The 1990 Chevrolet C20 has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 1,704,910 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 6 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the engine and engine cooling. Last updated July 5, 2026.
UNANTICIPATED HEAT IN THE TRANSMISSION CAN FORCE THE TRANSMISSION FLUID OUT OF THE VENT TUBE.
THE VENTED TRANSMISSION FLUID CAN CATCH FIRE IF EXPOSEDTO A SOURCE OF IGNITION.
INSTALL A LONGER TRANSMISSION VENT HOSE ROUTED TO THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT OF THE VEHICLE.
LOOSE PIVOT BOLT HOLDING THE BRAKE PEDAL TO ITS SUPPORT BRACKET COULD DISENGAGE FROM THE NUT.
THIS COULD CAUSE LOSS OF BRAKING ACTIVITY THAT COULDRESULT IN A TRUCK CRASH WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING.
RETORQUE BRAKE PEDAL PIVOT BOLTS TO SPECIFICATIONS TO PREVENT LOOSENING.
ON C AND K MODELS, FEED AND OR RETURN FUEL LINES CAN CONTACT THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SHIFT LINKAGE CORDON SHAFT. IN ADDITION, ON K MODELS LINES MAY ALSO CONTACT FRONT PROPSHAFT. IN EITHER CASE THE FUEL LINES COULD BE DAMAGED RESULTING IN A FUEL LEAK.
A HOLE COULD BE RUBBED THROUGH THESE FUEL LINES, ALLOWING FUEL LEAKAGE NEAR EXHAUST CROSSOVER PIPE; THIS COULD RESULT IN AN ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE THAT COULD SPREAD TO THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT.
INSTALL NEWLY DESIGNED FUEL LINE ROUTING BRACKET TO PREVENT CONTACT AND, IF NECESSARY, REPLACE FUEL LINES.
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“*ohio traffic crash report* the vehicle caught on fire while in motion.*jg *jb”
“While driving, consumer smelled smoke and pulled over, he opened the hood and there was a fire in the engine compartment and the undercarriage compartment area was filled with smoke, there was fuel leaking and burning, the fire was possibly caused by the engine or fuel system failure. (ohio…”
“While driving, consumer smelled smoke and pulled over, he opened the hood and there was a fire in the engine compartment and the undercarriage compartment area was filled with smoke, there was fuel leaking and burning, the fire was possibly caused by the engine or fuel system failure. (ohio…”
“Engine fire (ohio crash report).”
“When cruise control is engaged it will shut itself off, causing the vehicle to stall. *ak”
“The rear end was making noise the end case snap consumer took home and it has air bubble in the weld. Tt”
There is no summary currently available
AN ALLEGED MALFUNCTION IN THE ATLERNATOR RESULTING IN ENGINE COMPARTMET FIRES.
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1990 Chevrolet C20 as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.