Owners have filed 386 complaints on the Chevrolet Beretta, covering 1987–1996. The system named most often is Service Brakes (89 reports). Worst years by volume: 1995, 1996, 1994; cleanest: 1987, 1993, 1990. 40 reports describe a crash, 19 a fire, 5 a death. On average the car was 4.5 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Chevrolet Beretta
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 386 Beretta complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Service Brakes 89 Read
No deployment of driver's air bag during a collision, resulting in injuries. Also, ABS brakes failed to stop vehicle, lost control and crashed into a ditch
Had vehicle in a gm repair shop on three different occasions while under warranty. This is a intermittent problem dealer could no find anything wrong, because it is intermittent problem. That problem is brake pedal goes to floor. (brake fluid is full ) this seam to happen after veh. Has set overnight, or driving at…
When applying the ABS brakes, the pedal went to the floor board and caused vehicle to hit another vehicle in the rear; also, the driver's side air bag deployed and caused burns and injuries to the driver. *ak
Electrical System 54 Read
Vehicle burst into flames with no warning, the fire report stated electrical system fire
While driving vehicle caught on fire due to a defective relay switch
While driving the vehicle caught on fire under the hood
Engine And Engine Cooling 38 Read
Vehicle fire
Catalytic converter caught fire causing the console to be very hot and for the inside of the vehicle to become filled with smoke. Nlm
Intermittent stalling; dealer unable to determine cause
Exterior Lighting 26 Read
While driving a column of smoke developed from the top of the steering column, directly in front of the driver. This occurred approximately one mile after noticing that the turn signal did not seem to operate properly during a turn. The smoke was also accompanied by the smell of an electrical fire. Immediately…
Smoke emitted from steering wheel column as a result of a fire. Tt
Because the way the heaslights are attached to the front grille, the whole assembly is loose. When using the headlights, every bump in the road makes the headlights bounce and flicker
Steering 25 Read
Power steering fails in rainy weather/wet roads, causing loss of control/accident
Steering column smoked when using the turn signal
Smoke coming from the steering column while driving the vehicle
Structure 24 Read
I have a friend who also owns a 1995 chevrolet beretta w/ the same engine size, wh also has the problem w/ this "a frame bushing"..same side of the vehicle and the same banging and clunking noises..sounds like the whole tires going to fall off. She aslo bought the vehicle @ the same dealership as I did
Original paint is falling off the roof of the car, rest of vehicle paint is fine / children are playing with the chunks of paint falling on the ground
Driver's side door handle snapped in half as owner was attempting to oper door. Believed to be a manufacturer's defect; checked by dealer, handle needed replacing
Seat Belts 20 Read
Consumer stated while driving, the driver's side seat slid backwards while the vehicle was in motion, causing the driver to lose control. The vehicle flipped over twice and landed on a big boulder.*ak the consumer stated she was thrown out of the back windshield and the seat belt did not keep her in the car. *cb
Drivers shoulder belt failed to restrain occupant upon head on collision while stationary. Please describe details. Tt
Seat belt buckles not covered in plastic sleeves, causing buckles to cut into interior when retracting
Suspension 17 Read
Upon frontal impact, torsion bar disconnected rupturing fuel tank/fuel ignited, resulting in a fire/fatalities
Driving the vehicle would go into one direction, causing a collision. The vehicle was totaled. The manufacturer has been notified
All extrior lights headlamps/tail lamps/side marker lamps go on in daytime with no way to turn off. In addition, engine surges, speed increases and back fires/transmission shifts out of control and at different times, and vehicle squeaks, noceable at slow speeds or rollin gover speed bumps
Beretta years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Air Bags | 7 | — | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 6 | 2 | |
| 1994 | Air Bags | 5 | 2 | |
| 1993 | Air Bags | 6 | 1 | |
| 1992 | Electrical System | 1 | 4 | |
| 1991 | Air Bags | 5 | 3 | |
| 1990 | Electrical System | 4 | 1 | |
| 1989 | Electrical System | 4 | 3 | |
| 1988 | Air Bags,seats | 2 | 3 | |
| 1987 | Structure | — | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 273 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.4 |
| Worst single series | 6 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 4.5 years |
A model average of 1.4 hides a worst series at 6. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Beretta?
By complaint volume, 1995, 1996, 1994 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Beretta years are the cleanest?
1987, 1993, 1990 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Chevrolet Beretta have?
386 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1987–1996. Of those, 40 describe a crash and 19 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.