Total Complaints
6 filings
JAGUAR VANDEN PLAS · model year
6 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 1996JAGUARVANDEN PLAS carries 6 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 VANDEN PLAS is power train with 1 filings, followed by electrical system:ignition:module (1) and vehicle speed control (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 2 investigation files overlapping the 1996 VANDEN PLAS. 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
6 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | 1 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:MODULE | 1 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 |
| VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER:SWITCH/WIRING | 1 |
| STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST:HOSE, PIPING, AND CONNECTIONS | 1 |
| SEAT BELTS:FRONT:ANCHORAGE | 1 |
RIGHT REAR BRACKET THAT HOLDS THE DRIVERS SEAT TO THE MOUNTING TRACK BROKE. THIS ALLOWED THE DRIVERS SEAT TO SWING BACK ON ACCELERATION AND SWING FORWARD, INTO STEERING WHEEL, WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES. THE SEAT WOULD SWIVEL AROUND ON THE THREE REMAINING ATTACH POINTS. THIS OCCURRED DURING NORMAL DRIVING. IF THIS HAD HAPPENED AS A RESUJLT OF A REAR END COLLISION, IT IS LIKELY THAT THE ENTIRE SEAT WOULD HAVE TORN LOOSE AND BECOME AN UNGUIDED FLYING OBJECT IN THE CAR. GIVEN THAT THE SEAT BELT IS ATTACHED TO THE SEAT FRAME RATHER THAN THE CAR'S FRAME, IT WOULD HAVE PROVIDED NO PROTECTION. IF THE AIRBAG WERE TO HAVE DEPLOYED, THE FORCE OF IT WOULD ALSO HAVE KNOCKED THE SEAT, COCKED AT AN ANGLE AND WITH THE DRIVER STRAPPED IN IT, ACROSS THE BACK OF THE CAR AND INTO ANY PASSENGER SITTING BACK THERE. I HAVE DETAILED PHOTOS ON THE BROKEN BRACKET AND THE FRAME MOUNTING FROM WHICH IT SEPARATED.
Mileage: 82,504
VEHICLE FAILURE DUE TO FAILED WIRE STRANDS. ADD TO VOQ 10041323.*MR OF SEVEN STRANDS IT APPEARED THAT FOUR OR FIVE MAY HAVE BEEN "TRIMMED" DURING MANUFACTURING PROCESS LEAVING TWO OR THREE STRANDS TO CARRY THE CURRENT. ADJACENT WIRES SHOW DAMAGE FROM HEAT. ON TWO WIRES THE INSULATION IS CRACKED SUFFICIENTLY SO THAT THE WIRE STRANDS ARE VISIBLE. CONSUMER BELIEVE THE REPAIR SHOULD'VE BEEN AT NO CHARGE DUE TO DEFECTIVE PRODUCT AND PERHAPS DESIGN BY PLACEMENT OF THE WIRE CRIMP AT POINT OF FLEXURE. *PH
VEHICLE1996 JAGUAR VANDEN PLAS VIN#[XXX] PROBLEMFAILURE OF WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER CAUSEBROKEN WIRE AT CRIMPED JUNCTION IN WIRING HARNESS THAT SUPPLIED POWER TO CONTROL SWITCH I HAD HOPED TO BE ABLE TO GET A PHOTOMICROGRAPH OF THE FAILED WIRE. OF THE SEVEN STRANDS IT APPEARS THAT 3 OR 4 MAY HAVE BEEN TRIMMED LEAVING 2 OR 3 STRANDS TO CARRY THE CURRENT. ADJACENT WIRES SHOW DAMAGE FROM HEAT. ON TWO WIRES THE INSULATION IS CRACKED SUFFICIENTLY SO THAT THE WIRE STRANDS ARE VISIBLE. THIS HARNESS IS SUBJECT TO VARIOUS DEGREES OF FLEXURE AS THE STEERING COLUMN LIFTS AND RETRACTS FROM THE PROGRAMMED DRIVERS POSITIONS. THE FAILURE WAS 2.1 [55 MM] FROM THE 10 PIN CONNECTOR THAT IS RIGIDLY CLIPPED IN PLACE. *JB INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR
Mileage: 57,521
CONSUMER STATED ON 2 SEPARATE OCCASSIONS, THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL BECAME STUCK, AND THE ACCELERATOR HAD TO BE STOMPED ON IN ORDER TO DISLODGE IT, THE DEALER REPAIRED THE PROBLEM UNDER WARRANTY THE FIRST TIME, HOWEVER THE SECOND TIME CONSUMER WAS INFORMED THAT IT WAS A MAINTENANCE ITEM AND THAT IT WOULD HAVE TO BE FIXED EVERY 10,000 MILES AT THE CONSUMERS EXPENSE, CONSUMER IS REQUESTING REIMBURSMENT AND FEELS THIS PROBLEM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED A MAINTENANCE ISSUE.*JB
COMPUTER CHIP FAILURE. QCAW
TRANSMISSION FAILED.
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.