1996 Chevrolet S-10 LS Ext. Cab review from North America

Aluminum heads warped and gasket leaked at about 800 miles. Under warranty and repaired at no expense. Recall for this defect was issued at a later time.

Recall: Seat belt guards installed approximately 3 months after purchasing the truck.

Water pump went out at about 39,000 miles. $$ OUCH!

Bad gasket on windshield wiper relay: got wet and presto... no wipers on a very rainy day. Recall issued and problem was fixed free of charge.

A/C compressor kicked the bucket at about 59,000. Has been replaced twice now.

Spare tire hoist failed resulting in a dropped tire while driving... fortunately in a residential area with a 15 MPH speed limit. I also had the cable lock in place. The rear of the vehicle was lifted when the tire bounced and caught the underside of the bumper. Scary... glad I was 1/2 block from home. Haven't seen any recalls yet, but NHTSB has some interesting reading on this one.

Front brakes toast at about 79,000 miles and rear brakes halfway gone as well. $$ Ouch again!

Rear main seal: cost... about 20 dollars... labor to replace...don't ask. $$ Ouch for a third time.

Transmission toasted... this was my fault for towing incorrectly on a cross country move. Read your owner's manual first.

Cost was not too bad... about what you would expect for a transmission rebuild.

Throughout all the small problems and the sometimes way too steep repair costs this truck is a horse. It runs just as strongly as the day I drove it off the lot and the fuel economy has only diminished by a mere 7 or 8%.

It is a comfortable ride and handles very well. Steering is not too tight and not too loose.

This vehicle pulls well when loaded, probably the best as far as 4 cylinder light trucks go.