Buyer Research

2017 Chevrolet Camaro — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $16,000–$30,000. There are 2 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

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Kestrel Take

Second year of the sixth generation, and the year the steering became the story: 57 of 186 complaints are the electric power steering quitting while driving, six of them ending in a crash, and GM has now recalled the steering gear twice — in 2019 and again in 2025. Behind it sits the same eight-speed automatic shudder as the 2016, at 29% of the record. Both are fixable and both are checkable on the VIN, which makes this a car you buy on paperwork: two steering recalls closed, transmission fluid or converter done, airbag emblem recall done. A manual-gearbox car with the steering recalls closed is the pick of the range; an automatic with 'service power steering' in its history and no receipts is one to leave.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 186 owner complaints for the 2017 Chevrolet Camaro, and 3 recall campaigns.

A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. 31% of them are about one thing — steering. That much concentration is a genuine pattern rather than background noise, and it is the first thing to check on any example you look at.

3 recall campaigns cover this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2017 Chevrolet Camaro

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

Electric power steering assist fails while driving — recalled twice (19V086 and 25V175)High — wallet impact

57 complaints, 31% of the record, six crashes. Owners describe the 'service power steering' message and the wheel going heavy or seizing at any speed, sometimes with a shake and a noise from the column first; one hit a mailbox when the steering 'just went away'. Recall 19V086 replaced the power steering gear on 2017 Camaros in 2019, and 25V175 in 2025 widened the net to more 2017–2018 cars after failures continued. Some owners still report their VIN is excluded and paid for a rack themselves. Run the VIN through the NHTSA lookup for both campaigns, and on the drive make slow full-lock turns and hold a light grip on the highway. If the seller mentions the steering was 'reset' or 'restarted', that is the failure.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $1,200–$2,400 for a steering gear outside the recall

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under steering (57); 3 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Eight-speed automatic shudders at low speed and shifts hard — torque converterHigh — wallet impact

54 complaints, 29%. The description is the same in almost every one: a shudder like driving over rumble strips under light throttle, lurching from a stop until the transmission finally catches a gear, and hard shifts pulling into traffic. It is the 8L45 and 8L90 torque-converter fault that runs through this generation; GM's first fix was a change to a revised full-synthetic fluid, and the second was a torque converter. A couple of manual-gearbox complaints are in here too — a six-speed that fights coming out of reverse, and a first-to-second flare after sitting — but the manual is not the pattern. Cruise at a steady 30–45 mph on light throttle and feel the seat; ask for the fluid-change or converter invoice.

Repair cost (estimate): $250–$500 for the revised-fluid flush; $1,200–$2,400 for a torque converter; $4,000–$6,500 for a rebuilt transmission — about 28% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the transmission and drivetrain (54).

Shift-to-Park message, sudden loss of electrical power, and a fuel-pump harness that overheatsMedium

25 complaints with two crashes and one fire, and no single part. The 'Shift to Park' message that traps the key and the driver until the shifter is worked back and forth is a GM-wide shifter-switch fault. Others describe the electronics shutting off at 50 mph with steering assist stuttering, a horn that stopped working, interior lights that stay on, and a car that behaves like a dead battery until it sits for a while. One owner's car was towed four times for a fuel-pump wiring connector at the module melting and burning. Check that the horn works, that the interior lights go out, and that the car shifts into Park and shuts off cleanly three times in a row.

Repair cost (estimate): $150–$900 for a shifter switch, harness repair or body control module

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (25).

Steering-wheel emblem can break off during airbag deployment (recall)Medium

Recall 21V211 covers 2017–2021 Camaros: the plastic Camaro emblem on the steering wheel airbag cover can separate when the driver's airbag fires and hit the driver as a projectile — one owner in this record reported exactly that, the emblem striking a forearm in a hit-and-run. Dealers replace the whole driver airbag module free of charge. Eight of the 12 airbag complaints are crash and non-deployment reports that an inspection cannot verify; this recall can be, in thirty seconds, on the VIN lookup.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under airbags (12); 3 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Misfires, reduced-power mode and lifter replacement on the V8Medium

25 engine complaints and one fire. The pattern that matters for the wallet is the 6.2L LT1 in the SS: a misfire, StabiliTrak and check-engine warnings, reduced power, then a dealer replacing lifters — the cylinder-deactivation lifter failure seen across GM's V8s of this era. Ignore any clean-sounding assurance and listen yourself: a ticking from the top of the engine at idle that does not fade after warm-up, or a rough idle with the misfire counter climbing on a scan tool, is the early sign. On the 2.0L turbo and 3.6L V6 the complaints are scattered — a check-engine light that comes and goes, a rough start after sitting.

Repair cost (estimate): $2,000–$4,500 for lifters and a camshaft on the V8; $150–$800 for the four- and six-cylinder faults

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (25).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗'Service power steering' message at any point, or a wheel that goes heavy in a parking-lot turn
✗Rumble-strip shudder at a steady 30–45 mph on light throttle
✗'Shift to Park' message when the car is already in Park
✗Ticking from the top of the V8 at idle after warm-up
✗Either steering recall shown open on the VIN lookup

Good Signs

✓Both steering recalls 19V086 and 25V175 shown closed, or a new steering gear invoice in hand
✓Torque converter replaced or fluid changed to GM's revised full-synthetic spec, with receipts
✓Airbag emblem recall 21V211 closed on the VIN lookup
✓Six-speed manual with smooth, quiet engagement in every gear including reverse
✓Quiet, even idle from the V8 after a 20-minute warm-up