Owners have filed 3,474 complaints on the Chevrolet Cavalier, covering 1982–2005. The system named most often is Electrical System (689 reports). Worst years by volume: 2003, 1997, 1996; cleanest: 1982, 1983, 1985. 321 reports describe a crash, 100 a fire, 19 a death. On average the car was 4.3 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Chevrolet Cavalier
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 3,474 Cavalier complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 689 Read
Air bags did not come out car flipped over twice and there was 1 death and 1 injury
Consumer started vehicle to warm it up and went back into the office. Vehicle was in flames within 10 minutes. The flames were under the hood
Electrical fire in a 2004 chevy cavalier. Always had electrical problems, check engine light has come on and speedometer sticks everytime it rains. The air bag light had come on and we were afraid that it was going to deploy and if it did we would have gotten into an accident. When it was continued to drive, all that…
Engine And Engine Cooling 461 Read
Dt: while driving the contact's vehicle was involved in an accident due to a possible medical condition. The vehicle caught on fire immediately upon impact. The vehicle was deemed a total loss from the insurance company. A representative from the manufacturer inspected the vehicle and was unable to determine the cause…
Fire in driver side engine compartment of chevrolet cavalier. Driver stated vehicle shut off in traffic. Upon re-starting, noticed smoke coming from under engine hood, driver side. Driver got out and saw flames in area of driver side eng. Compt
The contact owns a 1999 chevrolet cavalier. The contact noticed that the vehicle was smoking while he was driving. He pulled off the road and exited the vehicle. The vehicle exploded. The driver sustained burns and is currently in the hospital. A police report was filed. The contact stated that the failure is similar…
Service Brakes 400 Read
The contact stated while traveling 45 mph, the brakes failed. There was significant extended stopping distance while depressing the brake pedal. The vehicle was stopped when hit by another vehicle. There was a police report taken at the scene and the contact received minor injures although the seat belt was worn. The…
1) brake failure, warped rotors and hubs, lro. 2) crash, rear end collision. Property damage. 3) gm refused to fix 2003 cavalier on 01-17-04 under warranty and as a result a crash happened on 02-28-04, a rear end collision due to brake failure.cause was defective factory equipment, warped rotors and hubs resulting in…
While driving ABS failed, causing a major accident.*ak. Consumer stated he was traveling on a dry street, the vehicle in front of him braked to make a right turn and when he attempted to apply the brakes, there was no response, to avoid a collison, consumer down shifted to 3rd gear, noticing the ABS light was lit,…
Fuel System 366 Read
The car has been in two accidents. The both were completely repaired, the rear lights have had problems due to poor connections and the fuel pump went out
The contact owns a 2002 chevrolet cavalier. The contact stated the vehicle had been parked for approximately 4 hours when a fire started under the dashboard. The contact stated the vehicle was removed by his insurance company and he could not confirm if the vehicle was destroyed or what started the fire. The VIN was…
Consumer was involved in a side impact at speed 55 mph. Vehicle was forced into a ditch at 30 mph impact head-on in which neither driver's side nor passenger's side air bags deployed ,causing driver to go into steering wheel. Also, fuel cut off switch did not kick in. Vehicle continued to run. Vehicle was a total…
Steering 300 Read
The contact owns a 2004 chevrolet cavalier. While driving approximately 60 mph, the steering suddenly malfunctioned. The vehicle spun out and crashed into a second vehicle. No injuries were reported and a police report was filed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, but the cause of the failure was not determined. The…
I have a major problem with a vehicle that I recently purchased. I bought a 2003 cavalier and there was a problem with it last week. I need to know exactly who to talk to before I take any further actions. My car is supposed to have an extended warranty on it and I know that I'm supposed to be able to get a rental…
Driver was traveling at about 50 mph when she heard a loud pop. Suddenly the car started shaking back and forth. Driver lost control and crashed into a jersey barrier which totaled the car and caused injuries. Subsequent inspection revealed that something seemed to let go in the steering rack. The steering wheel can…
Air Bags 201 Read
My daughter was involved in an accident. She rear ended another vehicle on a rain slick road. There were no injuries although she is now in the process of having her sore neck evaluated by a doctor. She was the only occupant in her vehicle (2005 chevy cavalier). The passenger airbag deployed with enough force to break…
The contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cavalier. While driving approximately 25 mph, the vehicle crashed and the passenger side air bag failed to deploy. It was unknown if there were any injuries or if a police report was filed. The air bag warning indicators illuminated continuously. The vehicle was taken to a dealer…
Takata recall air bags did not deploy in a rear end collision that totalled car. Also passengers seat broke causing neck and rib injury.vehicle was stationary waiting for construction flagman
Power Train 176 Read
When I was dropping my sister off at the airport, I was leaving in my cavalier which is a manual transmission I put the car in reverse and engaged the clutch it stuck on and would not come off. I had to slam on the emergency brake and brakes to stall out the car. Once the car stalled it also came to rest against a…
Clutch pedal started to stop short. While driving through light snow I pressed the pedal to shift gear before a slight turn and incline the pedal stayed down. The lack of power to the wheels within 5 seconds caused the vehicle to fishtail and I was not able to control the vehicle even while trying to brake and go into…
Right wheel axle twisted off vehicle, resulting in a collision/minor injuries
Visibility 153 Read
Drivers side wiper arm nut came loose causing wipers not to work at all. Wile wife was backing car up in driveway to return to our house (due to wipers not working)she hit a tree causing rear quater and rear bumper cover damage
Windshield on passenger side failed. Plastic cap that by friction holds elbow/joint of both control arms to wiper pivot point separated and is worn and will not hold. Now the driver side cheap plastic cap has failed. The motor works fine. Independant repair man says he sees this " all the time" part very poorly…
The contact owns a 2003 chevrolet cavalier. The contact was driving 30 mph when the defroster was engaged and the contact began to see black smoke coming the vents. The contact merged onto the side shoulder and seconds later, the vehicle caught fire from the ventilation system. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer…
Cavalier years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 14 | 4 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 24 | 6 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 19 | 3 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 17 | 7 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 18 | 6 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 18 | 2 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 28 | 9 | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | 50 | 20 | |
| 1996 | Air Bags | 46 | 7 | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 29 | 7 | |
| 1994 | Air Bags | 24 | 2 | |
| 1993 | Air Bags | 8 | 6 | |
| 1992 | Electrical System | 7 | 6 | |
| 1991 | Air Bags | 7 | 4 | |
| 1990 | Electrical System | 1 | 9 | |
| 1989 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 1988 | Exterior Lighting | — | — | |
| 1987 | Power Train | 2 | — | |
| 1986 | Electrical System | 2 | 2 | |
| 1985 | Service Brakes, Hydraulic | — | — | |
| 1984 | Engine And Engine Cooling | 2 | — | |
| 1983 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — | |
| 1982 | Vehicle Speed Control | — | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 1,220 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.8 |
| Worst single series | 22 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 4.3 years |
A model average of 2.8 hides a worst series at 22. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
- No ads, on every page
- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Cavalier?
By complaint volume, 2003, 1997, 1996 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Cavalier years are the cleanest?
1982, 1983, 1985 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Chevrolet Cavalier have?
3,474 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1982–2005. Of those, 321 describe a crash and 100 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.