RecallRepo

1998 Oldsmobile Silhouette Recalls

Recalls on record Updated July 2026

The 1998 Oldsmobile Silhouette has 7 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 2,821,890 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 225 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the exterior lighting. Last updated July 5, 2026.

Recall campaigns

LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 04V597000 2004-12-22 717,302 affected
Defect

ON CERTAIN MINIVANS EQUIPPED WITH SECOND-ROW BUCKET SEATS OR CAPTAIN'S CHAIRS AND A POWER SLIDING DOOR ON THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE VEHICLE, A PASSENGER USING THE INTERIOR HANDLE TO OPEN THE POWER SLIDING DOOR COULD BE INJURED.

Consequence

IF A PASSENGER USES THE INTERIOR HANDLE TO OPEN THE POWER SLIDING DOOR AND HOLDS ONTO THE HANDLE WHILE IT IS BEING OPENED BY THE MOTOR, THE PASSENGER'S ARM MAY BE PUSHED INTO THE SEAT BACK OR ARMREST AND A WRIST OR LOWER ARM INJURY MAY RESULT.

Remedy

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE POWER SLIDING DOOR INTERIOR HANDLE ON THE PASSENGER-SIDE. IF THE VEHICLE IS EQUIPPED WITH A POWER OR MANUAL SLIDING DOOR ON THE DRIVER-SIDE, THE INTERIOR HANDLE WILL ALSO BE REPLACED FOR APPEARANCE REASONS. NOTE: BEFORE THE VEHICLE IS SERVICED, GM ADVISES OWNERS TO NOT USE THE INTERIOR…

STEERING 02V286000 2002-11-04 1,159,156 affected
Defect

CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES AND MINI VANS HAVE LOWER PINION BEARINGS IN THE POWER RACK AND PINION ASSEMBLY IN WHICH THE RETAINER TABS WERE NOT CRIMPED PROPERLY. THESE AND SOME OTHER RETAINERS USED IN VEHICLES ASSEMBLED BETWEEN JANUARY 1, 1996 AND OCTOBER 31, 1997, COULD FAIL AND PERMIT THE BALL BEARINGS TO ESCAPE.

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…

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 JANUARY 24, 2003. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY…

LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 01V264000 2001-08-21 248,737 affected
Defect

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: 1997-2001 CHEVROLET VENTURE, PONTIAC MONTANA/TRANSPORT, AND OLDSMOBILE SILHOUETTE MINI VANS EQUIPPED WITH PASSENGER SIDE POWER SLIDING DOORS THAT WERE SERVICED IN CAMPAIGN 01013 (01V-067) FROM APRIL TO AUGUST 2001. ALSO 2001 CHEVROLET VENTURE, PONTIAC MONTANA, AND OLDSMOBILE SILHOUETTE MINI VANS…

Consequence

IF THIS HAPPENS, THE POWER SLIDING DOOR CAN OPEN WHILE THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION, PARTICULARLY WHEN THE VEHICLE ASCENDS A HILL, MAKES A TURN, OR TRAVELS OVER A ROUGH ROAD SURFACE. AN UNRESTRAINED OCCUPANT COULD FALL OUT OF THE VAN AND BE INJURED.

Remedy

DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND, IF REQUIRED, INSTALL A NEW POWER SLIDING DOOR UNLATCH ACTUATOR ASSEMBLY. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN ON OCTOBER 22, 2001. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT…

LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 01V067000 2001-03-08 477,011 affected
Defect

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: MINIVANS EQUIPPED WITH PASSENGER SIDE POWER SLIDING DOORS. THE DOOR CLOSES BUT MAY NOT BE LATCHED. IF THIS HAPPENS, THE POWER SLIDING DOOR CAN OPEN WHILE THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION, PARTICULARLY WHEN THE VEHICLE ASCENDS A HILL, MAKES A TURN, OR TRAVELS OVER A ROUGH ROAD SURFACE.

Consequence

AN UNRESTRAINED OCCUPANT COULD FALL OUT OF THE VAN AND BE INJURED.

Remedy

DEALERS WILL INSTALL A NEW UN-LATCH ACTUATOR ASSEMBLY TO THE POWER SLIDING DOOR. THIS RECALL HAS BEEN CONTINUED UNDER SAFETY RECALL 01V-264. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT CHEVROLET AT…

SEATS 98V145000 1998-06-26 125,990 affected
Defect

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER MINI VANS EQUIPPED WITH BUCKET SEATS OR A SPLIT BENCH SEAT IN THE SECOND (MIDDLE) OR THIRD (BACK) ROW. THE SEAT LATCH MECHANISMS ON BUCKET SEATS AND ON THE 40% PORTION OF THE SPLIT BENCH SEAT IN THE SECOND AND THIRD ROWS DO NOT HAVE PROTECTIVE COVERS.

Consequence

WHEN ACTIVATING THE RELEASE MECHANISM TO ROLL A BUCKET SEAT FORWARD, A CUSTOMER'S FINGER(S) COULD BE SEVERELY INJURED OR SEVERED IN THEY ARE NOT KEPT CLEAR OF THE MECHANISM.

Remedy

DEALERS WILL INSTALL PROTECTIVE COVERS ON THE OUTBOARD LATCH MECHANISMS ON ALL LEFT AND RIGHT HAND REAR BUCKET SEATS IN THE SECOND AND THIRD ROW, AND TO BOTH INBOARD AND OUTBOARD LATCH MECHANISMS ON THE CENTER REAR BUCKET SEAT AND THE 40% PORTION OF THE SPLIT BENCH SEAT.

POWER TRAIN 98V131000 1998-06-11 38,540 affected
Defect

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: MINI VANS. THESE VEHICLES MAY HAVE (1) A BROKEN SHIFT CABLE FITTING OR (2) LOOSE SHIFT LINKAGE. CONSEQUENTLY, MOVING THE SHIFT LEVER TO A 'PARK' POSITION MAY NOT SHIFT THE TRANSMISSION TO 'PARK'.

Consequence

THE VEHICLE COULD ROLL INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Remedy

DEALERS WILL INSPECT, AND REPLACE IF NECESSARY, THE AUTOMATIC TRANSAXLE RANGE SELECTOR CABLE.

VISIBILITY 98V072000 1998-04-07 55,154 affected
Defect

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER MINI VANS EQUIPPED WITH TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEMS. THE WINDSHIELD WIPER LINKAGE ARM CAN CONTACT A BRAKE LINE WHICH IS CONNECTED TO THE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM MODULATOR VALVE. THIS CONTACT CAN CHAFE THE BRAKE LINE RESULTING IN A BRAKE FLUID LEAK.

Consequence

BRAKE FLUID LEAKAGE CAN CAUSE REDUCED BRAKE EFFECTIVENESS AND INCREASED STOPPING DISTANCES.

Remedy

DEALERS WILL INSTALL A BRAKE LINE CLIP TO ENSURE PROPER CLEARANCE. ALSO THE BRAKE LINES WILL BE INSPECTED TO ANY DAMAGE CAUSED BY THIS CONDITION AND WILL REPLACE ANY DAMAGED LINES.

Complaints by component

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS
27
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH
14
1injuries
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
13
STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR
10
1injuries
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
9
SEATS
8
4injuries
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
8
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE:BELTS AND ASSOCIATED PULLEYS
5
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
5
STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
5
Total complaints225

What owners report

Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.

“Tl* the contact owns a 1998 oldsmobile silhouette. The contact stated that while exiting a parking space, the steering wheel failed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The contact was informed of nhtsa campaign id number: 02v286000 (steering:rack and pinion)…”

STEERING · reported 2012-07-12

“Tl* the contact owns a 1998 oldsmobile silhouette. The contact stated that once the vehicle was stopped and shifted into park, the vehicle would not shift into drive. In addition, the vehicle would only remain in park if the emergency brake was engaged. The vehicle was towed to a local repair…”

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION · reported 2011-02-27

“Tl* the contact owns a 1998 oldsmobile silhouette. The contact stated that once the vehicle was stopped and shifted into park, the vehicle would not shift into drive. In addition, the vehicle would only remain in park if the emergency brake was engaged. The vehicle was towed to a local repair…”

LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH · reported 2011-02-27

“Tl* the contact owns a 1998 oldsmobile silhouette. The contact stated that once the vehicle was stopped and shifted into park, the vehicle would not shift into drive. In addition, the vehicle would only remain in park if the emergency brake was engaged. The vehicle was towed to a local repair…”

SEAT BELTS · reported 2011-02-27

“Airbag light is intermittent. As the vehicle starts, the computer runs through it's checks, every now and then the airbag light illuminates and stays on until the vehicle is shut off and re-started. There is no warning when the light will stay on or turn off during start-up. This has been an…”

AIR BAGS · reported 2011-01-14

“While driving van the temperature gauge showed hot and heater stopped blowing hot air few minutes later it cooled back down and started blowing warm air and it continued to do that over and over put a thermostat in it and it did not help it continued to do the same thing it is full of water still…”

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING · reported 2010-12-24

“Tl*the contact owns a 1998 oldsmobile minivan. While the contact was driving approximately 35 mph unexpectedly the tire flattened. The vehicle was driven to the side of the road. The contact observed that the spare tire detached from the rusted spare tire cable bracket. The vehicle had not been…”

STRUCTURE · reported 2009-04-06

“Tl*the contact owns a 1998 oldsmobile silhouette. During a routine inspection, a technician stated that there was an abnormal oil leak. The oil leakage increases the risk of an engine compartment fire. No repairs were made at the time of inspection. The vin was not available. The failure mileage…”

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING · reported 2009-03-08

Defect investigations

Investigation EA02032 Opened 2002-11-18 · closed 2003-11-21

SAFETY BELT ASSEMBLY FAILURE

ODI IDENTIFIED 59 REPORTS WITH THE ALLEGED DEFECT.ODI WAS ABLE TO CONTACT 44 OF THE 59 CONSUMERS IN ORDER TO DETERMINE THE SPECIFIC CAUSE OF THE LATCH PROBLEMS.OF THE 44 OWNERS CONTACTED, ODI DETERMINED THAT FOUR FAILURES WERE DUE TO AN OUT-OF-TOLERANCE LATCH PLATE, AND THAT 23 FAILURES WERE DUE TO A DISPLACED BUCKLE…

Investigation EA03005 Opened 2003-04-23 · closed 2004-01-12

REAR AXLE TRAILING ARM FAILURE

ON NOVEMBER 18, 2002, ODI OPENED A PRELIMINARY EVALUATION (PE02-086) TO EVALUATE ALLEGATIONS OF REAR AXLE TRAILING ARM FAILURES IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES (U-VAN) WHICH INCLUDED TWO REPORTING CRASHES.ON APRIL 9, 2003, ODI UPGRADED PE02-086 TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (EA03-005) TO CONTINUE ITS EXAMINATION OF THE ISSUE.…

Investigation EA03005 Opened 2003-04-23 · closed 2004-01-12

REAR AXLE TRAILING ARM FAILURE

ON NOVEMBER 18, 2002, ODI OPENED A PRELIMINARY EVALUATION (PE02-086) TO EVALUATE ALLEGATIONS OF REAR AXLE TRAILING ARM FAILURES IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES (U-VAN) WHICH INCLUDED TWO REPORTING CRASHES.ON APRIL 9, 2003, ODI UPGRADED PE02-086 TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (EA03-005) TO CONTINUE ITS EXAMINATION OF THE ISSUE.…

Investigation PE00045 Opened 2000-11-03 · closed 2001-01-11

AIR BAG TEAR DURING DEPLOYMENT

Investigation PE02017 Opened 2002-02-11 · closed 2002-08-02

SHOULDER HARNESS CLIP

Investigation PE02086 Opened 2002-11-18 · closed 2003-04-09

REAR AXLE TRAILING ARM FAILURE

ANALYSIS OF ODI AND GM DATA HAS IDENTIFIED 14 INCIDENTS OF REAR TRAILING ARM FAILURES IN MODEL YEAR (MY) 1997 THROUGH 1999 GM U-VANS, INCLUDING TWO THAT ALLEGEDLY RESULTED IN CRASHES. THE TRAILING ARM DESIGN IN THESE VEHICLES IS USED IN THE U-VANS FROM MY 1997 THROUGH 2003.ACCORDING TO GM, THE SUBJECT TRAILING ARMS…

Investigation PE02086 Opened 2002-11-18 · closed 2003-04-09

REAR AXLE TRAILING ARM FAILURE

ANALYSIS OF ODI AND GM DATA HAS IDENTIFIED 14 INCIDENTS OF REAR TRAILING ARM FAILURES IN MODEL YEAR (MY) 1997 THROUGH 1999 GM U-VANS, INCLUDING TWO THAT ALLEGEDLY RESULTED IN CRASHES. THE TRAILING ARM DESIGN IN THESE VEHICLES IS USED IN THE U-VANS FROM MY 1997 THROUGH 2003.ACCORDING TO GM, THE SUBJECT TRAILING ARMS…

Investigation PE04064 Opened 2004-09-17 · closed 2004-12-22

POWER-SLIDING DOOR

SUBJECT VEHICLES ARE AVAILABLE WITH AN OPTIONAL POWER SLIDING DOOR.THE INTERIOR HANDLE IS ORIENTED IN THE VERTICAL POSITION IN THE DOOR PANEL AND LINES UP AT THE ELBOW LEVEL WHEN THE OCCUPANT IS SEATED IN THE 2ND-ROW OUTBOARD POSITION.IF THE OCCUPANT HOLDS THE INTERIOR HANDLE IN THE THUMB UP POSITION DURING…

Investigation RQ00006 Opened 2000-02-16 · closed 2001-04-20

TRACTION CONTROL

Investigation SQ00014 Opened 2000-07-25 · closed 2001-10-22

UNEXPECTED OPENING OF SLIDING DOOR

There is no summary currently available

Sources & methodology

Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1998 Oldsmobile Silhouette as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.