1987 CHEVROLET CAPRICE — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 17 complaints · 4 recalls
Most-reported system: POWER TRAIN (4 complaints · 23.5%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 0
  • Fires 3
  • Injuries 0
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1986 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 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 POWER TRAIN appears in 4 of 17 owner complaints (23.5%) in this vehicle snapshot. POWER TRAIN: 4 complaints, 23.5% of reports POWER TRAIN 4 · 23.5% SERVICE BRAKES: 3 complaints, 17.7% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 3 · 17.7% VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 3 complaints, 17.7% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 · 17.7% ENGINE: 2 complaints, 11.8% of reports ENGINE 2 · 11.8% · 1 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 1 complaints, 5.9% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 · 5.9% · 1 fire reports SUSPENSION: 1 complaints, 5.9% of reports SUSPENSION 1 · 5.9% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 16 complaints, 94.1% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 16 · 94.1% · 3 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)
POWER TRAIN 4 23.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 3 17.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 17.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 2 11.8% 0 crashes · 1 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 5.9% 0 crashes · 1 fires
SUSPENSION 1 5.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 16 94.1% 0 crashes · 3 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 1995; the first recall shown was reported in Oct 1987. 1995-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 1995-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1995-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 1996-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1996-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 Owner reports Oct 1987 Oct 2007 Recall campaign 87V168000 ◆ Recall campaign 87V168000 Recall campaign 89V102000 ◆ Recall campaign 89V102000 Recall campaign 06E043000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E043000 Recall campaign 07E088000 ◆ Recall campaign 07E088000 Investigation PE88010 ● Investigation PE88010 Investigation C89001 ● Investigation C89001
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 3
1995-Q3 Owner reports 2
1995-Q4 Owner reports 2
1996-Q1 Owner reports 2
1996-Q4 Owner reports 2
1997-Q2 Owner reports 1
1999-Q2 Owner reports 1
1999-Q3 Owner reports 1
2000-Q2 Owner reports 1
2000-Q4 Owner reports 2
Recall campaign 1 87V168000
Recall campaign 1 89V102000
Recall campaign 1 06E043000
Recall campaign 1 07E088000
Defect investigation 1 PE88010
Defect investigation 1 C89001
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 06E043000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    THIS CONDITION MAY CAUSE AN INADEQUATE SEAL AT THE CONNECTION, POTENTIALLY LEADING TO A FUEL LEAK. IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE, A FIRE COULD OCCUR.
    Remedy:
    HONEYWELL WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE FUEL FILTERS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON OCTOBER 18, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FRAM CUSTOMER SERVICE AT 1-800-890-2075 (OPTION 1).
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 07E088000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    THIS CONDITION MAY CAUSE INADEQUATE SEALING AND LOSS OF ENGINE OIL, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A FIRE.
    Remedy:
    HONEYWELL WILL REPLACE THE AFFECTED OIL FILTERS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN DURING NOVEMBER 2007. OWNERS CAN CONTACT FRAM CUSTOMER SERVICE TOLL-FREE AT 1-800-890-2075.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 87V168000

    Report date
    Component:
    POWER TRAIN
    Consequence:
    THE VALVE LINK COULD SEPARATE RESULTING IN A GEARSELECTION DIFFERENT FROM WHAT THE DRIVER SELECTS. ALSO, CAR COULD BE STARTEDWITH TRANSMISSION IN GEAR ALLOWING VEHICLE TO MOVE IN AN UNANTICIPATEDDIRECTION.
    Remedy:
    REPLACE THE MANUAL VALVE DETENT LEVER LINK.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 89V102000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    SERVO ROD ASSEMBLY COULD CATCH ON ENGINE COMPONENTS ANDRESULT IN A STUCK THROTTLE WITH POTENTIAL FOR A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    INSTALL A NEW BUSHING IN CRUISE CONTROL SERVO BAIL.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 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 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 17 complaints · page 1 of 1

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 2026-08-21 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: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources