2001 Chevrolet Cavalier: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 1 recall campaign for the 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier. The campaign is 04V036000. NHTSA received the report on 27 Jan 2004. The NHTSA record gives the component Electrical System / Ignition / Switch. NHTSA has 215 complaints on file for this model year. 2 NHTSA investigations name this model year.

The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on this campaign.

This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.

Remedy of campaign 04V036000, in the NHTSA record

Dealers will install a relay kit in these vehicles to prevent high current from flowing through the ignition switch, and check that your car will start with a properly charged battery and, if necessary, replace the ignition switch. Owner notification will begin on march 1, 2004. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, pontiac at 1-800-620-7668, buick at 1-866-608-8080, or oldsmobile at 1-800-630-6537. Customers can also check their vehicle online by going to www.mygmlink.com and entering the vehicle's identification number.

NHTSA VIN lookup

Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.
NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on 1 Oct 2026. Complaint file through 29 Mar 2018. Recall file through 29 Sep 2026.

Since the last update

No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks

All updates to the register

Recall campaigns

1 campaign. 1,415,231 units in total.

04V036000Received 27 Jan 2004. 1,415,231 units.
Electrical System / Ignition / Switch
Defect, in the NHTSA record
On certain passenger vehicles. If the engine fails to start and the driver holds the key in the "start" position for an extended period, high current flows through the ignition switch, and sometimes produces enough heat to melt internal switch parts.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
If the switch is damaged, a fire could occur in the steering column, even with the engine off and the key removed. The fire could spread to the interior of the car, which could injure occupants or cause damage to adjoining structures.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will install a relay kit in these vehicles to prevent high current from flowing through the ignition switch, and check that your car will start with a properly charged battery and, if necessary, replace the ignition switch. Owner notification will begin on march 1, 2004. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, pontiac at 1-800-620-7668, buick at 1-866-608-8080, or oldsmobile at 1-800-630-6537. Customers can also check their vehicle online by going to www.mygmlink.com and entering the vehicle's identification number.
Report filed by GENERAL MOTORS CORP.. Manufacturer campaign number 04002. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 1 Mar 2004.

The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.

Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

Complaints by component

215 complaints, 311 component mentions.

A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. The figure per 1,000 component mentions shows how many of each 1,000 mentions name the component.

2001 Chevrolet Cavalier
All 2001 vehicles

2001 Chevrolet Cavalier: complaints by component, per 1,000 component mentions
Component	2001 Cavalier	All 2001 vehicles	Cavalier, all years	Mentions
Electrical System	151.1	95.2	165.2	47
Service Brakes, Hydraulic	112.5	102	111.5	35
Power Train	106.1	97.8	54.4	33
Engine and Engine Cooling	93.2	139.2	138.1	29
Steering	77.2	40.2	64.9	24
Fuel System, Gasoline	74	36.7	86.5	23
Air Bags	61.1	64.3	55.1	19
Suspension	51.4	77.7	32.2	16
Equipment	35.4	23	18.7	11
Visibility	32.2	43	53.6	10

The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 24.

Complaints that report a crash: 19
Complaints that report a fire: 5
Injuries in the complaints: 16
Deaths in the complaints: 1
Date of the newest complaint: 13 Sep 2010

These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.

Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.

Complaints about the 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 2002, with 48 complaints.

Investigations

NHTSA investigations that name the 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier
Number	Type	Subject	Component	Opened	Closed	Campaign
EA02028	Engineering analysis	ERRATIC FUEL GAUGE	Fuel System, Gasoline	30 Sep 2002	30 Dec 2003
SQ01002	Safety query	ERRATIC FUEL GAUGE	Vehicle Speed Control / Linkages	26 Jan 2001	30 Sep 2002

Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.

Other model years

The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.

A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.

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Official channels

NHTSA VIN lookupNHTSA shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle from its VIN or its license plate.
NHTSA: report a safety problemThe NHTSA form for a complaint about a vehicle, a tire, a child seat or equipment.
NHTSA page of the 2001 Chevrolet CavalierThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.

Cite this page

Recall Register. 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/chevrolet/cavalier/2001/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through 29 Sep 2026.

Sources

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence: US government work, public domain
Recall file through: 29 Sep 2026
Complaint file through: 29 Mar 2018
First complaint in the file: 1 Jan 1995
Manufacturer in the recall file: GENERAL MOTORS CORP.

The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier?: 1,415,231 units in 1 campaign. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Chevrolet Cavalier have for all model years?: NHTSA lists 40 recall campaigns for the Chevrolet Cavalier, model years 1982 to 2005. 1 of them names the 2001 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier name most often?: Electrical System: 47 of 311 component mentions, or 151.1 per 1,000. For all 2001 vehicles the figure is 95.2 per 1,000.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier open?: No. Each of the 2 investigations that name this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.