1999 Chevrolet Cavalier: wrong fuel gauge reading

Filed May 2, 2011 · Fuel system · 92,500 miles · NY

My 1999 chevy cavalier's fuel gauge just stopped working out of the blue. It reads that the fuel tank is full and doesn't drop. We didn't know that this had occurred until my car ran out of fuel on a 4-lane highway while sitting at stop light. We were almost got rear ended by approaching high-speed traffic multiple times, and we were forced to leave my vehicle in the middle of the road to get to safety. Luckily my husband was able to push the danged car off of the roadway/intersection once a passerby stopped behind us and turned his hazard flashers on. The nice gentleman also got out of his vehicle and helped my husband push the car off of the roadway. Thank god for good samaritans! The fuel gauge never leaves "full". After talking to a dealer and several auto shops, we decided it made more sense to go by the odometer from now on, which is a gigantic inconvenience. This decision was made based upon the ridiculously high cost for repair, along with the fact that most mechanic's told us that the fix would only be temporary, as fuel gauge failures across the board is a well-known common general motors product problem, and that a fuel gauge failure will likely rear it's ugly head again sooner or later.

Filed Apr 1, 2010 · Electrical, Fuel system · 77,000 miles · FL · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 1999 chevrolet cavalier. The contact stated that in 2005 when she made a right turn at 15 MPH, the steering wheel made a clicking noise and began to vibrate. The failure continued to occur. There were no warning lights that would allude to the cause of failure. The contact also noticed that the steering wheel would unlock and turn involuntarily when it was supposed to be locked. The fuel gauge was also defective. She also noticed that the lights on the instrument panel, and headlights, were also faulty. The bulbs in the left rear turn signal and brake light burned out and melted after they were used three to four times. The contact called the local dealer to ask about related recalls and was informed that there were no open recalls for her vehicle; however, the contact found eight recalls for her year, make and model vehicle. The current mileage was approximately 100,000. The failure mileage was approximately 77,000.

Filed Jun 15, 2006 · Electrical · FL

I purchased the vehicle in dec. 1998, and a little over a year later, the odometer stopped working. Half of the numbers show, and it is different every time I start the engine. I cannot tell how many miles are on my vehicle, and my gas gauge moves back and forth from full to empty... I have a relative who is a mechanic and he said it is a computer chip that is faulty. I contacted a local chevy dealer and they said there was nothing they could do about it!

Filed Feb 21, 2005 · Fuel system · 56,000 miles · NC

No events leading up to failure . The gas gauge stopped working in my 96 chevy cavalier and now my 99 chevy cavalier and I've run out of gas on several occasions thankfully not in the middle of traffic or on the highway. I've heard that they know about this problem that it is some kind of sensor problem and it exists throughout a number of gm cars . Nothing has been done to correct the problem

Filed Feb 12, 2002 · Engine, Fuel system · PA

Gas gauge, speedometer and temperature light will not work. At the same time all of the panel lights will come on - gas light, engine light, brake light, etc. Then all of the sudden everything will work properly. This occurs at least once a day, and has been happening since approximately 25,000 miles. Was taken to a dealer for the odometer reading hieroglyphics but nothing was resolved.