Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (struts, shocks, control arms, ball joints, springs).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1996 Chevrolet Astro owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
My wife went to move our 1996 Chevrolet Astro van and when she backed up the right front tire was rubbing on the wheel well. Upon further investigation it was determined that one of the torsion bars broke. When I called my local dealer I found the parts were readily available but I would have to replace both sides because they had been "updated". The parts alone were over $500.00. When I removed the old torsion bars I found out what had caused it to break, the receiver tube that the end of the bar went into had filled with dirt and road crude causing the bar to rust and eventully break. This occured four days before we were leaving on a 2500 mile trip. If this had occured when we were going down the interstate at 75mph or in the mountains while on vacation it could have been diasaterous. …
The torsion bar snapped in half. This bar was inadequate to the vehicle, and GM has a modified version for this. The bar broke while the consumer was driving the vehicle. The consumer was going 10 MPH, when this happened and this caused the left front to drop down about 8 to 10 inches and was a violent drop. There were no problems before this. There were no wrecks involved. The consumer had to take in to the midas dealer and have the torsion bars on the left and right replaced with the new modified version. The front shock also broke, as a result of the bar breaking. The total of fixing this was $1,000.00 at the consumer's expense.
Part#15990701 failed,broke.causing left corner of vechicleto droop almost to interfering with left front wheel.this part is comminly known as a torsion bar and should not be failing/.there was no accident.this vech.is in excellent condition and has never been abused.reparing this is going to be costly;over 1000.00 dollars.because their are no original parts.the parts have been updated and all new parts for both sides of the vech. Must be used.this tells me their was bad engineering in the original design. Now that they've fixed the problem they want the customer to pay the bill. Thank you. Respectfully richard wagner.
The consumer sat in the driveway, the left side torsion bar snapped. The front left side of the vehicle was sitting on the left front tire. The part was only available through the dealer. By coincidence the right side was sent as well and was sold by the pair. The parts were redesigned and a new but different bracket was included. GM forced the repair of both sides at the expense of the consumer.
While driving the consumer heard a popping noise. When the vehicle was pulled over, and the front end dropped a few inches. Dealer determined that torsion bar had broken. The consumer stated that this wasn't the first time this problem happened, in re: 1988 Astro van. Scc
After driving vehicle 45 minutes or more, rearended/ fishtailed, moved from side to side, vibrated, driver had no control, told by service technician, if problem occurs during wet weather, caused accident due to hazardous driving conditions.
Torsion bar broke, dealer claims that it was a defect in the design of the torsion bar, the bar was to long. Now they have a shorter bar. I had to replace both sides with the new design because the original part was discontinued.
On August 19,1999, I was backing my 1996 Chevrolet Astro van out of my parents' garage when I noticed that something wasn't right with the van. I then drove it down the road a few blocks. I pulled over to the side of the road because the van was not driving as it normally does. The van was rocking and sitting lower to the ground. After I pulled over, I looked to see if one of the tires were flat. It was then that I noticed that the entire front end of the van was hanging very low. I then called leon's auto lab, gave them a brief description of the problem and asked if they thought if it was safe for me to drive it to their shop which happened to be a few more blocks down the road. They told me to drive it very slowly to their shop. When I got there, they put the van on a hoist and found that the torision bar was broken. They couldn't fix it so I had to take to speedy's tma. …
I would like to report what I feel is/was a very serious safety defect with my 1996 Chevrolet all wheel drive Astro van [redacted]. Recently while driving the right front suspension torsion bar snapped, collapsing the suspension, dropping the entire right side on top of the right front wheel and tire pulling drastically to the right across 2 lanes of traffic. Fortunately traffic was light, and I was traveling at a slow speed -about 40 km/hr in a posted 50km zone as I had just entered the 4-lane roadway. I managed to regain control of the van and steer it to the side of the right hand side of the road. I shudder at the thought if this had happened on the highway or freeway. …
For a car that is only four years old, this one has far too many equipment failures. I would imagine that this car would be considered a lemon by most people. When we first got it the brakes would slow you down and at 10 MPH as you were approaching the stop or the rear end of another car, they would fail to stop you completely. The dealer who sold us the car agreed to fix that. Next the front end started shaking so violently it would throw the cups out of the holders in the front of the van. We took the car to our local Chevy dealership and they said they fixed them. Only 10,000 miles later we had to take it back in to have the rotors turned again as they were warped again. They unjustly accused me of riding the brakes, which I do not do. This time they replaced the brake pads on the front disc brakes. I requested that they do that the first time and the refused to do so. …
Suspension complaints in other Astro years
Frequently asked questions
How common are suspension problems on the 1996 Chevrolet Astro?
NHTSA has 60 complaints about the suspension of the 1996 Chevrolet Astro, 23% of the model year's 263 complaints. The component named most often is front › springs › torsion bar (38 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1996 Chevrolet Astro suspension problems?
No. NHTSA lists no suspension recall for the 1996 Chevrolet Astro, though it has 4 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 1996 Chevrolet Astro suspension problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 83,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 0 fires and 0 injuries to suspension problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.