2005 Chevrolet Cavalier problems
Owners have filed 362 complaints about the 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier with NHTSA. Electrical system accounts for 59.7% of them — far more than any other system, ahead of vehicle speed control at 5%.
Complaints362
Crashes8
Fires0
Injuries6
Deaths4
What owners report breaking
Electrical system 59.7% · 216
Vehicle speed control 5.0% · 18
Power train 4.4% · 16
Service brakes, hydraulic 3.9% · 14
Structure 3.9% · 14
Visibility 2.8% · 10
Steering 2.2% · 8
Fuel system, gasoline 2.2% · 8
Severity
Of those complaints, 8 describe a crash, 6 report an injury and 4 report a death.
Reading the numbers
Across the 14 model years of the Chevrolet Cavalier in this data, 2005 sits 8th by complaint volume. 2003 draws the most.
Filings have fallen off, 10 in the last three years against 50 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 65,345 miles.
In owners' own words
My daughter was driving the car when all of the gauges on the instrument panel started moving up and down, over and over. This included the temperature gauge, gas gauge, and the speedometer. My daughter could not determine how fast she was driving and it was a distraction that could have resulted in an accident. Same thing happened about 2-3 years ago, and it cost me about $500 to replace step motors. Electrical system · reported at 47,000 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier. While driving approximately 45 mph, the entire instrument cluster stopped working. The failure began july 2010 when the speedometer would stop functioning. The contact called both the dealer and the manufacturer who offered no assistance. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000 and the current mileage was approximately 94,000. Electrical system · reported at 72,000 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier. The contact stated the instrumental cluster electrical system failed and caused the speedometer to provide incorrect reading when contact drove 55mph the speedometer read 30mph. The speedometer was not replaced. The contact also wanted to stated that the fuel gauge failed but was replaced. The approximate failure mileage was 83,000 and the current mileage was 99,211. Li Electrical system · reported at 83,000 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…