1994 Chevrolet Lumina APV Problems

What owners report

Complaints from owners of this model year centre on worn seat belts that no longer retract, door handles and latches that break, and intermittent windshield wiper failures. Mileage is rarely reported in the record, but several owners of high-mileage vans describe transmission and coolant-line problems that echo a 1996 recall for the transmission oil cooler line, and a number of complaints describe wiring smoke or engine-compartment fires.

1. 1
   Seat belts

   Seat belts will not retract and buckles stick

   • 13 complaints (20%)
   • median 202,000 mi at 11.0 yrs old (1 states mileage, few)
   • filed 1995–2005

   Owners describe front and middle-row shoulder belts that twist in the clasp and fail to retract, leaving the webbing hanging fully extended. Some report buckles that will not latch, or that latch but are then hard to release. Several owners say they never received a recall notice covering the belt retractors, and dealers often treated the repairs as customer-pay once the van was out of warranty. Mileage is usually not recorded in these complaints; one owner had a buckle replaced around 35,000 miles and another reports belt problems at about 202,000 miles.

   Recall 94V100000Recall 94V015000Recall 93V212000

   What to check: Pull every belt out fully and confirm it retracts smoothly and latches and releases cleanly; ask whether the belt recalls (94V100000, 94V015000, 93V212000) were ever performed on this van.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Dt: the contact states transmission still acts like it wants to overheat. The transmission was replaced on jan 5th the lines are leaking. The contact feels this is related to recall 96v015000. The contact has never received a recall letter. The vehicle has 202,000 miles on it. Also, the front and middle seat belts are not retracting. The webbing is coming off. This problem is in related to recalls 93v212000 and 94v100000. The contact has not received a recall letter concerning the seat belts. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10136022, filed 2005-09, 202,000 miles

   “The driver's side seat belt does not retract at all times. The passenger's side belt will not retract at all, it is fully extended in the out position. Female part of the buckle was replaced on the driver's side seat belt at 35,000 miles.”

   NHTSA complaint #807601, filed 1997-01
2. 2
   Latches, locks and linkages

   Door handles and latches fail, doors will not open

   Mentioned in 6 of 37 sampled complaints

   Complaints describe door handles that break or drop into the door frame, leaving doors that cannot be opened from the inside or outside. The passenger front door and the rear hatch are mentioned repeatedly, and some owners had the same handle or latch fail more than once. Repairs were generally paid for by the owner, either at a dealer or by an independent mechanic. Mileage is not recorded in these complaints; they span vans from a few years old to well-used examples.

   What to check: Open and close every door and the rear hatch from both inside and outside, and check that the handle feels firm rather than loose or already cracked.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “We have had all the door handles break, causing the passengers to be unable to open or close their doors. The rear back hatch has broken three times at an approximate cost of $150 for each repair. After reading the tom and ray article in the arizona republic on jan. 1, 2000, I beleive this is a very common problem that can cause a safety hazard.”

   NHTSA complaint #716717, filed 2000-01

   “Door will not open from the outside or inside. First occurrence was with the driver's door and repairs were made at owner's expense. Currently, passenger door has the same problem. Dealer contacted and will remedy problem at owner's expense.”

   NHTSA complaint #829761, filed 1998-10
3. 3
   Electrical system

   Wiring and engine-compartment smoke or fire

   • 8 complaints (12%)
   • typically at 2.8 yrs old
   • 7 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 1995–2004

   Owners describe smoke coming from the steering column, under the dashboard or from under the hood, sometimes followed by visible flames. One owner reports an under-dash wire harness that wore through its covering against the body and shorted the electrical system; another had the van burn completely. Several complaints connect the dash-area smoke with a known investigation of the wiring in this model. Mileage is not stated in these complaints; the smoke and fires are described during starting, driving, or shortly after the ignition is turned on.

   What to check: Inspect the wiring under the dash and around the steering column for chafed or spliced harnesses, and ask whether any wiring or ignition-switch repairs have been done.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I was reading information on the following: NHTSA action number : pe95062 NHTSA recall campaign number : n/a make : Chevrolet model: Lumina Apv manufacturer : general motors corp. Year : 1994 component : electrical system:wiring my 1994 Lumina Apv started to smoke in the steering column on 2 occasions. I turned off the ignition key and it stopped. I turned it back forward to the on position without starting the vehicle and it did not smoke then, but when I went ahead and started the van is began to smoke again. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10061822, filed 2004-03

   “Vehicle wire harness located underneath dashboard has worn down from normal vehicle movement. Wire harness has no shield or protection, and made contact with body frame. This shorted vehicle electrical system out while attempting to start vehicle, and caused a fire in the fuseable link, ignition and destroyed other assorted wires. Filed a claim with my insurance agency (allstate), and claim was denied because they felt it was a factory defect. …”

   NHTSA complaint #705174, filed 1999-04
4. 4
   Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)

   Windshield wipers stop working intermittently

   Mentioned in 4 of 37 sampled complaints

   Owners report wipers that quit without warning, sometimes in heavy rain, and that work only some of the time. Dealers often could not reproduce the fault and declined coverage as out of warranty, and owners usually paid for the repairs themselves. Some complaints note that the washer motor also failed and that a recall covering similar wiper assemblies on other models did not include this van. Mileage is not stated in these complaints; the failures are described as intermittent and occurring at ordinary driving speeds.

   What to check: Run the wipers and washer through all speeds and the delay setting, and note any hesitation; ask whether the wiper motor or wiper assembly has been replaced.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I have a 1994 Chevrolet Lumina Apv. Back in 2000 I had the windshield washer motor/assembly replaced because of failure to operate on numerous occasions. In the past two years GM has issued a repair/refund for same motor for all other vehicles with problems but not for the lumina/Lumina Apv. This was a costly repair and would like to know what GM is going to do about it. I have called GM's customer service and reported/ inquired about this problem at least a dozen times. I know of many lumina owners who have had this problem and repaired them. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10060707, filed 2004-03

   “I own a 1994 Chevrolet lumina van and the windshield wipers work only when they feel like it . In speaking to an independent mechanic (not a chevy dealership), he mentioned that this is the same windshield wiper assembly that is on your recall 98v150001, however, this vehical is not listed as part of that recall. Upon contacting chevy, they used that same reasoning as not covering replacement. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10029158, filed 2003-07

Buying note. A van of this age is best judged on condition rather than paperwork: test every seat belt, door and wiper, look for transmission fluid leaks, and check the under-dash wiring. Ask the seller for documentation of recall work, particularly the seat belt and transmission cooler line campaigns, and budget for repairs on items that were never covered.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 37 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.