-Q4 Owner reports 5
2002-Q1 Owner reports 3
2002-Q2 Owner reports 1
2002-Q3 Owner reports 7
2002-Q4 Owner reports 4
2003-Q1 Owner reports 1
2003-Q2 Owner reports 4
2003-Q3 Owner reports 4
2003-Q4 Owner reports 8
2004-Q1 Owner reports 13
2004-Q2 Owner reports 7
2004-Q3 Owner reports 7
2004-Q4 Owner reports 5
2005-Q1 Owner reports 6
2005-Q2 Owner reports 2
2005-Q3 Owner reports 3
2005-Q4 Owner reports 2
2006-Q2 Owner reports 3
2006-Q3 Owner reports 2
2007-Q1 Owner reports 2
2007-Q3 Owner reports 1
2008-Q1 Owner reports 1
2008-Q2 Owner reports 3
2008-Q3 Owner reports 2
2009-Q1 Owner reports 3
2009-Q2 Owner reports 1
2009-Q3 Owner reports 1
2009-Q4 Owner reports 1
2010-Q3 Owner reports 1
2010-Q4 Owner reports 1
2011-Q1 Owner reports 1
2011-Q2 Owner reports 1
2012-Q2 Owner reports 1
2012-Q3 Owner reports 1
2012-Q4 Owner reports 1
2013-Q2 Owner reports 2
2014-Q3 Owner reports 2
2014-Q4 Owner reports 1
2015-Q4 Owner reports 2
2016-Q1 Owner reports 3
2016-Q2 Owner reports 1
2016-Q3 Owner reports 1
2016-Q4 Owner reports 1
2017-Q1 Owner reports 3
2017-Q2 Owner reports 1
2017-Q3 Owner reports 1
2018-Q4 Owner reports 1
2020-Q1 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 03V527000
Recall campaign 1 07E021000
Recall campaign 1 09V116000
Recall campaign 1 15V701000
Defect investigation 1 EA02030
Defect investigation 1 RQ03001
Defect investigation 1 EA03019
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (4)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 03V527000

    Report date
    Component:
    STEERING
    Consequence:
    IF THIS OCCURS, THE PINION SHAFT CAN BE FORCED UPWARD DURING LEFT TURNS AND BACK DOWN AS THE STEERING WHEEL IS MOVED BACK AND TO THE RIGHT. IF THE PINION SHAFT MOVES FURTHER, THE DRIVER WILL NEED TO EXERT MORE EFFORT TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL, SIMILAR TO A VEHICLE WITHOUT POWER ASSISTED STEERING. IF THE PINION SHAFT MOVES EVEN FURTHER, THE DRIVER WILL REQUIRE MUCH HIGHER EFFORT TO TURN LEFT AND MAY NOT BE ABLE TO TURN THE WHEEL AS MUCH AS INTENDED. WITH THE MAXIMUM PINION SHAFT MOVEMENT, WHICH REQUIRES INTERNAL GEAR COMPONENT DAMAGE, THE DRIVER CAN ENCOUNTER HIGH RESISTANCE TO TURNING LEFT, FOLLOWED BY UNINTENDED POWER ASSIST TO THE RIGHT. IN ANY OF THESE CONDITIONS, A CRASH COULD OCCUR.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSTALL A NEW LOWER PINION BEARING UNLESS INSPECT OF THE EXISTING BEARING INDICATES THAT REPLACEMENT OF THE GEAR ASSEMBLY IS NECESSARY. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN ON FEBRUARY 5, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT BUICK AT 1-866-608-8080; CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438; OLDSMOBILE AT 1-800-630-6537; OR PONTIAC AT 1-800-620-7668.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 07E021000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER
    Consequence:
    FUEL MAY LEAK, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A FIRE.
    Remedy:
    DELPHI WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE UPR FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 23, 2007. OWNERS CAN CONTACT DELPHI AT 877-411-8770.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 09V116000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    IF THE MANIFOLD IS HOT ENOUGH AND THE OIL RUNS BELOW THE HEAT SHIELD, IT MAY IGNITE INTO A SMALL FLAME AND MAY SPREAD TO THE PLASTIC SPARK PLUG WIRE CHANNEL AND BEYOND INCREASING THE RISK OF AN ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE ENGINE’S FRONT VALVE COVER AND FRONT-VALVE-COVER GASKET WITH NEW PARTS OF AN IMPROVED DESIGN AND REMOVE THE ENGINE’S PLASTIC COVER AND PLASTIC OIL-FILL-TUBE EXTENSION, FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING MAY 2016. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438, OLDSMOBILE AT 1-800-630-6537, AND PONTIAC AT 1-800-620-7668 OR HTTP://WWW.PONTIAC.COM OR HTTP:WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 15V701000

    Report date
    Component:
    ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
    Consequence:
    Engine oil that drips onto the hot surface of the exhaust manifold may result in a fire.
    Remedy:
    The remedy applied under recalls 08V-118, 09V-116, and 15V-201 did not adequately remove the safety risk. Under the improved remedy, dealers will replace the engine’s front valve cover and gasket. Vehicles that are covered by recalls 08V-118, 09V-116, or 15V-201 that have not yet received the original remedy will instead receive the improved remedy under the original recall number. The recall began on February 19, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Oldsmobile customer service at 1-800-442-6537 and Pontiac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is 15757. Note: Until the improved remedy has been applied, owners are advised to park their vehicle outside since the fire risk exists even when the vehicle is unattended.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-22
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 222 complaints · page 1 of 9

No complaints match the current filters.

EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-22.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources