1996 Chevrolet Astro: problems, recalls and reliability
7 recalls and 263 owner complaints on record; the weakest area is visibility (22% of complaints).
Data updated weekly · latest recall May 2006
All counts are reports filed with NHTSA in the United States - US market only, not worldwide totals.
Common problems
Computed from 263 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“Pin holes in steel brake lines causing complete brake failure. Fortunately vehicle was sitting when brake petal was applied for starting. When pressing brake to start vehicle, petal went completely to floor. When checking under vehicle to analyze problem, pin holes leaks were observed in various places from front to rear in steel lines. I fear what may have happened had the vehicle been in motion, around pedestrians, and/or, on the road.”Owner report · Service Brakes · Dec 2015
“I just got home & was backing around to where I park when the brake pedal started vibrating. I did manage to park. The next day the vibrating stopped when a grating noise was made. Suddenly the brake pedal came way up. It does have some brakes but they are hard to depress. Suddenly my power steering is gone. There was no indication of problems with either beforehand. This van just passed inspection in mid-august, and has always been taken care of. *js”Owner report · Steering · Aug 2013
“1996 chevy astro lf torsion bar broke. Luckily it happened after my wife went on an 800 mile trip. Dealer replaced with newly designed shorter bar. Front now a lot lower than original. Dealer did not require or insist the other one be fixed at this time. They adjusted the camber of the wheel to offset the lower lf of the car. After reading other complaints on this board it was clearly a design flaw and should be remedied by gm. They knew--or at least found out about it--otherwise they would not have redesigned the part. They should pay for replacements on both sides. What does it take? *tr”Owner report · Suspension · Apr 2010
Show 7 more owner reports
“Dt: 1996 chevrolet astro. The vehicle began to smoke on august 11, 2005. The smoke was coming from the dashboard. The vehicle was being driven when this occurred. The consumer stated the switch or the plug for the rear air conditioner blower melted. Also, melted the first six inches of the wiring harness. The vehicle is still drivable. The consumer was able to pull the vehicle over and turn it off. He checked to make sure there were no flames. This problem has not yet been repaired. *ak”Owner report · Electrical System · Aug 2005
“Tl*the contact owns a 1996 chevrolet astro. While driving 55 mph, the vehicle shut off without warning. The contact found a recall notice inside the vehicle from when it was purchased. The recall letter pertains to the ignition coil wire. The purchase date was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 180,000.”Owner report · Electrical System · Jun 2005
“The torsion bar snapped in half. This bar was inadequate to the vehicle, and gm has a modified version for this. The bar broke while the consumer was driving the vehicle. The consumer was going 10 mph, when this happened and this caused the left front to drop down about 8 to 10 inches and was a violent drop. There were no problems before this. There were no wrecks involved. The consumer had to take in to the midas dealer and have the torsion bars on the left and right replaced with the new modified version. The front shock also broke, as a result of the bar breaking. The total of fixing this was $1,000.00 at the consumer's expense. *tt *sc *jb”Owner report · Suspension · May 2005
“I was driving down the interstate at 65 miles per hr. And all of a sudden I saw white smoke coming from the back of my van, it looked like the van was on fire, I lost all power to the van, and had no pick-up or speed. I had to divert the van to the shoulder of the highway. When I looked under the hood I found that the transmission cable had come unattached, and I had transmission fluid all over the ground. There were no warning signs whatsoever. Transmission fluid sprayed all the way to my back windshield of the van. *jb”Owner report · Power Train · Feb 2005
“Part#15990701 failed,broke.causing left corner of vechicleto droop almost to interfering with left front wheel.this part is comminly known as a torsion bar and should not be failing/.there was no accident.this vech.is in excellent condition and has never been abused.reparing this is going to be costly;over 1000.00 dollars.because their are no original parts.the parts have been updated and all new parts for both sides of the vech. Must be used.this tells me their was bad engineering in the original design. Now that they've fixed the problem they want the customer to pay the bill. Thank you. Respectfully richard wagner. *ak”Owner report · Suspension · Aug 2004
“Consumer stated that the fuel gauge did not work. Fuel gauge showed full, half full or empty. Consumer's sister received a recall concerning fuel gauge failure, but he had not received a recall notice. Also, consumer's wife ran out of fuel because of fuel gauge inaccurate reading of the amount of fuel in the gas tank. It would cost over $500.00 to have repairs done if it was not on recall.*ak”Owner report · Fuel System, Other · Apr 2004
“Fracture of right side torsion bar caused body to drop onto wheel, immobilizing vehicle. Repairs cost $797.12 plus $40 towing and loss of use for three days.*ak”Owner report · Suspension · Aug 2003
When filing, owners marked a crash in 17 of these complaints and injuries in 12 - self-reported to NHTSA, not verified accident statistics.
Recalls - 7 campaigns
CERTAIN REPLACEMENT FUEL FILTERS, FRAM BRAND NAME P/N G3727, WITH DATE CODES X52911 THROUGH X60801 SEQUENTIALLY OR X600141 AND A MEXICO COUNTRY OR ORIGIN MARKING ON THE FUEL FILTER HOUSING MANUFACTURED FROM OCTOBER 18, 2005, THROUGH MARCH 21, 2006, SOLD FOR USE ON THE VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE AND ON CERTAIN SCHOOL BUSES. (TO SEE THE SCHOOL BUS ENGINE SIZES, CLICK ON "DOCUMENT SEARCH" AND THEN "BUS APPLICATIONS"). THE CONNECTOR ON THE FUEL FILTER WAS NOT MANUFACTURED TO HONEYWELL'S SPECIFICATION. AS A RESULT, THE O-RING MAY NOT SEAT CORRECTLY ON THE FUEL LINE.
Remedy: HONEYWELL WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE FUEL FILTERS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON OCTOBER 18, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FRAM CUSTOMER SERVICE AT 1-800-890-2075 (OPTION 1).
CERTAIN CK MOTORSPORTS COMBINATION HEADLIGHTS, CLEAR CORNER, BUMPER, AND SIDE MARKER LIGHTS SOLD AS REPLACEMENT LAMPS FOR USE ON THE PASSENGER VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE. SOME COMBINATION LAMPS THAT ARE NOT EQUIPPED WITH AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS FAIL TO CONFORM TO FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT.
Remedy: CK MOTORSPORT WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE NONCOMPLIANT LAMPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 1, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CK MOTORSPORT AT 1-909-610-7211.
CERTAIN PRO-A MOTORS CORNER LAMPS, TURN SIGNALS, AND HEADLIGHTS SOLD AS REPLACEMENT LAMPS FOR USE ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE. SOME COMBINATION LAMPS THAT ARE NOT EQUIPPED WITH AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS FAIL TO CONFORM TO FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT.
Remedy: PRO-A MOTORS WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER TO REPURCHASE THE LAMPS. THE RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 3, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT PRO-A MOTORS AT 323-838-2988.
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: MINI VANS EQUIPPED WITH INTEGRATED DUAL CHILD SEATS. SOME OF THESE VEHICLES MAY BE MISSING A SEAT BELT RETRACTOR CLUTCH SPRING AND/OR PAWL SPRING IN THE CHILD SEAT. IF THE CLUTCH SPRING WAS MISSING, THE SEAT BELT WOULD LOCK IN THE RETRACTED POSITION AND COULD NOT BE USED. IF THE PAWL SPRING WAS MISSING, THE SEAT BELT RESTRAINT WOULD CONTINUALLY PLAY OUT AND WOULD NOT LOCK.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE SEAT BELTS ON THE CHILD SEATS, AND IF NECESSARY, REPLACE THE CHILD SEAT.
ON CERTAIN MINIVANS, PICKUP TRUCKS, AND SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES WITH CERTAIN MODEL-ENGINE COMBINATIONS, THE WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR MAY FAIL DUE TO CRACKED SOLDER JOINTS ON THE CONTROLLER CIRCUIT BOARD. THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS COULD WORK INTERMITTENTLY OR NOT AT ALL.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE WIPER MOTOR CIRCUIT BOARD AND COVER. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN ON JUNE 19, 2003. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT CHEVROLET AT 1-800-222-1020, GMC AT 1-800-462-8782, OR OLDSMOBILE AT 1-800-442-6537.
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: MINI VANS. SOME OF THESE VEHICLES FAIL TO COMPLY WITH REQUIREMENTS OF FMVSS NO. 208, "OCCUPANT CRASH PROTECTION." THE "FASTEN SAFETY-BELT" AUDIBLE WARNING OCCASIONALLY MAY NOT COME ON OR MAY TERMINATE IN LESS THAN FOUR SECONDS AS REQUIRED BY THE STANDARD.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSTALL A NEW ALARM MODULE. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN JUNE 27, 2001. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT CHEVROLET AT 1-800-222-1020 OR GMC AT 1-800-462-8782.
THE OUTBOARD SAFETY BELT WEBBING ON THE RIGHT-HAND REAR BUCKET SEAT CAN SEPARATE DURING A VEHICLE CRASH.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSTALL A PROTECTOR ON THE REAR SEAT CUSHION FRAME.
How other years compare
Check your exact Astro by VIN
Recalls and equipment differ between individual vehicles. Decode your VIN to see what applies to yours.
Open VIN decoderFrequently asked questions
Is the 1996 Chevrolet Astro reliable?
NHTSA has 263 owner complaints and 7 recall campaigns on record for the 1996 Chevrolet Astro. The most complained-about area is visibility (22% of complaints).
At what mileage do 1996 Chevrolet Astro problems usually appear?
Half of the complaints that mention mileage were filed at 101,000 miles or less.
Does the 1996 Chevrolet Astro have open recalls?
7 recall campaigns have been issued, the latest concerning fuel system, gasoline. Check your specific vehicle by VIN - recall repairs are free at franchised dealers.
Source: NHTSA recall campaigns and owner complaints (public domain). Counts reflect reports on file and are not a defect rate.