1994 CHEVROLET CAVALIER — Owner-Reported Problems
Verdict & Safety Summary
- Crashes 27
- Fires 3
- Injuries 14
- Deaths 1
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)
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES | 51 | 24.2% | 14 crashes · 0 fires |
| ENGINE | 45 | 21.3% | 0 crashes · 0 fires |
| SEAT BELTS | 17 | 8.1% | 6 crashes · 0 fires |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 16 | 7.6% | 0 crashes · 2 fires |
| VISIBILITY | 13 | 6.2% | 1 crashes · 0 fires |
| POWER TRAIN | 12 | 5.7% | 1 crashes · 0 fires |
| STRUCTURE | 10 | 4.7% | 0 crashes · 0 fires |
| STEERING | 8 | 3.8% | 1 crashes · 0 fires |
| FUEL SYSTEM | 5 | 2.4% | 0 crashes · 1 fires |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 167 | 79.2% | 26 crashes · 3 fires |
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
- Campaign 96I001000 was reported 383 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
| Date | Record type | Count | Record identifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995-Q1 | Owner reports | 17 | |
| 1995-Q2 | Owner reports | 16 | |
| 1995-Q3 | Owner reports | 12 | |
| 1995-Q4 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 1996-Q1 | Owner reports | 10 | |
| 1996-Q2 | Owner reports | 11 | |
| 1996-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 1996-Q4 | Owner reports | 8 | |
| 1997-Q1 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 1997-Q2 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 1997-Q3 | Owner reports | 9 | |
| 1997-Q4 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 1998-Q1 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 1998-Q2 | Owner reports | 7 | |
| 1998-Q3 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 1998-Q4 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 1999-Q1 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 1999-Q2 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 1999-Q3 | Owner reports | 14 | |
| 1999-Q4 | Owner reports | 8 | |
| 2000-Q1 | Owner reports | 8 | |
| 2000-Q2 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2000-Q3 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2000-Q4 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2001-Q1 | Owner reports | 11 | |
| 2001-Q2 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2001-Q3 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2002-Q2 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2003-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2003-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2003-Q3 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2004-Q1 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2004-Q2 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2004-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2005-Q1 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2005-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2005-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2006-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2007-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2008-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2010-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2012-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 94V115000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 96I001000 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | PE94042 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | EA94033 |
Safety Recalls (2)
Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA
-
Manufacturer action
Recall campaign 94V115000
- Report date
- Component:
- STEERING
- Consequence:
- THIS CAN RESULT IN LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL AND A VEHICLE ACCIDENT.
- Remedy:
- DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE LEFT-HAND AND RIGHT-HAND DRIVE AXLES, BEARING-HUB ASSEMBLIES, SPINDLE NUTS, AND WASHERS ON ALL INVOLVED VEHICLES. CORRECTIVE ACTION: DEALERS WILL REPLACE LEFT-HAND AND RIGHT-HAND DRIVE AXLES, BEARING-HUB ASSEMBLIES, SPINDLE NUTS, AND WASHERS ON ALL INVOLVED VEHICLES.
-
Manufacturer action
Recall campaign 96I001000
- Report date
- Component:
- ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
- Consequence:
- THE HORN PAD CAN SEPARATE FROM THE STEERING WHEEL FALLING BETWEEN THE STEERING WHEEL SPOKES. THE HORN PAD COULD BECOME JAMMED BETWEEN THE STEERING WHEEL SPOKES AND THE TURN SIGNAL LEVER, RESULTING IN DAMAGE TO THE TURN SIGNAL LEVER, HORN PAD, AND HORN WIRING.
- Remedy:
- DEALERS WILL MODIFY THE HORN PAD RETENTION CLIPS, INSTALL HORN PAD RETENTION BRACKETS TO THE STEERING WHEEL, REINSTALL THE HORN PAD AND ASSURE THAT THE HORN PAD IS PROPERLY RETAINED.
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
No complaints match the current filters.
Estimated Ownership Cost
EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates
Adjacent Model Years
Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records
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: 2026-08-21.