"How reliable is the 1997 Chevrolet Lumina?"

"Based on 438 NHTSA complaints, the 1997 Chevrolet Lumina has a median complaint mileage of 82968 miles. The most common issue is Rack And Pinion."

"What are common problems with the 1997 Chevrolet Lumina?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1997 Chevrolet Lumina is Rack And Pinion, accounting for a significant portion of the 438 total complaints filed."

1997 Chevrolet Lumina: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 438 complaints

438

Total Complaints

82,968mi

Median Mileage

Rack And Pinion

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

62,909 25th Percentile

82,968 Median Mileage

109,592 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Rack And Pinion

Steering

Gasoline

Air Bags

Tank Assembly

Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip

Frontal

Automatic Transmission

Unknown Or Other

Engine

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"THERE IS A WHISTLING NOISE COMING FROM THE FUEL PUMP WHILE THE VEHICLE IS RUNNING. *AK"

"HORN BUTTON NOT EASILY ACCESSIBLE."

"FROM HWY DRIVING TO CITY DRIVING THE VEHICLE STALLED FOR ABOUT 15 TO 30 SECONDS, THE DEALER STATES IT'S BECAUSE OF THE FUEL FILTER RUSTING IN PLACE. PLEASE DESCRIBE DETAILS. *AK"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Rack And Pinion 38 complaints

25th: 75,000 mi Median: 95,000 mi 75th: 123,000 mi

Steering 20 complaints

25th: 66,456 mi Median: 74,776 mi 75th: 112,500 mi

Air Bags 18 complaints

Median: 100,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

NY: 46 OH: 30 CA: 26 MI: 25 PA: 25 MO: 18 GA: 16 OK: 15 FL: 15 TX: 15

Who Files Complaints?

32.9%

Original Owners

67.1%

Second+ Owners

Chevrolet Lumina — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1990	615	126,500	Caliper	38
1991	482	110,000	Caliper	25
1992	483	122,354	Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip	20
1993	344	139,168	Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip	22
1994	189	114,656	Caliper	8
1995	670	111,500	Automatic Transmission	66
1996	312	102,000	Automatic Transmission	34
1998	276	96,781	Steering	12
1999	131	72,000	Manifold/Header/Muffler/Tail Pipe	12
2000	35	77,300	Automatic Transmission	1
2001	25	58,000	Automatic Transmission	0

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28