Chevrolet Corvette: Years to Avoid and Best Years to Buy
Chevrolet Corvette: 15 model years scored from 807 NHTSA owner complaints and 30 recall campaigns. Worst year 2017, best year 2012.
Chevrolet Corvette: which years to avoid
Across 12 scored model years the Chevrolet Corvette ranges from 37/100 in 2017 to 92/100 in 2012 — a 55-point spread, so which year you buy matters more than whether you buy a Corvette at all. The weakest year’s complaints concentrate in Wheels (223 of them).
Avoid: 2017, 2019 — scored below 45 on the complaint and recall record.
Safest years: 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 — scored 70 or better.
Scored from NHTSA complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. How the score works · every car’s years to avoid.
Editor's note
The Chevrolet Corvette's years to avoid are 2017 (AVOID at 37 on 255 complaints) and 2019 (46 on 147), and one category accounts for both: Wheels, with 223 and 124 complaints. The years to buy are 2011 and 2012 (87 and 92 on 85 and 56 complaints), 2014 and 2015 (77 and 74), and 2021 and 2022 (89 and 88 on 12 and 20). The wheel complaints have no recall campaign on any year; the campaigns on the 2017 car are for electric power steering assist that may fail (19V086000 and 25V175000) and frontal air bags, and the 2018 car has Wheels first again at 45 of 51 complaints. The 2014 and 2015 cars each carry 5 campaigns, 4 safety-critical, including the air bag sensing module and rear shock absorber welds. The 2020 car, the first mid-engine year, has 4 campaigns for the front trunk release, the seat belt retractor and the brake boost sensor, and scores 78. The 2013, 2016 and 2023 model years have no record.
Read the guide
Used Chevrolet Camaro and Corvette: the years to avoid — written and signed by Adir Trabelsi, 2026-09-16.
How the Corvette changed, run by run
The federal record falls into 5 stretches of years that behave alike. A redesign shows up here as a step in the complaint rate that then holds.
2011–2012
Mean score 90/100, about 5 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Fuel/Propulsion System more than anything else (76 complaints).
2014–2015
Mean score 76/100, about 5 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Power Train more than anything else (27 complaints). 8 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
2017–2019
Mean score 55/100, about 19 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Wheels more than anything else (392 complaints). The record falls 21 points against the years before it. 6 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
2020–2022
Mean score 85/100, about 4 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Power Train more than anything else (18 complaints). The record improves by 30 points against the years before it. 4 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
2024–2025
Mean score 79/100, about 10 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Fuel/Propulsion System more than anything else (6 complaints). 4 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
Year-by-year data table
Best year in our data: 2012 (score 92). Worst: 2017 (score 37, AVOID).
| Year | Score | Verdict | Running cost / yr | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 86 | BUY | $4,530 | 0 | 3 |
| 2024 | 72 | BUY | $4,870 | 21 | 2 |
| 2023 | — | DATA PENDING | $4,060 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 88 | BUY | $5,400 | 21 | 1 |
| 2021 | 89 | BUY | $5,335 | 12 | 2 |
| 2020 | 78 | BUY | $5,688 | 34 | 4 |
| 2019 | 46 | AVOID | $5,969 | 147 | 1 |
| 2018 | 83 | BUY | $6,380 | 51 | 1 |
| 2017 | 37 | AVOID | $6,188 | 255 | 4 |
| 2016 | — | DATA PENDING | $6,540 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | 74 | BUY | $5,840 | 64 | 5 |
| 2014 | 77 | BUY | $6,166 | 61 | 5 |
| 2013 | — | DATA PENDING | $5,610 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | 92 | BUY | $5,826 | 56 | 1 |
| 2011 | 87 | BUY | $5,998 | 85 | 1 |
Running cost is fuel or energy plus the maintenance band midpoint for that car at its age today, re-priced to your country. Purchase price, insurance and depreciation are not included.
Photographs and every generation of the Corvette, through the years →
Corvette sub-models & family
Variants & trims on record
Body, powertrain and trim variants of the Corvette on the federal record. Variants folded into this nameplate are counted in this page's data; the rest have too thin a record for a page of their own yet.
What goes wrong on the Chevrolet Corvette
Across every Corvette model year in our index, owners report these component groups most often. The cost beside each one is the representative repair for that group at a US independent shop, re-priced to your country.
- Wheels408 complaints across all Corvette years · typical job: Wheel bearing or hub replacement$460–$920
- Fuel/Propulsion System106 complaints across all Corvette years · typical job: Fuel pump or injector replacement$680–$1,620
- Power Train68 complaints across all Corvette years · typical job: Transmission service or clutch-pack repair$1,290–$4,040
- Electrical System42 complaints across all Corvette years · typical job: Alternator, battery-drain or body-module diagnosis and replacement$540–$1,310
- Steering28 complaints across all Corvette years · typical job: Electric power-steering rack or column motor replacement$1,020–$2,500
- Engine28 complaints across all Corvette years · typical job: Cooling-system or timing-drive repair$1,040–$2,220
Flat-rate labour hours x local shop rate plus a parts band. An estimate of what this class of failure costs, not a quote. Formula.
FAQ
Which Chevrolet Corvette years should I avoid?
On the NHTSA record the years to avoid are 2017, 2019 — each scores below 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. The 2017 is the weakest at 37/100, with its complaints concentrated in Wheels.
What are the best Chevrolet Corvette years to buy?
2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022… all score 70 or better. The strongest is the 2012 at 92/100, on 56 complaints and 1 recall campaigns.
What is the most common Chevrolet Corvette problem?
408 of the complaints filed against the Corvette across all its model years sit in the Wheels group — more than any other component.
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Sources: NHTSA, EPA · Methodology · Updated 2026-10-04