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2.4

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
65,044 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2005 Chevrolet Cavalier engine problems

engine problem

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2005 Chevrolet Cavalier Owner Comments

problem #17

Jun 012018

Cavalier

  • 129,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

None of the gages work don't know how fast I'm going

- Duryea, PA, USA

problem #16

Apr 012015

Cavalier

  • 45,175 miles
Car was at a red light speedometer indicated 85 mph. Upon start up speed indicated 110 and at next stop went down to 90. After letting the car sit for a couple days the indicated speed was 45. Driving in a 25mph zone and speed indicated 85.

- Rochester Hills, MI, USA

problem #15

Mar 152012

Cavalier

  • 60,000 miles
I purchased a 2005 Chevy Cavalier new in December of 2004 and in March of 2013 the gauges stopped working. They would randomly work one or the other now all my gauges have stopped working all together. I have no clue how fast I'm going or how many rpms I'm using or if the car is overheating or not!

- Mountain City , TN, USA

problem #14

Dec 152014

Cavalier

  • 264,383 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I was driving on the highway at about 65 mph when my car unexpectedly increased it's speed to about 80-90 mph. I initially thought the car accidentally some kind of way made cruise control come on. I am not a fan of cruise control so I wouldn't have turned it on. After the acceleration, I quickly attempted to get my car back down to normal driving speed because I was on the highway and did not want to crash with anyone by accident. I quickly stomped my foot on the brake. This did not help at all. Matter of fact, my brakes locked up too. I couldn't control the brakes nor the gas. The gas continued to accelerate. At this point, I am doing about 100 mph. I thought quickly and maneuvered my way out of traffic. I almost hit several cars but there was some type of protection around me because I didn't even have a single scratch on me or the car. The car continued to accelerate despite my several attempts to slow down. I was able to gain a little control of the car by putting the emergency brake up and placing the car in neutral. This only slowed the car down to about 80 mph. I had to turn the switch off the stop the car. I attempted to crank the car but the engine only revved up and made my car smoke. This was a very dangerous situation that was out of my control. I almost lost my life and may have been the cause of death for innocent families on the road. I know I am not the only person that has unexpectedly had this to happen.

- Clarkston, GA, USA

problem #13

Oct 152014

Cavalier

  • 48,500 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier. The contact stated that while parked, the speedometer read 90 mph erroneously. Later, the vehicle accelerated to 100 mph without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by a dealer or independent mechanic. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 48,500.

- Fredricksburg, VA, USA

problem #12

Feb 022010

Cavalier

  • miles
I own a 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier and bought it from a dealer in 2008. Since then all of the gauges are now inoperable. This is a great inconvenience, as well as a safety issue. Not knowing how fast you are going, how much gas you have, or what the temperature is can become a huge issue, not to mention costly. Now, I know this is not the first complaint on these issues and I feel that something should be done about them. If all of these complaints are out, there must be a problem with these cars from the factory. I hope this matter is being investigated and not just put to the side to claim that it must be something that the drivers are causing. Please let us know what the intentions are of GM or whomever is responsible. We paid for these vehicles, which are fairly good ones, can someone please make the decision to take care of this problem. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Farmville, VA, USA

problem #11

Jun 252011

Cavalier 4-cyl

  • 102,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

This vehicle has lost the speedometer sveral times over the last 20,000 miles and now it has quit completely, I went to an on line forum and they say this has been happening a lot with no recall from General Motors. Usually before it would bounce up to 35 or 40 and then start working again, but it is dead now. No movement at all.

- Wellston, OH, USA

problem #10

Jul 302011

Cavalier

  • 58,189 miles
The speedometer doesn't register the actual speed of the car. I was driving at about 45 mph but the speedometer was reading 65 mph and up.

- Stockbridge, GA, USA

problem #9

May 022011

Cavalier

  • miles
I have a 2005 Cavalier which I purchased with 17,000 miles on it. I am currently at 28,500 approximately. My car is currently experiencing problems with the temperature gauge, gas gauge and check engine light. It also appears to be accelerating on it's own. I have checked several websites and find that this problem seems to in addition to the other issues, I am experiencing problems with my horn (I am not familiar with the relationship they components of a car have with each other). My understanding is that Chevy did a recall do to defects with steering problems in the 2005 Cavaliers. Could the problems that I and other are experiencing be a part of that recall, since it is all apart of the dashboard be common for the year, make and model of my car?

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #8

Aug 012010

Cavalier

  • 35,000 miles
At highway speeds, the speedometer needle on our 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier fluctuates wildly and is unreadable. Reducing speed greatly or changing rate of acceleration/deceleration will correct the problem temporarily, but it recurs every time the car passes 55 miles per hour.

- West Orange, NJ, USA

problem #7

Jan 012010

Cavalier 4-cyl

  • 78,500 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I drive a 2005 Chevy Cavalier and on very hot or cold days, or when I drive longer than usual distances (over 30 miles), the speedometer often malfunctions, either by getting stuck reading over 110 mph, even when stopped, or by reading under zero, even when I'm moving. And lately the temp gauge has started doing this as well, alerting to me overheating on cold days even though the engine is not overheating and the check engine light never comes on. It's frustrating and frightening and unsafe.

- Martinez, CA, USA

problem #6

Dec 112010

Cavalier

  • 55,000 miles
I have a 2005, Cavalier and I have the same complaint as every one else my gauges are going hay wire.1st started at 62,000 miles the RPM started messing up 2nd the speed gauge was next acting as if it didn't wont to move. 3rd now at 89,000 miles the temp gauge is saying its hot when its not look under hood I see no heat coming from engine, check the coolant not steam.I am pissed and tired of this car.all three gauges that I mention are taking turns going up and down. From the start when I brought this car it had electrical problems when I brought this car it had 8 miles and mine you this is my 2nd Chevrolet Cavalier of the last model and it had electrical problems. So GM swallow ur pride and fix these cars I don't have 500~800 to fix some thing that should be recalled on your behalf. This is an issue.

- Richmond, VA, USA

problem #5

May 202010

Cavalier

  • miles
I bought a 2005 Chevy Cavalier in may of 2009 and the speedometer is now acting up. It really only acts up when it gets hot inside my car and/or when its hot outside. The speedometer gets stuck on various speeds and next thing I know its not working at all it stays on one constant speed even when I stop, now its below zero and is stuck there, when it cools down it works okay. I took it to the dealer I bought it from and the "answer" was the oil behind the needle gets "gummy" when it gets warm. What?

- Watertown, NY, USA

problem #4

Nov 052007

Cavalier

  • 52,000 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier. While driving 40 mph, the vehicle began to shake and it suddenly accelerated. The contact applied the brakes; however, they failed to stop the vehicle from accelerating fifteen times. The contact called an authorized dealer who stated that they would diagnose the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired when the complaint was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 52,000. The current mileage was 83,002.

- Puyallup, WA, USA

problem #3

Dec 252009

Cavalier

  • 82,000 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier. While the contact was driving approximately 40 mph, the vehicle suddenly accelerated without warning. The contact also noticed that the windshield wipers suddenly stopped working intermittently. The vehicle had not been inspected when the complaint was filed. The current and failure mileages were approximately 82,000.

- Puyallup, WA, USA

problem #2

Feb 082008

Cavalier

  • 49,000 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier. While driving approximately 35 to 55 mph on normal road conditions; pressure was applied to the accelerator pedal and there was an unintended increase in the acceleration. The engine revved extremely high which caused the ABS, engine, and traction control warning light indicators to illuminate on the instrument control panel intermittently. Immediately after applying pressure to the brake pedal, the vehicle began driving normally. An independent mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The front driver and passenger power window mechanism also failed without warning. The window motor was replaced; however, when the window was activated the response time was slow which may have caused the window shield wipers to malfunction. The speed odometer and RPM gauges displayed inaccurate readings which could be related to the vehicle intermittently exhibiting reduce engine power. The contact had concerns of the safety risk involved. The vehicle has not been repaired. The contact had concerns of the safety risk involved. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 49,000 and the current mileage was 74,400.

- Puyallup, WA, USA

problem #1

Oct 152008

Cavalier

  • 47,000 miles
Faulty gauges cluster. The gas, temperature, speedometer, and RPM gauges stop working in a weekly basis for several days.

- Fayetteville, NC, USA

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