This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier. On several occasions, while driving, the instrument panel failed to operate as intended. The contact stated that the fuel gauge, engine temperature gauge, and tachometer were inoperable. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was not notified. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 170,000.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier. When attempting to drive the vehicle, the fuel, temperature, and speedometer gauges failed to work. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the instrument cluster gauges failed and needed to replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 53,000. The VIN was not available.
The entire gauge cluster no longer works and the speedometer was the first item to start failing while the car was still under warranty. The mechanics at the location where I bought the vehicle claimed restarting the car multiple times would reset the needle back to where it belongs. This worked for a while, but I have since had to replace the item on my own for the same issue twice.
Speedometer gauge does not work. Only way it works is to take out the fuse and reinsert the fuse. Fuse box is located on inside left driver side dash. I take out the fourth fuse on the bottom (10A ) I have to do this everytime I stop the engine. This is a safety issue since one does not know how fast/slow one is driving. Sometimes the speedometer shows 0 mph sometimes it will show 120+ mph. Based upon my internet research this is a very common problem. It is unfortunate that someone will have to be injured before a recall. I brought the automobile to a car mechanic who indicated I needed a new cluster. However, he could not promise me that it would fix the problem.
- Grand Forks, ND, USA
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The temperature gauge needle has gone so far to the right (and not registering correct temperature) that it interferes with the needle on the speedometer gauge therefore, the speedometer needle can only register up to 15 mph when you are actually going at least 45 to 55 mph. I have read the other complaints on your site and I would like to know how many you have to receive regarding this same problem before a recall will be issued" is everyone at NHTSA and Chevrolet/GM just waiting in hopes that soon all of these cars will be off the road therefore, they will no longer be an issue? I truly believe this to be a safety issue, not knowing how fast or slow you are traveling and/or whether your car is burning up or not. This issue really needs to be addressed as soon as possible as I don't see these cars going away anytime soon, people are just continuing to drive them as they are, with the gauge problems. How many people will have to be injured or die in an accident because of this problem that everyone chooses to ignore before something will be done about it?" they cost too much to repair and it usually does not fix the problem. We own two of these cars, the other one is a 2004 and in addition to the speedometer not working properly the gas gauge is not working either!
My 2005 Chevy Cavalier speedometer (not digital) and RPM gauge doesn't work at all from time to time. It either shows I'm doing 0 M.P.H. or it goes past 110 M.P.H and stays there even when the car is shut off. It hasn't shown the correct speed in which I'm traveling at anytime in the past 6 months or so. I've had to download a speedometer gauge app on my smart phone to get an idea of how fast I am going and even that is untrustworthiness. I've looked online for similar complaints and apparently there are multiple sources for the years between 2003 and 2006 experiencing the exact same problem. I've called multiple Chevrolet dealerships about this problem and was told that it's a known problem and Chevrolet most likely will never recall this defective equipment and was quoted a price that ranges from $700 to $1200 because the whole instrument cluster would need to be replaced. I for one do not think the consumer should bear the brunt of this cost as it is the manufacturer's (Chevrolet in this case) problem who is responsible for installing faulty equipment from the assembly line. From all the online posts and others complaints about this problem I've seen that date back to 2007, I cannot imagine why this problem hasn't been addressed at all. If this isn't considered a safety issue as no one can really know for sure how fast they are going, I don't know what is.
Over the winter I noticed my RPM gauge was not work properly then two months ago my temp gauge started acting up, then yesturday my speedometer started doing the same thing. Checked online today to look into fixing the problem and found out this is a recurring problem in other 2005 Cavaliers. Dont understand why if so many peolpe are having the same problem why there hasnt been a recall on the make.
I have a used 2005 Chevy Cavalier and the cluster panel is not working properly. The gas gauge doesn't give me an accurate gas amount in the car and the mph works sometime, but often than not, it isn't accurate. I checked with GMC and they say there is no recall to replace it and the cost is $700, which I cannot afford on a fixed income. Can something be done. I know there have been problems with cluster panels in other GMC vehicles.
I just bought a 2005 Chevy Cavalier with 60K miles on it, one owner, and never missed a maintenance appointment. The car is immaculate. A few days after I purchased it the speedometer got stuck at 18mph and then dropped to 0 when parked. All other gauges work except the RPM's... neither the speedometer or tachometer has moved an inch since they dropped to 0. it is a serious safety concern. I went online to try to look up what the problem may be, and instead found blogs where 1000's of people are complaining of the same issue, same story on their 05 Cavaliers. This definitely should be considered a recall! I am not sure how much this is going to cost, but it obviously is a continuous problem for most 2005 Chevy Cavalier owners, and Chevy should take responsibility!
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier. The contact stated that while driving 70 mph, the speedometer failed and would only provide a reading of zero. In addition, the temperature gauge increased abnormally. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic and a diagnostic was performed, which located the failure at the instrument cluster. The instrument cluster was replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 67,710 and the approximate current mileage was 73,000....updated 04/25/13
The speedometer was the first gauge to not work. It is now stuck at 45mph at all times. Now my gas gauge does not work. It even interferes with the temperature gauge. Now the RPM gauge is starting not to work. Some days it works fine and other days it sits at 5 thousand. The temperature gauge is the only gauge that works.
Speedometer quit working, now I have no idea how fast I'm going, can never tell if I'm speeding or going too slow. That isn't safe is it.... GM needs to issue a recall to their Cavalier speedometers before someone gets hurt seriously! they also need to quit selling junk!!!!
In Aug of last year while driving approx 45 mph, the RPM gauge began jumping up into the red. It took about two weeks worth of driving for it to fail completely. Since the car is an automatic, failure of the RPM gauge was not serious concern. In mid January of this year, I noticed the gas gauge would only show 3/4 a tank after a complete, topped off fill up. Then the temp gauge showed the vehicle was beginning to run hot (195 deg). The garage replaced the thermostat ($230). After a couple of days, the temp started running hot again. I took it back for service. Then they replaced the thermostat sensor ($170) hours after picking the vehicle up the temperature gauge shot well into the red. I then took the vehicle to another service station. Who informed me that the temp is actually fine, but the ABS sensors needed replaced ($285)(with no warning light indication from the panel). I have also been informed that the whole instrument panel is bad and needs replaced of which I can not afford to do. The vehicle has now failed state inspection due to the faulty instrument panel. The Chevrolet dealer service dept, claims that the panel failing, is very common, and GM refuses to do anything about it.
On the 26th of August my 17 year daughter was returning home from school when the speedometer quit working. I have to replace the cluster panel and have found out that this is a very common defect with my 2005 Cavalier. I feel a recall needs to be made on this and those who have repaired this issue should be reimbursed their money and time for non-use of their vehicles. This is a very serious issue that could cause an accident, even deaths.
The odometer and speedometer don't reset when deceleration occurs. Has been going occurring on and off for the past few months with only the odometer. Today was the first incident when the speedometer malfunctioned. I was able to reset the meters by turning the ignition key on and off several times. After doing research, I have discovered that this seems to be a common problem with the 2005 Chevy Cavaliers.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Melrose Park, IL, USA