CHEVROLET VAN · model year

2002 CHEVROLET VAN

12 NHTSA complaints, 1 crash report for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 2002CHEVROLETVAN carries 12 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 1 crash, 0 fires, 7 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 2002 VAN is structure:body:door with 2 filings, followed by tires:tread/belt (2) and tires:temporary/emergency spare tire (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 2002 VAN, 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.

12
Complaints
1
Crashes
0
Fires
7
Injuries
0
Deaths

Total Complaints

12 filings

Crashes Reported

1 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR2
TIRES:TREAD/BELT2
TIRES:TEMPORARY/EMERGENCY SPARE TIRE1
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH1
VISIBILITY:REARVIEW MIRRORS/DEVICES1
SEAT BELTS1
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY:FILLER PIPE AND CAP1
SUSPENSION:FRONT:WHEEL BEARING1
EQUIPMENT:APPLIANCE:AIR CONDITIONER1
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC1

Recent Complaints

20110307SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

2002 ASTRO VAN BECOMES DIFFICULT TO STOP . FEELS LIKE THE HYDRAULIC BOOSTER FAILS TO ENGAGE, NECESSITATING EXTREME PRESSURE TO BE APPLIED TO THE BRAKE PEDDLE TO STOP THE VEHICLE. THIS SITUATION TOOK PLACE FAIRLY OFTEN. AFTER REMOVING THE ABS FUSE THE BRAKES ARE WORKING FINE. *TR

Mileage: 150,000

20070410EQUIPMENT:APPLIANCE:AIR CONDITIONER

I OWN A 2002 CHEVROLET VENTURE AWD. RECENTLY, I NOTICED AN OILY SUBSTANCE COMING FROM THE RIGHT, PASSENGER SIDE OF THE VAN. UPON FURTHER INVESTIGATION, I DISCOVERED THAT THE OIL WAS COMING FROM THE AIR CONDITIONER (A/C ) CONDENSER, DETERMINING THAT THE AIR CONDITIONER DID NOT WORK. IT WORKED FINE UNTIL THIS TIME. I CALLED REPAIR SHOPS, AND FOUND OUT THAT THE REPLACEMENT A/C CONDENSER WAS DESIGNED A LITTLE DIFFERENT, AND/OR THE WAY OF MOUNTING IT HAS BEEN UPGRADED. ALSO, I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT THIS WAS COMMON ON THE PONTIAC MONTANA VANS. THE COST TO FIX IT WAS ANYWHERE FROM $975.00 TO $1175.00. NOW, IF THIS WAS A FLAW IN THE DESIGN, AND IT' WAS ILLEGAL TO VENT R-134A FREON INTO THE AIR, WHY HASN'T THIS BEEN ADDRESSED?*AK

Mileage: 73,000

20061110SUSPENSION:FRONT:WHEEL BEARING

CORROSION IN FRONT HUB BEARINGS LEADING TO PREMATURE AND ERRATIC ABS SENSOR PROBLEMS AND PULLING OF VEHICLE TO THE RIGHT. THIS OCCURS AT SLOW SPEED. GM HAS RECOGNIZED THIS PROBLEM AND HAS SELCTIVELY RECALLED CERTAIN MAKES OF AUTOMOBILES IN CERTAIN STATES. MY CHEVY ASTRO WAS NOT RECALLED. THE MECHANIC WHO REPAIRED THE PROBLEM (COST $1081) SAID THERE IS NO QUESTION IT IS THE SAME PROBLEM THAT THE RECALLED VEHICLES HAVE (INCLUDING HIS!). GM IS STONEWALLING IN ORDER TO SAVE MONEY. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN SHOWING UP FOR THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS AND WAS GETTING WORSE. *NM

Mileage: 76,000

20050920FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY:FILLER PIPE AND CAP

ON SEPTEMBER 15, 2005 I FILLED MY GAS TANK UP FOR THE NEXT WEEK. ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 17,2005 I WENT TO GO TO THE STORE AND SMELLED GAS. MY HUSBAND LOOKED UNDER THE VAN AND STATED THAT GAS WAS LEAKING. I CALLED OUR MECHANIC MONDAY SEPTEMBER 19,2005 TOLD THEM WHAT WAS GOING ON. DROPPED THE VAN OFF TO THE MECHANIC TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 20,2005. UPON INSPECTION THEY NOTICED THAT THE FILL A NECK HOSE TO THE TANK AND ATTACHING HOSE IN CRACKED 80% AROUND. TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM THEY HAVE TO DROP MY ALMOST FULL TANK OF GAS AND REPLACE THE TANK AND ATTACHING PIECES. *NM

Mileage: 44,682

20050610CrashSEAT BELTS

WE WERE INVOLVED IN A CRASH, A DRUNK DRIVER HIT OUR 2002 CHEVY ASTRO VAN IN THE FRONT LEFT SIDE BY A DODGE DAKOTA. WE WERE TRAVELING 35 MPH, OTHER VEHICLE SPEED UNKNOWN. THERE WERE 5 RESTRAINED PASSENGERS IN THE VEHICLE, THE 2ND ROW RIGHT PASSENGER'S SEAT BELT DID NOT RESTRAIN HER DURING THE ENTIRE CRASH. SHE HAD BRUSES ON HER LEFT HIP, RIGHT BREAST, RIGHT SHOULDER AND RIGHT ARM. (THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY). SHE WOULD UP ON THE FLOOR BETWEEN THE BUCKET SEATS WITH HER LEGS UNDERNEATH HER. THE SEAT BELTS ARE BEING REPLACED (4 ARE COMPLETE, 1 THE CHEVY DEALER IS HAVING TROUBLE GETTING THE RIGHT PART). I HAVE THE OLD PARTS IN MY POSSESSION. WE WERE UNABLE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE FROM THE CRASH SITE, THE DAMAGES WERE APPROXIMATELY $8,000

Mileage: 64,000

20030616TIRES:TREAD/BELT

DRIVING CHEVROLET E3500 VAN WHEN LEFT REAR ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT FIRESTONE STEELTEX RADIAL R4S SEPARATED AND DAMAGED VAN. BODY DAMAGE TO VAN. RIGHT REAR TIRE HAS CRACK AROUND TREAD LIKE FIRESTONE WILDERNESS. *NLM

20030212VISIBILITY:REARVIEW MIRRORS/DEVICES

CONSUMER WANTED TO KNOW THE STATUS OF A VEHICLE OWNER'S QUESTIONNAIRE. *DT THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED A PROBLEM WITH THE MIRRORS.*JB

20020807TIRES:TREAD/BELT

WHILE TRAVELING ABOUT 60MPH ON HIGHWAY, VEHICLE STARTED TO VIBRATE. CONSUMER WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER TO THE SHOULDER. RIGHT REAR TIRE TREAD SEPARATED FROM WHEEL. FIRESTONE, P215/70R DEALERSHIP IS AWARE OF PROBLEM.*AK FIRESTONE REPLACED ALL FOUR TIRES. *SLC

20020724STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR

THE DRIVER SIDE SLIDING DOOR OPENED ALL THE WAY PASS THE GAS TANK OPENING. *YH

20020719STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR

THE PASSENGER WAS SITTING ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE CAR, IN THE SECOND ROW, SHE WENT TO OPEN THE SIDE DOOR AND HER HAND WAS ON THE HANDLE, THE ELECTRIC DOOR OPENED, LODGING HER ELBOW INTO THE BACK OF THE OPENING OF THE DOOR, SHE BROKE HER WRIST IN THREE PLACES. DEALER FOUND A MALFUNCTION. *YD

20020719LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH

THE PASSENGER WAS SITTING ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE CAR, IN THE SECOND ROW, SHE WENT TO OPEN THE SIDE DOOR AND HER HAND WAS ON THE HANDLE, THE ELECTRIC DOOR OPENED, LODGING HER ELBOW INTO THE BACK OF THE OPENING OF THE DOOR, SHE BROKE HER WRIST IN THREE PLACES. DEALER FOUND A MALFUNCTION. *YD

20011018TIRES:TEMPORARY/EMERGENCY SPARE TIRE

CARS ARE BEING SHIPPED FROM FACTORY WITH 17" TIRES AND ONLY 16"SPARES. I BELIEVE THIS TO BE A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. USING THE SPARE TIRE ( ROTATING AT A FASTER SPEED THAN THE OTHER TIRES ) COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. ALL OTHER MANUFACTURERS USE THE SAME SIZE SPARE AS ALL OTHER TIRES ON THE VEHICLE!

Compare 2002CHEVROLETVAN to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations 2 Open

View all investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2002 CHEVROLET VAN have?
The 2002 CHEVROLET VAN has 12 NHTSA complaints, 1 crashes, 0 fires, 7 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What are the most common problems with the 2002 CHEVROLET VAN?
The most-complained component for the 2002 CHEVROLET VAN is STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR with 2 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include TIRES:TREAD/BELT and TIRES:TEMPORARY/EMERGENCY SPARE TIRE.
Is the 2002 CHEVROLET VAN safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

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.