1989 CHRYSLER LEBARON — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 49 complaints · 3 recalls
Most-reported system: AIR BAGS (11 complaints · 22.5%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 10
  • Fires 7
  • Injuries 7
  • Deaths 1
Compare with 1988 →
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 AIR BAGS appears in 11 of 49 owner complaints (22.5%) in this vehicle snapshot. AIR BAGS: 11 complaints, 22.5% of reports AIR BAGS 11 · 22.5% · 8 crash reports ENGINE: 11 complaints, 22.5% of reports ENGINE 11 · 22.5% · 3 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 5 complaints, 10.2% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5 · 10.2% · 3 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 5 complaints, 10.2% of reports POWER TRAIN 5 · 10.2% · 1 crash reports STRUCTURE: 3 complaints, 6.1% of reports STRUCTURE 3 · 6.1% SEAT BELTS: 2 complaints, 4.1% of reports SEAT BELTS 2 · 4.1% · 1 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 2 complaints, 4.1% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 2 · 4.1% STEERING: 2 complaints, 4.1% of reports STEERING 2 · 4.1% SUSPENSION: 1 complaints, 2.0% of reports SUSPENSION 1 · 2.0% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 36 complaints, 73.5% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 36 · 73.5% · 8 crash reports 6 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)
AIR BAGS 11 22.5% 8 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 11 22.5% 0 crashes · 3 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5 10.2% 0 crashes · 3 fires
POWER TRAIN 5 10.2% 1 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 3 6.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 2 4.1% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 2 4.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 2 4.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 1 2.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 36 73.5% 8 crashes · 6 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 Dec 1989. 1995-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 1995-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 1995-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1995-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 1996-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1996-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1996-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 1997-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 1998-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 1999-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2001-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Sep 1989 Apr 2008 Recall campaign 89V237000 ◆ Recall campaign 89V237000 Recall campaign 92V017000 ◆ Recall campaign 92V017000 Recall campaign 08E033000 ◆ Recall campaign 08E033000 Investigation PE89168 ● Investigation PE89168 Investigation PE91049 ● Investigation PE91049 Investigation PE91065 ● Investigation PE91065 Investigation EA91029 ● Investigation EA91029
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 6
1995-Q2 Owner reports 4
1995-Q3 Owner reports 1
1995-Q4 Owner reports 3
1996-Q1 Owner reports 2
1996-Q2 Owner reports 1
1996-Q3 Owner reports 2
1996-Q4 Owner reports 2
1997-Q1 Owner reports 2
1997-Q2 Owner reports 2
1997-Q3 Owner reports 3
1997-Q4 Owner reports 4
1998-Q1 Owner reports 1
1998-Q3 Owner reports 1
1999-Q1 Owner reports 4
1999-Q3 Owner reports 1
1999-Q4 Owner reports 2
2001-Q2 Owner reports 1
2002-Q1 Owner reports 1
2002-Q3 Owner reports 2
2002-Q4 Owner reports 2
2003-Q2 Owner reports 1
2003-Q3 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 89V237000
Recall campaign 1 92V017000
Recall campaign 1 08E033000
Defect investigation 1 PE89168
Defect investigation 1 PE91049
Defect investigation 1 PE91065
Defect investigation 1 EA91029
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 08E033000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    THE NUTS INCLUDED IN THE PACKAGING FOR THESE BALL JOINT ASSEMBLIES ARE MISSING THE INTENDED PREVAILING TORQUE (SELF-LOCKING) FEATURE. IF THE INCORRECT NUT WAS TO BECOME LOOSE, THE JOINING MEMBERS MAY LOOSEN LEADING TO A SEPARATION OF THE BALL JOINT. THIS MAY RESULT IN LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    FEDERAL MOGUL WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE PARTS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 22, 2008. OWNERS CAN CONTACT FEDERAL MOGUL AT 877-489-6659.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 89V237000

    Report date
    Component:
    ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
    Consequence:
    THE LEAKAGE OF OIL IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT COULD CAUSEA FIRE.
    Remedy:
    REPLACE GASKET COVER WITH REVISED COVER, AND RTV SEALANT WILL BE APPLIED IN PLACE OF A GASKET.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 92V017000

    Report date
    Component:
    SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
    Consequence:
    SEPARATION OF THE DISC BRAKE LININGS RESULTS IN ANINCREASE IN STOPPING DISTANCE.
    Remedy:
    REPLACE THE FRONT AND REAR LININGS ON VEHICLES WITH 15 INCH BRAKES. REPLACE ONLY THE REAR BRAKE LININGS ON VEHICLES WITH 14 INCH BRAKES BECAUSE THE FRONT LININGS ON THESE VEHICLES ARE RIVETED.
    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 49 complaints · page 1 of 2

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