Total Complaints
3 filings
CHEVROLET C35 · model year
3 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 1996CHEVROLETC35 carries 3 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 1996 C35 is steering: steering wheel/handle bar with 1 filings, followed by engine and engine cooling:engine:gasoline (1) and service brakes, hydraulic:antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.
NHTSA currently has 57 investigation files overlapping the 1996 C35, and 2 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
3 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| STEERING: STEERING WHEEL/HANDLE BAR | 1 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE | 1 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP | 1 |
WHEN TRAVELING WITH A LOAD ON THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE, AND UPON DEPRESSING THE BRAKE PEDAL, THE FRONT WHEELS LOCK UP, CAUSING EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE/ BRAKE FADE AWAY. CONSUMER HAS CONTACTED THE DEALER, DEALER HAS NOT REPLACED ANY PARTS. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *AK
CONSUMER STATES THAT THE ENGINE BLEW. THE DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. *AK
THE PINCH BOLT WAS NOT INSTALLED INTO THE THREAD SIDE OF THE CLAMP, CAUSING THE STEERING COLUMN NOT TO ACTIVATE THE STEERING BOX. *AK
Loss of motive power due to engine failure
Loss of Motive Power due to the Battery Energy Control Module
Electric Vehicle Battery Fires
Outboard Front Seat Belt Anchor Cable Failure
Fuel Line Leak
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.