2005 Chevrolet CAVALIER - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier 2-DR has not been rated for overall safety by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The front crash driver side and front crash passenger side ratings are both 4 out of 5, indicating a relatively strong performance in frontal crash scenarios. However, the side crash drivers side rating is only 1 out of 5, while the side crash passenger side rating is 2 out of 5, signaling a lower level of protection in side-impact collisions.

Unfortunately, this Chevrolet Cavalier model does not come equipped with electronic stability control, forward collision warning, or lane departure warning systems. These safety features can significantly enhance a vehicle's ability to avoid accidents and protect occupants in the event of a crash.

Moreover, there have been 287 complaints reported for this vehicle, which is a relatively high number compared to other models. Additionally, there has been 1 recall issued for the 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier, indicating a potential safety issue that requires attention from the manufacturer.

In conclusion, while the front crash ratings of the Chevrolet Cavalier are decent, the lack of side crash protection, essential safety features, and the high number of complaints and recalls raise concerns about the overall safety of this vehicle. Drivers and passengers should exercise caution and consider these factors when choosing this model for transportation needs.

auto generated summary, may be inaccurate.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

287

Recall Count

1

Investigation Count

0

Safety Rating

Not Rated

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Safety Features

2005 Chevrolet Cavalier 2-DR. Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier 2-DR.

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

No
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

No
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2005 Chevrolet Cavalier 2-DR. Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier 2-DR. Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2005 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 4
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 4

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2005 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 1
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 2
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2005 Score
Rollover Rating Not Rated
Rollover Possibility % 0%
Dynamic Tip Result
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated

Complaints for the 2005 Chevrolet CAVALIER

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"my mom was driving the car as normal down the road one day and all the guages in the entire dash suddenly stopped working. some came back on and off a couple weeks. some never did. but after a couple months all stopped working and now nothing works. no heat guage, no fuel guage, no temp guage, no speedometer, and no fuel guage."
Components Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2016-05-08
Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cavalier. on several occasions, while driving, the instrument panel failed to operate as intended. the contact stated that the fuel gauge, engine temperature gauge, and tachometer were inoperable. the vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed or repaired. the dealer was not notified. the manufacturer was made aware of the failures. the approximate failure mileage was 170,000."
Components Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2018-11-08
Complaint:
"gauges for temperature do not work, sometimes reads below zero, sometimes slightly above there is no change in reading whether cold, or running for several hours - at any speed speed gauge works intermittently, sometimes recording 100 mph, when the car is doing no more that 20-30 mph. at other times, it seems to be running about the speed limit, when compared with other traffic, then record 100+mph.at other times, when going with traffic, the gauge reads 0mph there is no way to know if the car is overheating, or what speed the car is going. this has been the case for about two months, and i was told it was the 'setter', and would cost me $900. which i did not have. it is very upsetting ."
Components Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2018-01-04
Complaint:
"all gauges don't work. speedometer,fuel,temperature."
Components Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2019-07-01
Complaint:
"there is a known issue with the gauges in the 2005 chevrolet cavalier causing them to malfunction or not function at all intermittently. this is a safety hazard because you do not know how much fuel you have, the temperature of your engine, or your speed when the gauges fail."
Components Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2019-02-12
Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cavalier. while the vehicle was parked or while driving, the fuel and temperature gauges failed to display the correct information. there were no warning indicators illuminated. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 120,000."
Components Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2017-12-06
Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cavalier. while driving 25 mph, all the instrument panel gauges illuminated without warning. it was diagnosed that the electronic instrument cluster failed and needed to be repaired. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 100,000."
Components Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2017-09-02
Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cavalier. while driving various speeds, the speedometer, temperature, and rpm guages became inoperable. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the instrument cluster wire connector was tightened; however, the failure persisted. the vehicle was not reapired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 60,000."
Components Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2008-07-03
Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cavalier. when attempting to drive the vehicle, the fuel, temperature, and speedometer gauges failed to work. the failure recurred numerous times. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the instrument cluster gauges failed and needed to replaced. the manufacturer was notified of the failures. the failure mileage was 53,000. the vin was not available."
Components Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2018-06-03
Complaint:
"already complained here once. now my car fuel gage is broke gos all the way over and hits on my temp gauge every so offen. dont really know how much gas i have in it, but least can go 300-365 miles. depending on how much i drive. i dont think that it should break after only 41000 miles. last time i wrote on here it was my temp gauge that hit on my speedometer.. think before long all will go out. wish someone would do something for these cars, kind exp to keep fixing. paid cash for the other one to be fixed. only drive the car once in awhile. its not an old car so. not very safe car as far as i am concerned, dont have the money to go buy a new one........"
Components Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2015-09-12

Recalls for the 2005 Chevrolet CAVALIER

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"dorman products is recalling 3,900 intermediate steering shafts dorman part nos. 425-151, 425-152, and 425-153, (sold under dorman's "oe solutions" brand name), balkamp #'s 7-3057, 7-3058, 7-3059 (sold under the "napa" brand name), and platinum parts #'s 2425151, 2425152, and 2425153 manufactured during the month of september 2007. these replacement steering shafts can be used on the vehicles listed above. the weld connecting the inner tube to the outer tube may be defective."
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.

Component(s) Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2008-10-17

CHEVROLET Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

CHEVROLET ranks 2 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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