Are Camaros Reliable After 100k Miles? What Owners Are Saying

The Chevrolet Camaro has been a fast, mainstay pony car since 1967, undergoing multiple iterations, pauses, and restarts to production, along with a host of incremental changes of both aesthetics and powertrain. It's one of the best examples of "American muscle," and that reputation has spread far and wide. Undoubtedly millions of used Camaros are out there, with estimates claiming over 6 million produced in total, but are they any good?

It's hard to enjoy a car when you spend more time on the side of the road than you do actually driving, so reliability shouldn't be overlooked here, nor in any other car — same thing with regular maintenance. And, like any other car, the better maintained a Camaro is, the more reliable it'll be. Cars with extensive service histories, new or replacement OEM-quality parts, and respectful owners will ensure that a Camaro lasts well beyond 100,000 miles.

That statement is true because, at the heart of it, a modern Camaro is a fairly reliable car, according to expert panels and enthusiasts alike, though there are a few bad years to avoid, as is common with any car with such a long production time. We'll mainly focus only on the most recent generation. The older you get, the more case-by-case it becomes, so this is really only for Camaros around 10 years old and newer. All that said, let's look under the hood.

Long-term ownership of any sports car requires careful maintenance, and provided that's taken care of, most owners agree that a Camaro is relatively reliable, with a few issues here and there. Moreover, it's certainly possible to drive a Camaro daily and achieve 100k miles and beyond, given that its engines typically are well-built – with a few exceptions. This general rule of thumb goes all the way back to the older Camaros, as well — a clean example generally houses a dead-simple Chevy V8 under the hood, perfect for amateur wrenchers who are looking for something that likely won't be too much of a pain to work on — perfect considering how good some of the classics look.

That said, the owners seem to present the biggest issue. Of all the sources, the most frequently cited problem that crops up appears to be that the previous owner thrashed it across its lifespan. But for the average daily driver, some have reported zero or a few minor mechanical issues, such as small weld cracks, laggy transmissions, worn steering racks, and so on. All of these are fairly common for any vehicle that's driven extensively over the course of upwards of a decade, especially in areas prone to corrosive agents like snow.

Experts typically parrot these sentiments, with JD Power ranking the 2024 Camaro with an 86/100 for reliability, for example, placing it ahead of the Mustang's 79. Similarly, older models also feature good reliability, such as the 2022 with its score of 84, indicating that this is certainly a good car out of the box.

Everything sounds fine so far, but various owners and experts have reported issues with several model years. Often cited as the least reliable is the 2010 Camaro, which was plagued with engine problems ranging from premature timing chain wear to random stalling while driving. The 2010 model year also has two outstanding recalls, both of which deal with electrical problems. One involves a malfunctioning airbag, and the other is that the cable could short out and burn the car down, which isn't ideal for long-term reliability.

Other model years are typically not nearly as bad as the 2010, but 2012 has its moments including mechanical failures, which encompassed multiple complaints of engine problems ranging from water in the oil up to total engine failures. That said, these vehicles were sold with multiple engines every year, some of which are naturally better than others. There's no way to cover every single powertrain option, which is likely why some owners give contradictory reports on those model years. For instance, owners have reported six-figure, issue-free miles in 2012s alongside the multiple complaints for that same year.

Ultimately, the Camaro is an extremely diverse and varied car, featuring everything from inline-fours up to extremely powerful supercharged V8s, automatic and manual transmissions, different electrical and interior appointments, and so on. As a broad generalization, yes, owners have found consistent success with daily driving these sports cars. But as always, your mileage may vary.

We scoured dozens of different forums, published articles, and public bulletins to compile the most accurate information we could find. With so many vehicles produced over such a long span, it's virtually impossible to cover every single model year, so always remember to do your research on each independent car and its features.

However, we've chosen to narrow it down a little based on two factors: the likelihood one might find such a car in relatively good condition without any other compounding issues, and the probability someone might want to drive one to 100k miles today. Classic Camaros, therefore, are eliminated because of the disparate conditions; yes, you can find pristine examples that can (and have) put on 100k miles. However, these represent a relative niche in comparison to modern Camaros, some of which still have warranties. Given that more of these are on the road every day, as opposed to classic Camaros, we've tailored the article based on their relevance to what people would likely drive or consider buying as a daily driver.