1996 Chevrolet Astro problems
Owners have filed 345 complaints with NHTSA about the 1996 Chevrolet Astro. Suspension is the most reported problem area, at 18% of complaints. Next are wipers, windshield & visibility (18%) and brakes (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 345 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Suspension 18% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 22 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 18 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 96,000 miles 31 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 0 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 4 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 1 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 7 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 6 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 2 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 6 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Of the 31 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 96,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 22 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 18 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1996 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 14 model years of the Chevrolet Astro with enough data (213 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Upon impact, during frontal crash, at approx. 50MPH, shoulder/lap belt fail to retract enough, allowing driver/child pass. In css to impact with interior.
Driver rearend vehicle in front with a 35MPH - 40 MPH impact due to brake failure. Upon impact, dual airbags did not deploy, and driver's seatbelt did not lock up, causing loss of protection and injuries.
The oil cooler lines leaked oil onto the engine which caused it to smoke. The oil cooler lines have been replaced three times within the last 30,000 miles. There was noise in the front end due to a worn right front outer tie rod and when damp or cold out, a hard shift would be present when making turns. *scc
The torsion bar snapped in half. This bar was inadequate to the vehicle, and GM has a modified version for this. The bar broke while the consumer was driving the vehicle. The consumer was going 10 MPH, when this happened and this caused the left front to drop down about 8 to 10 inches and was a violent drop. There were no problems before this. There were no wrecks involved. The consumer had to take in to the midas dealer and have the torsion bars on the left and right replaced with the new modified version.