Owners have filed 523 complaints on the Chevrolet Caprice, covering 1983–2011. The system named most often is Service Brakes (92 reports). Worst years by volume: 1994, 1991, 1992; cleanest: 1985, 2011, 1983. 63 reports describe a crash, 16 a fire, 2 a death. On average the car was 5.4 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Chevrolet Caprice
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 523 Caprice complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Service Brakes 92 Read
Antilock brakes failed, causing accident
Anti-lock brakes fail on wet and bumpy roads, causing loss of control/accident
Anti-lock brakes, when driving in wet weather conditions the brakes grabbed, causing extended stopping distance, resulting in an accident
Electrical System 66 Read
While driving smoke was being emitted from dashboard, car would not turn off and would not open for exit.car burned completely.this is security/police car. *ak
Dt: cable from battery to junction box overheated and started a fire. It melted the stud that battery cable was connected to, the junction box and the area around the junction box. Caller was at a car wash and the attendent saw smoke and alerted consumer. They opened the hood and disconnected the battery. Vehicle was…
Consumer was driving and car caught fire came from the dash board. Tt
Vehicle Speed Control 45 Read
Accelerator stuck, resulting in loss of contol/accident prior to recall (95V-082)
After wife parked automobile and got out-the vehicle began to roll backward in a semi-circle, resulting in hitting a brick wall. Driver was slightly injured
Intermittent problem with the accelerator getting stuck, involved in recall no. 95V082000. Tt
Suspension 42 Read
Lower rear axle control broke, loss of steering control. Tt
Went under the car, just purchased from city of walnut creek auctions, a 54k mile ex-patrol car...to change the differential oil. Found two cracks on what is a tension holding brace in the lower suspension sub-frame. Similar on each side. Obvious engineering defect compounded on how the weldment was done. I photo'd…
Upper and lower ball joints snapped when vehicle was backing up and once when moving forward and making a left turn causing loss of steering ability. Nlm
Fuel System 30 Read
Vehicle was parked on the shoulder of highway impact 6:00 position, vehicle exploded causing a fire and fatal death. Tt
Parked for five minutes vehicle caught fire. Cause of fire unknown by fire marshall and chevrolet. Tt
The problem is gas fumes, the fumes enter thru the vents a) when idling b)at stop and depress the accelerator pedal to move forward or reducing the speed. Dealership could not find any problem
Steering 30 Read
While driving @ 30-40 mph vehicle stopped running w/everything converting to manual control. Driver lost control into a ditch. Please describe details. Tt
I'm not trying to do dual complaints. While braking ,prior to impact, there was a loud clicking coming from the ABS control unit under the hood, also the computer ecm, shows that the airbag deployed, serious lifetime injuries, I'm going into a powerchair, at 42 there is no surgery that will help me, and leslie is…
Suspension causing excessive tire wear---replaced tires at 18,000 and now at 29000 miles. Dealer claims I need another alignment even though they just fixed it. Two tsbs associated with the steering and suspension. Steering has always been loose and sometimes locks up completely. Suspension has always pulled to the…
Seat Belts 29 Read
During head on collision, passenger seatbelt webbing pulled apart. Tt
Seat buckle defective
The seat belt on this car has a bar that goes across the buckle. This bar is loose. If twisted in a vertical position it comes off the bracket. It is not a one piece unit like other belts. It is possible that many people have been injured because the bar can fall out an give no restraint. I have spoken to a chevrolet…
Power Train 27 Read
Wife drove vehicle, smelled something burning, vehicle suddenly died, under hood wires melted, terminal leading to battery had overheated, resulting in a fire. *ak fuse box terminal cracked into pieces while trying to disconnect it, plastic protective cap had melted and made it difficult to disassemble, consumer found…
Transmission failed, vehicle started when shift lever was between park and reverse gear/vehicle went out of control, resulting in accident/fatality
After turning the car on and shfting in gear car will lunge forward abruptly
Caprice 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Suspension,structure | — | — | |
| 1996 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 6 | — | |
| 1994 | Air Bags | 11 | 6 | |
| 1993 | Air Bags | 7 | 3 | |
| 1992 | Air Bags | 12 | — | |
| 1991 | Air Bags | 22 | 1 | |
| 1990 | Vehicle Speed Control | 1 | — | |
| 1989 | Fuel System, Gasoline | 2 | 1 | |
| 1988 | Electrical System | — | 1 | |
| 1987 | Power Train | — | 1 | |
| 1986 | Fuel System, Gasoline | 1 | — | |
| 1985 | Fuel System, Gasoline,electrical System | — | — | |
| 1984 | Engine And Engine Cooling | 1 | 1 | |
| 1983 | Electrical System | — | 2 |
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 | 319 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.6 |
| Worst single series | 8 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.4 years |
A model average of 1.6 hides a worst series at 8. 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
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
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 Caprice?
By complaint volume, 1994, 1991, 1992 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 Caprice years are the cleanest?
1985, 2011, 1983 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Chevrolet Caprice have?
523 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1983–2011. Of those, 63 describe a crash and 16 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.