2003 Chevrolet Cavalier

I HAVE A 2003 CHEVY CAVALIER AND THE INSTRUMENT PANEL HAS STOPPED WORKING. I PURCHASED THE CAR IN 2005 AND IN ABOUT 2006 IT STARTED ACTING UP. AT FIRST THE GAUGES WOULD FLICKER IN AND OUT ONE AT A TIME SOMETIMES READING INCORRECT SPEEDS OR FUEL LEVEL AND SOMETIME NOT WORKING AT ALL. THEY WOULD SOMETIMES SEEM TO BE AFFECTED BY THE TEMPERATURE AND OTHER TIMES NOT. I TOOK IT IN AND THE MECHANIC FIDGETED WITH THE FUSES AND IT STARTED WORKING AGAIN AND HE SAID THAT WAS THE PROBLEM. SO EACH TIME THEY ACTED UP I WOULD ADJUST THE FUSES & THEY WOULD START WORKING AGAIN UNTIL EVEN THAT DIDN'T WORK. SO I WENT TO BUY NEW FUSES AND THE EMPLOYEE AT THE PART STORE CHECKED MY FUSES AND SAID THEY WERE WORKING FINE. I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO AFFORD TO HAVE IT FIXED. IN ABOUT 2008 OR 2009 I HAD SOME OTHER WORK DONE ON THE CAR AND THE MECHANIC SAID THAT HE HAD ACTUALLY SEEN OTHER CAVALIERS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM AND THAT THE PANEL NEEDED REPLACED. MY DAD WANTS TO FIX MY CAR BUT WE ARE WAITING TO AFFORD IT AND NOT SURE IF THAT WILL FIX THE PROBLEM. I HAVE LOOKED ONLINE AND SEEN MANY OTHER COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE SAME PROBLEM AND I AM WONDERING WHY THERE ISN'T A SAFETY RECALL TO FIX THE PROBLEM THAT IS OBVIOUSLY CHARACTERISTICALLY A PROBLEM WITH THE CHEVY CAVALIER IN MORE THAN ONE YEAR. I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THE CONSUMER SHOULD HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT AND PAY FOR WHEN IT IS OBVIOUSLY A MANUFACTURE DEFAULT. IT IS NOT ONLY MONETARILY INCONVENIENT BUT IT IS A SAFETY PROBLEM. YOU ARE UNABLE TO KNOW HOW FAST YOU ARE ACTUALLY GOING, OR HOW MUCH FUEL YOU ACTUALLY HAVE. THERE IS A REASON WE HAVE THOSE GAUGES AND IT ISN'T SIMPLY TO LOOK PRETTY. I WOULD APPRECIATE IF SOMEONE WOULD TAKE THE TIME TO LOOK INTO THIS AND REALIZE THAT THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE. THANK YOU. *TR

WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, I LOOKED AT MY SPEEDOMETER AND IT WAS NOT MOVING ABOVE 35 MILES PER HOUR. I PULLED OVER AND SAW THAT THE SPEEDOMETER DID NOT GO TO ZERO; IT STAYED AT 35 MILES PER HOUR. I TURNED MY CAR OFF AND ON, AND THE SPEEDOMETER DECREASED TO 30 MILES PER HOUR. AFTER TURNING MY CAR OFF AND ON SIX TO SEVEN MORE TIMES, THE SPEEDOMETER FINALLY WENT BACK TO ZERO. AFTER THAT, I BEGAN DRIVING AGAIN. THE SPEEDOMETER WORKED FINE. THE NEXT DAY, THE SPEEDOMETER GOT STUCK AT 50 MILES PER HOUR. WITHOUT PULLING OVER AND TURNING THE CAR OFF, THE SPEEDOMETER BEGAN WORKING AGAIN, HOWEVER, IT SHOWED I WAS DRIVING AT 100 MILES PER HOUR, WHEN I WAS DRIVING WITH HIGHWAY TRAFFIC AT ABOUT 50-55 MILES PER HOUR. THIS HAPPENS JUST ABOUT EVERY DAY DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS. WHEN IT IS COLD, THIS TENDS TO HAPPEN LESS FREQUENTLY, MAYBE ONCE A MONTH. THE CAR HAS BEEN TAKEN TO TWO OR THREE MECHANICS AND EACH TIME I AM TOLD THAT THERE ARE NO PROBLEMS. THE COMPUTER SAYS THERE ARE NO PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR. THIS PROBLEM, WHEN FIRST NOTICED, COULD HAVE CREATED A SERIOUS HAZARD IF THE SPEEDOMETER WAS STUCK AT 55 MILES PER HOUR, AND THE DRIVER EXITED TO A CITY ROAD AT 30 MILES PER HOUR. THE DRIVER WOULD HIT THEIR BRAKES, THINKING THEY WERE DRIVING FAST, POSSIBLY CAUSING A COLLISION. WHEN THE SPEEDOMETER IS NOT WORKING THERE IS NO REAL WAY TO TELL THE EXACT SPEED THAT YOU ARE DRIVING. GENERAL MOTORS WAS CALLED THE DAY OF THE PROBLEM AND A REPORT REGARDING THE PROBLEM WAS CREATED. *TR

I BOUGHT MY 2003 CAVALIER BRAND NEW. WHILE IT WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY I TOOK THE CAR IN BECAUSE IT WAS MALFUNCTIONING. THE SITUATION WAS I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AND WENT TO SHIFT GEARS AND WHEN I HELD THE CLUTCH IN THE RPM'S DROPPED ALL THE WAY TO 0 AND THE CAR STALLED. WHEN I TOOK THE CAR IN I WAS TOLD THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE ISSUE, SO THERE WAS NO PROBLEM. SINCE THAN THIS HAS ONLY GOTTEN WORSE. WHILE DRIVING IT STALLS ON AVERAGE OF 5 TIMES A WEEK WHICH IS NOT SAFE ESPECIALLY ON THE FREE WAY. ALSO TO ADD TO EVERYONE ELSE'S COMPLAINT MY FUEL PUMP WENT BAD AS WELL AND HAD TO HAVE IT REPLACED. *TR

I OWN A 2003 CHEVROLET CAVALIER LS AND ON DEC. 25 WHEN I TURNED ON THE REAR DEFROST BUTTON SMOKE STARTED TO COME OUT FROM INSIDE THE STEERING WHEEL COLUMN. I COULD NOT GET THE REAR DEFROST TO TURN OFF SO I HAD TO TURN OFF THE CAR AND REMOVE THE FUSE TO IT. SHORTLY AFTER THIS INCIDENT THE POWER WINDOWS HAVE STOPPED WORKING AND THE FUSE TO THEM IS STILL GOOD, I REPLACED IT JUST IN CASE BUT THE WINDOWS STILL DO NOT WORK. THE ODOMETER HAS ALSO STOPPED WORKING SO I HAVE HAD TO GUESS MY SPEED. I FEEL THAT THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY CONCERN SINCE THE REAR DEFROST DOES NOT WORK I CANNOT SEE OUT THE REAR WINDOW ON COLD DAYS, I ALSO CANNOT TELL HOW FAST I AM DRIVING WHICH CAN CAUSE AN ACCIDENT, AND THE POWER WINDOWS HAVE STOPPED WORKING. THE CAR IS DUE FOR INSPECTION NEXT MONTH AND I CANNOT AFFORD TO FIX THESE PROBLEMS, THIS IS MY ONLY VEHICLE AND RELY ON IT TO GET TO AND FROM WORK EVERYDAY. I HAVE ALSO PLACED A COMPLAINT WITH GENERAL MOTORS CONCERNING THIS ISSUE AS I FEEL THAT THE PROBLEMS THAT HAVE OCCURRED ARE A RESULT OF POOR OR HURRIED WORKMANSHIP IN THAT AREA OF THE VEHICLE'S MANUFACTURE. *TR

THE FUEL GAUGE BEGAN TO MALFUNCTION ABOUT A YEAR AGO. ASSUMING IT WAS JUST THE FLOAT, I DECIDED I WOULD IGNORE IT AND USE THE TRIP ODOMETER TO DETERMINE HOW MUCH GAS I HAD LEFT. UNFORTUNATELY, BECAUSE THE GAS GAUGE WENT WELL PAST FULL, INTO THE REALM OF WHAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED TWO TANKS OF FULL, THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE NEEDLE COULD NOT MOVE. EVENTUALLY, THE GAS GAUGE NEEDLE WENT PAST THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE (NOW AT WHAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED TWO AND A HALF TANKS) WHICH FREED THE TEMPERATURE NEEDLE TO ACTUALLY REGISTER. NOW, THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE IS MALFUNCTIONING, RESTING AT THE HALF WAY POINT EVEN AFTER THE CAR SAT ALL NIGHT IN OUR RECENT FRIGID TEMPERATURES. IT NOW RUNS IN THE RED EVEN THOUGH THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE ENGINE. NOW, THE SPEEDOMETER IS SHOWING SIGNS OF MALFUNCTIONING, AS IT READS 5 MPH THOUGH I AM AT A COMPLETE STOP. RESEARCH ON VARIOUS INTERNET MESSAGE BOARDS SUGGEST THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM IN NOT ONLY 2003 CHEVROLET CAVALIERS, BUT OTHER YEARS AND MODELS OF CHEVY VEHICLES. WHEN I COMPLAINED TO GM THAT A MALFUNCTIONING SPEEDOMETER WAS A SAFETY ISSUE, I WAS GREETED WITH "THERE'S NO RECALL, IT'S NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY, CAN'T HELP, YOUR PROBLEM, DEAL WITH IT." FOLLOWING THIS LOGIC, WHAT'S STOPPING GM FROM CREATING MORE DEFECTIVE VEHICLES, IF THE PROBLEM HAPPENS AFTER THE WARRANTY EXPIRES? THEY'VE ADOPTED THE ATTITUDE IT'S "NOT THEIR PROBLEM." AT WHAT POINT IS A DEFECTIVE SPEEDOMETER NOT A SAFETY PROBLEM WORTHY OF A RECALL? *TR

PROBLEM IS WITH INSTRUMENT CLUSTER. FIRST TACH STARTING FAILING NOW AND THEN. NOW ENGINE TEMP GAUGE IS DOING SAME THING. SOMETIMES TACH WORKS SOMETIMES IT DOESN'T. TEMP GAUGE SOMETIMES WORKS, SOMETIMES SHOWS ENGINE HOT, SOMETIMES COLD WHEN ENGINE IS AT OPERATING TEMP. PROBLEM STARTED WHILE CAR WAS BEING DRIVEN. SO FAR, NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO FIX PROBLEM, MECHANIC SAYS COST TO FIX IS $375.00. *TR

I OWN A 2003 CHEVY CAVALIER AND THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE DOES NOT WORK AND NOW THE RPM GAUGE ISN'T WORKING. I HAVE ABOUT 45,000 MILES ON IT AND THE DEALERSHIP SAYS I NEED TO REPLACE THE CLUSTER. AFTER DOING A LOT OF RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET ABOUT THE REPAIR, I HAVE DISCOVERED THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM AMONG ALL CAVALIERS; THE CLUSTER NEEDS TO BE REPAIRED. I WILL HAVE MY CAR REPAIRED THIS WEEK AND WILL NEED TO SPEND $500 TO REPAIR IT. I HAVE EVEN CALLED GMC'S CUSTOMER SERVICE TO SEE IF THEIR IS A WARRANTY ON THE PART OR A RECALL. WHY ARE CAR OWNERS SPENDING $500 PLUS TO FIX THIS PROBLEM WHEN IT IS A KNOWN PROBLEM? *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 CHEVROLET CAVALIER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WITHIN A FEW MINUTES AFTER PARKING HER VEHICLE, IT CAUGHT FIRE. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM CAUSED THE FIRE. PRIOR TO THE FAILURE, SHE NOTICED THAT THE WINDOWS OPENED AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS TURNED OFF. WHEN SHE TURNED THE AIR CONDITIONER OFF GREEN SMOKE EMITTED INTO THE VEHICLE AND THE FIRE STARTED IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE GREEN SMOKE WAS PRESENT. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER HAVE NOT BEEN NOTIFIED. THE VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER IS UNAVAILABLE. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE APPROXIMATELY 75,000. UPDATED 10/21/09 *BF THE CONSUMER STATED WHEN SHE TURNED THE AC SWITCH TO OFF, SMOKE BEGAN TO EMIT FROM THE VEHICLE. THE CONSUMER STATED EVEN THOUGH THE CAR WAS OFF, THE AC WAS STILL ON. UPDATED 10/20/09