My cluster stopped working a while ago. Since I didn't get a recall on it I was unaware of people did complain about it until my car caught on fire where the cluster is and all the wires are totally burned up. I am furious. I read other complaints and some people had the same problem. I could not read all of them so, I don't know how many caught on fire. Thank god I didn't get injured or death. Chevrolet should be held responsible for this. Please help.
Chevrolet Cavalier fire or smoke problems
113 of the 4,549 owner complaints about the Chevrolet Cavalier describe fire, smoke or burning smell, most of them for the 1997 model year.
- owner complaints
- 113
- worst model year
- 1997
- typical mileage
- 74,000
Is there a fix? There are 2 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
Won't start 8Headlights 5Wipers 3Stalling 3Overheating 3Loss of power 3Fuel smell 2Fuel pump 2
What owners say
Tl* the contact owns a 1998 chevrolet cavalier. While driving at 35 MPH, there was an odor of smoke inside the vehicle. The contact coasted over to the side of the road, lifted the hood, and noticed that the wires from the alternator were on fire. The contact extinguished the fire. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 169,000.
I left the vehicle running in driveway for less than 5 minutes. Vehicle was full of black smoke and within minutes was totally engulfed in flames.
The entire instrument cluster panel completely went hay wire and the speed would increase and decrease. Everything was flashing to the point it was actually scary. I pulled over to the side of the road and it stilled continued. I finally decided to continue home and after about 6 miles it finally just stopped. I researched this problem on the internet and have found that so many more have experienced the same thing happening but some have had their car actually start on fire. Please advise if there is any recall in the near future before someone has to lose their life over this. Thank you so much for any consideration.
Upon driving vehicle at low speeds 20-30 MPH with front and rear window defroster on,it became more,and more evident of a possible fire. First there was an increasing burning smell followed by smoke. A connector on the drivers side kick panel has melted being so close to the carpet its possible that it being winter moisture from melted snow somehow may have caused this to happen, a search on google seems to pull multiple cars with this same problem. Also I want to note that I was not able to turn off my rear defrosted with the rear defroster switch, I had to pull the 30 amp fuse that still had a complete circuit in it!
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet cavalier. The contact was driving 30 MPH when the defroster was engaged and the contact began to see black smoke coming the vents. The contact merged onto the side shoulder and seconds later, the vehicle caught fire from the ventilation system. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were notified of the failure. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The failure and current mileage was 90,000. The VIN was unavailable. Updated 9/27/11 *cn updated 3/29/12
2001 chevrolet cavalier, unit 1 was traveling eastbound on ir 80 in the right lane. Unit 1 caught on fire in the engine compartment area while driving. *bf (ohio traffic crash report # 10-0259-90)
I was driving and had been in my car for about five min and smoke started coming out of the bottom of where the radio and heater controls are..at that time I pulled over and saw flames in the dash and it was growing and I called 911 fire and we closed the doors and waited til the fire truck got there and handled the fire. It completely destroyed my dash steering column front windshield and head liner...all my instrument panels and wiring are fried. I believe it was a faulty wiring system...if not would like to know how this could have been prevented and how do I fix my car..
1997 chevy cavalier steering column and dashboard caught on fire on march 10, 2011. Car had no mechanical or electrical issues prior to the fire. Car was in excellent working condition. Car had been parked for approximately one hour after being used for a short drive. The cavalier was parked outside in front of the house no one was in the vehicle. Fire department had to be called to extinguish the fire from the car. No prior knowledge of the recall for the electrical system ignition switch defect.
Car caught on fire in the wiring in the floor left of the brake pedal. Driver and passenger escaped the vehicle with just minor injuries. A passer by cut the battery cable and the fire/smoke stopped.
Related recalls
Electrical system: ignition: switch
- What is wrong
- On certain passenger vehicles. If the engine fails to start and the driver holds the key in the "start" position for an extended period, high current flows through the ignition switch, and sometimes produces enough heat to melt internal switch parts.
- Risk
- If the switch is damaged, a fire could occur in the steering column, even with the engine off and the key removed. The fire could spread to the interior of the car, which could injure occupants or cause damage to adjoining structures.
- Remedy
- Dealers will install a relay kit in these vehicles to prevent high current from flowing through the ignition switch, and check that your car will start with a properly charged battery and, if necessary, replace the ignition switch. Owner notification will begin on march 1, 2004. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact chevrolet at 1‑800‑630‑2438, pontiac at 1‑800‑620‑7668, buick at 1‑866‑608‑8080, or oldsmobile at 1‑800‑630‑6537. Customers can also check their vehicle online by going to www.mygmlink.com and entering the vehicle's identification number.
Recall number 04V036000 · Recall details
Electrical system: ignition: switch
- What is wrong
- On certain passenger vehicles. If the engine fails to start and the driver holds the key in the "start" position for an extended period, high current flows through the ignition switch, and sometimes produces enough heat to melt internal switch parts.
- Risk
- If the switch is damaged, a fire could occur in the steering column, even with the engine off and the key removed.
- Remedy
- Dealers will install a relay kit in these vehicles to prevent high current from flowing through the ignition switch. Owner notification began march 27, 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact chevrolet at 1‑800‑222‑1020, pontiac at 1‑800‑762‑2737, buick at 1‑800‑521‑7300, or oldsmobile at 1‑800‑442‑6537.
Recall number 02V070000 · Recall details
Questions about the Chevrolet Cavalier fire or smoke
Which Chevrolet Cavalier years have fire, smoke or burning smell problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1997 (18 complaints), 1998 (14 complaints) and 1996 (13 complaints).
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