CHEVROLET · vehicle model
CHEVROLET CAVALIER
6,452 NHTSA complaints and 9 safety recalls across model years 1982–2005.
- Complaints
- 6,452
- Recalls
- 9
- Model years
- 24
The CHEVROLETCAVALIER appears in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database with 6,452 consumer safety complaints and 9 recall campaigns across 24 model years (1982–2005). That averages roughly 269 complaints per model year. Report counts can differ between model years for many reasons; this dataset does not establish the cause of a difference.
Complaint volume on a nameplate alone is not a reliability verdict: a long-running bestseller can accumulate more filings than a low-volume niche model because more vehicles are on the road. The table below shows report counts and published NHTSA crash-test ratings side by side for each model year. The filing-year histogram shows the timing of submitted reports, not a causal trend.
NHTSA has 57 investigation files tied to this model, with 2 currently open. Investigation records, complaint reports, and recall campaigns each provide different context. Use the official NHTSA VIN lookup and the underlying notices to research a specific vehicle; PlainCars does not infer a vehicle-risk or pricing conclusion from these records.
Complaints by Year
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2005 | 362 |
| 2004 | 428 |
| 2003 | 867 |
| 2002 | 254 |
| 2001 | 356 |
| 2000 | 447 |
| 1999 | 337 |
| 1998 | 473 |
| 1997 | 751 |
| 1996 | 748 |
| 1995 | 392 |
| 1994 | 310 |
| 1993 | 237 |
| 1992 | 178 |
| 1991 | 77 |
| 1990 | 70 |
| 1989 | 71 |
| 1988 | 14 |
| 1987 | 27 |
| 1986 | 21 |
| 1985 | 4 |
| 1984 | 10 |
| 1983 | 17 |
| 1982 | 1 |
Complaint Filing Trend
NHTSA complaint volume by year filed (not model year).
Filings moved from 63 in 2017-2021 to 9 in 2022-2026, a fall of 85.7%. That is the 8th percentile of change across the 772 nameplates with enough filings in both windows to compare, where 0 is the steepest fall and 100 the steepest rise.
Filing volume, not a reliability verdict: counts also move with how many vehicles are on the road, how old they are, and whether a recall drew attention. Computed from this portal's NHTSA filing-year records over the same two windows the trend rankings use.
Year filed (bar labels show the complaint count).
Compare CHEVROLETCAVALIER to Similar Vehicles
NHTSA Investigations 2 Open
Loss of motive power due to engine failure
Loss of Motive Power due to the Battery Energy Control Module
Electric Vehicle Battery Fires
Outboard Front Seat Belt Anchor Cable Failure
Fuel Line Leak
Momentary Increased Steering Effort
Front Wiper Transmission Inoperative
Passenger Sensing System
Seat Belt Anchor Cable Failure
Sale of noncompliant school bus
Frequently Asked Questions
How reliable is the CHEVROLET CAVALIER?▼
What years of CHEVROLET CAVALIER are available?▼
Does the CHEVROLET CAVALIER have safety ratings?▼
What are the most common CHEVROLET CAVALIER complaints?▼
How do I check if my CHEVROLET CAVALIER has been recalled?▼
Data sources
Data vintage: August 2026. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Every figure on PlainCars is rendered directly from NHTSA complaint and safety data, no number is typed in by an editor. CHEVROLET CAVALIER totals are aggregated from the linked NHTSA model-year rows; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.