IllustrationVEHICLE STARTED OVERHEATING AND DRIVER SMELLED COOLANT. THIS WAS DUE TO A LEAKING HEAD GASKET. HEAD GASKET WAS REPLACED TWICE.*AK
1996 Chevrolet Corsica
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1996 Chevrolet Corsica do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 100.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Corsica 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: 5 of 110 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.
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 33 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 19 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Structure. Review the 15 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
8 crash reports0 fire reports6 injury reports
Engine And Engine Cooling complaints
33 reportsANTIFREEZE LEAKS CAME THROUGH A/C HEAT VENT. ANYTIME AIR OR HEAT WAS BLOWING A ODOR GOT INSIDE VEHICLE. 7 TIMES CONSUMER HAS BEEN TOLD SOMETHING DIFFERENT. HEATER CORE/ INTAKE MANIFOLD, AND RADIATOR HAS BEEN ACKNOWLEDGED AS THE PROBLEM. THIS TIME WATER PUMP WAS THE CAUSE. UNLES VEHICLE DUPLICATEF THE PROBLEM, DEALER WOUL…
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ANTIFREEZE LEAKS CAME THROUGH A/C HEAT VENT. ANYTIME AIR OR HEAT WAS BLOWING A ODOR GOT INSIDE VEHICLE. 7 TIMES CONSUMER HAS BEEN TOLD SOMETHING DIFFERENT. HEATER CORE/ INTAKE MANIFOLD, AND RADIATOR HAS BEEN ACKNOWLEDGED AS THE PROBLEM. THIS TIME WATER PUMP WAS THE CAUSE. UNLES VEHICLE DUPLICATEF THE PROBLEM, DEALER WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO FIND THE REMEDY.*AK
ENGINE HEAD GASKETS BLEWOUT, CAUSING COOLANT TO LEAK ONTO ENGINE. A RECALL WAS ISSUED ON VARIOUS MODELS WITH SAME ENGINE, HOWEVER ,THIS VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED DUE TO VIN.*AK
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOV EVEHICLE. *AK
THE HEAD GASKET WAS LEAKING ANTIFREEZE. NLM
I'VE OWNED THIS CAR FOR 3 1/2 YEARS. IN PAST YEAR, ENCOUNTERED MANY EXPENSIVE PROBLEMS. HEAD GASKET BLEW AND WATER PUMP REPLACED AT APPROX 56,000 MILES. CONTROL ARM BUSHINGS NEED REPLACEMENT AT 60,000 MILES? I DRIVE THIS CAR TO AND FROM WORK EACH DAY, NO LONG TRIPS, AVG MILEAGE PER DAY = 10 MILES POSSIBLY. CANNOT UNDERSTAND…
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I'VE OWNED THIS CAR FOR 3 1/2 YEARS. IN PAST YEAR, ENCOUNTERED MANY EXPENSIVE PROBLEMS. HEAD GASKET BLEW AND WATER PUMP REPLACED AT APPROX 56,000 MILES. CONTROL ARM BUSHINGS NEED REPLACEMENT AT 60,000 MILES? I DRIVE THIS CAR TO AND FROM WORK EACH DAY, NO LONG TRIPS, AVG MILEAGE PER DAY = 10 MILES POSSIBLY. CANNOT UNDERSTAND WHY 5 YEAR OLD CAR IS HAVING MAJOR PROBLEMS W/LOW MILEAGE. MAINTAIN IT REGULARLY.*AK
BATTERY AND ALTERNATOR FAILURE DUE TO ELECRTICAL PROBLEMS, THREE TIMES PRIOR TO 50,000 MILES. *JB
INTAKE GASKET SET/HAS TO BE REPLACED TO STOP LEAKS ON MANY CORSICAS OF THAT YEAR. *AK
THE VEHICLE CRANKS BUT WILL NOT START, IT TAKES SEVERAL ATTEMPTS (2-20) TO START THE VEHICLE, THE VEHICLE ALSO STALLS OUT WHILE DRIVING, THE DEALER HAS REPLACED THE MODULE, AIR FILTER AND IGNITION BUT HE VEHICLE CONTINUES TO STALL. NLM
TRUNK WAS OUT OF ALIGNMENT. *SLC
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.