1990 Chevrolet Lumina problems
Owners have filed 615 complaints with NHTSA about the 1990 Chevrolet Lumina. Brakes is the most reported problem area, at 52% of complaints. After that come body & structure (11%) and steering (6%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 615 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 52% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 38 and 9
- Injuries and deaths
- 18 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 127,000 miles 18 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 | 1 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 1 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 0 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 1 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 1 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 1 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 5 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 4 |
What the data shows
Among the 18 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 126,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 38 complaints mention a crash; 9 complaints mention 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 1990 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 12 model years of the Chevrolet Lumina with enough data (267 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 7 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.
Total loss of brakes due to calipers freezing up. One occupant thrown in front seat and other recieved head injuries and a broken nose. Explain in more detail.
While driving along highway came to a stop, lightly applied brakes and they failed, causing consumer to hit another vehicle.
While driving 45 MPH vehicle accelerated uncontrollably. Consumer was unable to maintain control of the vehicle, and it rolled over twice. Driver and passenger sustained major injuries, and were transported to the hospital by ambulance. Vehicle was towed to a garage for inspection.
My wife was driving her car at approximately 40 MPH when there was a loud thud. She then tried to steer the car to the shoulder, but had no control of the steering wheel. She got out and looked under the car to see what happened. The engine cradle had broken and was resting on the road. Had she been going 60 MPH on the freeway, she would have been in a major accident. I contacted a chevrolet dealership. They said there were two recalls on her vehicle: one for the engine cradle bolts, and one for the seatbelts.
While driving rear cradle bolts corroded and snapped off. Rear of the vehicle looked like it snapped in half. Only the front cradle bolts were repaired under a recall 00v189000. Vehicle was not drivable.