1996 Chevrolet Corvette problems
Owners have filed 63 complaints with NHTSA about the 1996 Chevrolet Corvette. Electrical system is the most reported problem area, at 14% of complaints. Next are body & structure (13%) and tires (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 63 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 14% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 3 and 4
- Injuries and deaths
- 2 and 0
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%.
What the data shows
Safety-related details: 3 complaints mention a crash; 4 complaints mention a fire; 2 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1996 ranks 20th most-complained-about out of 32 model years of the Chevrolet Corvette with enough data (41 complaints in that window).
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.
While parked an electrical short in the computer system caused the vehicle to catch on fire. Consumer states that there was also structural damage to furniture and property. *slc
Vehicle caught on fire in garage due to electrical fault in factory wiring. Fire originated on driver's side of engine compartment.
Upon normal auto start sequence, starter would not disengage. Removed key from vehicle cylinder lock and starter continued to crank engine. Starter motor began to smoke and caught fire before battery could be disconnected to remove power from vehicle. Burned up starter motor and o2 wiring harness around location of starter motor. Same failure occurred in 1999.
Tl*the contact owns a 1996 chevrolet corvette. While driving approximately 50 MPH on normal road conditions, the contact heard a loud whistling noise. Suddenly, the removable roof panel separated from the mounting frame of the vehicle. The driver pulled over to the side of the road to inspect the vehicle. He took the vehicle to an authorized dealer and they stated that the failure was contributed to the acrylic removable roof panel, which was replaced.
Tried to start vehicle, but 'security' light came on & engine would not turn over. Researched issue online & found that this is due to a known ignition lock cylinder problem. The wires leading to the ignition lock cylinder break, and will not allow the anti-theft system to properly read the security code from the key.