1996 CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 151 complaints · 3 recalls
Most-reported system: SERVICE BRAKES (37 complaints · 24.5%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 13
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 9
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1995 →
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 SERVICE BRAKES appears in 37 of 151 owner complaints (24.5%) in this vehicle snapshot. SERVICE BRAKES: 37 complaints, 24.5% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 37 · 24.5% · 5 crash reports ENGINE: 30 complaints, 19.9% of reports ENGINE 30 · 19.9% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 27 complaints, 17.9% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 27 · 17.9% FUEL SYSTEM: 11 complaints, 7.3% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 11 · 7.3% POWER TRAIN: 6 complaints, 4.0% of reports POWER TRAIN 6 · 4.0% STEERING: 6 complaints, 4.0% of reports STEERING 6 · 4.0% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports AIR BAGS: 4 complaints, 2.7% of reports AIR BAGS 4 · 2.7% · 4 crash reports SEAT BELTS: 4 complaints, 2.7% of reports SEAT BELTS 4 · 2.7% · 2 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 4 complaints, 2.7% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 4 · 2.7% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 124 complaints, 82.1% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 124 · 82.1% · 11 crash reports 1 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)
SERVICE BRAKES 37 24.5% 5 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 30 19.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 27 17.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 11 7.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 6 4.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 6 4.0% 1 crashes · 1 fires
AIR BAGS 4 2.7% 4 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 4 2.7% 2 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 4 2.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 124 82.1% 11 crashes · 1 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 Oct 1995; the first recall shown was reported in Jul 1996. 1995-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 1996-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 1996-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 1996-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 1997-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 1997-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 1997-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 1998-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 1998-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 1998-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 1998-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 1999-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 1999-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 1999-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 1999-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2000-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2000-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2000-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2000-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2001-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2001-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2001-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 Owner reports Oct 1995 Oct 2014 Recall campaign 96V122000 ◆ Recall campaign 96V122000 Recall campaign 01I014000 ◆ Recall campaign 01I014000 Recall campaign 07E021000 ◆ Recall campaign 07E021000 Investigation EA96023 ● Investigation EA96023 Investigation PE98023 ● Investigation PE98023 Investigation EA98019 ● Investigation EA98019 Investigation RQ03001 ● Investigation RQ03001 Investigation EA03019 ● Investigation EA03019
  • Campaign 01I014000 was reported 1,840 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 07E021000 was reported 3,458 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q4 Owner reports 1
1996-Q1 Owner reports 4
1996-Q2 Owner reports 6
1996-Q3 Owner reports 5
1996-Q4 Owner reports 4
1997-Q1 Owner reports 8
1997-Q2 Owner reports 1
1997-Q3 Owner reports 7
1997-Q4 Owner reports 8
1998-Q1 Owner reports 5
1998-Q2 Owner reports 5
1998-Q3 Owner reports 8
1998-Q4 Owner reports 9
1999-Q1 Owner reports 6
1999-Q2 Owner reports 4
1999-Q3 Owner reports 5
1999-Q4 Owner reports 6
2000-Q1 Owner reports 5
2000-Q2 Owner reports 5
2000-Q3 Owner reports 6
2000-Q4 Owner reports 4
2001-Q1 Owner reports 6
2001-Q2 Owner reports 3
2001-Q3 Owner reports 3
2002-Q1 Owner reports 2
2002-Q3 Owner reports 2
2003-Q1 Owner reports 3
2003-Q2 Owner reports 3
2003-Q3 Owner reports 2
2003-Q4 Owner reports 2
2004-Q1 Owner reports 2
2004-Q2 Owner reports 1
2005-Q1 Owner reports 1
2005-Q2 Owner reports 2
2006-Q1 Owner reports 1
2006-Q3 Owner reports 1
2006-Q4 Owner reports 1
2009-Q4 Owner reports 1
2014-Q4 Owner reports 3
Recall campaign 1 96V122000
Recall campaign 1 01I014000
Recall campaign 1 07E021000
Defect investigation 1 EA96023
Defect investigation 1 PE98023
Defect investigation 1 EA98019
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 (3)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 01I014000

    Report date
    Component:
    SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
    Consequence:
    THE BRAKING COULD FEEL DELAYED MOMENTARILY WHEN LIGHT OR MODERATE FORCE IS APPLIED ON THE BRAKE PEDAL WHILE DRIVING ON WET ROADS OR AFTER GOING THROUGH A CAR WASH.
    Remedy:
    DEALER WILL MODIFY THE FRONT FENDER LINERS TO REMOVE A PORTION OF THE CLOSEOUT PANELS IN THE FRONT WHEEL WELLS AT NO CHARGE TO THE CONSUMER. THIS SERVICE WILL BE AVAILABLE THROUGH AUGUST 2004.
    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 96V122000

    Report date
    Component:
    SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
    Consequence:
    IF THIS CONDITION WERE PRESENT IN A SITUATION WHERE STOPPING DISTANCES WERE SMALL, A VEHICLE CRASH COULD OCCUR.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSPECT FOR PROPER BOOSTER INSTALLATION. BOOSTERS FOUND TO BE IMPROPERLY LOCATED WILL BE REMOVED AND REINSTALLED PROPERLY.
    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 151 complaints · page 1 of 7

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