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2005 Chevrolet Cavalier Problems and Recalls

Owners filed 287 complaints with NHTSA about the 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier, most often about the electrical (74% of complaints, typically around 70,000 miles). It is 4th of 6 Cavalier model years by number of complaints.

Complaints287
Recalls0
Crashes reported7
Fires reported0
Injuries reported54 deaths reported

Most common 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier problems

  1. Electrical

    211 complaints · 74%

    Half of these problems showed up before 70,000 miles. Parts named most often: instrument cluster/panel, horn, wiring.

    I own a 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier and the speedometer has not worked for quite some time now. Now the gas gauge and the tachometer is malfunctioning, only to return to normal sporadically. The car is 5 years old and I don't believe I should be experiencing these problems. There are no recalls on the car, but I googled…
    Owner report to NHTSA, 2010, at 70,000 miles
    I have a 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier and my speedometer and gas gauge have gone crazy, this repair is upwards of about $600 and I just went online to figure out what I could do and found a website called carcomplaints.com where 30 other people had the same if not similar issue with the 2004-2005 Cavalier, there was rumor…
    Owner report to NHTSA, 2010, at 67,000 miles

  2. Speed control

    18 complaints · 6%

    Half of these problems showed up before 55,000 miles. Parts named most often: accelerator pedal.

    I have a 2005 , Cavalier and I have the same complaint as every one else my gauges are going hay wire.1st started at 62,000 miles the RPM started messing up 2nd the speed gauge was next acting as if it didn't wont to move. 3rd now at 89,000 miles the temp gauge is saying its hot when its not look under hood I see no…
    Owner report to NHTSA, 2010, at 55,000 miles
    Tl contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier. While driving 40 MPH, the vehicle began to shake and it suddenly accelerated. The contact applied the brakes; however, they failed to stop the vehicle from accelerating fifteen times. The contact called an authorized dealer who stated that they would diagnose the failure. The…
    Owner report to NHTSA, 2010, at 52,000 miles

  3. Transmission

    16 complaints · 6%

    Half of these problems showed up before 58,000 miles. Parts named most often: manual transmission, clutch assembly, driveline.

    Tl contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier. The contact attempted to stop the vehicle, but it failed to stop. He noticed that the hydraulic brake hose between the master cylinder failed. The risk of serious injury and crashed was increased. The contact is in the process of notifying the dealer. The failure and current…
    Owner report to NHTSA, 2009, at 58,000 miles
    2005 Chevrolet Cavalier - (manual transmission) when clutch pedal was pressed to change gears while driving, pedal went to floor and stayed there. Could no longer use clutch to change gears. Car stayed in gear. Problem was caused by the clutch master cylinder hydraulic line (hose) failing due to rubbing against a…
    Owner report to NHTSA, 2010, at 66,261 miles

  4. Fuel system

    16 complaints · 6%

    Half of these problems showed up before 53,000 miles. Parts named most often: storage.

    Tl contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier. The contact observed that whenever fuel was dispensed into the fuel tank, the fuel gauge displayed inaccurate readings at any given fuel level capacity. The failure occurred intermittently. The vehicle has not been repaired at this time. The contact had concern of the safety…
    Owner report to NHTSA, 2010, at 50,000 miles
    The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier. The contact stated that the fuel gauge did not provide accurate readings. The contact also stated that the speedometer would get stuck on various speeds and display inaccurate readings as well. The speedometer would get stuck displaying a speed of 20 MPH, 60 MPH, 80 MPH and…
    Owner report to NHTSA, 2011, at 50,000 miles

  5. Brakes

    15 complaints · 5%

    Half of these problems showed up before 47,000 miles. Parts named most often: foundation components, antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip.

    I have a 2005 chevy Cavalier. It had 49,000 miles. I noticed a squealing sound from by brakes. I immediately took it in thinking it was the brake pads. Well, my whole brake system was leaking. My brakes system was also wearing unevenly causing half of the parts to be destroyed. One side of the brake pad was normal and…
    Owner report to NHTSA, 2007, at 49,500 miles
    I own a 2005 chevy Cavalier. I have also experienced premature brake and rotor failure. At 39,000 km both had to be replaced. The dealer said the cause was road conditions etc,,and offered no help whatsoever complained to gm several times,but have not got any satisfaction yet!
    Owner report to NHTSA, 2007, at 39,000 miles

  6. Body and structure

    14 complaints · 5%

    Half of these problems showed up before 35,500 miles. Parts named most often: body, frame and members.

    The speedometer has gone haywire. It gets stuck at the far right end showing over 110 MPH when I'm driving only 20 MPH. When completely stopped, it will show 60 to 70 MPH as the speed. Once in a great while, it will work for a few minutes or so. I do not know how fast I am actually going and this is a very real safety…
    Owner report to NHTSA, 2008, at 26,000 miles
    2005 Chevrolet Cavalier instrument panel has serious problems temperature gauge shows the car is over heating and interferes with the speedometer also the speedometer will show 110mph while sitting in park or while doing 65mph drop and show no speed. Also the front of the dash cracks out and can produce sharp pieces…
    Owner report to NHTSA, 2010, at 45,000 miles

  7. Visibility and wipers

    11 complaints · 4%

    Half of these problems showed up before 61,500 miles. Parts named most often: power window devices and controls, windshield wiper/washer, windshield, glass, side/rear.

    2005 Chevrolet Cavalier ls coupe, power window failure, sometimes will not operate, will not open or close . At this time, the right window is open in the down position cannot close, electric motor will not operate.
    Owner report to NHTSA, 2007, at 53,353 miles
    The windows has a default. The passenger back door glass shattered for no reason. The front windows was down and it shattered. And went all over my car.
    Owner report to NHTSA, 2008, at 70,000 miles

  8. Steering

    8 complaints · 3%

    Parts named most often: rack and pinion, column.

    Dt: 1997 Chevrolet Cavalier. Sometimes the steering wheel will not allow the consumer to turn it toward the left. This happened at least 4 times. The last time it happened at an intersection, which caused consumer to lose control of the vehicle. Consumer was able to steer vehicle safely to the curb. She was driving…
    Owner report to NHTSA, 2005, at 129,800 miles
    : the contact stated since purchase the brakes have been replaced two times due to the rotors warping and a noise was heard coming from the rear brakes. The first brake replacement was at 3,000 miles on the vehicle. On may 23, 2006 while making turns at 20 MPH, the steering wheel froze. In an attempt to free the…
    Owner report to NHTSA, 2006, at 3,000 miles

Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.

2005 Chevrolet Cavalier recalls

NHTSA lists no recalls for this model year.

Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.

Questions about the 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier

What are the most common problems with the 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier?
By NHTSA owner complaints: electrical (211 complaints, typically around 70,000 miles); speed control (18 complaints, typically around 55,000 miles); transmission (16 complaints, typically around 58,000 miles).
How many recalls does the 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier have?
NHTSA lists no recalls for the 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier. Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls in case one is issued later.
Is the 2005 a bad year for the Chevrolet Cavalier?
It is 4th of 6 Cavalier model years by number of complaints, with 287 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.

Other Chevrolet Cavalier years

Chevrolet Cavalier problems by year