Dodge Colt Vista: problems, complaints, bulletins

Summary for the Dodge Colt Vista across 9 model years: 22 owner complaints and 0 NHTSA service bulletins, plus repair videos. Pick a year for details.

Model years

Year	Owner complaints	involving a crash
2001	1	0
1998	1	0
1994	1	0
1993	6	1
1992	4	0
1991	3	0
1987	1	0
1986	4	0
1985	1	0

What fails most often

1 Seat belts 23% of all complaints
2 Service brakes 23% of all complaints
3 Engine and cooling 18% of all complaints
4 Powertrain 14% of all complaints
5 Structure 14% of all complaints
6 Fuel system 9% of all complaints
7 Suspension 9% of all complaints
8 Latches, locks, linkages 5% of all complaints

Circle size and colour show each component’s share of NHTSA complaints. Schematic only, not a drawing of the exact model.

Seat belts: 5 complaints (23% of all).
Service brakes: 5 complaints (23% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
Engine and cooling: 4 complaints (18% of all).
Powertrain: 3 complaints (14% of all).
Structure: 3 complaints (14% of all).

Symptoms owners describe

How many of the 22 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).

seat belts4 · 18%
windows, sunroof1 · 5%
warning lights, check engine1 · 5%
smoke, burning smell, fire1 · 5%
rust, corrosion1 · 5%
brake failure1 · 5%

Components owners complain about

Component	Owner complaints	involving a crash
Seat belts	5	0
Service brakes	5	1
Engine and cooling	4	0
Powertrain	3	0
Structure	3	0
Fuel system	2	0
Suspension	2	0
Latches, locks, linkages	1	0
Vehicle speed control	1	0

What owners report

Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.

Brake system failure, partial loss of braking, replaced entire front brakes. Tt
Service brakes · 1993 · crash · 1995-10-18 · NHTSA complaint #973591
I have a 1992 dodge colt vista that while driving will shutdown. Sometimes it takes a couple minutes and you can restart the car, other times it takes a day. This problem does not happen every day, sometimes you can drive for a month with out it happening.
Engine and cooling · 1991 · 2003-09-12 · NHTSA complaint #10038767
Also, the children get headaches when the door is shut and windows are up due to fumes getting in the vehicle.
Engine and cooling · 1991 · 1999-11-08 · NHTSA complaint #852660
Motorized shoulder seat belt retractor cable came out of cover. Shoulder belt locked in when the door was shut. Will be taking vehicle to dealer.
Seat belts · 1993 · 1999-07-09 · NHTSA complaint #842016
Torque converter failure due to recall component, however failure occurred prior to notice.
Powertrain · 1993 · 1999-02-22 · NHTSA complaint #543898
While driving highway at 55 mph, car completely stopped. Oil/water/ anti-freeze was all over the street, and a hole in the engine. Dealer contacted and stated that it was the engine. The engine was replaced, and still smoke comes out of the engine.
Engine and cooling · 1986 · 1998-09-24 · NHTSA complaint #828180

When owners complained

NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.

19957
19964
19973
19983
19994
20032

What to check before buying

Seat belts. Belt pretensioners after airbag deployment, SRS codes.
Service brakes. Pedal feel, ABS operation, leaks, discs and hoses.
Engine and cooling. Radiator and fan after a frontal hit, coolant level and condition, overheating.
Powertrain. Shift quality under load, harsh shifts, transmission codes, CV joints.

Other models of this make

Read also

Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.