Seats, brake and engine issues among the top complaints received by the NHTSA from vehicle owners
The 2019 Chevrolet Camaro continues on the long line from this iconic sports car. For the 2019 model year, the automaker claims that the Camaro is “putting the thrill in every ride,” but most owners didn’t sign up for the thrill they are receiving. From defective seats to a poorly-built structure and a broken engine to malfunctioning service brakes, this Camaro is more of a danger than it is a legend.
Click on other model year to view more problems: 2020 2021
No one expects to be surrounded in a plush, spacious seat when riding in a Camaro. After all, this is designed to be a high-performance sports car. However, the seats should hold up and they don’t seem to.
Read this Cars.com review. “Love my car but poorly made interior problem thin paint job seats seem to be tearing because of the holes for air-conditioning only 4 months old and had one seat replaced because of fraying the sensor lights for three pressure are constantly coming on all small things but is annoying one side of the car at the back panel sticks out more than the other.”
GM has nothing to say about the seat quality or concerns. Instead, the automaker remains quiet about what’s happening, but these are not isolated incidents. A quick search online brings out plenty of customers saying the exact same things. It’s clear that this isn’t a Corvette, but would it be that hard to have seating that held up?
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Power Train | |
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Steering | |
| Electrical System | |
| Service Brakes | |
| Air Bags | |
| Electronic Stability Control | |
| Engine | |
| Exterior Lighting | |
| Fuel/propulsion System |
The same issues are seen with the overall structure of the Camaro. Customers continue to take to the internet to express regret.
Here’s another Cars.com review. “On the down side, my new SS2, which only has 411 miles on it, already has an issue with the trunk deck lid not always opening when prompted. I would recommend potential buyers extensively test the trunk lid using their key fob to determine whether or not they encounter this issue. In some instances, my deck lid refuses to open and could be attributed to any number of causes. Having notified customer care, they embedded the phrase ‘Any repairs or service may be at your cost….’ into their response, which is an absolutely inappropriate comment to make to a customer who just purchased a brand new Camaro 2SS. Any repairs or service should rest with the manufacturer. Imagine had the issue been anything else, what type of response you would receive?”
These aren’t even the worst of what’s happening. Owners with a Camaro convertible have other things to worry about. Service Bulletin #17NA216 states that the convertible top back glass can separate from the top, leading to leaks and lack of insulation. Considering that Camaro originally meant “friend” or “comrade,” it’s safe to say that this model is soon going to find itself without friends. Who knows; lifelong enthusiasts might even decide to jump behind the wheel of a pony car instead.
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What makes a high-performance sports car what it is? Typically it would have a lot of engine power to help it achieve fast speeds, but this model can’t even get a reliable engine to run under the hood.
Here is a complaint left with the NHTSA discussing the engine. “The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Camaro. While driving approximately 80 mph, the engine suddenly stalled. The vehicle was towed to [dealer] where it was diagnosed that the lifters inside the engine failed and the engine needed to be replaced. The engine was replaced and the failure was remedied. Also, while the vehicle was in Reverse, the backup camera would not display an image. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 1,000.”
There should never be a new car that has catastrophic engine failure after 1,000 miles. That’s simply unacceptable. Yet, Chevy talks about countless engine issues with this model. In fact, it’s one of the most commonly talked about components in the communications. One example includes Service Bulletin #19NA212, which tells technicians how to diagnose a sheared off camshaft alignment pin – another concern that shouldn’t need to be dealt with on a brand new sports car. Nothing says “thrill” more than a car that stops running completely. Still, that’s probably not the thrilling ride that Chevy thought it was going to provide to customers.
Finally, a look at the service brakes shows that Chevy doesn’t even take the safety of its customers into account.
Here’s one more NHTSA complaint. “The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Camaro. While driving approximately 50 mph, the driver attempted to turn the vehicle to make a right turn. The contact stated that the brake pedal was difficult to depress. The contact lost control of the vehicle and struck a pole. The driver’s air bag failed to deploy. The driver suffered back injuries that did not require medical attention. The OnStar system provided an alert that the anti-lock brake system and Stabilitrak were defective and the vehicle should be serviced within seven days. OnStar detected the brake failure the day after the crash. The vehicle was towed and a police report was filed. The manufacturer was contacted and provided case number. The failure was not determined. The dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 9,000.”
Yet again, here’s another Camaro that can’t even get 10,000 miles under its belt before failing. On the minor side of things, Chevy does acknowledge some concerns with the braking system. Service Bulletin #18NA372 says that rotor replacement is needed on Camaros with a squealing and squeaking noise during light braking. With any high-performance sports car, the braking system needs to be working to optimal levels, especially if a driver wants to try out the power they are promised with this model. Instead, owners are putting themselves at risk without even knowing it. Every ride is turning into a thrill, enough to scare users to become Ford lovers instead.
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Brian Jones spent more than 30 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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Rear glass window on my 2019 Chevy Camaro convertible separating. I see it’s a known problem and they are not fixing it. I’m being told I have to replace the entire top at my expense. I believe this is a safety issue and needs addressed.