Vehicle report
1989 CHEVROLET CAPRICE
This model year
What the record shows
The 1989 Chevrolet Caprice is a large car, and the 13th model year of a nameplate NHTSA records from 1977 to 2018.
The EPA rated three configurations: engines from 4.3-litre six-cylinder to 5.7-litre eight-cylinder, rear-wheel drive only, a single transmission, Automatic 4-spd and running on regular gasoline.
Combined fuel economy ranges from 15 to 20 mpg depending on which one you have.
The federal record holds 18 owner complaints and 1 investigation for it.
Counts are reports, not rates. A complaint is something an owner chose to file; it is unverified and unadjusted for how many of these cars were sold, so the useful comparison is against other model years of the same car. Recalls and investigations carry more weight because a manufacturer or regulator acted on them.
Reading this report
Complaint counts are reports filed with NHTSA, not failure rates. A common model collects more of them than a rare one that breaks more often.