The 1988 Chevrolet Corvette has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 282,703 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 26 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the seat belts. Last updated July 5, 2026.
UNDER CERTAIN VEHICLE OPERATIONS AND OCCUPANT USAGE CONDITIONS, THE SAFETY BELTS CAN LOCKUP OR JAM IN THE SAFETY BELT RETRACTOR.
IF LOCKUP OCCURS, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PULL BELT OUT OFTHE RETRACTOR. THE OCCUPANT OF A SEAT WITH AN UNUSABLE SAFETY BELT ISSUBJECT TO INCREASED RISK OF INJURY OR DEATH IN THE EVENT OF A SUDDEN STOP ORACCIDENT.
REPLACE THE SAFETY BELTS IF THE LOCKUP OCCURS.
REAR WHEEL TIE ROD ASSEMBLY MAY FATIGUE AND COULD FRACTURE AT THE INBOARD BEARING DUE TO HIGH INNER JOINT ROCKING TORQUE.
FRACTURE IN THIS ASSEMBLY COULD RESULT IN LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL AND A CRASH WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING.
REPLACE FAULTY TIE ROD ASSEMBLIES.
MISSING WELD THAT ATTACHES WHEEL CENTER TO THE RIM COULD ALLOW WHEEL CENTER TO SEPARATE FROM THE RIM.
THIS COULD RESULT IN PARTIAL LOSS OF STEERING CONTROLAND BRAKES, LOSS OF TIRE AIR PRESSURE, AND SUDDEN CHANGE IN VEHICLE DIRECTION,WHICH COULD RESULT IN CRASH WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING.
REPLACE WHEELS WITH MISSING WELDS.
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“This vehicle is included in a seat belt recall, the seat belts do not retract. I have attempted to contact dealer for repairs, they stated they would have to do some research on the recall and get back to me. This has not happened, they vehicle is inoperable due to the faulty seat belts”
“The seat belts will not retract leaving the driver and passenger seat belts loose while wearing them, the vehicle has an open recall for this issue, I have contacted gm about the issue and they put me in touch with a dealer, after some back and forth for several months the dealer indicated that gm…”
“The seatbelts on my vehicle will not retract leaving the seatbelt loose on the occupants resulting a injuries if the vehicle were to be involved in a collision, I have contacted gm, they have refused to fix the vehicle due to its age.”
“Contacted the manufacturer on the open seat belt recall. They stated they no longer make the seat belt and I am on my own to fix the recall. Seat belts are failing as per the recall and are no longer safe to operate.”
“In june 2020 my mechanic ran a recall check while performing my inspection. It showed 2 outstanding recalls for left and right seat belt retractor failures. I called 3 local chevy dealers to set up a repair, and no one wanted to touch the vehicle. They all said to call gm. For the next few months…”
“Seatbelts are not working correctly. Passenger side is locked and will not release. Driver side works but when I hit the brakes the belt did not lock.”
“Hello, my car is an 88 corvette. I brought it out this week to get it inspected. I has been garaged all winter. Before taking it to the inspection place I took it for a short ride. Taking a slight curve I noticed it seemed a flat tire. Found the problem to be a broken rear left tire rod bar.…”
“1988 chevrolet corvette caught fire under the driver seat motor due to a shorted wire. *kb the consumer stated there was only smoke that emitted from the seat, which was put out with a fire extinguisher. Ohio traffic crash report. *jb”
THE PETITIONS STATED THAT:WE REPRESENT THE OWNER OF A 1990 CHEVROLET CORVETTE WHICH, WHEN THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED, SUDDENTLY, VIOLENTLY, AND UNEXPECTEDLY PULLS TO THE LEFT.THIS IS A INTERMITTENT DEFECT WHICH DOES NOT OCCUR WITH AN REGULARITY.
There is no summary currently available
There is no summary currently available
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1988 Chevrolet Corvette as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.