1989 Chevrolet Beretta Problems

What owners report

Owners of this model year most often describe seat belts that stick, will not unbuckle, or do not lock, and smoke or fire from the engine area or the ignition. Most sampled complaints do not give mileage; the only mileage given is about 93,000 miles, and the complaints were filed between 1996 and 2004. Several smoke and fire complaints describe sudden events, such as a popping sound followed by smoke, while the car was in use.

1. 1
   Seat belts

   Seat belts that will not unbuckle or lock

   • 5 complaints (10%)
   • typically at 12.5 yrs old
   • 1 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 1996–2004

   Owners describe seat belts that would not unbuckle, latch buckles that separated, and belts that did not lock during sudden braking. One complaint describes the driver's seat sliding back while the car was moving, after which the car flipped and the belt did not keep the occupant inside. According to one complaint, the owner was told the car was not covered by a recall for a stuck belt latch. None of these complaints gives mileage, and they were filed between 2000 and 2004.

   Recall 91V206000Recall 89V034000

   What to check: Check that both front belts latch, unlatch and lock properly, including the buckle and the retractor. Ask whether the seat belt recalls listed for this model year have been performed on this car.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Consumer stated while driving, the driver's side seat slid backwards while the vehicle was in motion, causing the driver to lose control. The vehicle flipped over twice and landed on a big boulder. The consumer stated she was thrown out of the back windshield and the seat belt did not keep her in the car.”

   NHTSA complaint #10050379, filed 2004-01

   “To avoid crash, consumer slammed on brakes causing a passenger who was strapped into a seatbelt to hit their head on dashboard, seat belt latch buckle detached and separated, both front seat belts do not lock or function properly.”

   NHTSA complaint #555361, filed 2000-10
2. 2
   Electrical system

   Smoke or fire under the hood or at the ignition

   • 9 complaints (18%)
   • median 93,314 mi at 14.5 yrs old (1 states mileage, few)
   • 4 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 1995–2003

   Owners describe smoke or fire from the engine area, gasoline spilling onto a hot engine, and an ignition switch and steering column that became hot enough to smoke. One owner reports that the car burst into flames while being driven and that a fire official linked the fire to the rear window defroster. Another complaint describes a popping sound, then smoke and fire in the engine compartment after the car was pulled over. The only mileage given is about 93,000 miles, in the complaint about a car that burst into flames; the others give no mileage and describe events while the car was in use, starting, or after pulling over.

   What to check: Look for a gasoline smell, fresh fuel stains, or heat damage to wiring near the ignition switch and steering column. Ask whether any fuel-system recall for this model year has been performed on the car.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “On jan,9 2003 I bought a 1989 chevy Beretta with 90000 miles on it for the sum of 2300.00 dollars. On march 31 2003 I was driving down the interstate when the vehicle burst into flames. The fire marshal told me that the fire was caused by a factory defect in the rear window defroster.”

   NHTSA complaint #10014004, filed 2003-04, 93,314 miles

   “This part failure cause a tremendous amount of gas to flow onto a hot engine and it almost caused the car to catch fire. There was smoke coming from under the hood. The gasoline covered the parking lot when I tried to crank the car before I saw smoke. I was just lucky that it did not start a fire that day.”

   NHTSA complaint #742859, filed 2001-03

Buying note. Buyers may want to check that both front seat belts latch, unlatch and lock properly, and look for signs of fuel leaks or heat damage near the ignition. Because the sampled complaints are older, the condition and service history of a particular car matter alongside these complaint patterns.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 21 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.