IllustrationWHILE STOPPING AT STOP LIGHT ANOTHER VEHICLE RAN A RED LIGHT SMASHING INTO CONSUMER'S VEHICLE BROADSIDE. UPON IMPACT, AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY . *AK CONSUMER WAS INJURED IN ACCIDENT. *SLC
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
Air Bags complaints
10 reportsCONSUMER WAS TRAVELING ABOUT 45MPH ON HIGHWAY AND HE WAS STRUCK BY ANOTHER VEHICLE. HE WAS HIT BY A T-BONE FASHION. UPON IMPACT, FRONTAL AIRBAGS DIDN'T DEPLOY. THE DEALERSHIP WAS CONTACTED. DRIVER SUFFERED MINOR INJURIES. *AK
DUE TO DEFECTIVE AIRBAG MODEM, THE AIRBAG LIGHT STAYED ON, INDICATING A PROBLEM WITH THE AIRBAG SYSTEM, WHICH MAY DEPLOY UNEXPECTEDLY OR WON'T DEPLOY IN EVENT OF A CRASH. *AK THE AIR BAG INDICATOR LIGHT IS INTERMITTENT. DEFECTIVE PART IS ON ORDER BY DEALER. *YH
WATER GETS INTO AIR BAG SWITCH,CAUSING AIR BAG SWITCH NOT TO WORK. CONSUMER TOOK THE VEHICLE FOR REPAIRS, AND DEALER REPLACED THE AIR BAG SWITCH. *AK
WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 40-45 MPH VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A FRONTAL COLLISION , THE VEHICLE THEN HIT INTO A DITCH HEAD-ON AND THE AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY. THE DEALER & MANUFACTURER WILL BE NOTIFIED. *AK
WHILE DRIVING HIT BRIDGE RAIL AT CURVE, WENT ACROSS ROAD & BOUNCED OFF BRIDGE. LOST CONTROL AFTER THROWN BACK ON ROAD. WENT SIDEWAYS AND THEN HIT A TREE, DRIVER'S AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. DRIVER SUSTAINED HEAD INJURY & SOME BRUISES. *AK
DRIVNG AT SPEED UNKNOWN, LOST CONTROL OF VEHICLE, IMPACT 11:00 POSITION, DRIVER'S SIDE AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY AFTER HITTING A POLE. *AK
WHEN APPLYING THE ABS BRAKES, THE BRAKES LOCKED UP, CAUSING A COLLISION IN WHICH THE DRIVER'S SIDE AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY IN FRONTAL IMPACT. *AK *JB
NO DEPLOYMENT OF DRIVER'S SIDE AIR BAG DURING A FRONTAL IMPACT ACCIDENT, RESULTING IN AN INJURY. *AK
NO DEPLOYMENT OF AIRBAG DURING COLLISION/INJURY.
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.