1991 DODGE SHADOW — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 89 complaints · 5 recalls
Most-reported system: AIR BAGS (13 complaints · 14.6%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 18
  • Fires 2
  • Injuries 18
  • Deaths 1
Compare with 1990 →
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 13 of 89 owner complaints (14.6%) in this vehicle snapshot. AIR BAGS: 13 complaints, 14.6% of reports AIR BAGS 13 · 14.6% · 11 crash reports 1 fire reports ENGINE: 8 complaints, 9.0% of reports ENGINE 8 · 9.0% STEERING: 8 complaints, 9.0% of reports STEERING 8 · 9.0% · 1 crash reports STRUCTURE: 8 complaints, 9.0% of reports STRUCTURE 8 · 9.0% SEAT BELTS: 6 complaints, 6.7% of reports SEAT BELTS 6 · 6.7% · 1 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 6 complaints, 6.7% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 6 · 6.7% · 2 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 5 complaints, 5.6% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5 · 5.6% · 1 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 5 complaints, 5.6% of reports POWER TRAIN 5 · 5.6% VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 4 complaints, 4.5% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 4 · 4.5% · 1 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 68 complaints, 76.4% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 68 · 76.4% · 15 crash reports 2 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 13 14.6% 11 crashes · 1 fires
ENGINE 8 9.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 8 9.0% 1 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 8 9.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 6 6.7% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 6 6.7% 2 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5 5.6% 0 crashes · 1 fires
POWER TRAIN 5 5.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 4 4.5% 1 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 68 76.4% 15 crashes · 2 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 Sep 1990. 1995-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 1995-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 1995-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 1995-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 1996-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1996-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 1997-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 1997-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 1997-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 1998-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 1998-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 1999-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2000-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2000-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2001-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Sep 1990 Jan 2004 Recall campaign 90V162000 ◆ Recall campaign 90V162000 Recall campaign 90V194000 ◆ Recall campaign 90V194000 Recall campaign 96V229000 ◆ Recall campaign 96V229000 Recall campaign 97V078000 ◆ Recall campaign 97V078000 Recall campaign 99V212000 ◆ Recall campaign 99V212000 Investigation PE95002 ● Investigation PE95002 Investigation EA95017 ● Investigation EA95017 Investigation EA95029 ● Investigation EA95029 Investigation PE96008 ● Investigation PE96008 Investigation PE96036 ● Investigation PE96036
  • Campaign 96V229000 was reported 615 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 97V078000 was reported 844 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 99V212000 was reported 1,662 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 7
1995-Q2 Owner reports 10
1995-Q3 Owner reports 3
1995-Q4 Owner reports 5
1996-Q2 Owner reports 2
1996-Q3 Owner reports 3
1997-Q1 Owner reports 10
1997-Q2 Owner reports 2
1997-Q3 Owner reports 10
1997-Q4 Owner reports 4
1998-Q1 Owner reports 4
1998-Q2 Owner reports 1
1998-Q3 Owner reports 1
1998-Q4 Owner reports 2
1999-Q1 Owner reports 1
1999-Q3 Owner reports 5
1999-Q4 Owner reports 4
2000-Q1 Owner reports 1
2000-Q3 Owner reports 3
2000-Q4 Owner reports 1
2001-Q2 Owner reports 3
2001-Q3 Owner reports 1
2002-Q2 Owner reports 3
2003-Q1 Owner reports 1
2003-Q3 Owner reports 1
2004-Q1 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 90V162000
Recall campaign 1 90V194000
Recall campaign 1 96V229000
Recall campaign 1 97V078000
Recall campaign 1 99V212000
Defect investigation 1 PE95002
Defect investigation 1 EA95017
Defect investigation 1 EA95029
Defect investigation 1 PE96008
Defect investigation 1 PE96036
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (5)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 90V162000

    Report date
    Component:
    SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
    Consequence:
    THIS COULD CAUSE REDUCED BRAKING EFFECTIVENESS AND COULDRESULT IN AN ACCIDENT.
    Remedy:
    PROPERLY TORQUE FRONT BRAKE CALIPER GUIDE PIN BOLTS TO 250 POUNDS.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 90V194000

    Report date
    Component:
    AIR BAGS
    Consequence:
    AIR BAG WILL NOT DEPLOY IN A FRONTAL COLLISION IF THEFRONT IMPACT SENSORS ARE NOT ATTACHED.
    Remedy:
    REPAIR TO ASSURE PROPER ATTACHMENT OF FRONT IMPACT SENSORS TO BRACKETS.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 96V229000

    Report date
    Component:
    STEERING
    Consequence:
    IF THE STEERING WHEEL SEPARATES FROM THE CENTER HUB ATTACHMENT TO THE STEERING COLUMN, LOSS OF CONTROL CAN OCCUR INCREASING THE RISK OF AN ACCIDENT.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE STEERING WHEEL FOR ARMATURE CRACKS IN THE CENTER HUB ATTACHMENT AREA. ANY STEERING WHEELS SHOWING CRACKS WILL BE REPLACED. ALL OTHER VEHICLES WILL HAVE A REINFORCEMENT PLATE INSTALLED TO PREVENT STEERING WHEEL SEPARATION IN THE EVENT CRACKING OCCURS.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 97V078000

    Report date
    Component:
    SEATS
    Consequence:
    IF THE BOLT FAILS WHILE THE VEHICLE IS BEING DRIVEN, THE DRIVER COULD LOSE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE, INCREASING THE RISK OF A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE LOWER SEAT BACK ATTACHING BOLT ON THE DRIVER'S SEAT WITH A HIGHER STRENGTH BOLT THAT INCLUDES A SELF LOCKING NYLON PATCH.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  5. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 99V212000

    Report date
    Component:
    SEATS
    Consequence:
    IF THE BOLT FAILS WHILE THE VEHICLE IS BEING DRIVEN, THE DRIVER COULD LOSE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE, INCREASING THE RISK OF A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE LOWER SEAT BACK ATTACHING BOLT ON THE DRIVER'S SEAT WITH A HIGHER STRENGTH BOLT THAT INCLUDES A SELF LOCKING NYLON PATCH.
    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 89 complaints · page 1 of 4

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