I was driving my cavalier to pick up my wife. As I approached an intersection, the system completely shut off and I could not restart the car. I was able to stop at the beginning of a left turn lane and put my hazards on. With the help of my passenger and a police officer, we moved the car across 2 lanes of travel to the shoulder. The car had 116,000 miles at the time of the incident. The only warning before the car lost all power and drive-ability was the battery light turning on briefly.
2003 Chevrolet Cavalier engine complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 47, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet cavalier. The contact stated that intermittently while in idle the vehicle stallled. As a consequence, his risk for a vehicle crash increased. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the technicians have been unable to identify the cause of the failure. No repairs have been made. The vehicle identification number was unavailable. The failure mileage was 92,000 and the current mileage was 98,000.
I own a 2003 chevrolet cavalier ls sedan with approximately 86,300 miles on it. Without warning the car died and would not start on a busy july 4th weekend along I-55 north bound near litichfield, il. I t would not restart, and subsequent investigation resulted in the fact finding that it was the fuel pump. Apparently this is a major problem with this make and model vehicle. I request that gm be required to recall this make and model to address the problem and reimburse owners for out of pocket expenses. I have always owned american cars, but an serious considering a toyota next year.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet cavalier. While driving 65 MPH, the contact stated that the vehicle shut off and the brakes failed. She then noticed that the steering became stiff. She was able to safely maneuver the vehicle to the shoulder and had it towed to her destination. The contact did not notice any warnings prior to the failure. She is in the process of taking the vehicle to the dealer for inspection. The manufacturer advised her to take the vehicle to the dealer for inspection. She would not be compensated for the repairs because there was no recall available. The failure mileage was 79,000.
I purchased my 2003 cavalier brand new with 106 miles on it (it had to be driven from pittsburgh to harrisburg). In late sept. Or early oct. My car began rattling at stop lights. The day after the rattling started, my car stalled at my place of business and wouldn't start again. A triple a mechanic was called and couldn't determine what the problem was except he thought it was the fuel pump. After having the vehicle towed to a garage, I was told that oil was not making its way through my engine causing friction and in turn causing my engine to expand breaking my timing chain and basically rendering the entire engine useless. The mechanic asked me if my check engine light or oil light was lit on my dashboard because with a problem with the oil pump, one of those lights would have lit up, which I responded no. He then thought that the dashboard lights were not functioning which was not true because when he turned the key, all the dashboard lights lit up. He then went on to tell me that my oil levels were normal and that my timing chain should last for 25+ years. The mechanic went on to explain that I should contact chevrolet because he believe that with the low mileage of my vehicle and the relative new-ness of the vehicle, the only cause for this issue would be a defect. I contacted chevrolet via email and was told that I would receive a response in no more than 48 hours. After hearing no response, I filed a complaint with the bbb and still have not heard anything.
My 2003 chevy cavalier has been experiencing intermittent startup issues and occasional "chugging" while driving - seemed like the car would lurch ahead at times, has also briefly stalled at lights. On 10/11/08, the car would briefly turn over and start for less than a minute, shut off, and afterwards refused to start. Had car towed from my residence to mechanic shop who alerted me that fuel pressure was low. Fuel electronics were functioning as per computer check, turned out to be a bad fuel pump. Car is at ~110,300 miles. Had spark plugs, fuel filter, engine belt replaced in march & april of 2008.
Coming home from milwaukee at 12:30 am with son after seeing race in slinger, wi. On interstate, car lost complete engine power and became dead. Closest gm dealership in watertown, wi went out of business last year (per tow truck driver). Had towed to dealership where they diagnosed a bad fuel pump and a price of over $800. Came to pick up with a trailer and asked for help pushing car on trailer. They said you could drive it up as the mechanic tapped the fuel tank and it started. Drove around the block a few times last week with no problems. I explained this to gm, told them about their poor design and that this is not safe because it will fail at any time and could cause a major accident. Was given case #71-648948392 (told no recalls were available per my VIN #). Checked on internet (topix.com) and over 400 have had similar problems.
The car stalls at low speeds (up to 15 MPH) and has been increasingly doing so lately. I was nearly hit by a tractor trailer when the car stalled as I was crossing a highway. My wife has been nearly hit several times and I am fearing that if a recall isn't given on these cars people, including my wife and I, may be seriously injured. We are going to try to replace the fuel pump to see if this helps the problem. The mileage is approximately 77,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet cavalier. While driving 35 MPH, the vehicle began to stall whenever the accelerator pedal was depressed. The vehicle felt as if it were slipping, which eventually LED to it stalling out completely. The contact did not notice any differences in the vehicle prior to the failures. The vehicle had to be towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer. The current and failure mileages were 67,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet cavalier. While driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle stalled in the middle of traffic. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The following day, the contact attempted to start the vehicle, but it would not start for approximately ten minutes. The following day, the vehicle would not restart again, but did later in the day and was driven into the contact's driveway. No repairs have been made. The current and failure mileages were 35,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet cavalier. While driving 30 MPH, the vehicle shut off in the middle of the road without warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and they stated that the fuel pump failed and made the replacement. A few days after the repair, the headlights stopped working and the electrical system was rewired. Recently, the engine failed and the vehicle was towed to the dealer. The contact does not yet know the cause of the failure and the vehicle is still at the dealer for repair. The failure mileage was 73,000. Updated 06/16/08
On at least 10 occasions, my car has stalled upon deceleration. Has happened on highway, stopping at lights and while slowing down to turn. My car has 15,000 miles on it. Cannot determine source of problem.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet cavalier. The contact had to make several attempts to start the vehicle. Once started, the vehicle would not accelerate properly. On two occasions, while driving between 35-55 MPH, the engine failed. The purchase date was unknown. The current mileage was 73,000 and failure mileage was 65,000.
The catalytic converter has been damaged and needs to be replaced. The repair shop says that the damage was a result of unburned gasoline going into the catalytic converter when the coil failed. The coil assembly failed and two cylinders stopped firing. I only drove the car about one-mile to the repair shop after the failure (which happened suddenly). The coil assembly had to be replaced at a cost of about $400. After it was replaced, the "check engine" light came on and the repair shop says that the on-board computer diagnostics indicates that the catalytic converter has failed. The car cannot have its registration renewed without a functioning catalytic converter, which will cost about $500 to replace.
2003 cavalier engine stall on red lights/ coming to stop/ turning corners at low idle speeds causing a loss in power steering and ABS. Check engine light active, immediate restart is available, however while turning has nearly caused accidents. Believed to be caused due to faulty wiring to intake temp sensor.
Yesterday my husband was driving home from work and came to a stop light as he slowed down the engine just cut off. This same thing happened last year once and the car dealer lindsay chevrolet said it was not a problem. I am now finding that hard to believe.
Car stalls intermittently, usually when coming to a stop. This is either with the clutch engaged or with the transmission in neutral. The idle dips to about 500rpm, fluctuates, and either goes back up to 900rpm or stalls the car. Restarts are hard. The car has approximately 61,000 miles. It has happened frequently for the past six months. Some days it's fine, and others it stalls every time you come to a stop light.
Check enigine lights and etc.
1. Vehicle made a moaning noise when turning at approximately 55,000 kms (and 3 years old). Replaced power steering pump and steering rack. 2. Random clunking from the front end at approx. 56,000 kms. Replaced front bearings and transmission mount. 3. Car lost power, had to be towed to dealership. Dealer couldn't find a problem, insisted the car was fine. I insisted on them taking it out again. Car broke down, had to be towed back to dealer again. Replaced catalytic converter and fuel ignition switch. 4. Burned through 4l of oil and puffed out black smoke. Dealer couldn't locate problem. Happened again approx. 2000 kms later. Faulty piston rings, engine replaced entirely. At 61,000 kms. Now at over $11,000 cdn warranty repairs on a well maintained low mileage car. 5. Random clunking noise in front is back. Going to dealer tomorrow. Warranty: expired.
Dt: the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet cavalier. Safety defect is automatic transmission. Vehicle rolls back while on a hill. While it is in drive it acts as if it was standard transmission. Happened on and off since 2003. *ak the consumer stated the vehicle idles too low which caused the vehicle to roll backwards.
Dt: the consumer owns a 2003 chevrolet caviler. Was losing control of the steering and the brakes. It started in the winter. The consumer stated the direction that car was headed was the way it stayed. Also, she noticed that there was a hum in the steering wheel which lasted a couple of seconds each time. The consumer contacted the dealer, and they said that it did not sound to them as dangerous. A couple of months later the problem finally came to ahead in june. Lights came on the dashboard. The belt broke, and the alternator seized. When the car was repaired by the dealer they concluded the alternator and the belt malfunctioned. Also heard a grinding noise in the brakes. The dealer never did any repairs to the steering. The consumer said that the key was hot after it had been in the ignition. And the steering wheel was tight when turning to the right. The car went back to the dealer , and she did not have the tightness to the steering. But, the car was still pulling to the right. The brakes were spongy. There was a popping sound in the front wheel. There was a delay in the speed of the car. And almost had a collision.
While driving 30 MPH vehicle stalled. Consumer managed to pull over, and had the vehicle towed. Dealership repaired the problem.
I bought a 2003 chevrolet cavalier in jan. '03 and now the air compressor has locked up. Since I live in texas, it is essential to have proper A/C in the vehicle. The extended warranty wasn't offered to me at the time of purchase, and now the vehicle is just past the 3 year/ 36,000 mile warranty. The dealership is telling me that it will cost me at least $900 to repair, then after the repair is complete, I will be offered the extended warranty. I can't believe that a car that is less than 2 years old, with less than 40,000 miles on it, could already have this type of problem. I feel like this is a manufacturing issue, and as such, the corporation should pay for the repairs.
Fire in driver side engine compartment of chevrolet cavalier. Driver stated vehicle shut off in traffic. Upon re-starting, noticed smoke coming from under engine hood, driver side. Driver got out and saw flames in area of driver side eng. Compt.
Various problems with 2003 chevrolet cavalier.*mr the vehicle tail light shorted out three times then the circuit shorted out. The gas gauge would fluctuate. Cold starts. The vehicle would hesitate at stop light or stall out completely. The driver' s side speaker blew. The cd player would eject the cd while it was playing. The RPM gauge bounced. The fuel pump was replaced. The alternator made noise.
2003 chevrolet cavalier. Stalls constantly when air conditioning is on and car is idling (ie at a traffic light, in traffic or stop sign) engine failure over 20 times in the last year car was taken in for service four times with no result.
4/1/2004-check engine light came on. Fucillo stated that it was the emission control and that the part was on national backorder. Terry stated he did not know when part will be in. Rear axel rattles and tires are worn on the inside. Fucillo stated that there is another cavalier in with the same problem and they have no idea what it is. They changed defective muffler and replaced brackets. 4/5/2004-took car to bresee chevrolet. They will not work on it because fucillo did so much work on it. Bresee had no idea of national back order on part. They said they would ship the part up to fucillo. Svc mgr stated that the rear axle is not aligned. They said that we have a lemon and that if they had sold this car to us, they would have replaced it by now. Called fucillo back & talked to terry riordan and got nowhere.
1. Both brake lights went out w/in month of each other. In the months of july and august. 2. Brakes noisy, september 3. Trunk would not open, october 4. Brakes noisy, again, november 5. Car turns off in the middle of an intersection after making a complete stop and trying to speed up. Freaking out, I pressed the gas and moved the key in the ignition, then put car in park and got it to start, november. It just seems to me that I have a disfunctional car that when I dont have something wrong with one thing I have to go in to the dealer for another. Its a new car and its costing me more problmes and inconviniences than the old '96 I had till I bought this one.
When the clutch is depressed after highway driving at 55-70mph for 30-60 minutes, the engine RPM rate increases from around 2500 to 3500 instead of falling to 1000 (normal idle). If the clutch is re-engaged then the RPM rate returns to the normal range for the gear/speed of travel. If the car is braked to a complete stop, the RPM rate falls to the normal idle rate after 20-40 seconds of standstill. The behavior has been observed everytime extended highway driving is completed. The problem has been reported to the dealership and the on-board diagnostic shows no problem and the dealership can not recreate the problem.
After engine warms up on hot day, engine stalls when clutch is depressed as when coasting to a stop. Enigine will restart, but accellerator must be depressed to rev the engine in order to prevent stalling. If vehicle is parked for several minutes, then restarted, problem with stalling is gone. This problem is very intermittent. The same problem is described in oid numbers 10049266, 10039337 and 10037496.
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