1995 CHEVROLET CAVALIER — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 268 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (66 complaints · 24.6%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 32
  • Fires 9
  • Injuries 25
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1994 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 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 ENGINE appears in 66 of 268 owner complaints (24.6%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 66 complaints, 24.6% of reports ENGINE 66 · 24.6% · 2 crash reports 1 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 52 complaints, 19.4% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 52 · 19.4% · 7 fire reports VISIBILITY: 27 complaints, 10.1% of reports VISIBILITY 27 · 10.1% SERVICE BRAKES: 20 complaints, 7.5% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 20 · 7.5% · 3 crash reports AIR BAGS: 18 complaints, 6.7% of reports AIR BAGS 18 · 6.7% · 17 crash reports STEERING: 14 complaints, 5.2% of reports STEERING 14 · 5.2% · 2 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 13 complaints, 4.8% of reports POWER TRAIN 13 · 4.8% SEAT BELTS: 9 complaints, 3.4% of reports SEAT BELTS 9 · 3.4% · 1 crash reports FUEL SYSTEM: 7 complaints, 2.6% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 7 · 2.6% · 1 fire reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 193 complaints, 72.0% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 193 · 72.0% · 25 crash reports 8 fire 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)
ENGINE 66 24.6% 2 crashes · 1 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 52 19.4% 0 crashes · 7 fires
VISIBILITY 27 10.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 20 7.5% 3 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 18 6.7% 17 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 14 5.2% 2 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 13 4.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 9 3.4% 1 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 7 2.6% 0 crashes · 1 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 193 72.0% 25 crashes · 8 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. 1995-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 1995-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 1995-Q3: 11 owner reports 11 1995-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 1996-Q1: 13 owner reports 13 1996-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 1996-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 1996-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 1997-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 1997-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 1997-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 1998-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 1998-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 1998-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 1998-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 1999-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 1999-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 1999-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2000-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2000-Q2: 13 owner reports 13 2000-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2000-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2001-Q1: 13 owner reports 13 2001-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2001-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2001-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2002-Q2: 18 owner reports 18 2002-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2002-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2003-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2003-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2003-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jan 1995 Oct 2014 Investigation PE02001 ● Investigation PE02001
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 6
1995-Q2 Owner reports 11
1995-Q3 Owner reports 11
1995-Q4 Owner reports 9
1996-Q1 Owner reports 13
1996-Q2 Owner reports 8
1996-Q3 Owner reports 6
1996-Q4 Owner reports 8
1997-Q1 Owner reports 2
1997-Q2 Owner reports 5
1997-Q3 Owner reports 7
1997-Q4 Owner reports 4
1998-Q1 Owner reports 6
1998-Q2 Owner reports 8
1998-Q3 Owner reports 4
1998-Q4 Owner reports 4
1999-Q1 Owner reports 8
1999-Q2 Owner reports 2
1999-Q3 Owner reports 5
1999-Q4 Owner reports 8
2000-Q1 Owner reports 4
2000-Q2 Owner reports 13
2000-Q3 Owner reports 8
2000-Q4 Owner reports 5
2001-Q1 Owner reports 13
2001-Q2 Owner reports 7
2001-Q3 Owner reports 6
2001-Q4 Owner reports 2
2002-Q1 Owner reports 8
2002-Q2 Owner reports 18
2002-Q3 Owner reports 8
2002-Q4 Owner reports 10
2003-Q1 Owner reports 9
2003-Q2 Owner reports 6
2003-Q3 Owner reports 2
2004-Q1 Owner reports 1
2004-Q2 Owner reports 1
2004-Q4 Owner reports 1
2005-Q1 Owner reports 1
2005-Q4 Owner reports 1
2006-Q1 Owner reports 1
2006-Q2 Owner reports 2
2007-Q2 Owner reports 1
2007-Q3 Owner reports 1
2008-Q2 Owner reports 1
2008-Q4 Owner reports 1
2011-Q3 Owner reports 1
2014-Q4 Owner reports 1
Defect investigation 1 PE02001
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA records.

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 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 Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 268 complaints · page 1 of 11

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 Aug 21, 2026
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 2026-08-21 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: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources