1999 Daewoo Nubira

No clear pattern

0% of complaints about the 1999 Daewoo Nubira arrived in its first year of service. That is an unusual figure for a 1999 vehicle, but with only 68 complaints on record the sample is too small to call it a pattern — the margin of error covers the range where ordinary vehicles sit. The figures below are reported without a verdict. The most-reported system is engine cooling (47 complaints), typically at 6.0 yr or about 63,000 miles.

Complaints: 68
Median age at failure: 6.0 yr
Median mileage: 57,323 n=21
Crash / fire / tow: 5.9% of reports
Safety recalls: 2

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

04V394000 2004-08-06

Engine cooling

ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, THE CAMSHAFT POSITION SENSOR MAY MELT RESULTING IN A BURNING SMELL AND VISIBLE SMOKE, WHICH MAY SUBSEQUENTLY LEAD TO THE MELTING OF THE CAMSHAFT COVER AND THE CAMSHAFT POSITION SENSOR WIRE HARNESS.

THIS COULD POSSIBLY CAUSE AN UNDERHOOD FIRE.

04V357000 2004-07-14

Engine cooling

THIS COULD POSSIBLY CAUSE AN UNDERHOOD FIRE.

In owners’ own words

Engine cooling mileage not reported 1.5 yr in service

INTERMITTENTLY BETWEEN 40 &45 MPH VEHICLE GOES INTO A LOCK UP MODE, WHERE THE RPM'S DROP AT LEAST A 1000 RMPS, RESULTING IN LOSS OF POWER FOR A MOMENT. DEALER HAS INSPECTED VEHICLE. *AK

Engine cooling mileage not reported 3.4 yr in service

WHILE DRIVING, ENGINE CHECK LIGHT WILL COME ON. CONSUMER HAS TO TAKE VEHICLE TO DEALER AND THEY WILL RESET THE LIGHT. THIS HAS HAPPENED TWICE. *AK DEALER REPLACED THE CAM SENSOR. *JB

Engine cooling 71,000 mi 4.7 yr in service

TIMING CHAIN WENT OUT. TOLD WHEN THIS HAPPENS ON A DAEWOO IT USUALLY DAMAGES THE VALVES. TOTAL COST $1400.00 WITH 1 MONTH TO GET PARTS. SEARCH MANY GM/CHEVY PLACES WHICH NOW SERVICE THE DAEWOO. ONLY HAVE 71240 MILES ON CAR. GOT IT AT 51200 AND PUT AROUND 20K ON IT. *TT

Other Nubira model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

1999 Daewoo Nubira

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

Other Nubira model years

How to read this