Owners have filed 325 complaints on the Daewoo NUBIRA, covering 1998–2002. The system named most often is Engine And Engine Cooling (194 reports). Worst years by volume: 2000, 2001, 1999; cleanest: 1998, 2002, 1999. 10 reports describe a crash, 6 a fire. On average the car was 3.3 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Daewoo NUBIRA
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 325 NUBIRA complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Engine And Engine Cooling 194 Read
Nar 03/05/2003 the consumer engine compartment was caught on fire. Dealer notified
Until 1:30 p.m. Today (june 3, 2004), I thought my 2002 daewoo nubira was a god-sent because of its excellent gas economy (~30 MPG). The engine caught on fire this afternoon and now it's a piece of junk. I have been doing my oil change every 3000 miles and so far I've put about 39000 miles on it. As far as I know,…
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 65 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
NHTSA recall 02V131000, after braking vehicle did not stop. Consumer's vehicle rear ended another vehicle. The brake pads were replaced three times
Consumer contacted dealer for recall remedy 02V257000. The dealer informed consumer would not remedy vehicle because it was not purchased from their dealership. Ts
Suspension 28 Read
Front lower control arms have to be changed due to bushings going bad, if these bushings fail it can lead to crashes from having unstable steering.found a recall in aulstralia for the same thing. Car jerks to the sides at speeds as low as 15 miles per hour and up. I was driving 55 when my car jerked real hard to the…
Consumer states that while driving at various speeds and without warning there is a heavy vibration in the vehicle because the control arm is causing the tire to wear
Suspension problem. Lower control arms. Has a bad vibration over 60 mph. Also makes creaking noise in front end. Front tires worn down really bad
Air Bags 8 Read
Mr
While driving 50mph consumer's vehicle swerved to miss another vehicle, and hit a parked truck. Upon impact, air bags didnot deploy. Front/ back and side were damaged. Contacted dealer, and dealer stated had to hit side of vehicle before airbag would deploy
Was pulling into a parking space. Took foot off gas pedal. Depressed brake pedal to slow down when vehicle suddenly and without warning accelerated forward. Vehicle hit a tree. Upon impact, air bags failed to deploy. Driver did not sustain any injuries
Vehicle Speed Control 7 Read
On occasions the vehicles engine would race, also in a parking lot it was difficult to keep the vehicle sttionary although the drivers foot was depressing the brake(southcoast rent a car, 4200 campus drive #101, newport neach, ca 92660, 949-442-7755). Nlm
When putting vehicle in 1 st gear, as soon as foot comes off brake engine revs, and vehicle surges forward. This has happened twice. Currently vehicle at dealer who cannot find cause
Engine check light is illuminating, indicating that loose acceleration will cause vehicle to slow down
Power Train 5 Read
Vehicle will not move or shift out of gear. Dealer has not been notified at this time. Feel free to provide any further information
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…
The car will move if shift is moved with out pushing in the release button, concern that will happen if key is not in ignition
Steering 5 Read
Consumer states that while driving at any speed and without warning the steering wheel will pull to the right and it will be hard for the consumer to control the vehicle. Dealer notified ts
My car needed idler arms and bushing and only has 25k miles and I have been waiting for the parts now since 12/17/02 and the parts are not in as of yet the problem is worsening and I have called the dealer many times to have this repait done I am afraid to drive cuz it is hard to control the car in the weather we get…
The consumer found that the creaking in the front end of the vehicle was due to bad lower control arms. The consumer is waiting on parts, and since then, she has experienced steering jumping, bad handles in wef weather, and the vehicle takes off over bumps
Structure 3 Read
While in motion the hood of the vehicle will open. It would unfasten and begin bouncing up and down. Consumer took the vehicle in to two mechanics. After both attempts, the hood is still not repaired
While raining water could leak through passenger's side door. Technician had tested with water hose to find out where the leak was coming from.*ak water comes from passenger side dashboard not door. Windows and windshield fog up when starting the vehicle in the morning
Automatic door locks locked by themself
NUBIRA 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Engine And Engine Cooling | 1 | 1 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 5 | 3 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 1 | 2 | |
| 1998 | 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 | 140 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.3 |
| Worst single series | 13 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 3.3 years |
A model average of 2.3 hides a worst series at 13. 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 NUBIRA?
By complaint volume, 2000, 2001, 1999 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 NUBIRA years are the cleanest?
1998, 2002, 1999 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Daewoo NUBIRA have?
325 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1998–2002. Of those, 10 describe a crash and 6 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.