2003 Chevrolet Cavalier: wrong fuel gauge reading

Filed May 2, 2021 · Electrical, Steering · 50,000 miles · CA

My car has the same problem with the instrument cluster that was recalled for other gm vehicles. The fuel level gauge, temperature gauge, RPM, speedometer.... None of my gauges work. They gave the wrong readings, the hand wouldn't return to their starting positions, then the hands went lower than their starting positions to the point they all didn't work anymore. This car needs to be added to the gm recall list for the same problem.

Filed Mar 17, 2016 · Electrical, Steering · 130,000 miles · WI

Instrumet cluster problems for a few years. Fuel sending unit has been replaced at about 52,000 miles after quiting twice while driving highway speed of 55 MPH. Dealer claimed the car quit because of a bad battery the first time and did not diagnose the problem correctly. It was not the battery. The fuel sending unit intermittently reads well beyond full and interfears with the temperature gage function. Now speedometer is stuck at 85 MPH while turned off. I was driving with the cruise doing 67 MPH, I slowed down to make a turn at an at grade insection to a road posted at 55 MPH. I completed the turn and sped up. The speedometer read 58 MPH but it felt llike I was gong about 30 MPH. I stopped at another intersection and the speed dropped to 40 MPH. I made the turn and acelerated and the speed went to 110 MPH but I was not going near that fast. The car is in driveway turned off but the speedometer reads 85 MPH. Most recent issue is steering rack and k-frame rusted out and needed to be replaced. Mechanic stated he never saw a steering rack rust out or a k frame rusted as bad as the one on this vehicle. We are the original owners.

Filed May 12, 2014 · Electrical · 55,000 miles · AK

Cluster defect: purchased a 2003 chevy cavalier brand new off the lot in december of 2002. Just after 5 years and approximately 55,000 miles, we are driving down the highway during snowfall while the speedometer stated we were traveling at 65 miles per hour, we did not know that the speedometer was not reading correctly until we got to a corner and the speedometer showed we were driving at about 20 MPH when we were flying at atleast 50 MPH which indicated the speedometer was about 30 MPH off. Then the tachometer would stop working, get stuck, or not operate correctly. I then began to have problems with all of the gauges, the gas gauge needle would go backwards on top of the temperature gauge causing the temperature gauge to stop working then all gauges would malfunction, then they would stop working completely. I took it into the chevy dealership, they came back to me and said it's working fine, there's nothing wrong with it. And again and again and again the gauges continue to go haywire chevy stated when I took the vehicle in that they have never heard of such a complaint and I told them to look it up on the internet, there are hundreds/thousands of complaints regarding this problem. Currently none of my gauges are working and am having to use a GPS to navigate speed and fill my vehicle up every 4 days because I have no idea when the car is on empty. It is high time something be done about this. Chevy recalled a bunch of other models, but not the cars. Something has to be done about this and quickly before someone is killed. Or does it take a death or many more to get someone's attention that this problem needs to be addressed. Please investigate this defect further. There are too many of us out there that are dealing with this problem and are just keeping quiet about it. This problem definitely warrants a recall and fast. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Apr 6, 2014 · Electrical · 170,000 miles · CT

Erratic instrument panel..sometimes after turning ignition key on all panel lights stay on (beyond normal)and all gauges go off..sometimes ok when starting but some lights come on (air bag, service eng, ABS gas gauge, etc) after driving ..sometimes all instr gauges go out completely while driving including speedometer...they sometimes come back on and sometimes not...I entered my make and year on google to see if other owners have similar problem and found out many do..interesting to note that while researching on google I found out chev trucks in year 2003 had a recall due to faulty instrument panel controls but the autos were not recalled.. I feel this is a definite safety hazard since I sometimes have to drive with no speedometer, gas gauge and an airbag light that stays on. I do not feel safe driving this vehicle for any length of time and have to resort to only short trips (grocery store, dr appts, etc) I would like to know why gm has not recalled this 2003 chevy cavalier..esp when they have recalled the same yr and make trucks for faulty instr panels.. I feel this faulty instr panel is placing me in a very dangerous position each time I get behind the wheel and needless to say do not feel safe driving this auto at all...

Filed Feb 19, 2013 · Electrical · 100,000 miles · PA

When driving on a long trip, I noticed that the speedometer kept increasing after each time I stopped the car. When I stopped, the speed read 25. I went 45 MPH, it went to 70 MPH. Etc. It now rests in vertical position facing down. The gas gauge has also begun to go haywire. I also noticed that the car would longer can go into cruise control (without working for a few minutes then shutting off), I am thinking because of the speedometer or cluster. Either way, it now no longer works at all. Seeing everyone's complaints on here and with "government motors" not doing anything about it, I will not put my trust in their brand on any future vehicles. This also happened on my 2005 cavalier. Good thing for a GPS...

Filed Jan 4, 2012 · Electrical · 155,000 miles · SC

Speedometer stopped working and is stuck on 52 MPH. Fuel gauge is stuck on full, temperature gauge is pointing to nowhere, and the tacometer is pointing at zero. It seems to be a common problem with this vehicle.

Filed Nov 29, 2011 · Electrical · 89,000 miles · OH

The instrument panel stopped working. I ordered 2 used ones they did not work. I had the dealership rebuild it and it still does not work. I have searched online and several people have the same problem. Gm has recalled this item on several models but not on the cavalier as of yet. I have spent hundreds and still have not fixed the problem. No speedometer, gas gauge.

Filed Sep 3, 2011 · Fuel system · 61,246 miles · KY

I had left my mothers and drove approximately 35 miles and started slowing to make a turn into our local grocery store when my 2003 cavalier stalled and would not restart back. Upon checking I discovered there was no fuel to the fuel rail.I had just over 1/2 tank of fuel in the tank. I had another turn key and there was no whirring to indicate fuel pump was operating. I called tow service and towed it home. I dropped the tank and replaced the fuel pump and problem was resolved. Another symptom not listed in the complaints when my pump failed all the gauges on the dashboard would register (fuel gauge and temp gauge) then would drop to 0 and would flicker continuously when key was turned to the on position. Upon purchasing new pump assembly that the wiring harness needed to be repaired as well. You can not purchase a new harness to resolve issue had to cut the fuel pump leads off of pump wiring harness and purchase a new connector and splice them together. I feel there maybe more customers with these vehicles that had service done in a local shop that was not reported to the federal safety agency or to gm. As this repair was very expensive at the time and many would seek repairs for lower rates then offered by a dealership.

Filed Aug 26, 2011 · Electrical, Fuel system · 63,000 miles · NY

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet cavalier. The contact stated that while driving MPH and above, the speedometer and temperature gauges would not illuminate. In addition, the fuel gauge was providing inaccurate fuel level readings. The vehicle was neither inspected nor repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 63,000.

Filed Aug 7, 2011 · 25,000 miles · NY

Speedometer sticking at 80 to 160 MPH, even though the car has never ever been driven at those speeds, speedometer registars anwhere from 10mph to over the limit of the speedometer (180mph) when the car is shut off or stopped. This started at 25,000 miles on the odometer. The temperature gauge started registering over the red (and has actually touched the speedometer gauge needle) approximately 1 year later started at 32,000 miles. At 39,000 the gas gauge started doing the same thing. I have been driving with a portable garmin nuvi GPS since 2008, just to use the estimated speed in the hopes I will not get a speeding ticket. The first time I looked down and saw my speedometer at 85 MPH, I instinctively slammed on the brakes, and was extremely lucky no one was behind me. I was only going 50 MPH at the time this happened. I now have a teen driver, and I cannot allow her to drive this car because she is not experienced enough to estimate her speeds. I will never know if my car trulely overheats because it overheats on the gauge 3-5 times a week. I have to fill my gas based on when I filled it last & how many miles I have driven since as I have no idea how much gas I have. This can be a very dangerous situation, that can lead to death and injury, as a told you my experience with instinctively slamming on the brakes, and I would hate to see what happens if I run out of gas unknowingly in the 3rd lane of an expressway. I also own a 2002 chevy cavalier whose gas gauge registars 1/4 of a tank when it is empty. I spend over $450 at a garage to find out that the car was not breaking down, but was actually running out of gas. The 2003 chevy cavalier of course has the more dangerous problem with the entire instrument cluster a mess. Unfortunately, the vecicle was not still under warranty with the low mileage, as it had been over 3 years. When are you going to do something about these cars? Lets hope I'm not driving in front of your mother or daughter tomorrow.

Filed Dec 10, 2010 · Electrical · 80,000 miles · TX

About a year ago, my speedometer went crazy (~80,000 miles), and a few days ago my fuel gauge followed suit (117,000 miles). I saw the same problem widely mentioned on the internet, including an actual recall on the trucks which use the same instrument cluster. Dealer said repairs would be $300-$500 which I couldn't afford, so I just used the tachometer to gauge my roadspeed. Can't live without the fuel gauge though.

Filed Dec 2, 2010 · Electrical · 82,100 miles · TX

I have a 2003 chevrolet cavalier that is on it's second instrument cluster and now it has gone bad, no speedometer, no fuel gauge and no temperature. I've researched this problem and there are hundreds of complaints like this. If gm is in such great shape as recently reported, then why can't your organization instruct them to make good on the safety of their vehicles? I can't sell the vehicle because no one wants to buy a vehicle that they have no idea of how fast they are going or how much fuel is in the tank.