2000 Chevrolet Cavalier problems
Owners have filed 447 complaints with NHTSA about the 2000 Chevrolet Cavalier. Electrical system is the most reported problem area, at 17% of complaints. Next are engine (12%) and brakes (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 447 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 17% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 28 and 13
- Injuries and deaths
- 24 and 2
- Typical mileage
- 56,000 miles 178 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 | 28 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 27 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 42 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 25 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 23 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 11 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 8 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 7 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 4 |
What the data shows
Of the 178 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 56,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 60,000 miles (40 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 28 complaints mention a crash; 13 complaints mention a fire; 24 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 2000 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 16 model years of the Chevrolet Cavalier with enough data (314 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 safety recall campaigns.
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.
Consumer states that the vehicle was involved in a collision which hit a ditch and flip over several time. Driver was thrown out the sun roof and die and the other two passenger received injuries. Dealer and the manufacturer was not notifed at this time. Nlm
Tl* the contact owns a 2000 chevrolet cavalier. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 MPH, the driver crashed into a tree. The air bags failed to deploy. The driver was killed. A police report was filed of the incident. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was destroyed. The approximate failure and current mileage was 130,000.
2 car vehicle collision-see police report. On the above date and time, the bethel fire department was dispatched to the intersection of reservoir st and grassy plain street for a motor vehicle accident. Upon arrival a two car mva was discovered with a small vehicle fire extinguished by the bethel pd. Bethel car one, pete holmberg, requested this fire marshal due to the fire damage to the vehicle. Upon my examination of the vehicle, I observed the front end of the involved vehicle with moderate front-end damage.
Battery terminal leaked, and since a lot of wiring is located under the battery, the acid ate the wires that go to the headlights, turn signals, and running lights. My highbeams work, and my drivers side turn signal work. Warranty wont cover, they said it was the battery. Why have wiring under the battery?
This car has been lovingly cared for since it was new. The underbody is perfect but the subframe (engine cradle) is badly rusted, with pitting, scaling and a rusted through hole. I am heartbroken! This car is very nice but now I can't drive it.