Problems with 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier STEERING

Instrumet cluster problems for a few years. fuel sending unit has been replaced at about 52,000 miles after quiting twice while driving highway speed of 55 mph. dealer claimed the car quit because of a bad battery the first time and did not diagnose the problem correctly. it was not the battery. the fuel sending unit intermittently reads well beyond full and interfears with the temperature gage function. now speedometer is stuck at 85 mph while turned off. i was driving with the cruise doing 67 mph, i slowed down to make a turn at an at grade insection to a road posted at 55 mph. i completed the turn and sped up. the speedometer read 58 mph but it felt llike i was gong about 30 mph. i stopped at another intersection and the speed dropped to 40 mph. i made the turn and acelerated and the speed went to 110 mph but i was not going near that fast. the car is in driveway turned off but the speedometer reads 85 mph. most recent issue is steering rack and k-frame rusted out and needed to be replaced. mechanic stated he never saw a steering rack rust out or a k frame rusted as bad as the one on this vehicle. we are the original owners.

Metal on metal noise found out shoes and rotors are damageddamaged. i have no money. v can't fix this. smell inside of leak. temp running high. 200.

Steering wheel and shroud became totally disengaged and fell into my lap while trying to turn onto livernois road making it impossible for me to steer vehicle.lucky i was leaving post office after mailing letters and not while on freeway. *tr

I had been reading about recent recalls with gm, especially ignition switches. i have a 2003 chevy cavalier and it was diagnosed with a bad ignition switch. i first noticed when i went to start the car in the morning, a day after coming home from work. good thing it happened then because i would have been stranded off site. i went to start the car, nothing happened except wipers and radio did not work as well which i thought was strange. finally the radio at least came on at some point, but car still would not start. after it was fixed they said the ignition switch was bad and the mechanic asked if i had looked for the recall on it. i searched online but did not find it. i know my car is older, however of all the cars i ever owned and i had many, i never had any issues with ignition switches! i think i had one of the defective switches and would like to look into this matter. unfortunately i probably can't go back to get the physical ignition switch at this point, too late. i have the proper paperwork for it however. also on another note, my rear driver side signal keeps going out, no matter how many times i replace it. that might be something gm should look into as well. *tr

My son was pulling into a parking lot and as he describes it, everything but the radio went dead all by itself (the engine died and there was no power steering or brakes). obviously the same symptoms as the current recalls. i called the dealer and was told the car isn't on the list. i've complained to chevy and am getting the runaround by multiple members of their "consumer support team" (we've assigned you a service request number but i am to wait until it happens again and then bring it in "so we could start reviewing on your case"). i took it to my own mechanic and he ran a bunch of tests but couldn't find anything that would cause the car to die. *tr

Driving at low speed. steering wheel experienced excessive side play. made appointment at local mechanic (non-dealer) steering housing taken off and found one of two pins in the steering column for the tilt mechanism half way out of housing. mechanic reinserted pin and attempted to restake pin in housing. experienced no side play after repair for about 1 week and problem has resurfaced. *tr

Power suddenly shut off, causing power steering to fail, which made me wreck into a ditch. it also caused the airbags to not deploy and prevented seatbelts from locking into place when the brakes were hit. *tr

Trans axle went out april 09 with a horrible mess of oil, steering rack replaced 6 months later, driver side window/ motor problem, fuel pump went 75,000 a bit shy of a year later. now my defrost isn't working; possibly the switch 85,000. had brakes done twice so far with leaks; this includes hydraulics, rotors, pads, shoes etc. my steering has seized while driving. this car has been a very expensive inconvenience. *ln

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet cavalier. while driving 65 mph, the vehicle suddenly shut off. the vehicle was towed to a local mechanic shop and the contact was informed that the steering pump failed. the contact did not notice any differences prior to the failure. the vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer. the current and failure mileages were 96,000.

1. vehicle made a moaning noise when turning at approximately 55,000 kms (and 3 years old). replaced power steering pump and steering rack. 2. random clunking from the front end at approx. 56,000 kms. replaced front bearings and transmission mount. 3. car lost power, had to be towed to dealership. dealer couldn't find a problem, insisted the car was fine. i insisted on them taking it out again. car broke down, had to be towed back to dealer again. replaced catalytic converter and fuel ignition switch. 4. burned through 4l of oil and puffed out black smoke. dealer couldn't locate problem. happened again approx. 2000 kms later. faulty piston rings, engine replaced entirely. at 61,000 kms. now at over $11,000 cdn warranty repairs on a well maintained low mileage car. 5. random clunking noise in front is back. going to dealer tomorrow. warranty: expired. *jb

Driver was traveling at about 50 mph when she heard a loud pop. suddenly the car started shaking back and forth. driver lost control and crashed into a jersey barrier which totaled the car and caused injuries. subsequent inspection revealed that something seemed to let go in the steering rack. the steering wheel can turn 8 to 12 inches from side to side without moving the wheels. *jb

2006 chevrolet cobalt & 2003 cavalier. consumer writes in regards to both vehicles power steering and cutting off problems. *smd the consumer stated the cavalier, cut off, just like the cobalt. however, the cobalt was recalled. the cavalier cut off weekly since it was purchased. the power steering was replaced during a recall. it was replaced at 35,000 miles and again at 68,000. *jb updated 08/07/14 *jb updated 09/24/14. *jb

Chevrolet cavalier z 2003, multiple failures. *bf the defroster would not clear the windows, the heater did not work, the air bag light illuminated because there was a split in the center of the steering wheel. when the consumer made a right turn a noise was heard. the left rear turn signal bulb was replaced, the right rear brake light bulb. there was a noise coming from the front of the vehicle, the dealer lubed the front sway bar bushing. the tires were over inflated, so the vehicle would sway when going over bumps, the blower motor, and heater control was replaced. the abs lamp illuminated. the vehicle needed brake pads. there was mold on the drivers front door. the ac compressor was replaced. the window went down extremely slow, the dealer lubed the window track and regulator. the fog light bulb was inoperative, the door latch was inoperative. *jb

I bought the car brand new arround 04/2003 chevrolet cavalier 2003 since then i reported several times back to the dealer ship with the following problems:drivetrain - clunk noise during low speed turns a/c - difficult mode/temperature setting operation . steering - momentary loss of power assist. steering - rattle/knock when turning wheels - front/rear wheel squeaking noise ---all those complaints are never been taken care off - they allways had some "low excuses for me - like the wheater/rain/dirt on the wheels (i live in the city ...not on a dirt road..) anyway the only complaint they taken serious is that i brought in the car now for the 3rd time to repair the right signal light - last time just today! i reported again all the other problems, with the sucess that they at least orderd now a "new part" for the a/c, everything else is again been "played" down. honestly, i'm getting tired of having so much trouble with a new car. bringing it to the dealership always cost me a nearly a whole day of missing work. i would like to know if there is any way to fix all tjose problems for once and all or does a customer from chevrolet just has to suffer and put up with such a poor quality?!*ak

When coasting to a stop and depressing clutch, car idle speed will drop below the normal idle speed of 800 rpm. sometimes, the idle speed will bounce around between 400 rpm and 800 rpm. other times, the engine will stall. problem is intermittent, but will usually occur multiple times before fixing itself. the stalling engine is a concern because of the lost of power steering making turns. dealer unable to duplicate problem. *jb

i have a major problem with a vehicle that i recently purchased. i bought a 2003 cavalier and there was a problem with it last week. i need to know exactly who to talk to before i take any further actions. my car is supposed to have an extended warranty on it and i know that i'm supposed to be able to get a rental car. well, here's the situation last week, i was driving my car and went to make a turn and my steering wheel locked up while i was driving. i was on the way to take it to be looked at and it happpened again, but when i tried to stop, the car just kept going and caused me to crash into another vehicle. when i went to the dealership to speak to someone, they offered no help as far as my rental and warranty. i am angry because this flaw with the car could've resulted in my death. it took over a month to get someone to come take a look at the car and when someone finally came on nov. 2, they said they didn't find anything wrong and that was it. i tried making contact again and got no response. i'm still without my vehicle because even if i pay to have it repaired, there is still the chance that it could happen again.*ak

I own a new 2003 chevy cavalier with several problems. had to replaced 2 spacers, a strut mount, several steering parts and part of the rear light. *bf the consumer stated that she can slightly rock the steering wheel from side to side. the consumer asked if an occasional popping in the steering is normal in her vehicle after testing four of the same models. *tc