CSR
Check a VIN

Look up

About

Chevrolet · NHTSA safety record

2016 Chevrolet Corvette

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 104 safety complaints about the 2016 Chevrolet Corvette with the US government. Of those, 1 describes a crash, 1 mentions a fire, 1 person was injured and no death is recorded. 2 recall campaigns are open against it, covering the air bags.

The most complained-about system is the wheels, named in 59 complaints, 57% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 14,500 miles, the median across the 72 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers July 2016 to September 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

104 complaints on file

104

Complaints

1

Describe a crash

1

Mention fire

1

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
WHEELS 59 · 57%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 14 · 13%
POWER TRAIN 12 · 12%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 6 · 6%
ENGINE 6 · 6%
STEERING 5 · 5%
STRUCTURE 3 · 3%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 · 3%
AIR BAGS 2 · 2%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 2 · 2%
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 1 · 1%
SUSPENSION 1 · 1%
0 27 54

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 104.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2019 at 23.

28 21 14 7
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2016 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA has not crash tested the 2016 Chevrolet Corvette. Its New Car Assessment Program tests a selection of each year's vehicles and does not reach motorcycles, heavy trucks, motorhomes or most low-volume models, so an absence here says nothing about how the vehicle would perform. It is not a low score.

What owners have reported about this vehicle is below, and it is a different question: a crash test measures what happens to the people inside in a controlled impact, while a complaint records what broke during ordinary use.

Recall campaigns

2 on file

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

17V437000 · July 10, 2017

The defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse and Chevrolet Spark EV, Caprice PPV and SS vehicles, 2014-2017 Buick Encore and Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles, 2015-2016 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Tahoe, Trax, Suburban and Silverado 2500 and 3500 and GMC Yukon and Yukon XL vehicles, and 2015-2017 GMC Sierra HD 2500 and 3500 vehicles. While being previously remedied for recall 16V-651, the affected vehicles may not have received the complete software update necessary to remedy the recall condition. Without the update, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) software to activate a diagnostic test. During this test, deployment of the frontal air bags and the seat belt pretensioners would not occur in the event of a crash.
The risk
A failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on August 4, 2017. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 17287.

General Motors LLC · up to 40,683 vehicles across all model years covered

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

16V651000 · September 8, 2016

The defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015-2017 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD, 3500 HD, Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Sierra 2500 HD and 3500 HD, GMC Yukon, GMC Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade and Cadillac Escalade ESV vehicles and 2014-2017 Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500, Trax, Caprice Police Pursuit Vehicle, GMC Sierra 1500, Buick Encore, and 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse, Chevrolet Spark EV and SS vehicles. In the affected vehicles, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) software to activate a diagnostic test. During this test, deployment of the frontal air bags and the seat belt pretensioners would not occur in the event of a crash.
The risk
A failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on October 13, 2016. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 16007.

General Motors LLC · up to 3,640,162 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed · 6,000 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2016 CHEVROLET CORVETTE. WHILE DRIVING 25 MPH, THE VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A CRASH. THE CONTACT REAR ENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE THAT ABRUPTLY PULLED OUT IN FRONT OF THEM. THE DRIVER'S AIR BAG DEPLOYED. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE CONTACT WAS KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS BY THE AIR BAG. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED DAMAGE TO THE LEFT EYE, WHICH REQUIRED MEDICAL ATTENTION. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED AND DESTROYED. A DEALER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE CRASH. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 6,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. *TT UPDATED 8/21/18*JB

NHTSA complaint 11044143. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

fire

My vehicle is covered by GM Special Warranty 17469 which relates to cracks and fuel leaks at the primary fuel pump module flange. It caught fire while driving at a high performance driver’s education event at Barber Motorsports Park and was denied coverage due to it having modifications. GM case number 9-15085163081. There were no warning messages displayed at any time during the incident. GM had the vehicle inspected by a “neutral” third party which turned out to be a retired GM service center instructor. None of the modifications on the vehicle affect the fuel pump module flange. This is in violation of the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act. The basic facts regarding the incident are as follows:

NHTSA complaint 11661069, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN

towed · 12,000 miles

The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Corvette. The contact stated that while driving from a stop, after engaging the clutch, the vehicle started to shudder and vibrate and nearly stalled. The contact pulled over into a parking lot. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who determined that the valve spring had fractured in half within cylinder #5. Further diagnostic test determined that the failure had caused damage to the engine, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 12,000.

NHTSA complaint 11546359. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STEERING
The system that was affected was the power steering. As I was driving home doing residential speeds, I noticed a message pop up in my heads up display “Power Steering, Drive with Caution” as I selected okay, the steering wheel became very stiff. Luckily I was 5 minutes away from home and was able to drive carefully back into the garage. This is the first time I’ve experienced this failure. After parking the car in the garage, I turned the car off and then restarted the vehicle and the steering wheel had the same operability before the error. I plugged in my OBDII Reader to see if it produce any codes but to no avail. There was low-med risk as I was driving home with another vehicle behind

NHTSA complaint 11765167, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Experiencing sudden loss of power steering while driving - unsafe condition. Experiencing sudden loss of electric power steering assist while driving. Loss of power steering persists until ignition recycling (stop, put car in park, turn ignition off, turn ignition back on), which seems to clear it. Problem re-occurs intermittently on subsequent drives. Issue has been experienced at multiple MPH (0 to 65 MPH) across more than a month of time. I believe my vehicle is experiencing the recall noted earlier this year (N182182760 in 2025) for power steering unit failures in Corvettes manufactured in my car's timeframe. The recall is still expanding the list of cars associated due to its nascent

NHTSA complaint 11702924, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Experiencing sudden loss of power steering while driving - unsafe condition. Experiencing sudden loss of electric power steering assist while driving. Loss of power steering persists until ignition recycling (stop, put car in park, turn ignition off, turn ignition back on), which seems to clear it. Problem re-occurs intermittently on subsequent drives. Issue has been experienced at multiple MPH (0 to 65 MPH) across more than a month of time. I believe my vehicle is experiencing the recall noted earlier this year for power steering unit failures in Corvettes manufactured in my car's timeframe (safety recall N252497020 in 2025, expanding on N182182760 from 2019). The recall is still expanding

NHTSA complaint 11702949, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I would be driving and get a notification in the panel that says power steering is out and to drive with care. It is extremely difficult to drive my vehicle, with no power steering. I would just be driving, and I would get the notification that power steering is out. The problem has been recently confirmed by a dealership. The mechanic at the dealership confirmed it was the same issue reported for the 2017 Chevrolet Corvette (N182182760). The first appearance of the issue was at 3800 miles on my 2016 Chevrolet Corvette. I was sitting at a red light, and the notification came on and said I didn't have power steering. The second time I was driving down the interstate at 70mph and it went out,

NHTSA complaint 11693203, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:TORQUE CONVERTER

33,025 miles

The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Corvette. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated while shifting from second gear to third gear. The transmission was skipping a gear. The contact believed that the vehicle was not working properly. The vehicle was not responding as needed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with torque converter failure. The dealer contacted the surveyor for the protection plan approval. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The contact called the attorney general and was referred to the NHTSA Hotline. The approximate failure

NHTSA complaint 11689471, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Chevrolet Corvette

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2025 10 3 —
2024 21 2 —
2023 25 1 1
2022 21 1 —
2021 13 2 —
2020 34 4 —
2019 148 1 —
2018 51 1 —
2017 256 4 —
2015 65 5 —
2014 62 5 1
2013 82 0 —
2012 56 1 —
2011 85 1 —
2010 84 0 —

Other 2016 Chevrolet models

Malibu 837 Silverado 1500 794 Colorado 708 Equinox 396 Traverse 292 Tahoe 256 Cruze 250 Suburban 220

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Chevrolet on this site — 304 vehicles.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst