Problems · NHTSA complaints

2002 Daewoo Nubira problems

Owners filed 32 complaints about the 2002 Daewoo Nubira with NHTSA between Oct 2002 and Jun 2005. The most-cited component is engine and engine cooling (18).

Complaints
32
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
2
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Engine and engine cooling18
  2. Service brakes, hydraulic10
  3. Suspension1
  4. Air bags1
  5. Equipment1
  6. Fuel system, gasoline1
  7. Service brakes, air1

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Oct 30, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
20023
20032
200426
20051

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Engine and engine cooling

18 reports1 fire2 related recalls
“DAEWOOD DEVELOPED RATTLING SOUNDS. *BF THE CONSUMER WAS TOLD THAT THE RECALL COULD NOT BE HONORED DUE TO NOT BEING ABLE TO GET PARTS FROM DAEWOO REGARDING THE CAM SHAFT POSITION SENSOR. *SC *JB”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 5, 2004Engine and engine coolingODI 10095383

Service brakes, hydraulic

10 reports2 crashes1 related recall
“WHILE TRAVELING AT 10 MPH THE BRAKES FAILED TO OPERATE, CAUSING A CRASH. CONSUMER WAS INFORMED BY THE DEALER THAT THE RUBBER BRAKE HOSES NEEDED REPAIRS FOR THE SECOND TIME.*AK”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Dec 14, 2004Service brakes, hydraulicCrash reportedODI 10103714

Suspension

1 report
“FRONT LOWER CONTROL ARMS HAVE TO BE CHANGED DUE TO BUSHINGS GOING BAD, IF THESE BUSHINGS FAIL IT CAN LEAD TO CRASHES FROM HAVING UNSTABLE STEERING.FOUND A RECALL IN AULSTRALIA FOR THE SAME THING. CAR JERKS TO THE SIDES AT SPEEDS AS LOW AS 15 MILES PER HOUR AND UP. I WAS DRIVING 55 WHEN MY CAR JERKED REAL HARD TO THE LEFT.HAVE TO HAVE THE WHOLE ARM REPLACED TO FIX THIS PROBLEM LOWEST PRICE I RECIEVED IS 500.00. HAVE BEEN TOLD BY SERVICE STATION THEY HAVE BEEN REPLACING A LOT OF THESE”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 20, 2005SuspensionODI 10125869

Air bags

1 report
“CONSUMER RECEIVED RECALL 02V131000 CONCERNING AIR BAG FAILURE. DEALER WAS NOT IN OPERATION.*AK”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 4, 2004Air bagsODI 10095001

Equipment

1 report1 fire
“UNTIL 1:30 P.M. TODAY (JUNE 3, 2004), I THOUGHT MY 2002 DAEWOO NUBIRA WAS A GOD-SENT BECAUSE OF ITS EXCELLENT GAS ECONOMY (~30 MPG). THE ENGINE CAUGHT ON FIRE THIS AFTERNOON AND NOW IT'S A PIECE OF JUNK. I HAVE BEEN DOING MY OIL CHANGE EVERY 3000 MILES AND SO FAR I'VE PUT ABOUT 39000 MILES ON IT. AS FAR AS I KNOW, THIS SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED BUT IT DID!!! I HOPE THIS IS NOT ONE OF THOSE THINGS DAEWOO IS TRYING TO HIDE. THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE THE DAEWOO'S, PLEASE HAVE YOUR CAR CHECKED IMMEDIATELY BY A TRAINED PROFESSIONAL FOR ANY KIND OF POTENTIAL FAILURE. I HAVE NO IDEA WHY THE ENGINE CAUGHT ON FIRE. I WAS DRIVING WITH THE AC ON AND SUDDENLY I NOTICED SMOKE IN MY REAR VIEW MIRROR. THEN SMOKE STARTED COMING OUT OF THE VENTS AND THEN I SAW FLAMES OUT OF THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ENGINE. I CHANGED MY OIL ABOUT 2 WEEKS AGO AND I HAVE BEEN DRIVING IT EVERYDAY. CAN'T BE THE COOLANT OR THE ENGINE OIL BECAUSE IT WAS DRIVING FINE FOR TWO WEEKS. OWNERS OF DAEWOO, BEWARE!!! DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU. GET YOUR CAR CHECKED-OUT ASAP FOR ANY POTENTIAL PROBLEMS. MAYBE THE DAEWOO ENGINE IS ONLY GOOD FOR 40000 MILES AND SINCE MINE'S CLOSE, IT JUST DIED ON ME. I AM ONLY GLAD I WAS…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 3, 2004Engine and engine cooling, EquipmentFire reportedODI 10074762

Fuel system, gasoline

1 report
“CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE HAD NO POWER, THE ACCELERATOR HAD TO BE PUSHED ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR TO REACH 45 MPH, CONSUMER BELIEVED THIS WAS DUE TO USING THE WRONG TYPE OF GAS IN WHICH CONSUMER WAS TOLD TO USE REGULAR GAS, HOWEVER CONSUMER BELIVES THAT VEHICLE WAS DESIGNED TO USE PREMIUM GAS.*JG”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 27, 2002Fuel system, gasolineODI 568432
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 30, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.