1997 Chevrolet Cavalier

CAR WAS PARKED FOR ABOUT 10 HOURS. WHEN STARTED AND PUT IN DRIVE, "ETS OFF" LIGHT FLASHED AND THEN REMAINED ON STEADY. ALONG WITH THIS, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ALSO STAYED ON. BOTH LIGHTS REMAINED ON FOR DURATION OF DRIVE HOME FROM WORK, APPROXIMATELY 25 MINUTES. ENGINE SOUNDS FINE, NO STRANGE NOISES, BUT WARNING LIGHTS STILL REMAIN ON. TAKING IT TO A MECHANIC TO BE CHECKED OUT.

ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON WHILE DRIVING, TOOK TO SHOP WAS TOLD THAT THE COMPUTER SHOWED A TRANSMISSION PROBLEM BUT NONE WAS FOUND, LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN WITHIN 24 HOURS TOOK TO SHOP AGAIN STILL SHOWING TRANS PROBLEM STILL UNABLE TO FIND PROBLEM WAS TOLD THAT THE ONLY WAY TO RESET LIGHT WAS TO PUT ON COMPUTER BUT COULD NOT PROMISE WOULD NOT HAPPEN AGAIN. *AK

I HAVE CALLED THIS MORNING (12/06/00) TO NHTSA, YOU SAID YOU WILL SEND ME A FORM TO FILL OUT. BUT THEN I GOT INTO THIS WEBSITE. SO I WOULD LIKE TO FILE AND DOCUMENT ASAP BECASUE I FEEL VERY UNSAFE WHILE DRIVING. I AM SURE MY VEHICLE HAS A DEFECT OR PROBLEM WHICH COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT OR INJURY OR DEATH TO MYSELF AND OTHERS. THE PROBLEM FIRST APPEARED IN EARLY JULY/00: SOON AFTER STARTING THE CAR, WARNING LIGHTS (OIL PRESSURE AND CHARGING SYSTEM) LIT UP AND THE CAR STALLED AND LOST POWER. POWER BRAKE WAS GONE, AND I WAS HEADING DOWN A STEEP SLOPE! LUCKILY I MANAGED TO STOP THE CAR WITHOUT CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. I CAN RESTART THE CAR AND DRIVE ON. IT HAPPENED 2 TIMES MORE AND I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER TO CHECK. IT CANNOT REPEAT THE CONDITION, SO NOTHING WAS DONE. FOR THE NEXT SHORT WHILE NOTHING LIKE THAT HAPPENED, ALTHOUGH SEVERAL TIMES 2 OTHER WARNING LAMPS WILL LIT UP (ENHANCED TRACTION SYSTEM OFF AND MALFUNCTION INDICATOR). I CALLED THE DEALER TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT BUT THE LIGHTS WILL GO OFF, AND I CANCELLED THE APPOINTMENT... ON THE NIGHT OF 11/28/00, THE SAME DANGEROUS SITUATION OCCURRED AGAIN. SINCE THE DEALERSHIP WAS NOT IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE, I TOOK IT TO A MECHANIC WHO RAN A COMPUTER TEST ON MY CAR, AND FOUND TAHT FAULTY CODE #704 HAD OCCURRED INTERMITTENTLY IN MY TRANSMISION SYSTEM. BUT AGAIN, THE MECHANIC CANNOT DUPLICATE THE CONDITION, SO CANNOT FIX ANYTHING. I CALLED GM'S CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE AND THE DEALER TO SEE WHAT I CAN DO. THE ADVICE IS THAT THERE IS NO SIMILAR INCIDENTS REPORTED. AND I JUST HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE CONDITION TO HAPPEN AGAIN SOMEHOW. BUT THE DILEMMA IS THAT EVEN IF THE STALLING HAPPENS, THE CAR CAN RESTART, THEN THE CONDITION WILL NOT EXIST AND EVEN IF I BRING/TOW IT TO THE DEALER, THEY WON'T KNOW WHAT TO FIX!! SO I HAVE NO RECOURSE TO TAKE EXCEPT TO DRIVE THE CAR AROUND WITH THIS DANGER ON MY MIND ALL THE TIME! THERE MUST BE A BETTER WAY TO HAVE THE CAR FIXED OR THE MATTER RESOLVED, I WOULD THINK/HOPE? THANKYOU.

WE HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH THIS CAR FROM THE DATE THAT IT WAS PURCHASED. THE BRAKE ROTOR PROBLEMS HAVE BEEN WORKED ON SEVERAL TIMES, AND IT WILL STOP FOR A WHILE, BUT WILL CONTINUE TO WORSEN WITH TIME. THE ABS LIGHT AND LOW COOLANT LIGHT HAVE BEEN ON AND OFF FOR OVER AND YEAR AND WE WERE TOLD THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO PAY TO HAVE THEM FIXED, THE SOUND FROM THE EXHAUST, POSSIBLY THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER, HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR OVER A YEAR AND AGAIN, WE WERE TOLD WE NEEDED TO REPLACE IT, THAT IT WAS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. THEN ENGINE IS SOUNDING MORE AWFUL AS TIME GOES ON...LOTS OF NOISE UNDER THE HOOD ESPECIALLY AT CRUSING SPEED, AND THEN AGAIN WHEN SLOWING TO A STOP, AND MORE RECENTLY EVEN WHEN IDLING. NOT ONLY WAS THIS CAR NOT SERVICED PROPERLY WHEN I WOULD BRING IT IN WITH A COMPLAINT, BUT I FEEL AS IF THE DEALERS WERE PURPOSELY PUTTING ME OFF JUST SO THE WARRANTY WOULD RUN OUT AND I WOULD HAVE TO FIX THESE PROBLEMS MYSELF. OBVIOUSLY I AM NOT THE ONLY ON THAT HAS HAD SIMILIAR PROBLEMS. AND ALSO, THE CAR HAS BEEN LEAKING ANTIFREEZE FOR A NUMBER OF MONTHS, BUT CANT SEEM TO FIND THE LEAK. DEFINITELY CAN SMELL THE BURNING ANTIFREEZE, ESPECIALLY AFTER AN EXTENDED TRIP. *AK

IN JUL7 OF 1999, THE ETS OFF LIGHT AND THEENGINE CHECK LIGHT CAME ON. THE MECHANIC SAID THE COMPUTER SHOWED DUE TO EMISSION REGULATIONS, THE EGR VALVE NEEDED REPLACED. REPLACED THE VALVE, A MONTH LATER THE TWO LIGHTS CAME ON AGAIN. I WAS TOLD THE EGR VALVE WAS DEFECTIVE. HAD IT REPLACED AGAIN. A COUPLE MONTHS LATER, THE TWO LIGHTS CAME ON AGAIN. THE MECHANIC TOLD US THE SYSTEM WAS VERY SENSITIVE, BUT THE EGR WAS FINE AND JUST RESET THE LIGHTLS. LAST WEEK THE TWO LIGHTS CAME ON AGAIN, THE EGR WAS REPLACED AGAIN. THE NEXT DAY, THE CAR STARTED JERKING FIERCELY AND THE TWO LIGHTS CAME ON AGAIN. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE PROBLEM IS WITH THIS SYSTEM AND WE ARE HAVING A DIFFICULT TIME FINDING THE PROBLEM. I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S A COMPUTER DEFECT, A VALVE DEFECT OR WHAT. BUT IT'S NOT SAVE TO HAVE A VEHICLE THAT CONSTANTLY SHUTS OFF THE TRACTION SYSTEM DUE TO THIS PROBLEM AND CAUSES THE CAR TO JEK WHILE DRIVING. *AK

IN DECEMBER 1999, I EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF ENGINE COOLANT LEVEL AND THE LOW ENGINE COOLANT INDICATOR ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. I ASSUMED THE THERMOSTAT WAS FAILING AND HAD A LOCAL SERVICE STATION REPLACE IT AND FLUSH THE RADIATOR. SEVERAL DAYS LATER THE LOW ENGINE COOLANT LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. UPON INSPECTION, I HAD LOST SOME COOLANT AND EXPERIENCED THE SMELL OF HOT COOLANT WHICH I ATTRIBUTED TO THE RECENT RADIATOR FLUSH. I TOOK IT BACK TO THE SERVICE STATION AND THE COOLANT SYSTEM WAS PRESSURE TESTED TO CHECK FOR LEAKS AND PASSED. AFTER BEING IDLE FOR OVER 1 WEEK, ON JANUARY 3, 2000, I CHECKED THE ENGINE COOLANT LEVEL AND IT WAS LOW. I FILLED THE ENGINE COOLANT RESERVIOR TO FULL AND AFTER SHORT TRIPS THE LEVEL HAD HELD AT FULL. ON JANUARY 4, 2000, WHILE DRIVING TO WORK, I EXPERIENCED A ROUGH IDLE AND IN ADDITION TO THE LOW ENGINE COOLANT LEVEL ILLUMINATING ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND THE TRACTION CONTROL LIGHTS ALSO LIT UP ON THE DASH. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER, HAWTHORNE CHEVROLET, EXPECTING TO HAVE THEM FINALLY RESOLVE MY PROBLEM AND THEY INFORMED ME THEY SUSPECTED MY ENGINE BLOCK WAS CRACKED AND ESTIMATED THE JOB AT OVER $3400.00. I NOTEICED SERVICE BULLETIN #'S 67-62-04, 970501776109 & 970501738309 POSTED ON YOUR WEBSITE REFERS TO SIMILAR DEFECTS AS THOSE I HAVE EXPERIENCED. IF THE ENGINE HAS A DEFECT, WHAT RECOURSE DO I HAVE? I HAVE FOLLOWED THE RECOMMENDED MAINTAINANCE SCHEDULE AND FEEL FRUSTRATED THAT GM AND HAWTHORNE CHEVROLET KNEW OF THE POTENTIAL PROBLEMS BUT FAILED TO TAKE THE PREVENTATIVE MEASURES TO AVOID PERMINANT DAMAGE TO THE ENGINE. I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO THE SERVICE STATION WHERE I HAD THE THERMOSTAT REPLACED AND THEIR CONCLUSION IS THE HEAD GASGET HAS FAILED OR THE HEAD HAS CRACKED, BASED ON THE FACT THAT THERE ISN'T ANY COOLANT IN THE OIL PAN. I RECEIVED AN ESTIMATE OF $950.00 FOR THE REPAIRS. I'M NOT A HAPPY CAVALIER OWNER. I THANK YOU. *AK

CAR STUTTERS, THEN POWERS DOWN TO 10-15 MPH, THEN ETS & ENGINE CHECK LIGHTS COME ON. REPEATED TRIPS TO MECHANIC AND DEALER SHOW NOTHING WRONG. LATEST WAS CLOGGED FUEL FILTER. DLR CHGE'D. PROBLEM REPEATED WITHIN 24 HOURS OF PICK UP FROM DLR. WILL DRIVE NORMAL W/ LIGHTS ON. HAS HAD INTERMITTENT PROBLEMS ASSOC. W/ A CRASH AFTER THE FIRST INCIDENT OF LIGHTS ON FAILURE.

ON MAY 29 1998 MY CARS ETS/ ENGINE CHECK LIGHT CAME ON, AND I TOOK IT TO A CHEVROLET DEALER TO FIND OUT WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS. THEY TOLD ME THAT IT WAS THE NUMBER 2 ENGINE CYLINDER MISFIRING, AND THEY TRIED TO FIX THE PROBLEM. WITHIN THE NEXT FEW DAYS I WAS BACK FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. THIS TIME THE CALLED THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANT FOR HELP, AND THEY DID THIS ANOTHER TIME AS THEY DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. I THEN MOVE TO FT. POLK LA. AS I AM IN THE MILITARY. ON 1 JAN 9, THE SAME PROBLEM STARTED UP AGAIN. THIS TIME THEY DID THE SAME THING THE OTHER SHOP DID. I HAVE HAD MY CAR IN THE SHOP FOR A TOTAL OF 4 TIMES THAT THEY HAVE WORKED ON IT, REPLACING THE CYLINDER CAP/FUEL INJECTOR AND COIL HOUSING. AND THEY TALKED TO THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANTCE PERSONNEL AT CHEVROLET. THE LAST TIME I HAD MY CAR IN THE SHOP WAS 29JAN 99, AND THEY HOOKED A COMPUTER UP TO IT. DROVE IT FOR A WEEK TO TRY TO CREAT THE PROBLEM SO THEY COULD TAKE A PICTURE OF THE SYSTEM. BUT THE LIGHTS NEVER CAME ON. SO THEY GAVE ME BACK MY CAR WITH THE PROBLEM STILL NOT FIXED, AND THE CHEVROLET CORP. WON'T DO ANY THING ABOUT THE PROBLEM, BUT CONTINUE TO WORK ON IT UNDER THE WARRANTY. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT THEY CAN'T FIX THE PROBLEM, AND THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANTS ARE OUT OF SUGGESTIONS. I HAVE FILED A COMPLAINT WITH THE CHEVROLET CORP, AND FEEL THAT NOTHING WILL BE DONE ABOUT MY PROBLEM. I FEEL THAT THEY HAVE HAD SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO FIX THE PROBLEM AND CAN'T , AND THEY WON'T REPLACE THE CAR. *AK