1996 CHEVROLET S10 — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 659 complaints · 10 recalls
Most-reported system: SERVICE BRAKES (186 complaints · 28.2%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 109
  • Fires 12
  • Injuries 54
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1995 →
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 SERVICE BRAKES appears in 186 of 659 owner complaints (28.2%) in this vehicle snapshot. SERVICE BRAKES: 186 complaints, 28.2% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 186 · 28.2% · 31 crash reports VISIBILITY: 89 complaints, 13.5% of reports VISIBILITY 89 · 13.5% AIR BAGS: 66 complaints, 10.0% of reports AIR BAGS 66 · 10.0% · 61 crash reports ENGINE: 57 complaints, 8.7% of reports ENGINE 57 · 8.7% · 1 crash reports 3 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 52 complaints, 7.9% of reports POWER TRAIN 52 · 7.9% · 2 crash reports 2 fire reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 32 complaints, 4.9% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 32 · 4.9% · 3 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 27 complaints, 4.1% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 27 · 4.1% · 4 fire reports STRUCTURE: 15 complaints, 2.3% of reports STRUCTURE 15 · 2.3% FUEL SYSTEM: 14 complaints, 2.1% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 14 · 2.1% · 2 fire reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 574 complaints, 87.1% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 574 · 87.1% · 99 crash reports 9 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 186 28.2% 31 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 89 13.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 66 10.0% 61 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 57 8.7% 1 crashes · 3 fires
POWER TRAIN 52 7.9% 2 crashes · 2 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 32 4.9% 3 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 27 4.1% 0 crashes · 4 fires
STRUCTURE 15 2.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 14 2.1% 0 crashes · 2 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 574 87.1% 99 crashes · 9 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 Feb 1996. 1995-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 1996-Q2: 14 owner reports 14 1996-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 1996-Q4: 32 owner reports 32 1997-Q1: 32 owner reports 32 1997-Q2: 19 owner reports 19 1997-Q3: 25 owner reports 25 1997-Q4: 50 owner reports 50 1998-Q1: 21 owner reports 21 1998-Q2: 17 owner reports 17 1998-Q3: 26 owner reports 26 1998-Q4: 20 owner reports 20 1999-Q1: 28 owner reports 28 1999-Q2: 28 owner reports 28 1999-Q3: 39 owner reports 39 1999-Q4: 30 owner reports 30 2000-Q1: 29 owner reports 29 2000-Q2: 24 owner reports 24 2000-Q3: 25 owner reports 25 2000-Q4: 21 owner reports 21 2001-Q1: 21 owner reports 21 2001-Q2: 17 owner reports 17 2001-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2001-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 2002-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2002-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2002-Q3: 15 owner reports 15 2002-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2003-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2003-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2003-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2004-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2004-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2004-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 1994 Jan 2018 Recall campaign 96V035000 ◆ Recall campaign 96V035000 Recall campaign 97V008001 ◆ Recall campaign 97V008001 Recall campaign 97V096001 ◆ Recall campaign 97V096001 Recall campaign 97V146001 ◆ Recall campaign 97V146001 Recall campaign 98V150001 ◆ Recall campaign 98V150001 Recall campaign 99I006000 ◆ Recall campaign 99I006000 Recall campaign 99V193000 ◆ Recall campaign 99V193000 Recall campaign 03V159000 ◆ Recall campaign 03V159000 Recall campaign 07E021000 ◆ Recall campaign 07E021000 Recall campaign 09E025000 ◆ Recall campaign 09E025000 Investigation EA94038 ● Investigation EA94038 Investigation EA97004 ● Investigation EA97004 Investigation PE99004 ● Investigation PE99004 Investigation EA99018 ● Investigation EA99018
  • Campaign 97V008001 was reported 123 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 97V146001 was reported 548 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 98V150001 was reported 643 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 99I006000 was reported 1,224 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 99V193000 was reported 1,224 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 03V159000 was reported 2,405 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 07E021000 was reported 3,932 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 09E025000 was reported 3,741 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 10
1996-Q2 Owner reports 14
1996-Q3 Owner reports 16
1996-Q4 Owner reports 32
1997-Q1 Owner reports 32
1997-Q2 Owner reports 19
1997-Q3 Owner reports 25
1997-Q4 Owner reports 50
1998-Q1 Owner reports 21
1998-Q2 Owner reports 17
1998-Q3 Owner reports 26
1998-Q4 Owner reports 20
1999-Q1 Owner reports 28
1999-Q2 Owner reports 28
1999-Q3 Owner reports 39
1999-Q4 Owner reports 30
2000-Q1 Owner reports 29
2000-Q2 Owner reports 24
2000-Q3 Owner reports 25
2000-Q4 Owner reports 21
2001-Q1 Owner reports 21
2001-Q2 Owner reports 17
2001-Q3 Owner reports 8
2001-Q4 Owner reports 9
2002-Q1 Owner reports 10
2002-Q2 Owner reports 10
2002-Q3 Owner reports 15
2002-Q4 Owner reports 4
2003-Q1 Owner reports 3
2003-Q2 Owner reports 9
2003-Q3 Owner reports 4
2003-Q4 Owner reports 10
2004-Q1 Owner reports 6
2004-Q2 Owner reports 2
2004-Q3 Owner reports 5
2004-Q4 Owner reports 3
2005-Q1 Owner reports 2
2005-Q2 Owner reports 3
2005-Q3 Owner reports 2
2006-Q1 Owner reports 2
2007-Q4 Owner reports 1
2008-Q2 Owner reports 1
2013-Q1 Owner reports 1
2014-Q3 Owner reports 1
2016-Q2 Owner reports 1
2017-Q4 Owner reports 1
2018-Q1 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 96V035000
Recall campaign 1 97V008001
Recall campaign 1 97V096001
Recall campaign 1 97V146001
Recall campaign 1 98V150001
Recall campaign 1 99I006000
Recall campaign 1 99V193000
Recall campaign 1 03V159000
Recall campaign 1 07E021000
Recall campaign 1 09E025000
Defect investigation 1 EA94038
Defect investigation 1 EA97004
Defect investigation 1 PE99004
Defect investigation 1 EA99018
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (10)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 03V159000

    Report date
    Component:
    VISIBILITY
    Consequence:
    IF THIS WERE TO OCCUR DURING BAD WEATHER, DRIVER VISIBILITY WOULD BE REDUCED, WHICH COULD RESULT IN A CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE WIPER MOTOR CIRCUIT BOARD AND COVER. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN ON JUNE 19, 2003. 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 1-800-222-1020, GMC AT 1-800-462-8782, OR OLDSMOBILE AT 1-800-442-6537.
    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 09E025000

    Report date
    Component:
    EXTERIOR LIGHTING
    Consequence:
    DECREASED LIGHTING VISIBILITY MAY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DOPE, INC. WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND FOR THE NONCOMPLIANT COMBINATION LAMPS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 28, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT DOPE, INC. AT 1-626-272-1798.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 96V035000

    Report date
    Component:
    POWER TRAIN
    Consequence:
    THESE TRANSMISSIONS COULD SEIZE AND LOCK THE REAR DRIVE WHEELS WHILE THE TRUCK IS BEING DRIVEN CAUSING A LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL INCREASING THE POTENTIAL FOR A VEHICLE ACCIDENT.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE TRANSMISSION MAIN SHAFT OUTPUT TORQUE USING A SPECIAL TOOL. IF THE OUTPUT TORQUE DOES NOT MEET SPECIFICATIONS, THE TRANSMISSION WILL BE REPLACED.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  5. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 97V008001

    Report date
    Component:
    VISIBILITY
    Consequence:
    IN THE EVENT OF A VEHICLE CRASH, THE WINDSHIELD MAY NOT STAY IN PLACE AS REQUIRED BY FMVSS NO. 212.
    Remedy:
    ALL VEHICLES HAVE BEEN REPURCHASED. THIS CAMPAIGN IS 100%.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  6. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 97V096001

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    IF A SEPARATION OCCURRED AND THERE WERE SECONDARY CRASH EVENTS OR VEHICLE ROLLOVER, THERE WOULD BE NO BELT RESTRAINT OF THE OCCUPANT AND INCREASED INJURIES COULD OCCUR.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSTALL A PROTECTIVE COVER OVER THE RECLINER MECHANISM.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  7. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 97V146001

    Report date
    Component:
    SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
    Consequence:
    BRAKE FLUID LOSS CAN REDUCE BRAKING EFFECTIVENESS AND INCREASE STOPPING DISTANCES RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE CLEARANCE BETWEEN THE OIL PAN AND THE BRAKE LINE. IF THE CLEARANCE IS 6MM OR LESS, DEALERS WILL INSTALL AN ADDITIONAL BRAKE LINE CLIP AND IF THERE WAS CONTACT BETWEEN THE OIL PAN AND BRAKE LINE, THE FRONT BRAKE LINE WILL BE REPLACED.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  8. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 98V150001

    Report date
    Component:
    VISIBILITY
    Consequence:
    THIS CONDITION CAN RESULT IN INOPERATIVE WIPERS, REDUCING A DRIVER'S VISIBILITY, AND INCREASING THE RISK OF A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE WIPER MOTOR CIRCUIT BOARD AND COVER.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  9. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 99I006000

    Report date
    Component:
    SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
    Consequence:
    THESE VEHICLES CAN EXPERIENCE EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCES DURING ABS STOPS ON CERTAIN MULTIPLE SURFACES, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL MODIFY THE COMPUTER PROGRAM WHICH OPERATES THE ABS UNIT ON SOME VEHICLES, OR REPLACE THE COMPUTER ON OTHERS TO IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE OF THE ABS ON THESE SURFACES.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  10. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 99V193000

    Report date
    Component:
    SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
    Consequence:
    IF THIS OCCURRED AT A TIME WHEN MINIMUM STOPPING DISTANCE WAS REQUIRED, A VEHICLE CRASH COULD OCCUR WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE OR REPAIR THE 4-WHEEL/2-WHEEL DRIVE SWITCH.
    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 659 complaints · page 1 of 27

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