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2.4

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
64,515 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.

2003 Chevrolet Cavalier fuel system problems

fuel system problem

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2003 Chevrolet Cavalier Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #23

Mar 282011

Cavalier 4-cyl

  • 55,817 miles

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

2003 Chevy Cavalier 2dr/standard. Two months and counting my car stalls on stop light. Occasionally, shakes when I start, after putting gas in, it won't start right away (it takes five mins or less)...chk engine light is on...yes, oil change regularly, tuned-up done, new battery, new idle valve, it has been checked, but my car still stalls and I can smell burned oil when I'm warming my car and give some rev...please need help my car is important. Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter and by the way I don't have money to buy expensive parts if the manufacturer messed this model...help please.

- Maui, HI, USA

problem #22

Aug 212010

Cavalier

  • miles
2003 Cavalier, the defroster knob cable has gone bad 2X's before it is gone again, the driver side window motor went last year, last month the fuel pump went, the passenger side motor is going, the speedometer is messed up along with the tack, it sticks. My daughter drives this car just turned 17, the speedometer said she was going 105, when she shuts the car off it says she's still doing 35, at times the car wont start, don't know exactly why, this is bs, there is only 72000 miles on it, GM needs to start fixing these problems, some one is going to get killed.

- Freeland, PA, USA

problem #21

Jul 012010

Cavalier

  • 63,000 miles
My daughters 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier suddenly died on the interstate with no warning. It had to be towed to the repair shop. The fuel pump is bad. It only has 63,000 miles on it. The repair cost me $600. I'm finding out that this is a well known problem for this model and year. I've never in my lifetime owning numerous cars had a fuel pump fail. This was a dangerous situation. My daughter was almost hit by a semi when her car died. This needs to be a factory recall.

- Elizabethtown, KY, USA

problem #20

May 102010

Cavalier

  • 98,450 miles

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

In response to previous investigation NHTSA action number PE07033 I was driving my 2003 Chevy Cavalier on 95 South bound, when the trac off light came on and the vehicle jerked and stalled a little bit. I attempted to continue driving, however noticed the vehicle stalling even more. I was in an extremely dangerous place in highway traffic, and knew I had to pull off the road immediately. My car shut off as I was pulling to the right shoulder of the highway and I was almost hit by vehicles going 60-70 mph. I was able to coast to the shoulder of the road - in a position where I was not even able to exit my vehicle from the driver side. I had the vehicle towed to my mechanic, who informed me that the fuel pump and fuel filter need to be replaced. This is going to cost me approximately $417. I have researched this problem on the web and find it to be extremely common. To say that this isn't a big problem with this type of vehicle is unfair.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

problem #19

May 282003

Cavalier

  • 20,000 miles
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.

- Dixon, CA, USA

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problem #18

Feb 082010

Cavalier

  • miles
I have a 2003 Chevy Cavalier and the fuel pump has went out.....car only has 65,000 miles on it. When I investigated the problem online I see alot of people with the same problem.I also noticed yall have investigated some complaints about this also...the case was closed due to not enough people complaining! I really think this is a defect and needs to be recalled....it is costing us 600-1000 dollars to fix! please open the investigation again!

- North Augusta, SC, USA

problem #17

Oct 162009

Cavalier

  • 57,800 miles

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

Vehicle died in the middle of an busy intersection would turn over however would not start.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #16

Aug 022009

Cavalier

  • 147,000 miles
2003 Chevrolet Cavalier ls sport. Car keeps stalling on me when I come to a stop at a stop sign, signal light, or traffic. Have to continue giving gas while hold the brake in order for the car to keep running.

- Warrenton, VA, USA

problem #15

May 222009

Cavalier

  • 102,034 miles
Fuel pump failure - replacement learned of replacement wiring harness - recommended by General Motors due to possibility of fuel tank catching fire due to a defective connector replacement was not a harness but a connector that had to be spliced into existing cable which was around 30 or so inches long dealership says splice connector is only alternative to replacing the entire cable which would run over $500 and would have to cut and splice that together as well as new one would have the defective connector as well ** my complaint on this - this is a factory defect or so the dealership says and is aware of the problem which indicated that the harness needs replacement due to fact that using existing connector installed by the manufacturer could cause a fire in the fuel tank - which I would think this is a safety issue that should have had a recall to it. ** also replacing a connector by splicing is pretty much pointless on such a short cable to begin with and if a diy was to do this the connection may not be solid and tight therefore a heat build up could occur and a fire could result as well.

- Columbia, KY, USA

problem #14

Nov 142005

Cavalier

  • 44,453 miles
I own a 2003 Chevy Cavalier ls4D and had to replace my fuel pump. I had my car towed to parker ponitac, Buick GMC. They replaced my fuel pump and filter and the cost was $613.99. Now even after replacing the fuel pump my car is still stalling and cutting off.

- Havelock, NC, USA

problem #13

Apr 072009

Cavalier

  • 86,000 miles

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

My 2003 Chevy Cavalier, fuel pump stopped working with no warning on a very busy highway. I did get off the road, but I understand that alot of others have had the same problem. This car I have owned from day one, and not even having warning that the car is just going to stop running, is very bad. Also, I had only 86,000 mile on the car, have taken very good care of it, & feel that this pump is a defect in the Chevy product. Since so many others have had this happen to them, with even lower mileage on there cars. This is a very costly repair & very unsafe to have a car stop dead on a busy highway.

- Wampum, PA, USA

problem #12

Apr 072009

Cavalier

  • 90,389 miles
Fuel pump went out. I researched this problem and it seems to be a big problem with this year car.

- West Point, UT, USA

problem #11

Mar 042009

Cavalier

  • 97,000 miles
Fuel pump went out like 99.9% of all the other Cavaliers GM has made.

- Windsor, 00, USA

problem #10

Dec 082008

Cavalier

  • 71,000 miles
I was driving back from work to the place I was staying at the time and when I was about 5 miles away, my car (2003 Chevy Cavalier) died in the middle of me driving. I was luckily able to pull over to the side of the road in time just before it completely conked out. This was the first occurrence. The Chevy was towed to the nearest shop where I didn't find out until the next morning that it was the fuel pump that had died. The repair had cost $775.06.

- Huntington Beach, CA, USA

problem #9

Jan 092009

Cavalier

  • 65,400 miles
I own a 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier with 65000 miles and the fuel pump just failed leaving me stranded on the side of the road. There was no warning and no indication that a problem was coming, the car just stopped. Now I am told that I must pay $1000 to have a new fuel pump installed. The new part is the same as the old oem part. I have been reading that 2003 Cavalier's have been having the same problem for years and that Chevrolet has had no recall for an obviously defective part form the factory. This is ridiculous! I feel that some sort of compensation should be made to the hundreds of GM customers that have had this kind of problem. This is not a part of the GM bailout! this is a problem that must be resolved at the manufacturer level....

- King George, VA, USA

problem #8

May 192008

Cavalier

  • 61,000 miles
While driving home from work, my car was running fine and then just died without any type of warning. I had the car towed for $100 and was told that the fuel pump needed to be replaced. I replaced the fuel pump on May 21st and now less then 6 months later, the exact same thing happens again! I have the car looked at and once again, the fuel pump needs to be replaced. I have found that this is an extremely common problem. When I got on your website and found that the possible recall had been closed, I wanted to scream! how many times am I going to have to replace the fuel pump before Chevy decides to do something about it? I'm a single mom and can't afford to due this every 6 months! after my experience with my Chevy Cavalier, I will never buy Chevy again! I do not understand how this issue can just be closed when there are so many people with the same problem. Search the internet! the fuel pumps in 2003 Chevy Cavaliers go out repeatedly! it also appears that this seems to occur after 50,000 mile mark. At this point in time, I just want to fix the car so I can get rid of it. I find it completely insane that there is no recall on this matter. I find it completely insane that Chevy is required to fix their problem! no matter how well I take care of my car, this will continue to happen because there is a defect in the fuel pump!!

- Roselle, IL, USA

problem #7

Jul 102008

Cavalier

  • 86,000 miles
I want to make it clear I have taken over payments of this car and will have title when it is paid off. The car had been running great except for the A/C no longer works, and I was driving getting up to 40 mph and the car just died, I couldn't get it to restart it ended up being the fuel pump went out, it was quite expensive to fix.

- Garden City , KS, USA

problem #6

Aug 222008

Cavalier

  • 52,000 miles
Operating 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier on highway traveling approximately 65 mph when engine quit/stalled. Glided to side of highway. Engine would not restart. Dealership said it was a problem with the fuel pump. Fortunately an accident was avoided although this was a very dangerous situation.

- Flourtown, PA, USA

problem #5

Jan 062005

Cavalier

  • 32,000 miles
While driving, car stalled out and would not re-start. Auto was towed to garage and diagnosed with fuel pump failure. Auto had approximately 32,000 miles on it.

- Coventry, RI, USA

problem #4

Jun 012008

Cavalier

  • 82,991 miles
1) 2003 Chevy Cavalier 80,000 miles would not start 2) car did not start and had to be towed into an auto shop 3) a new fuel pump was ordered adn replaced, now car is running

- Canoga Park, CA, USA

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