RecallRepo

1998 Pontiac Trans Sport Recalls

Recalls on record Updated July 2026

The 1998 Pontiac Trans Sport has 5 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 2,447,163 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 287 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 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…

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
23
STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR
17
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
16
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH
16
4injuries
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM
15
AIR BAGS
11
2crashes7injuries
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
11
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
8
7crashes1fires8injuries
STEERING:RACK AND PINION
8
STEERING
7
Total complaints287

What owners report

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

“Tl* the contact owns a 1998 pontiac trans sport. The contact stated while driving various speeds, the vehicle stalled. The contact mentioned that the abs, air bag and check engine warning lamps illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was made…”

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM · reported 2013-09-11

“Air. *tr”

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING · reported 2013-08-07

“Tl* the contact owns a 1998 pontiac trans sport. The contact stated that when accelerating from a complete stop, the front passenger's side air bag deployed inadvertently and without any impact to the vehicle. The driver sustained minor bruises and swelling to the right arm. The vehicle was in the…”

AIR BAGS · reported 2013-05-26

“Abs-anti locking brakes are faulty and light comes on for no reason. Also the airbag light comes on intermittently. *tr”

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC · reported 2012-01-06

“Abs-anti locking brakes are faulty and light comes on for no reason. Also the airbag light comes on intermittently. *tr”

AIR BAGS · reported 2012-01-06

“Tl* the contact owns a 1998 pontiac transport. The contact exited the vehicle and when he returned, the vehicle was engulfed with white smoke. The contact rolled down the windows to release the smoke. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic, who stated that the failure was the result…”

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM · reported 2012-01-04

“After I had the radiator replaced $350 job the intake gasket sprung a leak. Therefore I had to have not only this replaced but the valve cover gasket as well which cost a total of $867. I also had to rent a car for 3 day which cost an additional $30 per day. My mechanic said that the recommended…”

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING · reported 2011-10-04

“Tl* the contact owns a 1998 pontiac trans sport. While attempting to shift into drive, the contact noticed that the gear shifter would not respond and he was unable to remove it from the park position. The vehicle was not diagnosed and there were no repairs. The current and failure mileages was…”

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:LEVER AND LINKAGE:COLUMN SHIFT · reported 2010-05-27

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 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 Pontiac Trans Sport as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.