1966 Chevrolet Corvair Problems
Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component
Data refreshed
What this page shows
Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 1966 Chevrolet Corvair, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Reports by component
Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category
- Heating & air conditioning1100.0%
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
Each component in detail
What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words
Heating & air conditioning
Reports naming the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system.
From owner reports, verbatim
APPROXIMATELY 6:30AM, TRAVELING I-75, NORTHERN GEORGIA, SMELLED ODOR SUGGESTING SOME ELECTRICAL SHORT. TRUCK PASSED US AT SAME TIME ODOR DETECTED, ODOR DISAPPEARED. CONTINUED TO CALHOUN, GA. EXIT, STOPPED AT CRACKER BARREL RESTARUANT FOR BREAKFAST. CAME OUT OF RESTAURANT APPROXIMATELY 7:15AM...NOW DAYLIGHT. STARTED ENGINE, SMOKE CAME FROM EVERY A/C-HEATER VENT IN CAR. EXAMINED UNDER HOOD...ALL OK..RETRIEVED FIRE EXTINGUISHER FROM TRUNK...WIFE AND I HAD BOTH EXITED CAR AT THAT TIME..WIFE EXCITEDLY POINTED OUT FIRE UNDER LEFT SIDE OF DASH BOARD. MANAGER OF RESTAURANT HAD OBSERVED CLOUDS OF SMOKE COMING FROM CAR AND CALLED FIRE DEPARTMENT. BY THE TIME THEY ARRIVED I HAD EXTINGUISHED FIRE. CAR HAULED TO DODGE DEALER IN DALTON, GA. MECHANIC DETERMINED THAT FIRE WAS DUE TO SHORT IN "HEATER BOX". I WAS GIVEN THIS COMPONENT ALONG WITH 25 AMP FUSE (BLOWN) AND PARTIAL HOUSING AROUND A/C BLOWER AS EVIDENCE. CHRYSLER "ENGINEER" EXAMINED CAR AT FAIRWAY CHRYSLER PLYMOUTH, KISSIMMEE, FL. ON 9/25/00. DAIMLER CHRYSLER DENIED ANY RESPONSIBILITY PER LETTER 9/28/00. I WROTE EXTENSIVE LETTER (REPORT) WITH ENCLOSURES TO MR. DIETER ZETSCHE, PRESIDENT, CHRYSLER GROUP, DAIMLER CHRYSLER CORPORATION 11/24/2000. PHONE CALL FROM SOMEONE AT DAMILER CHRYSLER CORP. 12/4/00 REAFFIRMING THEIR DENIAL OF ANY RESPONSIBILITY. HAD THIS FIRE OCCURRED WHEN ODOR FIRST DETECTED (TRAVELING 70 MPH IN PRE DAWN DARKNESS) IT IS QUESTIONABLE THAT I WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO RETAIN CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE WHICH COULD HAVE HAD DISASTEROUS RESULTS (IE THE SUDDENNESS OF THIS FIRE AND THE THICK POISONOUS SMOKE FILLED THE INTERIOR OF THE CAR). CHRYSLER, OBSIOUSLY HAS KNOWN ABOUT PROBLEM(S) WITH THE AUTOMATIC AIRCONDITIONING SYSTEM LIKE THAT IN OUR CAR AS THEY REPLACED THE EVAPORATOR ON OUR CAR UNDER EXTENDED WARRANTY ON 1/13/00 WHEN OUR CAR HAD RECORDED 69204 MILES...THE WARRANTY WAS EXTENDED TO 70,000 MILES FOR THAT SERVICE. *AK
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Elsewhere on this vehicle
Data sources
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation — owner-reported complaints and the components recorded on them
Data on this page last refreshed .