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2016 Chevrolet Ss
Buyable, but go in with open eyes: this car has specific known issues to check before money changes hands.
24 owner complaints · 7 recalls · data verified July 25, 2026 · source: NHTSA
Buy-rated alternatives from this era
Other 2014–2018 cars in the same rough price bracket with a clean, matured Buy verdict, worth cross-shopping before you commit to the 2016 Chevrolet Ss.
Why caution?
7 recall campaigns (7 safety-critical). Confirm every one shows "remedy completed" on the seller's VIN.
Steering problems dominate (50% of complaints).
Very few owner complaints for its age and sales volume.
Complaints are overwhelmingly minor: almost none involve crashes, fires, or injuries.
Complaint reports have faded. Early issues appear resolved or aged out.
Score breakdown, by factor
Full methodology →#351 of 566Among the 2016 models with a matured record, the 2016 Chevrolet Ss ranks #351, scoring higher than 15% of them. See the 2016 ranking →
Complaints filed per year
Fading = early teething worked out. Climbing = problems aging in.
How it crashes
NHTSA’s own crash tests, separate from the reliability score above.
NHTSA crash-tested this model year but didn’t publish an overall star rating for it.
1 open NHTSA defect investigation on file for this model year, separate from the recalls above.
Source: nhtsa.gov/ratings. Star ratings compare vehicles within the same class and size, not across every car on the road.
The road ahead
What breaks on a 2016 Chevrolet Ss, plotted where owners report it happening.
Also reported (mileage varies): Steering (12) · Seat belts (6)
Mileage medians come from owners who mentioned an odometer reading in their NHTSA complaint. Treat them as a rough guide.
Steering
50%12 complaints · 1 in the last 2 years
“A few days ago I was heading home from work and sport mode automatically turned on and the “service power steering” warning came on. Then the steering wheel stiffened …”
Seat belts
25%6 complaints
“FILED SECOND TIME. RECALL REPAIR IS DEFECTIVE! RECALL REPAIR HAS LEFT SEAT BELT TENSIONER CABLE EXPOSED AND FLOPPING! METAL BITS AND PIECES ARE NOW ON CARPET AND AREA …”
Electrical system
17%4 complaints · 1 in the last 2 years
“THE BLIND SPOT SENSOR STARTED NOT TO WORK SPORADICALLY STARTED NOT TO WORK AT 36,500 MILES. NOW THEY DON'T WORK AT ALL AND AT LEAST I AM NOTIFIED OF THIS TWO TO THREE …”
Lane Departure
8%2 complaints
“The driver information center is displaying "Service Side Detection System" alert. On the SS Forum this appears to be an increasingly popular problem with these cars”
Check it against this car’s mileage
Type the odometer reading on the actual car you’re looking at to see which of these problem areas owners tend to report before it, around it, or after it.
Too few owners named a mileage on this model to place issues against an odometer yet.
Recalls (7)
Safety recall repairs are free at the brand’s franchised dealers. Before buying, run the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls and make the seller show the work was done.
Seat Belts · 20V638000
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2014-2016 Chevrolet SS and Caprice Police Pursuit Vehicles (PPV) that were previously repaired under NHTSA recall number 16V-518. The repair may not have been performed properly. The driver's seat belt tensioner cable may be repeatedly bent over the seat side shield as the driver enters and exits the vehicle causing the cable to fatigue and separate.
Risk: If the tensioner cable separates, the driver may not be properly restrained in the event of a crash, increasing their risk of injury.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the vehicles to determine whether the new seat trim was installed and replace the trim as necessary. Dealers will also inspect and replace the pretensioner cable assembly, as necessary. Repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began November 17, 2020. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N202312100
Steering · 20V254000
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2016 Chevrolet Caprice Police Pursuit vehicles (PPV) and SS vehicles. Corrosion of the connector between the electric power steering module and the torque sensor connector may cause a loss of electric power steering assist.
Risk: A greater steering effort would be needed to control the vehicle if power steering is lost, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering gear assembly, free of charge. The recall began May 26, 2020. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N192285350.
Steering · 19V801000
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2014-2016 Chevrolet SS vehicles that previously received an inspect-only remedy under recall 17V-382. Corrosion of the connector between the electric power steering module and the torque sensor connector may cause a loss of electric power steering assist.
Risk: A greater steering effort would be needed to control the vehicle if power steering is lost, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering gear assembly, free of charge. The recall began December 27, 2019. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or GM customer service at 1-586-596-1733. GM's number for this recall is N192265980.
Air Bags · 17V437000
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse and Chevrolet Spark EV, Caprice PPV and SS vehicles, 2014-2017 Buick Encore and Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles, 2015-2016 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Tahoe, Trax, Suburban and Silverado 2500 and 3500 and GMC Yukon and Yukon XL vehicles, and 2015-2017 GMC Sierra HD 2500 and 3500 vehicles. While being previously remedied for recall 16V-651, the affected vehicles may not have received the complete software update necessary to remedy the recall condition. Without the update, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) software to activate a diagnostic test. During this test, deployment of the frontal air bags and the seat belt pretensioners would not occur in the event of a crash.
Risk: A failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on August 4, 2017. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 17287.
Steering · 17V382000
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2014-2016 Chevrolet SS vehicles. Corrosion of the connector between the electric power steering module and the torque sensor connector may cause a loss of electric power steering assist.
Risk: A greater steering effort would be needed to control the vehicle if power steering is lost, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the steering gear assembly, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began August 2, 2017. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 17248.
Air Bags · 16V651000
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015-2017 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD, 3500 HD, Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Sierra 2500 HD and 3500 HD, GMC Yukon, GMC Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade and Cadillac Escalade ESV vehicles and 2014-2017 Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500, Trax, Caprice Police Pursuit Vehicle, GMC Sierra 1500, Buick Encore, and 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse, Chevrolet Spark EV and SS vehicles. In the affected vehicles, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) software to activate a diagnostic test. During this test, deployment of the frontal air bags and the seat belt pretensioners would not occur in the event of a crash.
Risk: A failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on October 13, 2016. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 16007.
Seat Belts · 16V518000
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 Chevrolet Caprice Police Pursuit vehicles manufactured May 14, 2013 through June 14, 2016, and Chevrolet SS vehicles manufactured May 15, 2013 through April 27, 2016. The driver's seat belt tensioner cable may be repeatedly bent over the seat side shield as the driver enters and exits the vehicle causing the cable to fatigue and separate.
Risk: If the tensioner cable separates, the driver may not be properly restrained in the event of a crash, increasing their risk of injury.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the tensioner cable assembly, replacing any cable that is damaged. For vehicles that do not require a tensioner assembly replacement, a cable guide will be installed. All vehicles will receive new seat trim with a redesigned opening for the cable routing. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on November 3, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 31340.
Questions to ask the seller
Questions worth asking the seller of this Chevrolet before you buy, drawn from its public record:
- NHTSA lists 7 recall campaigns for the 2016 Chevrolet Ss. Can you run this car's VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls and confirm each one shows "Remedy Completed"?
- Owners of this model report steering problems more than anything else. Has this car shown any steering symptoms, and are there repair records for it?
- Owners of this model report seat belts problems more than anything else. Has this car shown any seat belts symptoms, and are there repair records for it?
- Has this car been in any accident or had any structural, airbag, or flood-related repair? Do you have a clean title and a recent history report (Carfax / AutoCheck)?
- How many owners has it had, do you have the maintenance records, and why are you selling it?
- Are you open to me having an independent mechanic inspect it before we settle on a price?
Before you hand over money
Verify the recall work was done
NHTSA’s free lookup shows whether this exact car had its recall remedies completed.
Free NHTSA VIN check ↗Get a pre-purchase inspection
A $150 to $250 independent inspection of this exact 2016 Chevrolet SS beats every score on the internet, including ours.
What to ask forNot set on the 2016? See how every Ss model year scores →
Cross-shopping? Compare the 2016 Chevrolet Ss against another car →
What owners say
Real owners of this exact model-year, shown separately from the NHTSA score. If they disagree, that’s worth knowing.