2003 CHEVROLET CAVALIER Complaints

I HAVE A 2003 CAVALIER, AND THE FUEL PUMP WENT OUT WHILE DRIVING, CAUSING THE CAR TO STALL ON THE INTERSTATE. THE CAR HAS APPRX. 79,000 MILES. THE COST FOR THIS REPAIR THIS WAS OVER $700 DOLLARS. *TR

THE SPEEDOMETER DOES NOT WORK PROPERLY IT CAN SAY THAT I AM GOING 90 WHEN I AM GOING ONLY 35 ALSO THE HEAT GAUGE NEXT TO IT WILL GO WAY OVER INTO THE SPEEDOMETER AREA WHICH THEN THEY HIT EACH OTHER WHICH CAUSES THEM TO NOT WORK PROPERLY ALSO THE GAS GAUGE DOES NOT WORK RIGHT EITHER WHEN I GET LOW ENOUGH FOR THE CHECK GAUGE LIGHT TO COME ON IT WILL START GOING UP SAYING THAT I HAVE A HALF TANK OF GAS EVEN THOUGH I KNOW THAT I DO NOT. *TR

I WAS DRIVING MY CAR TO GO GET GROCERIES WITH MY 2 YR OLD SON. THE CAR HAS NO PROBLEMS AND DROVE FINE THERE. I ATTEMPTED TO PULL OUT OF THE PARKING LOT AND MY CAR STALLED. I TRIED AGAIN AND IT STALLED ONCE MORE. I MANAGED TO TURN THE ENGINE OVER ENOUGH TIMES TO GET IT OUT OF THE MIDDLE OF THE PARKING LOT. IT WAS AROUND 8PM AND GETTING COLD AND I HAD NOT ONLY TO DEAL WITH THIS, BUT HAVE A YOUNG CHILD OUT IN THE COLD WHETHER WHEN HE SHOULD BE GOING TO BED. I CALLED MY BOYFRIEND AND HE PICKED US UP AND HE LOOKED AT THE CAR A BIT SINCE HE KNOWS QUITE A BIT ABOUT CARS. HE COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING OBVIOUS SO WE HAD IT TOWED FOR TESTING TO MECHANIC HE KNOWS. THE MECHANIC WAS GENEROUS ENOUGH TO GIVE US A BIT OF A DISCOUNT ON THE TOW AND FUEL PUMP, BUT GETTING THIS REPAIRED WAS STILL COSTLY. I ENDED UP PAYING HALF AND MY BOYFRIEND WAS GENEROUS ENOUGH TO HELP ME PAY FOR THE OTHER HALF. BEING A SINGLE MOM AND STILL FINISHING UP SCHOOL I DID NOT HAVE THE MONEY AT THE TIME TO REPLACE SOMETHING THAT GAVE ME NO WARNING AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED IN THE FIRST PLACE. I'M GLAD THIS DIDN'T HAPPEN ON THE INTERSTATE WITH MY SON. PEOPLE COUPLE HAVE GOTTEN HURT IF WE WERE IN AN ACCIDENT. GM NEEDS TO REALIZE HOW BIG OF AN ISSUE THIS IS. *TR

MY DAUGHTER WAS MERGING ONTO THE HIGHWAY GOING 45 MPH WHEN HER CAR JUST STOPPED. IT WOULDN'T RESTART AND SHE WAS STUCK IN A TRAVEL LANE. THERE WAS ONLY ABOUT 2 FEET BETWEEN THE LANE AND THE STEEL MEDIAN BARRIER SO ALMOST HALF OF HER CAR WAS IN THE TRAVEL LANE. WE CALLED THE POLICE AND THEY STOPPED AND REDIRECTED TRAFFIC UNTIL THE TOW TRUCK ARRIVED. THIS HAPPENED ON A FRIDAY NIGHT AT 10:30PM. *TR

I WAS DRIVING HOME AND MY CAR SUDDENLY STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE ROAD. I PUSHED IT TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND TRIED TO RESTART THE CAR BUT IT WOULDN'T START. I HAD IT TOWED TO A MECHANIC AND HAD IT LOOKED AT. AFTER HE RAN DIAGNOSTIC CHECK AND LOOKED AT IT. HE DETERMINED THAT THE FUEL PUMP HAD FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH, THIS SEEMS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM. IT COST ME $688 TO GET THE FUEL PUMP REPLACED. *TR

I T-BONED ANOTHER VEHICLE AT 35MPH AND I RECEIVED A CONCUSSION FROM MY HEAD HITTING THE STEERING WHEEL BECAUSE MY AIRBAG SPLIT APART AT THE SEAMS. *TR

WHILE DRIVING ON A 4 LANE HIGHWAY, I STOPPED A TO MAKE A LEFT HAND TURN ACROSS THIS BUSY HIGHWAY, UPON MY TURN THE CAR LOST POWER AND STALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ON COMING LANES OF TRAFFIC. RESTARTED THE VEHICLE AND CONTINUED TO STALL MOVING ONLY A FEW FEET AT A TIME AND WOULD NOT RESTART, BEING THAT I AM DISABLED THIS CAUSED A DANGER TO MYSELF AND OTHERS ON THIS BUSY HIGHWAY (AKA) HIGHWAY OF DEATH IN THIS AREA. IN CALIFORNIA HWY 99/70 NORTH BOUND NORTH OF SACRAMENTO CA. AFTER A TIME SOME MOTORIST ASSISTED ME AND PUSHED MY VEHICLE OUT OF LANES OF TRAFFIC TO THE EDGE OF THE HIGHWAY. I HAD NO WARNING OR INDICATION THAT THE VEHICLE WAS ABOUT TO FAIL OR THAT ANY SYSTEM NEEDED ATTENTION. BECAUSE OF MY DISABILITIES, I WOULD NEVER DRIVE A VEHICLE THAT WAS NOT RELIABLE OR WOULD CAUSED A SITUATION TO ARISE THAT WOULD BE A DANGER TO MYSELF AND THE MOTORING PUBLIC. A MECHANIC AT A CHEVROLET DEALER THAT I HAVE KNOWN FOR YEARS ADVISED ME THE BEWARE OF FUEL PUMPS IN THESE VEHICLES AS THEY HAVE A VERY HIGH RATE OF FAILURE. I ALSO ASKED THE MECHANIC IF KNEW WHAT I COULD DO TO AVOID THIS SITUATION AND HE STATED THAT NO OFFICIAL MANUFACTURE ADVISORY WERE AVAIL. IN HIS OPINION THE FUEL PUMPS OF POOR QUALITY AND SUFFERED FROM OVER HEATING BEING THEY A COOLED BY THE GASOLINE IN THE TANK. AND SUGGESTED TO KEEP THE TANK FULL. I NEVER LET THE FUEL GET BELOW 1/4 TANK LEVEL AND USUALLY REFILL AT 1/2. THIS IS A 2003 MODEL WITH 39,593 MILES THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO MY HOME. NOT REPAIRED. I AM NOT SURE IF I SHOULD HAVE IT REPAIRED. I HAVE NO FAITH IN THE DEALERSHIP OR THE MANUFACTURE AND THE ONLY OTHER CHOICE IS TO JUST SELL IT TO ANOTHER PERSON ADVISING THEM BEFORE HAND OR SELLING TO A WHOLESALE DEALER. I AM DRIVING MY OTHER VEHICLE. *TR

SHUT CAR OFF AND WOULD NOT START AGAIN 2003 CHEVROLET CAVALIER FUEL PUMP FAILURE. *JB

MAKING AN ADDITION TO NHTSA ACTION NUMBER PE07033: I WAS DRIVING AND ALL OF A SUDDEN MY 2003 CHEVY CAVALIER'S TRAC LIGHT CAME ON (STATING THAT THE ETS SYSTEM WAS DISABLED) AND THEN THE CAR STALLED. CAR WAS RUNNING PERFECT BEFOREHAND AND HAD NO TELLTALE SIGNS OF FAILURE. I WAS ABLE TO DRIFT INTO THE CENTER TURN LANE AND OUT OF HARM'S WAY. I ATTEMPTED TO RESTART THE CAR. IT WOULD CRANK, BUT WOULDN'T TURN OVER. CAR HAD ABOUT HALF TANK OF GAS. CAR WAS TOWED TO NEAREST REPAIR SHOP WHERE I WAS TOLD THE FUEL PUMP WENT. CAR HAS ONLY 61,000 MILES AND THIS IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. ACCORDING TO HTTP://WWW.TOPIX.COM/FORUM/AUTOS/CHEVROLET-CAVALIER/TVINIC5TFU5SFSI5H THIS IS BECOMING A COMMON PROBLEM. THIS COULD POTENTIALLY POSE A MAJOR SAFETY CONCERN IF THIS HAPPENS DURING HIGH-TRAFFIC, ON THE FREEWAY, ETC., AND RESULT IN A CRASH. *TR

2003 CHEVY CAVALIER SHUT DOWN SUDDENLY WHILE DRIVING A REASONABLE SPEED ON LAUREL CANYON DRIVE, A VERY BUSY HIGHWAY IN CA AND IT WOULD NOT RESTART. I WAS BLOCKING TRAFFIC AND OTHER TRAFFIC WAS SPENDING BY MAKING ME EXTREMELY FEARFUL FOR MY SAFETY. I HAD TO WAIT UNTIL THERE WAS A GREEN LIGHT AND THEN COASTED DOWN A HILL TO A PARKING PLACE. I THEN HAD TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED TO FIRESTONE WHO DETERMINED THAT IT WAS THE FUEL PUMP WHICH WAS REPLACED FOR $679. I WAS NOT AWARE OF THIS POTENTIAL RECALL OR WOULD HAVE KEPT THE OLD PART. THIS DEFINITELY SHOULD BE A RECALL AS THE CAR HAS LESS THAN 60,000 MILES AND IT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS WHEN YOU CAR SUDDENLY STALLS IN THE MIDDLE OF A VERY BUSY HIGHWAY. *TR