Check a VIN

2003 Chevrolet Cavalier steering problems

19 complaints (3% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 55,000. 3 crashes reported.

owner complaints
19
of this car's complaints
3%
typical mileage
55,000
crashes
3
recalls
0

Which part fails

  • Rack and pinion: rack
    1
  • Rack and pinion
    1
  • Hydraulic power assist: pump
    1
  • Hydraulic power assist system
    1
  • Column locking: anti-theft device
    1

At what mileage

Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.

0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+

Chevrolet Cavalier steering problems in other years

1990199520002005

Specific symptoms reported on the 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier steering

Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.

Power steering loss 11

Related recalls

No recalls on record for this model year.

What 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier owners say

Most recent owner complaints, unedited.

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

The steering wheel is loose. Pins on tilt mechanism are gone. Don't know when it fell out. Noticed when cleaning car when I tilted the steering wheel up.

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 Dec 14, 2015 · Brakes, Steering · GA

Metal on metal noise found out shoes and rotors are damageddamaged. I have no money. V can't fix this. Smell inside of leak. Temp running high. 200.

Filed Apr 7, 2015 · Steering · 184,000 miles · MI

Steering wheel and shroud became totally disengaged and fell into my lap while trying to turn onto livernois road making it impossible for me to steer vehicle.lucky I was leaving post office after mailing letters and not while on freeway.

Filed Jan 31, 2015 · Body, Electrical · 189,587 miles · FL · crash

Power suddenly shut off, causing power steering to fail, which made me wreck into a ditch. It also caused the airbags to not deploy and prevented seatbelts from locking into place when the brakes were hit.

Filed Jan 19, 2015 · Electrical, Steering · 115,000 miles · OH

I had been reading about recent recalls with gm, especially ignition switches. I have a 2003 chevy cavalier and it was diagnosed with a bad ignition switch. I first noticed when I went to start the car in the morning, a day after coming home from work. Good thing it happened then because I would have been stranded off site. I went to start the car, nothing happened except wipers and radio did not work as well which I thought was strange. Finally the radio at least came on at some point, but car still would not start. After it was fixed they said the ignition switch was bad and the mechanic asked if I had looked for the recall on it. I searched online but did not find it. I know my car is older, however of all the cars I ever owned and I had many, I never had any issues with ignition switches! I think I had one of the defective switches and would like to look into this matter. Unfortunately I probably can't go back to get the physical ignition switch at this point, too late. I have the proper paperwork for it however. Also on another note, my rear driver side signal keeps going out, no matter how many times I replace it. That might be something gm should look into as well.

Filed Jun 19, 2014 · Electrical, Steering · 35,000 miles · VA

2006 chevrolet cobalt & 2003 cavalier. Consumer writes in regards to both vehicles power steering and cutting off problems. *smd the consumer stated the cavalier, cut off, just like the cobalt. However, the cobalt was recalled. The cavalier cut off weekly since it was purchased. The power steering was replaced during a recall. It was replaced at 35,000 miles and again at 68,000. *jb updated 08/07/14 *jb updated 09/24/14.

Filed Jun 18, 2014 · Brakes, Engine · 77,700 miles · WA

My son was pulling into a parking lot and as he describes it, everything but the radio went dead all by itself (the engine died and there was no power steering or brakes). Obviously the same symptoms as the current recalls. I called the dealer and was told the car isn't on the list. I've complained to chevy and am getting the runaround by multiple members of their "consumer support team" (we've assigned you a service request number but I am to wait until it happens again and then bring it in "so we could start reviewing on your case"). I took it to my own mechanic and he ran a bunch of tests but couldn't find anything that would cause the car to die.

Filed May 26, 2013 · Steering · 76,000 miles · NV

Driving at low speed. Steering wheel experienced excessive side play. Made appointment at local mechanic (non-dealer) steering housing taken off and found one of two pins in the steering column for the tilt mechanism half way out of housing. Mechanic reinserted pin and attempted to restake pin in housing. Experienced no side play after repair for about 1 week and problem has resurfaced.

Questions about the 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier steering

Does the 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier have steering problems?

Owners have filed 19 complaints about the steering of the 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier, 3% of all its complaints.

At what mileage do 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier steering problems start?

The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 55,000 miles.

Was there a recall on the 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier steering?

There is no recall for this problem on this model year.

What year does the Chevrolet Cavalier have bad steering?

The Chevrolet Cavalier model years with the most steering complaints are 1997 (83 complaints), 1998 (54 complaints) and 1996 (49 complaints).

Other 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier problems

Fuel system 383Electrical 106Lights 57Engine 47Visibility 38Brakes 34Suspension 22Airbags 18Transmission 16Acceleration 13Body 11Seat belts 8Tires 4Driver assistance 3Locks 3Wheels 3Seats 1

VIN decoder

See the problems and recalls for an exact car

Buying a used 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier?

Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.

Check its history