1996 Chevrolet Monte Carlo problems
Owners have filed 255 complaints with NHTSA about the 1996 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Electrical system is the most reported problem area, at 22% of complaints. Next are brakes (20%) and engine (15%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 255 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 22% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 21 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 11 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 86,000 miles 27 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 | 1 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 4 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 13 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 2 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 2 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 27 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 86,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 21 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 11 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1996 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 13 model years of the Chevrolet Monte Carlo with enough data (163 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
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.
Failure on the driver and passenger side rear seat belt, consumer was involved in a rear end collision and the seat belt did not lock. Please describe.
When vehicle was involved in a inter-sectional crash; traveling about 40 MPH, there was no deployment of air bags. The whole front end of vehicle was destroyed. Damages totalled over $5,000 dollars.
Tl* the contact owns a 1996 chevrolet monte carlo. The contact stated that while making a left turn, the vehicle crashed into another vehicle and the front air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed. The driver and the rear passenger sustained unknown injuries that required medical attention. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was unavailable.
I own a 1996 z34 with 78000 miles on it. In the last month my anti lock light kept coming on in the dash also the low track would come on sometimes I took it to the dealer yesterday 5-2-03 to have it checked out, they found computer scan brake light switch open. Left rear sensor, left rear excessive speed variation, left rear open short they ordered a left rear hub and sensor at my cost I had to pay up front 469.19 for the part to be ordered also 65.00 for the labor plus when the part comes in I have to pay…
Due to intake manifold gasket leak (this is the fourth time for this problem on this vehicle) I had to stop to add coolant in order to safely drive the vehicle. Had I not noticed the problem this potentially could have left me stranded on the side of the highway. After getting to a safe location I had the vehicle towed to a dealer for repair.