2005 CHEVROLET CAVALIER — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 283 complaints · 1 recalls
Most-reported system: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (185 complaints · 65.4%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 6
  • Fires 0
  • Injuries 4
  • Deaths 4
Compare with 2004 →
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 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM appears in 185 of 283 owner complaints (65.4%) in this vehicle snapshot. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 185 complaints, 65.4% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 185 · 65.4% · 1 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 14 complaints, 5.0% of reports POWER TRAIN 14 · 5.0% FUEL SYSTEM: 13 complaints, 4.6% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 13 · 4.6% VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 12 complaints, 4.2% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 12 · 4.2% SERVICE BRAKES: 11 complaints, 3.9% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 11 · 3.9% VISIBILITY: 10 complaints, 3.5% of reports VISIBILITY 10 · 3.5% STRUCTURE: 9 complaints, 3.2% of reports STRUCTURE 9 · 3.2% STEERING: 7 complaints, 2.5% of reports STEERING 7 · 2.5% AIR BAGS: 4 complaints, 1.4% of reports AIR BAGS 4 · 1.4% · 3 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 123 complaints, 43.5% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 123 · 43.5% · 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)
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 185 65.4% 1 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 14 5.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 13 4.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 12 4.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 11 3.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 10 3.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 9 3.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 7 2.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 4 1.4% 3 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 123 43.5% 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 Oct 2004; the first recall shown was reported in Oct 2008. 2004-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2005-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2006-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2006-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2007-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2007-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2008-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2009-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2009-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2009-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2009-Q4: 14 owner reports 14 2010-Q1: 26 owner reports 26 2010-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 2010-Q3: 15 owner reports 15 2010-Q4: 23 owner reports 23 2011-Q1: 18 owner reports 18 2011-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2011-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2011-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2012-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2012-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2012-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2012-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2013-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2013-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2013-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2013-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2014-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2014-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2015-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2015-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2016-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2019-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 2004 Jan 2019 Recall campaign 08E063000 ◆ Recall campaign 08E063000
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2004-Q4 Owner reports 1
2005-Q1 Owner reports 1
2005-Q2 Owner reports 4
2005-Q3 Owner reports 3
2005-Q4 Owner reports 4
2006-Q1 Owner reports 1
2006-Q2 Owner reports 3
2006-Q4 Owner reports 1
2007-Q1 Owner reports 2
2007-Q2 Owner reports 4
2007-Q3 Owner reports 5
2007-Q4 Owner reports 2
2008-Q2 Owner reports 3
2008-Q3 Owner reports 8
2008-Q4 Owner reports 8
2009-Q1 Owner reports 7
2009-Q2 Owner reports 5
2009-Q3 Owner reports 3
2009-Q4 Owner reports 14
2010-Q1 Owner reports 26
2010-Q2 Owner reports 12
2010-Q3 Owner reports 15
2010-Q4 Owner reports 23
2011-Q1 Owner reports 18
2011-Q2 Owner reports 8
2011-Q3 Owner reports 9
2011-Q4 Owner reports 7
2012-Q1 Owner reports 9
2012-Q2 Owner reports 6
2012-Q3 Owner reports 4
2012-Q4 Owner reports 6
2013-Q1 Owner reports 10
2013-Q2 Owner reports 4
2013-Q3 Owner reports 3
2013-Q4 Owner reports 2
2014-Q1 Owner reports 3
2014-Q2 Owner reports 3
2014-Q3 Owner reports 2
2014-Q4 Owner reports 7
2015-Q1 Owner reports 6
2015-Q2 Owner reports 2
2015-Q3 Owner reports 1
2015-Q4 Owner reports 3
2016-Q1 Owner reports 1
2016-Q2 Owner reports 2
2016-Q3 Owner reports 2
2016-Q4 Owner reports 1
2017-Q1 Owner reports 1
2017-Q2 Owner reports 1
2017-Q4 Owner reports 1
2018-Q1 Owner reports 1
2018-Q2 Owner reports 1
2018-Q3 Owner reports 3
2019-Q1 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 08E063000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (1)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 08E063000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    IF THE WELD FAILS, LOSS OF STEERING COULD RESULT, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DORMAN WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE STEERING SHAFTS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON OCTOBER 16, 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT DORMAN TOLL FREE AT 1-800-523-2492.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
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 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 283 complaints · page 1 of 12

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 2026-08-21 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