1981 Chevrolet C10: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 2 recall campaigns for the 1981 Chevrolet C10. The newest campaign is 81V148000. NHTSA received the report on 14 Dec 1981. The NHTSA record gives the component Service Brakes, Hydraulic / Fluid. NHTSA has 4 complaints on file for this model year. 2 NHTSA investigations name this model year.

The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on these campaigns.

This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.

Remedy of the newest campaign, 81V148000, in the NHTSA record

Suspect hydraulic brake fluid will be bled from the brake system and replaced with GM delco supreme no. 11 or an equivalent, without charge.

NHTSA VIN lookup

Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.
NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on 1 Oct 2026. Complaint file through 29 Mar 2018. Recall file through 29 Sep 2026.

Since the last update

No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks

All updates to the register

Recall campaigns

2 campaigns, newest first. 270 units in total.

81V148000Received 14 Dec 1981. 17 units.
Service Brakes, Hydraulic / Fluid
Defect, in the NHTSA record
The hydraulic brake fluid used in certain vehicles may fail to comply with the brake fluid boiling point requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 116, "motor vehicle brake fluids". Braking efficiency may be reduced and vehicle stopping distance increased, especially when hard or frequent braking raises brake fluid temperature.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Suspect hydraulic brake fluid will be bled from the brake system and replaced with GM delco supreme no. 11 or an equivalent, without charge.
Report filed by GENERAL MOTORS CORP.. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 17 Dec 1981.
81V118000Received 5 Oct 1981. 253 units.
Wheels / Rim
Defect, in the NHTSA record
The spare wheel is one inch wider than the maximum approved rim width and fails to comply with federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 120, "tire selection and rims for motor vehicles other than passenger cars".
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
The spare wheel assembly will be replaced without charge to owner.
Report filed by GENERAL MOTORS CORP.. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 12 Oct 1981.

The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.

Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

Complaints by component

4 complaints, 5 component mentions.

A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. This model year has fewer than 50 component mentions, so the table shows the number of mentions only.

1981 Chevrolet C10: component mentions in complaints
Component		Mentions
Fuel System, Gasoline		2
Visibility		1
Engine and Engine Cooling		1
Service Brakes, Hydraulic		1

Complaints that report a crash: 0
Complaints that report a fire: 0
Injuries in the complaints: 0
Deaths in the complaints: 0
Date of the newest complaint: 19 Mar 2008

These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.

Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.

Complaints about the 1981 Chevrolet C10, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 1996, with 1 complaint.

Investigations

NHTSA investigations that name the 1981 Chevrolet C10
Number	Type	Subject	Component	Opened	Closed	Campaign
EA92041	Engineering analysis	FUEL SYSTEM INTEGRITY	Fuel System, Gasoline / Storage / Tank Assembly	8 Dec 1992	9 Mar 1995
PE88016	Preliminary evaluation	EXHAUST MANIFOLD LEAKS	Vehicle Speed Control / Linkages	14 Jan 1988	31 Mar 1988

Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.

Other model years

The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.

19671
19680
19701
19711
19731
19742
19761
19772
19780
19790
19800
19812
19822
19830
19840
19851
19861
19870
19885
19892
19902
19911
19923
19933
19949
19957
19966
19973
19982
19991
20001
20011

A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.

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Official channels

NHTSA VIN lookupNHTSA shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle from its VIN or its license plate.
NHTSA: report a safety problemThe NHTSA form for a complaint about a vehicle, a tire, a child seat or equipment.
NHTSA page of the 1981 Chevrolet C10The recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.

Cite this page

Recall Register. 1981 Chevrolet C10: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/chevrolet/c10/1981/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through 29 Sep 2026.

Sources

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence: US government work, public domain
Recall file through: 29 Sep 2026
Complaint file through: 29 Mar 2018
First complaint in the file: 1 Jan 1995
Manufacturer in the recall file: GENERAL MOTORS CORP.

The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 1981 Chevrolet C10?: 270 units in 2 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Chevrolet C10 have for all model years?: NHTSA lists 41 recall campaigns for the Chevrolet C10, model years 1967 to 2001. 2 of them name the 1981 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 1981 Chevrolet C10 name most often?: Fuel System, Gasoline: 2 of 5 component mentions.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 1981 Chevrolet C10 open?: No. Each of the 2 investigations that name this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.