Daewoo owners have filed 912 complaints with NHTSA across 3 models. On average the car was 3.46 years old when the problem happened, and 47.1% of reports fall inside the first three years — while the factory warranty was still running.
What breaks on Daewoo
The systems Daewoo owners report most, and how often each failure ended in a crash.
| System | Complaints | Share of Daewoo | Ended in a crash |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine And Engine Cooling | 62.7% | 0.5% | |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 9% | 6.1% | |
| Air Bags | 5.9% | 24.1% | |
| Suspension | 2.7% | 4% | |
| Engine And Engine Cooling,air Bags | 2% | 0% | |
| Power Train | 1.6% | 0% | |
| Electrical System | 1.4% | 0% | |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic,engine And Engine Cooling | 1.3% | 0% |
When Daewoo problems show up
| Measure | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Average age at failure | 3.46 years | How old the car was when the problem happened |
| Reported inside 3 years | 47.1% | Share of complaints filed while the factory warranty was likely still running |
| Complaints describing a crash | 30 | Of 912 total |
| Complaints describing a fire | 19 | Of 912 total |
A low average age does not automatically mean a fragile car: a brand with a young fleet on the road will always skew early. Read it next to the share reported inside three years.
Which Daewoo models draw the most complaints
Volume follows sales, so a bestseller will always top this list. The columns worth reading are age at failure and how many reports ended in a crash.
Daewoo complaints by model year
A bad generation shows up here as a block of years, not as a single spike. Recent years look quiet simply because those cars are young and still under warranty.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2001 | 9 | 2 | |
| 2000 | 14 | 11 | |
| 1999 | 5 | 4 | |
| 1998 | — | — |
What Daewoo owners report
Grouped by the system owners named. Open any row for the full reports, in their own words — one per model so the same fault does not repeat.
Engine And Engine Cooling 572 Read
- the contact stated that she received a recall letter for the 2002 daewoo lanos on 05/2006. But became drastically ill from a heart attack and couldn't have the recall repairs done immediately. She took the vehicle to steve's repair in idaho falls for the recall repairs in february 2007. She contact ed daewoo at 877-362-1234, and they advised her to take the vehicle to any repair shop for the recall because there was no daewoo dealership. She when she took the vehicle with recall letter to the repair shop, they informed her that she had to pay for the repairs the contact stated that the mechanic said that daewoo informed him that she had to pay and they would reimburse her. As of 3-9-07 she hadn't received the reimbursement. She stated that the daewoo told her to send in the repair receipt, and that it would take about one month to get the reimbursement. The contact called the 877-362-1234 number and spoke to the receptionist, who told the contact that they will not honor the reimbursement. *ak the consumer stated her son had an accident in the vehicle and the air bags didn't deploy. Updated 04/09/07
2000 daewoo leganza camshaft position sensor caused the engine warning light to come on and the vehicle to cut off.*mr the vehicle also caught on fire. The consumer called the number listed on the recall but there was no answer
04V357000/camshaft position sensor. The consumer experienced an underhood fire in march 2004 and since have had the vehicle repaired. The consumer has tried to contact the manufacturer to receive reimbursement now that the recall is in effect. The consumer stated that no one answered the phone. Provide further details
Service Brakes, Hydraulic 82 Read
While traveling at 10 mph the brakes failed to operate, causing a crash. Consumer was informed by the dealer that the rubber brake hoses needed repairs for the second time
Consimer states while driving at 35mph brakes failed, consumer was unable to stop vehicle, resulting in an accident.just had brakes replaced. Dealer contacted
Upon applying light pressure to the brake pedal, it loose all pressure, locking the tires and spinning the vehicle out of control. As result impacted the middle wall that separates oposites lanes. Additional to this incident, the police officer who filled the accident report stated to me that he also was involve in a vehicle collision between his car and another daewoo leganza. Also this similar car lost the brakes
Air Bags 54 Read
Consumer lost control of vehicle due to weather, and hit an exit sign. Upon impact, air bags did not deploy. Consumer contacted manufacturer.*ak
Recalls 02V131000 and 02V131001/fmvss 201 air bag deployment, vehicle was involved in a frontal and a side collision, however neither air bag deployed. Dealer was notified. *ak there was one injury
Consumer's vehicle had a front impact at 25 mph, and neither airbag deployed. Consumer hit head on steering wheel, and had a tooth knocked out.*ak
Suspension 25 Read
Vehicle pulls to right , making it difficult to control. *ak the consumer was concerned that the manufacturer defect was causing the problem to continue and had caused accidents
The daewoo nubira 2001 should be recalled to replace lower control arms which are attached to the suspension. I feel the control arms' inadequacies are catastrophes waiting to happen. The control arms are faulty and could cause steering failure. This is a part that is replaced on this car model too often. What happens if someone does not have $700 to pay for repair? I ask this because when I drive the daewoo it is increasing difficult to hold it on the road due to the front end rack and pinion steering jerking left and right. I limit my driving to the supermarket and small errands because of this problem, and because of this defect I drive slowly and on small streets. Getting on the highway is completely out of the question. I was told by the technician at motor city, odessa, texas, 432-550-8721, that the ball joint may fall from the frame causing loss of control. I need replacement of these crucial parts. I can live with peeling paint, barely functioning electric windows, and a non functioning air conditioner, but I cannot live with a steering problem that is veering out of control. I know that daewoo is no longer in business - but gmc is. I also know that the ratio of daewoos to other automobiles on the road is low; however, any function or part on a product that may cause even one accident due to mechanical failure should be taken seriously by your department. An accident caused by a malfunctioning steering mechanism on any automobile may lead to someone's deat
Engine And Engine Cooling,air Bags 18 Read
The consumer stated two recalls have been issued on her vehicle. The dealer stated the next available date was not until january 2005. The consumer is concerned for her safety. Please provide additional information
02 v 131/fmvss 201 air bag deployment & 04 v 357 000/camshaft position sensor/mil: the consumer was unable to get the recalls honored because the sensor lot number did not match for the camshaft. The consumer has a concern that the vehicle "check engine" light is illuminating and nothing in the recall notice mentioned any thing concerning sensors lots numbers
Power Train 15 Read
The transmission of my 2000 daewoo leganza ignited and caused the car to burn to the ground and almost killed myself and my 4 other family members almost 2 months ago and daewoo has yet to respond to my faxes, phone calls etc... I want resolution to this matter
While driving 65 mph in overdrive the vehicle dropped down to second or third gear without warning. The cause has yet to be determined. Please provide additional information. *nm the vehicle has been in the shop they cannot find the problem. It is unsafe driving at 65 mph and car drop down in gear. The engine get high RPM this could make the engine blow up and lose control of the car
About a month ago the oil light came on. I had it checked and the oil was full so I called the dealer and took it in. Melissa said it was a good thing the light came on because if not the engine/transmission could have locked because there was sludge in there and the motor was not getting enough oil. She said it was cleaned out and the warranty covered the large part of it and my cost was $106.00. On june 12th the oil light comes on again and the car starts to tick. I check the oil and it's full so I drove the car to the dealer and melissa tells me the only way it could be covered under warranty is that I need proof of all the oil changes and $300.00 to get started. It's evident to me that the car had engine problems from the manufacturer and I need to be reimbursed. This is the only car I have and it is essential to my financial well being. Please help quickly
Electrical System 13 Read
Hesitation, light pulling, smoke under the hood, when opening the hood fire and smoke blaze. I remove myself and childern's away from the car leaving the hood up
While consumer's wife was driving to work first thing this morning she noticed smoke coming from underneath passenger's seat. She pulled over, and called fire department. Fire department disconnected battery and put out fire. Vehicle at dealer at this time. $ amount of damage and cause of fire unknown. No injuries
While driving 45 mph consumer noticed smoke coming from under hood. Pulled over and saw engine compartment on fire. Was able to put fire out. At this time consumer was waiting to hear from daewoo. Amount of damage unknown
Service Brakes, Hydraulic,engine And Engine Cooling 12 Read
2000 daewoo leganza check engine light illuminated. Engine made noise and died. *kb when the check engine light illuminated the consumer took the vehicle to the dealer. Each time the vehicle was taken to the dealer different parts were replaced but the light would return. The vehicle was returned to the dealer several time for about a year and a half but the problem always returned. The consumer has had a difficult time getting the recalled camshaft position sensor replaced. The dealer had no parts available to replace the part. The gear shifter became stuck in park. The dealer replaced the brake switch. The vehicle caught on fire under the manifold
The consumer received NHTSA recall 04V357000 on the camshaft position sensor and NHTSA recall 02V257000 on the fmvss 106/brake hoses. Consumer was unable to locate a dealer to honor the recalls
Consumer received NHTSA recall 04V357000 regarding the crank shaft position sensor. Company was out business. No dealership was available in the miami area. *ak when vehicle stops or turns the brake makes a high pitch noise
Unverified owner reports filed with NHTSA. Percentages are shares of all 912 Daewoo complaints.
Daewoo against the rest
| Measure | Where Daewoo sits | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| By complaint volume | #0 | 29 brands with 3,000+ complaints |
| By age at failure (later is better) | #0 | 29 brands |
| Complaints ending in a crash | 3.3% | across all 912 reports |
Ranking by volume says more about how many cars a brand sells than about how they hold up. Age at failure is the fairer of the two.
Compare Daewoo with the rest
Daewoo problems by model
3 Daewoo models have owner complaints on file. Pick one for its worst years, failing systems and what owners actually wrote.
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
- No ads, on every page
- 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.
Go deeper
Frequently asked questions
How reliable is Daewoo?
Owners have filed 912 complaints across 3 Daewoo models. On its own that number reflects how many Daewoo cars are on the road — compare the average age at failure (3.46 years) instead.
What breaks most often on a Daewoo?
The most reported system is Engine And Engine Cooling with 572 complaints.
Do Daewoo problems show up under warranty?
47.1% of Daewoo complaints describe something that happened in the first three years, while the factory warranty was likely still running.
Which Daewoo model has the most complaints?
See the model list above — each card shows its complaint count, and the model page breaks it down by year and by system.