7.5
pretty badTypical Repair Cost:
$610.00
Average Mileage:
54,895 miles
Total Complaints:
34 complaints
Most common solutions:
- not sure (30 reports)
- mechanic replaced instrument cluster with used cluster (2 reports)
- GM needs to recall (1 reports)
- use portable navigation to track speed (1 reports)
accessories - interior problem
This problem may be covered under warranty. Ask your Chevrolet dealer.
Helpful websites about the 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier, speedometer stopped working
- Government reporting site - If you are having this issue like I am, REPORT it to the government! force a recall. Why should we have to pay for repairs? If you don't report it a recall will not be issued.
2007Mar 09
Cavalier Sedan 2.2L 4 cyl
- Automatic transmission
- 49,500 miles
i wonder if anyone has tried to get to GM with this issue? I never knew that anyone else could be having the same issue, i thought it was something that i did and not a world wide defect. the other day when it was nearly 85 degrees i started my car and the gauge shot up to 85 while i was sitting in park and the RPM gauge was at 0 rpms. that is the first time that has ever happened. i can usually turn off the car and start it back up and it will reset but this time it didn't. on the hot days the speedo acts crazy, like 110 mph when I'm sitting at a red light but i could always count on the RPM gauge to tell me how fast i was going. When it's cold or cool outside i usually don't have problems until the motor heats up and then the gauge will start having problems. i can shut off the engine and click my key several times and the gauge will roll backwards but sometimes that doesn't work when it's really hot out. who knows but this is a ball of crap if you ask me. i'm going to gm website to complain, come on everyone, let's go!
2009Dec 20
Cavalier LS 2.2L I-4
- Manual transmission
- 51,000 miles
Report this to the NHTSA as a safety defect.
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2010Jan 31
Cavalier
- Automatic transmission
- 53,300 miles
I just got done elaborating on how great my 2004 Chevy Cavalier is because I have never had any problems with it. It is totally unreliable now. Going 0 when I am going 35. Going 35 when the speedometer states 65! Ugh, I doubt with the financial mess of GM, that there will be a recall, but there needs to be immediately! This is incredibly dangerous!
2008Dec 30
Cavalier
- Manual transmission
- 46,000 miles
Same issue, gages in the control panel stick and do not read properly...dangerous to say the least. Hope GM doesn't wait for someone to have an accident or death to repair this problem.
2009Dec 05
Cavalier V6
- Automatic transmission
- 110,000 miles
chevy shold have a recall i am not the only one to have a problem. the speedometer is sticking.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2007Nov 10
Cavalier LE 2.2L V4
- Automatic transmission
- 77,100 miles
The same day that my warranty expires on my car, the speedometer starts going wacky. Yeah, I can do math to figure out what speed I'm going, but when it dips under 110 mph and stays there, I'm kinda on my own. It appears GM has had numerous issues with 2004 Chevys, but there is still no recall. And I can't pay $400 to get it fixed! That's why I drive a Cavalier in the first place!
2007Sep 12
Cavalier LS 2.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 34,000 miles
pretty bad that gauges and speedometer quick working after 30,000 miles and there is no recall.
2009Jun 18
Cavalier
- Automatic transmission
- 54,900 miles
How safe is it that one is driving down the road and one don't know at what speed we are going? or you don't know how much gas is in your car? how safe is it that one is driving down the road and one don't know at what speed we are going? or you don't know how much gas is in your car? or better yet, you don't see nothing at all on your front panel? Like all of these people my speedometer stopped working on my 2004 chevrolet cavalier. I had to pay $45.00 dollars to get a "half an hour" diagnostic from the dealer, to find out that my speedometer isn't working. You could ignore our complaints as much as you can, but at the end when it comes to get another car, we'll make sure to choose a better and reliable car maker. FIX THE PROBLEM!!!!! or better yet, you don't see nothing at all on your front panel? Like all of these people my speedometer stopped working on my 2004 chevrolet cavalier. I had to pay $45.00 dollars to get a "half an hour" diagnostic from the dealer, to find out that my speedometer isn't working. You could ignore our complaints as much as you can, but at the end when it comes to get another car, we'll make sure to choose a better and reliable car maker. FIX THE PROBLEM!!!!!
2007Mar 05
Cavalier
- Automatic transmission
- 50,000 miles
My speedomter stopped working in the car and what a pain it is to be driving down the interstate and have no idea how fast you are going. I had to take the car back to the dealership since it was still under warranty, and what a headache!
The mechanic said he had to order one and would put it in once it arrived.
Well, explain to me why it took months for the thing to come in and me having to constantly call the dealership!! Ridiculous! Even after they put the "so-called" new one on I still don't think the stupid spedometer works right, and I was told those were
re-called due to them not working.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2009Mar 01
Cavalier
- Automatic transmission
- 52,000 miles
Same as all the many other Cavalier owners with this problem Right not it sits still on 110 MPH, and my dealer states that it will cost $400 + Labor to fix. He state that the only solution is a new cluster, but all other gauges are working fine in the cluster. I am able to reset if to zero if i turn off the car and restart it many, many times. Each restart will take it back about 5 MPH but then it happens all over again the next day. This will wear out my ignition so I am letting it stay at 110 MPH until I can get it fixed or a recall will fix it for all of us. (May be a long wait either way). The mess GM is in, one would think that they would want to deal with these complaints in a better way to ensure customer satisfaction...HaHa!!!
2009Feb 01
Cavalier ES 2.2L
- Manual transmission
- 50,000 miles
I have a Chevy Cavalier with a non-working speedometer. Fix your gauges Chevy!! This is a real pain. I think Chevy should put a recall on the instrument panel as it seems that I am not the only one with this problem.
2007Oct 01
Cavalier LS 2.2L
- Automatic transmission
- 72,000 miles
About a year and a half ago the speedometer on my 2004 cavalier stopped working correctly, it will stick at random places on the dial, even when not driving. Sometimes the needle will point straight down at the odometer and stick there also. The problem seems to get better with warm weather, but is still not right. Now if that wasn't enough,
the tachometer has started to stick and not register at all when it is very cold outside, like the speedometer though, the tachometer works better in warmer weather. Coolant temp. gauge sticks also when it gets cold out. These problems are very repairable, I just can't believe by the number of complaints that a recall has not been issued for this problem yet! This could very well be the last American made car I buy!
2009Jan 06
Cavalier 2.2L Doc
- Manual transmission
- 75,000 miles
My speedometer stopped working and it seems to work less and less as time goes on. Well the way to reset the speedometer if it is not on 0 is to pull the fuse out for the instrument panel this resets the speedometer if it is working at that moment. After a long drive this solution will not work right away but after the car sits it will. I have had to reset the panel a couple times before but this is not a fix. I am still annoyed that Chevy has not owned up to this product failure. There has to be another way than getting the whole panel that seems wasteful.. and getting a used one would seem that it would just happen again but sooner with a used panel.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2008Dec 09
Cavalier
- Automatic transmission
- 64,000 miles
drove the car for four years now and this year my speedometer failed. it would freeze at 20 mph no matter how fast i was driving and now my needle just lays at 110mph (even when the car is off). All of my other instruments seem to be working fine for the time being. I am going to have to get another job just to pay for this repair. What do i expect though, it is American made.
2007Aug 12
Cavalier Sport 2.2L
- Automatic transmission
- 42,378 miles
Adding to the long list of people having the same issue and refusing to pay 700.00 to get it fixed. Im driving by Tom Tom. It was cheaper than the repair to the car and its does more than the seedo and tach did in the first place. On the down side, my horn went with the speedo so taht is an added safety prob.
2009Jan 04
Cavalier 2.2L
- Manual transmission
- 40,389 miles
Just got a call from the wife. She's on a trip and the speedometer has gone all wonky. Reading a 140KPH when she's doing nowhere near that speed. I told her to hook up the GPS, it provides a pretty accurate measure of speed. I will be calling GM to find out what's going on.
2008Nov 19
Cavalier 2.2L
- Automatic transmission
- 99,000 miles
Seems like a lot of ppl have the same problem. This is my second Cavalier. I like them. Reliable, cheap transportation. Chevy should do a recall. I hear it's first on GM's list after the bailout is approved. Heh.
2008Nov 08
Cavalier LS 2.2L
- Automatic transmission
- 53,000 miles
My speedometer is malfunctioning. It sets on 65 when not moving. Then for no reason at all it starts working again. I bought this car new so i know how it works. This is the second time this has happened. When i'm driving it sets on 110+. I'm not sure if this is covered on warranty. This is a huge problem. I just hope the police understand, lol, when i get stopped.
2008Oct 01
Cavalier
- Automatic transmission
- 62,000 miles
So, the problem started about a month ago. I noticed that my Speedometer in my Cavalier would randomly freeze and stop working. I noticed that once I would turn the car off and then turn it back on it would be fine, and it would work properly for the rest of the day. After about a week of it freezing up like this, I was really getting ticked off. One day it started working fine and for about a week or so it worked perfect with no issues at all. Then about a week ago it really started freaking out. It said I was going 110 when i was only going like 40, and turning the car on and off does nothing. It stays frozen no matter what it do. If i drive on the highway, it actually goes past the gauge limit and points straight down where my odometer is and stays there. It is so annoying!
I decided over the weekend I would take it into a mechanic to have it looked at. Do you know what they told me? They told me it would cost $675 to fix it!!!! I told him he had to be kidding. There was no way i was paying that! So now i have to drive my car without a speedometer until i can find a better solution. there is no way i am going to pay almost $700 to take care of a problem that Chevy created. I would like to find out if anyone has found an alternative solution to this problem. I cannot seem to find a cure at this time...so i will continue my hunt!
2008Oct 14
Cavalier
- Automatic transmission
- 48,000 miles
Now that I see several others have had this same problem, I am out raged. I was told that my local dealer would have to send my cluster to another facility to have this taken care. I cannot be without my vehicle so I guess I will have drive the vehicle unsafely.
2008Jan 01
Cavalier
- Automatic transmission
- 99,102 miles
i bought my car, because i was told that it was a good lil car as a almost first car to get. i payed good money for this car, and now the speedometer is freezing along with my temperature and RPM gauges. there are 12 other complaints, here and Chevy should consider making this a recall because this is getting ridiculous, it is not our fault that these things went wrong!
2008Jun 10
Cavalier 2.2L I4
- Automatic transmission
- 91,250 miles
The stupid ass tachometer gauge stopped working and the RPM never works anymore and the speedometer says that I am doing 110 when I am only going 35 and then I let it sit for a day and it is fine and then goes back. The car is so gay and I will never buy another one!!
2008May 15
Cavalier 2.2L I4
- Automatic transmission
- 28,000 miles
Just adding to the list of people complaining about this safety related problem. This vehicle has 28000 miles and has a speedometer that has gone in reverse, stopped at 20 mph when car is off, shown 65 mph when car is doing 35 mph, works correctly between problems. I am concerned about being rear ended when driving by the speedometer and actually going slower than the posted speed limit. Not all driving is done on interstates and in Tennessee we have two lane roads with hills and curves and lots of places where you cannot see due to hills and trees. Should Chevrolet address this problem (as a long time Chevrolet owner from 1963 to date) I say yes. Perhaps the lawyers have advised them to wait for the lawsuit over death or two, but it seems less costly to just fix the problem with a recall. I do hope they are at least working on the fix.
2008Feb 18
Cavalier
- Automatic transmission
- 45,000 miles
speedometer has showed 110 + for about a month, have taken car to 3 different locations for service; no one can find problem with vehicle. temperature gauge also reads well above what it should, however car not overheating. gas gauge shows empty even though I just spent $38 to fill vehicle
2006Aug 01
Cavalier ? V4
- Automatic transmission
- 28,000 miles
This should be recalled. When my speedometer first malfunctioned it said I was
going 65 in a 30 mph zone. I slammed on my break only to find that it would not
change the speed I was going. When I stopped the car it still said 65. I could have
been hurt severely by this had I been rear ended or could have hurt others. For a
while it would work and then it wouldn't. There were times I had to do math while
driving because it would work but start on like 30. I am afraid about the repairs that
are being done by my mechanic when it comes to the mileage of the vehicle.
2007May 08
(reported on)Cavalier
- Automatic transmission
- 10,017 miles
I brought the car in for a check but they couldn't find anything?..
2007Jul 10
Cavalier 2.0L
- Automatic transmission
- 25,693 miles
I have problems with my speedodometer, when I'm going 35 the needle says 110, the deedle jumps all over the place
2006Jan 05
Cavalier LS
- Automatic transmission
- 60,000 miles
Well at least I know I am not the only one with this problem. Chevrolet should consider it a recall! Or at least fix it for free. It's hard to drive and know how fast you're going just by your RPM's and other traffic. The first time it happened my speedometer went completely backward as if it was possessed, and then stayed at 0 mph for a month, now when I drive I am going about 30 and it says I am going 90. What the deal Chevrolet? I thought you were the #1 car manufacturers in America, that is why I purchased a Chevy. Would that not be considered false advertising?
2007Nov 09
(reported on)Cavalier 2.2L
- Automatic transmission
- 50,000 miles
my 2004 Chevy Cavalier's speedometer and RMP tacks started messing up about a year ago. it started out as just the speedometer sticking and saying i was doing 60mp when my car was parked. now the RPM tack is stuck way past red line. the speedometer works every once and a while but it gets annoying when i don't know how fast im going and my RPM tack is buried past red line.
2007Feb 28
(reported on)Cavalier VX 2.2
- Automatic transmission
- 65,800 miles
My warranty just expired (60,000 KM), at around 65000 KM's the Tach started acting up by going out of range, then the speedometer did the same. Now they both just register at different points but completely off scale!!
It really sucks because this kind of thing can be a real pain in the ass because it is so easy to break the molding if you try to do it yourself.
Apparently there GM extended the warranty for the same problem on trucks ( my mechanic was able to look it up)
2006Nov 05
(reported on)Cavalier
- Automatic transmission
- 31,000 miles
Speedometer stuck on 110mph when I'm only duing 30mph.
2006Dec 17
(reported on)Cavalier LS Sport 2.2
- Automatic transmission
- 49,000 miles
This should be a recall !!!!!!!! try to get my car fixed ($500!)..... it sat for 5 weeks & they could not get a speedometer, so now when I drive I can be going 35mph it will read 110mph. some times it will be right, I know of 4 others having this problem with the 04 or 05 Cavalier !!!!!!!!!!!!
2006Aug 24
(reported on)Cavalier
- 35,000 miles
Speedometer stops working when car is running. Let sit for a few minutes and it is fine.
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2010Jan 05
Cavalier LX 3.2L
I'V REPLACED THE ENGINE BECAUSE ...DIDN'T WORK ......NOW I HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THE SPEEDOMETER....3 EACH.....AND 4 MONTHS AGO I HAD A POLICE TICKET FOR SPEED......THIS CAR IS TRASH.
James G.
San Antonio, TX, USA
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