1996 Chevrolet S10 Engine and Engine Cooling Problems
Owners have filed 71 complaints with NHTSA about engine and engine cooling problems on the 1996 Chevrolet S10, 11% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 79,000 miles. The words owners use most often: “head gasket” (13% of reports).
- 71engine and engine cooling complaints
- 79,000median miles at failure
- 1mention a crash
- 0mention an injury
- 0related recalls
- 43%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Head gasket: mentioned in 9 of 71 complaints (13%)
- Water pump: mentioned in 5 of 71 complaints (7%)
At what mileage do engine and engine cooling problems happen?
Based on 5 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 71 complaints, 1 mention a crash, 3 a fire.
Chevrolet S10 engine and engine cooling complaints by model year
When owners reported it
Related recalls (0)
No safety recall lists engine and engine cooling for the 1996 Chevrolet S10. A pattern of complaints does not always lead to a recall.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving 40 mph, the radiator overheated, and the temperate gauge went all the way to the red line. There was yellow fluid that overflowed from the reservoir and had rusted the radiator. The vehicle was taken to a service dealer who refused to flush the radiator. The…
Dt: one of the circuit board shorted out, and the vehicle will not start. Everytime starting the vehicle smoke comes out of the vehicle, and one can smell burning plastic. Saturday got the oil changed and didn't notice any problems.*ak
While driving, i notice white smoke in my rear view mirror. Checked all my gauges, which were all fine, and the vehicle was running like normal. I pulled over to the side of the road, and when i got the vehicle stopped, black smoke started entering the driver's compartment. I turned the vehicle off…
Frequently asked questions
Do all 1996 Chevrolet S10s have engine and engine cooling problems?
No. NHTSA has 71 owner complaints about engine and engine cooling for the 1996 Chevrolet S10 (11% of the 668 complaints for this model year). Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the 1996 Chevrolet S10 engine and engine cooling?
No recall currently lists engine and engine cooling for this vehicle.
At what mileage do engine and engine cooling problems start?
The median reported mileage is 79,000 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.
What do owners say about engine and engine cooling problems on the 1996 Chevrolet S10?
The most frequent phrase is “head gasket”, in 9 of 71 complaints, followed by “water pump” (5).
Other 1996 Chevrolet S10 problems
See all 1996 Chevrolet S10 problems or engine and engine cooling problems across all S10 years.