Owners have filed 14 complaints on the Chevrolet Nova, covering 1986–1988. The system named most often is Power Train (6 reports). Worst years by volume: 1987, 1988, 1986; cleanest: 1986, 1988, 1987. 1 reports describe a crash, 1 a fire, 1 a death. On average the car was 9.6 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Chevrolet Nova
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 14 Nova complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Power Train 6 Read
Able to take the key out of the ignition while the car is in drive and the car started to move back. Please describe. Tt
Front wheels locked up and the car stopped suddenly. Resulting in a rearend collision. After the accident the motor would crank and run but the vehicle would not move in any gear. Replace the transaxle
The transaxle fluid was 1.5 quarts low (empty) causing the transaxle to lock up while driving. Nlm
Seat Belts 3 Read
Seat belts in front seat failed to hold driver/passenger in place in rear end collision, causing injuries
Consumer states that the rear seat belts do not retract properly
Front driver's seat belt buckle broke. Tt
Electrical System 1 Read
Tail lights' wiring harness burned out/melted, resulting in a fire
Seats 1 Read
Upon frontal impact items in trunk moved forward, striking rear seat back, causing seat back to collapse, items stuck child, resulting in death
Latches/locks/linkages 1 Read
Vehicle hood latch failed due to tire vibration at 65 mph, causing hood to crumple into windshield
Fuel System 1 Read
Fuel tank replaced 2 times due to gasoline leaking from seam
Engine And Engine Cooling 1 Read
Loud whining noise is heard at highway speeds. Please explain. Tt
Nova 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Electrical System | 1 | 1 | |
| 1987 | Power Train | — | — | |
| 1986 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — |
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 | 14 |
| Average complaints per series | 1 |
| Worst single series | 1 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 9.6 years |
A model average of 1 hides a worst series at 1. 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 Nova?
By complaint volume, 1987, 1988, 1986 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 Nova years are the cleanest?
1986, 1988, 1987 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Chevrolet Nova have?
14 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1986–1988. Of those, 1 describe a crash and 1 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.