IllustrationWHEN EVER IT RAINS OR IF I GO THROUGH THE CARWASH, THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTS VERY HARD. FEELS LIKE SOMEONE HIT YOU FROM BEHIND. SEEMS LIKE WHEN THE TRANSMISSION HARNESS GETS WET IS WHEN THE PROBLEM OCCURS. *TR
1996 Chevrolet C1500
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most C1500 years
Owner complaints for the 1996 Chevrolet C1500 are substantially higher than the model-year median of 41.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all C1500 years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 14 of 229 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Visibility. Review the 58 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 37 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Seats. Review the 21 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
15 crash reports3 fire reports12 injury reports
What owners actually said
229 reportsTL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 CHEVROLET C1500. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR WORKS INTERMITTENTLY. HE HAS HAD TO TAP THE MOTOR IN ORDER FOR IT TO FUNCTION AGAIN. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE RECALL WAS NO LONGER ACTIVE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 104,000 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 104,500.
CLEAR COAT ON THE PAINT CAME OFF OF THE FINISH SEVERAL YEARS BACK AND I WANTED TO KNOW IF THERE WAS ANY RECALL ON THAT ISSUE. I TAKE SERIOUS PRIDE IN MY VEHICLE AND IF GENERAL MOTORS ASSUMES PRIDE IN THEIR PRODUCT AS THEY ADVERTISE THEM TO BE THEN THEY WON'T MIND AMENDING THE PROBLEM. I HAVE NEVER BEEN MADE AWARE OF ANY RECALL O…
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CLEAR COAT ON THE PAINT CAME OFF OF THE FINISH SEVERAL YEARS BACK AND I WANTED TO KNOW IF THERE WAS ANY RECALL ON THAT ISSUE. I TAKE SERIOUS PRIDE IN MY VEHICLE AND IF GENERAL MOTORS ASSUMES PRIDE IN THEIR PRODUCT AS THEY ADVERTISE THEM TO BE THEN THEY WON'T MIND AMENDING THE PROBLEM. I HAVE NEVER BEEN MADE AWARE OF ANY RECALL ON THIS PROBLEM SO ANY INFORMATION YOU CAN SUPPLY TO ME WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. *TR
TL-THE ELECTRICAL WIRES THAT GOES INTO THE FUEL TANK THAN MAKES THE GAS TANK AND THE GAS GAUGE WORK SHORTED OUT THE FUEL PUMP SO THAT IT WON'T WORK AND THE GAS GAUGAE ALSO. HE HAD IT REPAIR IN MO AND AFTER DRIVING ABOUT A 100 MILES THE GAS GAUGE WOULD NOT WORK AND HE TOOK TI TO A DEALER TO GET IT SERVICED AND THEY STATED THEY WI…
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TL-THE ELECTRICAL WIRES THAT GOES INTO THE FUEL TANK THAN MAKES THE GAS TANK AND THE GAS GAUGE WORK SHORTED OUT THE FUEL PUMP SO THAT IT WON'T WORK AND THE GAS GAUGAE ALSO. HE HAD IT REPAIR IN MO AND AFTER DRIVING ABOUT A 100 MILES THE GAS GAUGE WOULD NOT WORK AND HE TOOK TI TO A DEALER TO GET IT SERVICED AND THEY STATED THEY WILL NOT FIX IT. WHAT IS THE RECOURSE IF GETTING A REIMBURSEMENT THIS IS THE THIRD FUEL PUMP HE HAS PUT IN THE VEHICLE
ON 10/03/02 I HAD A CHEVY TRUCK [XXX] REPAIRED FOR LOW SPEED ABS ENGAGEMENT, (UNDER EXT WARR). IN SEPT OF 2005, I AGAIN STARTED EXPERIENCING LOW SPEED ABS ENGAGEMENT. THIS TIME SINCE IT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY, I HAD IT REPAIRED AT AN INDEPENDENT SHOP. IT OCCURRED FIRST AT 51,409 MI AND THE NEXT TIME AT 70,000 MI. THIS COULD PRO…
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ON 10/03/02 I HAD A CHEVY TRUCK [XXX] REPAIRED FOR LOW SPEED ABS ENGAGEMENT, (UNDER EXT WARR). IN SEPT OF 2005, I AGAIN STARTED EXPERIENCING LOW SPEED ABS ENGAGEMENT. THIS TIME SINCE IT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY, I HAD IT REPAIRED AT AN INDEPENDENT SHOP. IT OCCURRED FIRST AT 51,409 MI AND THE NEXT TIME AT 70,000 MI. THIS COULD PROVE TO BE A REAL PAIN IF THIS PROBLEM IS GOING TO RESURFACE EVERY 20,000 MILES. *NM UPDATED 07/17/2012 *JS INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
DT: CONTACT STATED THE FUEL PUMP BURNED UP, THE WIRES INSIDE THE FUEL PUMP HAD MELTD. THE FUEL PUMP WAS BEING REPLACED BY A LOCAL MECHANIC. CONTACT STATED HE CONTACTED THE GM MANUFACTURER, AND THEY DID NOT OFFER ANY RESOLUTION.*AK
WHILE DRIVING, N RAINY WEATHER WINDSHIELD WIPERS CAME ON AND OFF ON THEIR OWN. DRIVER TOOK VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION, AND MECHANIC DETERMINED THAT THE WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *AK
TRANSMISSION THIS IS THE THIRD TIME FOR REBUILDING THIS TRANSMISSION EVERY TIME IT'S THE SAME PROBLEM,ROUGH SHIFT FROM 1ST TO 2ND & NO SHIFT TO 3RD OR OVERDRIVE & EVERY REBUILD IS $1,000.00. NOT TO MENTION THE HOW UNSAFE THIS COULD BE . IS SOMEONE GOING TO HAVE TO GET KILLED AS A RESULT FROM THE FAILURE OF THESE TRANS…
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TRANSMISSION THIS IS THE THIRD TIME FOR REBUILDING THIS TRANSMISSION EVERY TIME IT'S THE SAME PROBLEM,ROUGH SHIFT FROM 1ST TO 2ND & NO SHIFT TO 3RD OR OVERDRIVE & EVERY REBUILD IS $1,000.00. NOT TO MENTION THE HOW UNSAFE THIS COULD BE . IS SOMEONE GOING TO HAVE TO GET KILLED AS A RESULT FROM THE FAILURE OF THESE TRANSMISSIONS BEFORE SOMEONE HAS THEM RECALLED? *NM
FAILED TAILGATE CABLES ON 1996 CHEVROLET SILVERAGO 1/2T PICKUP. WHY ARE ONLY VEHICLES STARTING IN 2000 MODEL YEAR BEING RECALLED? I HAD TO PAY TO REPLACE THEM ON MY 1996. MANY PEOPLE ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT 1994 THRU 1998 MODELS THAT I KNOW.*AK
FRONT SEAT MOUNT, GM POWER SEATS. I AM A AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN ENGINEER, MY COMPANY MAKES THE SEAT IN QUESTION, BUT I DO NOT WORK FOR THAT DIVISION. THE LOWER FRONT MOUNT CRACKED AND FAILED WHEN I WAS LEANING BACK ON MY SEAT WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE FREEWAY, I WAS THROWN INTO THE BACK CAB, I ALMOST LOST CONTROL OF MY TRUCK. I INVESTIG…
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FRONT SEAT MOUNT, GM POWER SEATS. I AM A AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN ENGINEER, MY COMPANY MAKES THE SEAT IN QUESTION, BUT I DO NOT WORK FOR THAT DIVISION. THE LOWER FRONT MOUNT CRACKED AND FAILED WHEN I WAS LEANING BACK ON MY SEAT WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE FREEWAY, I WAS THROWN INTO THE BACK CAB, I ALMOST LOST CONTROL OF MY TRUCK. I INVESTIGATED THE FAILURE AND FOUND THAT IT IS DUE TO A VERY POOR DESIGN. THIS MOUNT HAS TO EVENTUALLY FAIL, BECAUSE A BOLT IS INSERTED IN THE MIDDLE OF A VERY THIN SHEET METAL MOUNT PLATE, EVERY TIME THERE IS A LOAD PLACED ON THAT SEAT, THIS FLANGE BENDS BEYOND ITS ELASTIC LIMIT, THIS FLANGE WILL EVENTUALLY CRACK. I HAVE REPAIRED THIS MYSELF BUT I WOULD LIKE TO WARN OTHERS OF THIS PROBLEM MY VECHICLE IS A 1996 CHEVEROLET Z-71 SILVERADO PICK UP TRUCK WITH THE 6 WAY POWER BUCKET SEATS. *AK THANK YOU
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.