1984 CHEVROLET CAVALIER — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 8 complaints · 3 recalls
Most-reported system: POWER TRAIN (2 complaints · 25.0%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 2
  • Fires 0
  • Injuries 1
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1983 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution POWER TRAIN appears in 2 of 8 owner complaints (25.0%) in this vehicle snapshot. POWER TRAIN: 2 complaints, 25.0% of reports POWER TRAIN 2 · 25.0% SEAT BELTS: 2 complaints, 25.0% of reports SEAT BELTS 2 · 25.0% · 2 crash reports ENGINE: 1 complaints, 12.5% of reports ENGINE 1 · 12.5% FUEL SYSTEM: 1 complaints, 12.5% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 1 · 12.5% STEERING: 1 complaints, 12.5% of reports STEERING 1 · 12.5% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 7 complaints, 87.5% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 7 · 87.5% · 2 crash reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
POWER TRAIN 2 25.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 2 25.0% 2 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 1 12.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 1 12.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 1 12.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 7 87.5% 2 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 1995; the first recall shown was reported in Feb 1984. 1995-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1995-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1995-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Feb 1984 May 2006 Recall campaign 84V011000 ◆ Recall campaign 84V011000 Recall campaign 87V079000 ◆ Recall campaign 87V079000 Recall campaign 06E043000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E043000 Investigation PE85016 ● Investigation PE85016 Investigation PE86049 ● Investigation PE86049 Investigation EA86023 ● Investigation EA86023 Investigation DP86018 ● Investigation DP86018 Investigation DP86019 ● Investigation DP86019 Investigation EA87007 ● Investigation EA87007 Investigation EA87006 ● Investigation EA87006 Investigation PE88027 ● Investigation PE88027
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 1
1995-Q2 Owner reports 1
1995-Q3 Owner reports 1
1996-Q2 Owner reports 1
1997-Q2 Owner reports 1
1998-Q3 Owner reports 1
1999-Q3 Owner reports 1
2000-Q1 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 84V011000
Recall campaign 1 87V079000
Recall campaign 1 06E043000
Defect investigation 1 PE85016
Defect investigation 1 PE86049
Defect investigation 1 EA86023
Defect investigation 1 DP86018
Defect investigation 1 DP86019
Defect investigation 1 EA87007
Defect investigation 1 EA87006
Defect investigation 1 PE88027
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (3)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 06E043000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    THIS CONDITION MAY CAUSE AN INADEQUATE SEAL AT THE CONNECTION, POTENTIALLY LEADING TO A FUEL LEAK. IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE, A FIRE COULD OCCUR.
    Remedy:
    HONEYWELL WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE FUEL FILTERS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON OCTOBER 18, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FRAM CUSTOMER SERVICE AT 1-800-890-2075 (OPTION 1).
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 84V011000

    Report date
    Component:
    SEATS
    Consequence:
    Not available in the source record
    Remedy:
    INSPECTION OF SEAT BACK LOCKS WILL BE PERFORMED. LOCKS THAT HAVE BENT, BROKEN OR MISSING HOOKS WILL BE REPLACED.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 87V079000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    DRIVERS SEAT COULD TIP REARWARD UNEXPECTEDLY; THIS COULDRESULT IN LOSS OF CONTROL AND A VEHICLE CRASH WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING.
    Remedy:
    INSTALL A REINFORCEMENT BRACKET ON THE FLOOR PAN ANCHOR BAR AT THE LEFT FRONT OUTER SEAT ADJUSTER POSITION OF THE DRIVERS SEAT.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-22
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 8 complaints · page 1 of 1

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-22.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources