2004 Chevrolet Cavalier: headlights failing or too dim

Filed Dec 16, 2014 · Electrical, Lights · 151,925 miles · MI

Low and high-beam headlights appear dim when turned on compared to other cars. May be due to corroded/defective wiring. Appears to be a very common problem with this chevrolet model. Looking for recall information related to this issue.

Filed Aug 2, 2014 · Electrical, Fuel system · 68,000 miles · PA

All of the trouble lights come on including the service light with a wrench. Then, all of the gauges drop to nothing; you don't know how fast you're traveling, what your fuel capacity is, the temperature gauge drops to nothing along with the tachometer dropping to nothing. In the odometer and "error" message replaces the odometer reading. The gauges will intermittently go off and on or all of them will drop of with no reading. The other evening, I was coming home on a winding back country road and all of my lights went out. I have to limit my driving to daytime driving and only use the running lights as it appears to only aggravate the problem when I use my headlights. Today, everything above happened along with some news things. The vehicle was shut off, the key was removed from the ignition and the running lights remained on as did the warning alarm as though the key were left in the ignition. I left the car only after I pulled the left and right fuse from the panel. When I returned to the car, I inserted the fuses and started the vehicle but was unable to shift the car into gear as the car would not let me depress the button on the shifter to do so. I have to now shut the car off and pull the ignition fuse and then reinsert it to get the car in gear. What the heck?

Filed Mar 14, 2014 · Electrical, Lights · WV

When I turn on my car defroster, it starts popping very loud. At one time it started popping when I set the car at idle, and when I returned to the car, it was filled with smoke or dust. I had to air out the car for a while before I could drive it. The defroster doesn't pop every time, and it quits after about 30 minutes each time. Also, when I bought the car, it needed a new console, so I had it replaced. The day-time running lights go out and flash at people. When they go out, the service light comes on. I have to drive with my headlights on so the day-time running lights do not flash at people.

Filed Aug 11, 2010 · Lights · 136,000 miles · MO

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet cavalier. The contact stated that the head lamps on his vehicle looked as if there was a glaze on them. They were sand blasted and now he cant even see the light bulb. The dealer was contacted and stated that they would sell him a kit to clean the head lamps. The contact stated that the dealer should be responsible to repair the head lamps. No repairs were made. The failure and current mileage was 136000.

Filed Feb 19, 2010 · Transmission · 60,000 miles · MO · crash

Clutch pedal started to stop short. While driving through light snow I pressed the pedal to shift gear before a slight turn and incline the pedal stayed down. The lack of power to the wheels within 5 seconds caused the vehicle to fishtail and I was not able to control the vehicle even while trying to brake and go into the spin to correct. The vehicle spun around going backwards then the front end tried swinging back and hit the center median damaging the front end-bumper ripped off, reinforcement bent/folded, fenders warped, both headlights broken, condenser slightly folded to leak, radiator support warped, frame bent. The slave cylinder was leaking...again this was the second time. Pedal would start to stop short then the slave would start to leak. First time the dealer replaced the slave and everything was working. Then this happened. I was told that because the second incident was "just out of the repair warrant by 800 mi they-the dealer- was "liable for nothing" and would do nothing to help." the vehicle's slave was replaced and everything was working-with the clutch-when in 2009 the problem happened again. I was able to take the car to the dealer again...again...again and the master cylinder for the clutch was replaced.-problem was solved. Have not had a problem since......this whole issue shows that the vehicle was not properly diagnosed which caused the second failure and the accident.

Filed Jan 21, 2008 · Lights, Seat belts · 45,000 miles · PA

When I brake to slow down or stop, my head lights dim significantly. It happens with the high beams and low beams. My front passenger seatbelt locks without the brakes engaged, and needs to be unbuckled to unlock.