1988 DODGE SHADOW — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 12 complaints · 3 recalls
Most-reported system: SEAT BELTS (6 complaints · 50.0%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 0
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 1
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1987 →
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 SEAT BELTS appears in 6 of 12 owner complaints (50.0%) in this vehicle snapshot. SEAT BELTS: 6 complaints, 50.0% of reports SEAT BELTS 6 · 50.0% ENGINE: 2 complaints, 16.7% of reports ENGINE 2 · 16.7% · 1 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 2 complaints, 16.7% of reports POWER TRAIN 2 · 16.7% STEERING: 1 complaints, 8.3% of reports STEERING 1 · 8.3% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 6 complaints, 50.0% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 6 · 50.0% · 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)
SEAT BELTS 6 50.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 2 16.7% 0 crashes · 1 fires
POWER TRAIN 2 16.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 1 8.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 6 50.0% 0 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 Jan 1995; the first recall shown was reported in Aug 1988. 1995-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1995-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1995-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 1995-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Aug 1988 Apr 2008 Recall campaign 88V129000 ◆ Recall campaign 88V129000 Recall campaign 92V053000 ◆ Recall campaign 92V053000 Recall campaign 08E033000 ◆ Recall campaign 08E033000 Investigation PE91065 ● Investigation PE91065 Investigation PE91082 ● Investigation PE91082 Investigation EA91043 ● Investigation EA91043
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 2
1995-Q2 Owner reports 1
1995-Q3 Owner reports 3
1995-Q4 Owner reports 1
1996-Q2 Owner reports 1
1996-Q3 Owner reports 1
1997-Q3 Owner reports 1
2001-Q3 Owner reports 1
2004-Q3 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 88V129000
Recall campaign 1 92V053000
Recall campaign 1 08E033000
Defect investigation 1 PE91065
Defect investigation 1 PE91082
Defect investigation 1 EA91043
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 88V129000

    Report date
    Component:
    SEAT BELTS
    Consequence:
    SEAT BELT LOCK WOULD EXTRACT AND CHILD SEAT MAY MOVE OUTOF ITS RESTRAINED POSITION.
    Remedy:
    REPLACE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT LAP RETRACTOR WITH A REDESIGNED RETRACTOR.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 92V053000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    SEAT OCCUPANTS WITHOUT SHOULDER RESTRAINTS ARE SUBJECT TOINCREASED RISK OF INJURY IN THE EVENT OF A SUDDEN STOP OR VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    REPLACE THE SYSTEM DRIVE AND RAIL ASSEMBLY WITH REVISED COMPONENTS.
    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 12 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