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Besides the general complaints below, this model seems especially prone to early head gasket failure. Kelly of Council Bluffs, IA, writes:
Since the day I purchased my Chevy Cavalier LS Convertible, it has been a nightmare. A week and 4 days after I bought it the engine blew up. I was told there was a defect in the valve spring and it snapped and the engine fell down on the pistons, etc. Anyway I wanted to return it to the dealership but it was my first car and I was young and didn't know any better so they talked me into keeping it and they had the local Chevy dealership fix it and Chevy paid for it because it was a manufacturer's defect.

Well then I noticed that the convertible top was leaking through the seals and my seats were always soaked and the trunk was always wet and mildewy. I've had two recalls that I've been notified on since I bought the car in 98 (it's a 1996 Chevy Cavalier LS Convertible). I've recently been noticing a thud in the rear end on my car and my head gasket is leaking as is the power steering and the car is practically overheating. I am thinking the head gasket is going out because my car has been running terrible! I've recently had the car tuned up and the oil changed but this has not helped.

L.H. of Hilton Beach, AL has problems with her Cavalier.
I have a 2 1/2 year old Chevy Cavalier and the transmission went out. I have talked with a few others with the same problem. I am trying to find out if this is a common occurrence with this vehicle.

The mileage I put on the car caused the repairs not to be under warranty. I tried to ask GM why we can put a man on the moon, talk to anywhere in the world with a push of a button, but can not make a transmission that does not last until the car is paid for.

The cost to repair the car was $2,100.00. We were without our car for two weeks because the new transmissions that were put into the car were defective. The company also replaced a head gasket and told us that this was their good will, further investigations by myself found that the head gaskets were recalled on all 1995 cars and ours is a 1996. I guess I am wondering is my car had a 1995 head gasket on it?

Angela of Southfield, MI:
I had a 97 convertible Cavalier. Whenever it rained, my seats were soaked from leakage in the seals. After the last time, I was advised to purchase a 98 convertible Cavalier which was much more expensive than I would have liked.

I called an 800 complaint number and was told, "Sorry, There is nothing we could do."

Well, now that I have the '98 I'm still having the same problem. I've been embarrassed with wet clothes, inconvenienced and just disgusted. I don't have time to do this again with this car. My immediate family has purchased over 10 cars within the past 5 years. I would really hate to switch to another maker due to poor service.

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