1992 Chevrolet Cavalier problems
Owners have filed 178 complaints with NHTSA about the 1992 Chevrolet Cavalier. Brakes is the most reported problem area, at 33% of complaints. Next are electrical system (14%) and engine (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 178 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 33% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 16 and 9
- Injuries and deaths
- 16 and 2
- Typical mileage
- 65,000 miles 10 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 5 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 0 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 0 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 0 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 0 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 2 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 10 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 65,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 16 complaints mention a crash; 9 complaints mention a fire; 16 injuries reported; 2 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1992 ranks 14th most-complained-about out of 16 model years of the Chevrolet Cavalier with enough data (95 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Vehicle skid on ice losing control hitting enbankment of creek. Rear occupants (3) were not able to release front seat belts of parents which died on scene. Tt
Stopped in traffic, construction was occurring, street was dry, another car rearended cavalier, driver's seat track snap, seat went forward/turned sideways. Three injuries occurred in the accident. *slc
Upon impact, during frontal crash at approx. 25MPH on slippery road conditions, driver's shoulder/lap belt pulled out of door, driver hit steering column. Tt
I own a 1992 chevy cavalier. I have had to replace the heater core 3 times. Once a year every year since 2001. I am requesting a recall on this issue due to the number of complaints I have read about this problem. I don't think that I or anyone else should have to replace a heater core/ blown head gasket once a year. I would like to hear from you or chevy about this problem. This is ridiculous and very very costly.
I own a 1992 chev cavalier z-24 and have been reading horror stories aboot the exact woes I have been suffering since buying it used in 1998 with only 15k mi on it; it only has 30000 on it now. The first to go was the heater core and belt tensioner and then the coolant leaks that has required several days of shop time. I have had the intake removed twice, the heads once - they accused me of overheating and warping them - the water pump replaced, 2 window motors installed and the altenator replaced.