2005 Chevrolet Cavalier: engine overheating

Filed May 29, 2018 · Electrical · 67,000 miles · FL

Gauges for temperature do not work, sometimes reads below zero, sometimes slightly above there is no change in reading whether cold, or running for several hours - at any speed speed gauge works intermittently, sometimes recording 100 MPH, when the car is doing no more that 20-30 MPH. At other times, it seems to be running about the speed limit, when compared with other traffic, then record 100+MPH.at other times, when going with traffic, the gauge reads 0mph there is no way to know if the car is overheating, or what speed the car is going. This has been the case for about two months, and I was told it was the 'setter', and would cost me $900. Which I did not have. It is very upsetting .

Filed Mar 10, 2015 · Acceleration, Electrical · 60,000 miles · TN

I purchased a 2005 chevy cavalier new in december of 2004 and in march of 2013 the gauges stopped working. They would randomly work one or the other now all my gauges have stopped working all together. I have no clue how fast I'm going or how many rpms I'm using or if the car is overheating or not!

Filed Apr 21, 2013 · Electrical · 30,500 miles · MN

While driving both the speedometer and the temperature gauge failed, temperature gauge is now stuck showing vehicle is overheating (it is not), speedometer moves all over and registers either a speed over 100 MPH when on the road or registers either 20mph or 60mph while sitting still at start-up. Due to this issue I have no idea what speed I am going and must gauge speed by what other drivers are doing around me.

Filed Nov 26, 2012 · Electrical · 40,000 miles · OK

All the gauges on my 2005 chevrolet cavalier have stopped working. The fuel gage was the first to stop working, followed by the rest of the gauges. The speedometer no longer works and it is a safety issue because I have no idea what speed I am going, how much fuel I have, if the engine is overheating, etc. I have searched online and have found multiple reports of the same problem. Chevrolet has recalled other vehicles for this exact problem, so obviously it is an issue they can correct. I have waited to hear about a recall, but now that my speedometer has failed I can not wait any longer.

Filed Apr 24, 2012 · Electrical · 50,000 miles · KY

I have a 2005 chevrolet cavalier. The car's speedometer, temperature gauge, RPM gauge and fuel gauge do not work. When I made this complaint to the chevrolet dealer where the vehicle was purchased they said that it wasn't a warranty issue because it didn't deal with any safety issue. I disagree because how could it not be a safety problem, if you can't tell how fast you are going or if your out of gas or if your car is overheating. The dealer acted like it was not a common problem, but all you have to do is go on the internet and there are hundreds of thousands of these same complaints, and not just in the 2005 models it goes back to 1998. The dealer did say that the could replace the cluster but that it would cost me over $500.00. Well, I cannot afford it. Also if you look through some of the complaints online there are people on there that have had their clusters replaced by the dealer and they still are not working properly. So what are we supposed to do? I also found out that chevrolet did recall the same complaints in the silverado trucks. So why not do the same for the cavaliers? Please help.

Filed Dec 27, 2011 · Electrical · 126,000 miles · PA

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cavalier. The contact was driving 50 MPH when the speedometer failed to provide accurate readings and the vehicle experienced abnormally high engine rpms. The contact also stated that the temperature gauge failed to provide accurate temperature readings, displaying that the vehicle was overheating when it was not. The vehicle was taken to a local repair shop where the contact was advised that the temperature gauge would possibly need to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted but the vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 126,000 and the current mileage was 130,000. Updated 01/10/12

Filed Nov 17, 2011 · Electrical · OH

We bought our '05 cavalier used in the fall of 2008, thinking it was a solid, reliable vehicle for our young family. It didn't take long (date I posted was approximate, based on when I know for sure it was doing it's thing) for the gauges to start acting up. From then on, it reads like it's overheating on a regular basis (going all the way to the red sometimes), despite the cooling system, thermostat, etc. Being fine. Also, the gas and odometer gauges act up, typically when the temp gauge does. They move around all crazy and stick sometimes. I find I often have to remove the fuse to the gauges to reset them, though this tends to require sitting for as much as 5 minutes. All this just to be able to discern how fast your going is ridiculous. With all the complaints I've read on the '05 cavs doing this, you think chevy would fix the issue...it's a potential safety hazard to have your gauges mess up that bad.

Filed Jun 23, 2011 · Electrical · 50,000 miles · NC

This is a problem I inherited from the previous owner. I bought the car with approximately 50000 miles on it. The fuel gauge is never accurate. Most of the time it reads past full and into the adjacent temperature gauge. Twice I have been forced to walk to a gas station because I ran out of gas when I didn't know I was low. This is a major safety issue because I could be hit by a car walking along a highway trying to get gas. I'm also concerned that the faulty gauge will interfere with my temperature gauge causing my car to overheat without me knowing.

Filed Feb 8, 2011 · Electrical · 50,000 miles · MS

2005 chevy cavalier, gauges started going haywire around 50k miles. Temp gauge soared and I thought the car was overheating. We were out of town and in heavy traffic, but had to immediately pull over and stop the car "to let it cool off." my son was violently ill at the time and we had gone to pick him up on his job because he could not drive home and we needed to get him to a doctor asap. What a nightmare! We considered getting a rental and calling a tow truck to tow the cavalier home, but when we could find no signs of overheating, we proceeded with caution. This continued to occur over and over again. Then several months later, the gas gauge stopped working properly. Seems the needles have a mind of their own. There are multitudes of online compaints about this defect. I wish everyone had filed a formal complaint. But since it is a safety issue, a recall should be issued by chevrolet. The dealership says the only fix is to replace the parts (which only they can do) at a cost to the consumer of $500.

Filed Jan 2, 2011 · Acceleration, Electrical · 78,500 miles · CA

I drive a 2005 chevy cavalier and on very hot or cold days, or when I drive longer than usual distances (over 30 miles), the speedometer often malfunctions, either by getting stuck reading over 110 MPH, even when stopped, or by reading under zero, even when I'm moving. And lately the temp gauge has started doing this as well, alerting to me overheating on cold days even though the engine is not overheating and the check engine light never comes on. It's frustrating and frightening and unsafe.

Filed Dec 8, 2010 · Electrical · 79,000 miles · CO

While driving home one evening in approximately 30 degree weather my 2005 chevrolet cavalier temp gauge began to soar far past the 260 degree mark on the dial and came to rest pointing at the 15 MPH mark on the speedometer. This prohibited the speedometer from coming to rest at 0 when the car was not moving. This is causing me to have to use my GPS to accurately determine the rate of speed I am traveling at. I have pulled overmany times to check whether or not my car is truly overheating and at no time has it been the case.

Filed Oct 6, 2010 · Electrical · 75,000 miles · VA

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cavalier. The contact stated that she had issues with speedometer getting stuck on an intermittent basis. It would reset itself and randomly become stuck again. Most recently, the temperature gauge was also failing and becoming stuck. It would indicate that the vehicle was too hot but when the contact turned off the vehicle and let it sit, it would continue indicating that the vehicle was overheating. The vehicle had not been inspected or repaired. The manufacturer had not been notified. The current mileage was approximately 153,000. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.