Vehicle Data Hub

1997 Chevrolet Cavalier electrical system problems

Owners reported electrical system problems in 118 complaints for the 1997 Chevrolet Cavalier, 16% of the complaints on file. It is the most reported problem area for this model year.

At a glance

Complaints
118 16% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage
94,000 miles 18 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires
1 and 17
Injuries and deaths
1 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When electrical system problems show up

Electrical system complaints by mileage, 1997 Chevrolet Cavalier Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 94,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 2 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 0 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 0 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 5 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 3 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 2 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 4 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 0 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 1 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 1 complaints 200k+ miles: 0 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 94,000 miles
Based on 18 complaints that include mileage. 11% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles2
20k to 40k miles0
40k to 60k miles0
60k to 80k miles5
80k to 100k miles3
100k to 120k miles2
120k to 140k miles4
140k to 160k miles0
160k to 180k miles1
180k to 200k miles1
200k+ miles0

What the data shows

Of the 18 electrical system complaints that report mileage, the median is about 94,000 miles, and 11% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 1 crash, 17 fires, 1 injury.

What owners wrote

Loss of steering and air bags deployed before vehicle came into contact with anything. Regarding jannie welch. Prior to the accident a recall was issued and was repair by the dealer on oct. 7, 1998. The vehicle tape player sounded garbled and the speakers were not very loud. The horn wire inside the steering column broke. A leaking seal within the power steering shaft caused a whining sound. (bradley banks attorney for client). *nlm

May 1999 CrashInjury

While driving my horn stopped working without any kind of indicator!! 3 time this has occurred while driving !! Major safety issue! Was unable warn car backing out and had to swerve to avoid accident! Replaced fuse 3 times!! Someone may die as a result of this malfunction!! Never received any kind of notice from dealership/ manufacture regarding this issue! Upon googling found many are experiencing same problem!!

Reported at 162,000 miles, February 2016

Other problems reported for the 1997 Chevrolet Cavalier

Electrical system problems in other years

Electrical system problems across all Chevrolet models