1999 Chevrolet S10 problems & reliability
231 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 1999 Chevrolet S10. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
20 complaints report injuries (21 injured).
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 34 | 15% |
| Seats | 33 | 14% |
| Power Train | 28 | 12% |
| Structure | 28 | 12% |
| Air Bags | 27 | 12% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 22 | 10% |
| Electrical System | 19 | 8% |
| Equipment | 12 | 5% |
| Suspension | 9 | 4% |
| Tires | 9 | 4% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 60,000 miles (middle 50% between 40,000 and 85,000 miles), based on 89 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“My truck slowly started getting worse. First, the dinging noise that your car makes qhen the keys are left in the ignition or if you leave your lights on, my truck would make this sound with no light on or key in ignition causing the battery to drain. Then the gauges started acting crazy, completely not working at…”
Electrical System · filed Feb 9, 2017
“Key in lock have to move it back and front 7 times to get it in start and key comes out in start run ass lock.. I saw on the new that from 1997 to 2015 bad key switches. *tr”
Electrical System · filed Aug 6, 2014
“Tl* the contact owns a 1999 chevrolet s10. The contact stated that the ignition key failed to release from the ignition switch. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the ignition needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure…”
Electrical System · filed May 28, 2014
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- TAILGATE SUPPORT CABLES
Engineering Analysis EA05008 · opened Apr 14, 2005 · closed May 19, 2006
- TAILGATE SUPPORT CABLE(S) BREAK
Recall Query RQ04012 · opened Nov 22, 2004 · closed Apr 14, 2005
- POST-COLLISION FUEL SYSTEM INTEGRITY
Preliminary Evaluation PE99009 · opened Feb 1, 1999 · closed Jun 11, 1999
Technical service bulletins
99 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 1999 Chevrolet S10. The 10 most recent:
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that may have slack in one of the tailgate cables. Technician should not replace any parts for this concern. Please…
PIT3227S · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 9, 2023
This warranty administration bulletin provides information regarding the field action courtesy transportation policy.
17-NA-073 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 21, 2023
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that may have slack in one of the tailgate cables. Technician should not replace any parts for this concern. Please…
PIT3227R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 13, 2022
This Preliminary Information communicates to the dealer the process for downloading or updating operating software for the Tire Pressure Monitor, Active Fuel Injector tester, multi media tester, PICO Scope, GR8…
PIP4723F · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 14, 2022
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that may have slack in one of the tailgate cables. Technician should not replace any parts for this concern. Please…
PIT3227Q · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 1, 2021
This Preliminary Information communicates to the dealer the process for downloading or updating operating software for the Tire Pressure Monitor, Active Fuel Injector tester, multi media tester, PICO Scope, GR8…
PIP4723D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 31, 2020
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician on how to unlock radios that are Delco TheftLock. Technician will use the radio to get the scrambled code. Technician will need to…
PIC4696E · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 22, 2019
This warranty administration bulletin provides information regarding the field action courtesy transportation policy.
17NA073 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 18, 2019
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician on how to unlock radios that are Delco TheftLock. Technician will use the radio to get the scrambled code. Technician will need to…
PIC4696D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 5, 2019
This warranty administration bulletin provides information regarding the field action courtesy transportation policy.
17NA073 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 15, 2019
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
No NHTSA recall campaigns name the 1999 Chevrolet S10 in our current data. Recalls may apply only to certain VIN ranges — always confirm with a VIN check.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 1999 Chevrolet S10?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 60,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.