What breaks most · 1990 to 2019 model years
Chevrolet Corvette problems by year
Owners have filed 3,726 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Chevrolet Corvette across model years 1990 to 2019. Three years stand out: 2005 for electrical system complaints, 1998 for steering complaints and 2008 for fuel system complaints. The quietest years are 1992, 1993 and 1991.
- Years to check closely: 2005, 1998, 2008
- Fewest complaints: 1992, 1993, 1991
- Complaints on file
- 37261990 to 2019, all trims
- Worst year
- 2005481 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 12233 fires · 66 injuries · 3 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 38kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 79Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | 3 | 4 | Air bags (16) | |
| 23 | 3 | 3 | Seat belts (8) | |
| 7 | 1 | 2 | Electrical system (3) | |
| 21 | 4 | 2 | Speed control and throttle (4) | |
| 28 | 1 | 1 | Brakes (hydraulic) (4) | |
| 32 | 5 | 1 | Speed control and throttle (8) | |
| 44 | 2 | 1 | Electrical system (9) | |
| 151 | 2 | 7 | Steering (95) | |
| 388 | 12 | 4 | Steering (209) | |
| 299 | 14 | 4 | Steering (189) | |
| 262 | 14 | 4 | Steering (158) | |
| 194 | 6 | 3 | Steering (80) | |
| 151 | 3 | 3 | Steering (55) | |
| 78 | 8 | 3 | Steering (27) | |
| 187 | 4 | 4 | Fuel system (92) | |
| 481 | 10 | 6 | Electrical system (87) | |
| 301 | 10 | 5 | Exterior lighting (60) | |
| 260 | 3 | 2 | Fuel system (63) | |
| 354 | 6 | 0 | Fuel system (209) | |
| 109 | 1 | 0 | Fuel system (50) | |
| 53 | 0 | 0 | Fuel system (23) | |
| 41 | 2 | 1 | Fuel system (16) | |
| 27 | 2 | 1 | Fuel system (12) | |
| 38 | 0 | 0 | Fuel system (17) | |
| 36 | 4 | 5 | Unknown or other (6) | |
| 27 | 0 | 5 | Powertrain and transmission (9) | |
| 37 | 1 | 2 | Wheels (16) | |
| 44 | 0 | 4 | Wheels (31) | |
| 10 | 1 | 1 | Wheels (7) | |
| 10 | 0 | 1 | Wheels (9) |
What fails on the 2005 Chevrolet Corvette
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 18% |
87 | 2 | Shop electrical system parts for the 2005 Chevrolet Corvette |
| Stability controlABS and wheel speed sensors | 17% |
83 | 5 | Shop stability control parts for the 2005 Chevrolet Corvette |
| Exterior lightingHeadlights, tail lights and bulbs | 17% |
82 | 0 | Shop exterior lighting parts for the 2005 Chevrolet Corvette |
| SteeringPower steering pumps, racks and hoses | 14% |
69 | 4 | Shop steering parts for the 2005 Chevrolet Corvette |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 14% |
65 | 1 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Body and structureDoors, latches and body hardware | 10% |
50 | 1 | Shop body and structure parts for the 2005 Chevrolet Corvette |
| Air bags | 9% |
41 | 1 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
| BrakesBrake pads, rotors and calipers | 6% |
31 | 0 | Shop brakes parts for the 2005 Chevrolet Corvette |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
Frequently unable to shift out of park once the car is started. Shift interlock solenoid seems to be faulty. Vehicle is always stationary in a parking space. Sometimes i turn it off and try again and it works. Very annoying.
-
When starting my 1998 corvette (indy edition) car after it was parked, the steering column lock was engaged and i could not turn the steering wheel. No matter what i tried or how long i waited (12 hours) the steering column lock remained locked.
-
The gas fumes leak into the cockpit and smell up the car so bad it makes you dizzy and smell up the entire garage, worse is the fact that 2 dealers in my area still have not figured out how to correct it, this is dangerous and needs a class act filed against manufacture.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 30, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Chevrolet Corvette years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2005, 1998, 2008 carry the most filings on the Chevrolet Corvette. The 2005 alone has 481 complaints, led by electrical system.
What is the most common Chevrolet Corvette problem?
On the 2005 model year, the most-reported component is electrical system with 87 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Chevrolet Corvette problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Chevrolet Corvette complaints that include mileage is about 38,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.