Total Complaints
8 filings
SUZUKI SIDEKICK SPORT · model year
8 NHTSA complaints. A VIN lookup is required to determine whether a specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 1998SUZUKISIDEKICK SPORT carries 8 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
The most frequently selected component label in reports for the 1998 SIDEKICK SPORT is tires:tread/belt with 1 filings, followed by engine and engine cooling:engine (1) and power train:clutch assembly (1). Complaint categories reflect owner reports and intake categorization; they do not establish a defect pattern or cause.
NHTSA currently has 14 investigation files overlapping the 1998 SIDEKICK SPORT. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should read the complaint-by-year trend as report volume, not a causal diagnosis. Use the related-complaint feed and the official recall lookup when researching a specific vehicle.
Total Complaints
8 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| TIRES:TREAD/BELT | 1 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE | 1 |
| POWER TRAIN:CLUTCH ASSEMBLY | 1 |
| POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:CONSTANT VELOCITY JOINT | 1 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE:BELTS AND ASSOCIATED PULLEYS | 1 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM | 1 |
| STEERING:LINKAGES:ARM:IDLER AND ATTACHMENT | 1 |
| POWER TRAIN:CLUTCH ASSEMBLY:PEDAL/HAND LEVER(MOTORCYCLE) | 1 |
THE BRACKET WHICH THE CLUTCH FOOT PEDAL AND THE ARM WHICH THE MAIN CLUTCH VALVE ACTUATOR IS DRIVEN BY HAS A METAL FATIGUE WHICH MAKES THE CLUTCH INOPERATIVE. COULD LEAD TO A ACCIDENT OR OTHER PROBLEMS.*JB
MOTOR MOUNTS NEEDED TO BE SECURED. *SLC
CLUTCH SLAVE CYLINDER NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. *SLC
NOISE COMING FROM TRANSMISSION, DRIVESHAFT CV JOINT FAILURE DUE TO POSSIBLE POOR DESIGN. *SLC
DRIVE BELT FAILED. *SLC
EXHAUST BOLTS VIBRATED LOOSE AND BROKE OFF. *SLC
IDLER PULLEY WAS REPLACED. *SLC
ORIGINAL TIRES ON A 1998 SUZUKI SIDEKICK SPORT, P215/65R16 DOT AP2HJEUUO58. RIGHT REAR TIRE CAME APART, CONSUMER HEARD A NOISE THAT SOUNDED LIKE EXHAUST. THEN, CONSUMER HEARD A THUMP THUMP NOISE LIKE TIRE WAS COMING APART.*AK THE TIRE CAME APART AT THE SEAMS WHILE TRAVELING AT 70 MPH. IT WAS DETERMINED TO BE TREAD SEPARATION. *YH
Data vintage: August 2026. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Every figure on PlainCars is rendered directly from NHTSA complaint and safety data, no number is typed in by an editor. This year-specific record is rendered from NHTSA ODI, recall, and NCAP rows for the 1998 SUZUKI SIDEKICK SPORT; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.