2003 Chevrolet Cavalier: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 1 recall campaign for the 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier. The campaign is 04V524000. NHTSA received the report on 1 Nov 2004. The NHTSA record gives the component Exterior Lighting / Turn Signal. NHTSA has 579 complaints on file for this model year. 4 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 04V524000, in the NHTSA record

Dealers will inspect the rear lamp bulb socket assemblies and apply grease or replace them if necessary. The recall began on january 18, 2005. Owners should contact chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438 or pontiac at 1-800-620-7668.

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. 256,025 units in total.

04V524000Received 1 Nov 2004. 256,025 units.
Exterior Lighting / Turn Signal
Defect, in the NHTSA record
On certain passenger vehicles, the rear lamps that provide stop and turn signals and tail lamp functions stop working because of inadequate contact between the bulb and socket. In addition, if one bulbs were to become inoperative while the vehicle was operating in cruise control, the cruise control would disengage when the remaining bulb was activated. If both lamps were to become inoperative, the cruise control would not engage.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
An inoperative brake lamp will not convey the driver's intention of stopping to drivers in following vehicles, and an inoperative rear turn signal lamp will not convey the driver's intention to turn to drivers in following vehicles. Both of these failures can increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will inspect the rear lamp bulb socket assemblies and apply grease or replace them if necessary. The recall began on january 18, 2005. Owners should contact chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438 or pontiac at 1-800-620-7668.
Report filed by GENERAL MOTORS CORP.. Manufacturer campaign number 04083. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 18 Jan 2005.

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

579 complaints, 733 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.

2003 Chevrolet Cavalier
All 2003 vehicles

2003 Chevrolet Cavalier: complaints by component, per 1,000 component mentions
Component	2003 Cavalier	All 2003 vehicles	Cavalier, all years	Mentions
Fuel System, Gasoline	451.6	43.8	86.5	331
Exterior Lighting	96.9	33.7	33.3	71
Electrical System	95.5	122.3	165.2	70
Engine and Engine Cooling	54.6	108.8	138.1	40
Service Brakes, Hydraulic	49.1	83.2	111.5	36
Fuel System, Other	49.1	7.1	15.2	36
Visibility	49.1	56.8	53.6	36
Suspension	24.6	62.1	32.2	18
Air Bags	21.8	45.8	55.1	16
Equipment	19.1	32	18.7	14

The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 21.

Complaints that report a crash: 27
Complaints that report a fire: 4
Injuries in the complaints: 14
Deaths in the complaints: 1
Date of the newest complaint: 29 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 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 2008, with 179 complaints.

Investigations

NHTSA investigations that name the 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier
Number	Type	Subject	Component	Opened	Closed	Campaign
EA07015	Engineering analysis	ENGINE STALLING - FUEL PUMP FAILURE	Fuel System, Gasoline / Delivery / Fuel Pump	1 Nov 2007	28 Oct 2008
PE07033	Preliminary evaluation	FUEL PUMP FAILURE	Fuel System, Gasoline / Delivery / Fuel Pump	28 Jun 2007	1 Nov 2007
EA04028	Engineering analysis	TURN SIGNAL MALFUNCTION	Exterior Lighting / Turn Signal	14 Sep 2004	22 Nov 2004	04V524000
PE04043	Preliminary evaluation	TURN SIGNAL MALFUNCTION	Exterior Lighting / Turn Signal	14 May 2004	14 Sep 2004

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 2003 Chevrolet CavalierThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.

Cite this page

Recall Register. 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/chevrolet/cavalier/2003/. 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 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier?: 256,025 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 2003 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier name most often?: Fuel System, Gasoline: 331 of 733 component mentions, or 451.6 per 1,000. For all 2003 vehicles the figure is 43.8 per 1,000.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier open?: No. Each of the 4 investigations that name this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.