Instrument Panel problems of the 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier - part 1

My 2004 chevy Cavalier speedometer quit working. This seems to be a common problem with this vehicle. A recall is in order!.

The speedometer sticks and does not report accurate vehicle speed. Above a certain speed the gauge will freeze and be unusable. This happened without warning while I was driving on the highway and could easily have caused an accident. This is a known safety issue on other GMC cars from the same time period (mine is a 2004). In addition to the speedometer, the tachometer and the fuel gauge are also completely inoperable. The whole instrument cluster is defective. It is incredibly dangerous and expensive to repair, and should be covered under the same recall as the other Chevrolet products.

The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier. While examining the vehicle the contact noticed that the instrument panel gauges were not functioning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed that the instrument panel would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The current mileage was 61,000 and the failure mileage was 60,650. Updated03/15/12 the consumer stated the problem started with the gas gauge. Which started off as an intermittent problem and became worse. The gas gauge needle then started blocking the temperature gauge, which caused that needle not to work properly. The gas gauge and temperature needle were facing the steering wheel. The consumer was informed the entire instrument cluster would have to be replaced at a cost of $650 plus labor. Updated 05/30/12.

It was sometime in Nov. 2011 when the speedometer stopped working for no reason. Every once in a while it will register the speed but it is not correct. I have seen a lot of complaints about this same problem with the same car model. And from what I have learned online this can be a very expensive repair. There really should be a recall on this part. All drivers need to know what their speed is in order to be safe and responsible driver.

2004 Chevrolet Cavalier. Consumer states temp gauge looses its bearings and ends up over in the speedometer area and speedometer will not go pass 11 mph.

I own a 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier LS with 36,531 miles on it. Yesterday, I went to drive the car and had "no speedometer" function ---------- the needle just sat on "0 mph" no matter what speed I drove. I feel that this is a major safety issue and needs to be addressed. I have also read of the many hundreds of reported failures of the same kind concerning the instrument panel in these and many other gm products built during the years 2000 through 2005. Why are the trucks/ SUV's instrument panel problems a recall and the documented problems of the Cavalier (for the same years) not a recall? it appears to me that the relative cost of each vehicle plays a part in your decision and possibly the end of the manufacturing run of Cavaliers in 2005 has skewed your judgment. I find this instrument panel problem a serious driving concern for all who share the road. I also have been in discussions with others who have experienced this problem and there is a suggestion from the gm dealers that the problems of the "old gm" are not the problems of the "new gm (2009). Since my taxes pay your salary to keep me safe (without bias) and my taxes and future earnings make me a shareholder of the old/new gm, it would appear to me that this big problem could be solved between the parties because we are all on the same side and in the same family. Shame on you for not declaring this a "recall" for the Cavalier instrument panel. I still have the car and have not had the problem repaired. I also will not allow my family to drive this vehicle any more and I am not sure I will pay the approximate $500. 00 to have it repaired. This reminds me of the lack of a recall for the 3. 4liter v-6 motor that I had in my 2003 Buick rendezvous with all of its associated problems with head and intake gaskets. . . . . I paid the $1,500. 00 to have the intake gasket replaced. . . . . . . Hope the new gm gets its act together fast. . . . . . . . As for me I will be spending my hard-earned dollars on japanese .

2004 chevy Cavalier instrument panel not working correctly. Temperature gauge has flipped and is blocking my speedometer needle from reading correctly.

All gauges on instrument panel quit working completely at first but now move around backwards or any direction they choose. . . Never correct!!!!! this is very dangerous!!!!!!.

On June 15,2010 my entire cluster gauge started acting funny. I did some research to find out I was not the only one who owner a 2004 Cavalier and the gauges go all haywire. I feel this is a safety concern and should be reviewed.

2004 chevy Cavalier. The speedometer does not work properly. When starting the car (before shifting out of park) it will read 40+ mph. I once started it after it had been sitting in a hot parking lot for 8 hours and the needle was maxed out (again, before it was even shifted out of park). I have read that this problem has been experienced by many people with chevy Cavaliers (not just 2004 model). We were told that the only fix for this was to replace the entire cluster, which will cost $500+.

2004 chevy Cavalier speedo sticking. It started around 5 months ago it says your going 110 mph when only going 30 mph. Now it all over the place and the tach doesn't always work right either so you cant go by that. It is very dangerous trying to guess your speed. I have looked all over the internet only to find many people having the same problem. Chevy should have a recall if someone freaks out on a highway alot of people could really get hurt or even killed. Im sure if someone from chevy teenager had a cav doing this or got hurt because of this something would be done. Please do something to get this fixed. It doesn't seem to be a big issue but when people get hurt then it will be. . Please for the safety of people on the road tell gm they have a problem.

The instrument cluster on my 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier has failed to operate properly.

I have a 2004 chevy Cavalier and recently the speedometer has just stopped working. Sometimes it decides to work due to weather conditions, but most likely it is on 80mph when im doing 20mph or it just sits at the bottom all together. I was about to have a mechanic fix my car and I did some online research. . Read more...

Gauge cluster not reading correctly on and off on 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier.

The speedometer and tach quit working or are reading the wrong speeds on my 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier. I can be at a stop sign and the gage shows 40mph. I can be going down the interstate and it shows 30 mph. Sometimes it doesn't work at all. I have been online & seen several forums with people with the same problem, and there is no apparent recall.

The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier. Whenever the contact started her vehicle she noticed that the instrument panel displayed incorrect information. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealership and there were no prior warnings. The current and failure mileages were 45294.

Instrument cluster on my 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier started malfunctioning in late December 2009. First the gas gauge stop working, then the temperature gauge beacuse the gas gauge interfered. Now July 10 2010. The speedometer has also stopped functioning properly because the temperature gauge interfered with it. This is very dangerous. I emailed gm but no response. Was told by gm dealer it would be over $700 to replace it. Not fair at all, this should be a recall by gm because of the safety issue.

The speedometer on my 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier has failed at the 50,000 mile mark. There is no way for me to tell the accurate speed I am driving.

The instrument cluster is not giving the right speed you are going and the tach is not giving the rpms it stays on 0. Speed needle goes all the way around as to as far it can go and it stays there for a few days.

The easiest way to put this is the 2004 chevy Cavalier instrument panel is messed up, it first started approximately 3 months ago when my speedometer would read 40mph when I was idling, and now the needle is buried past 110mph even when im going 20mph. Now the gas gauge has gotten messed up too its needle is buried blocking the temperature needle from advancing which would cause overheating and braking problems. I called a local dealership about this problem and the service manager said he knows it is a problem but then proceeded to tell me it would be $500. 00 to repair it. Honestly I am kind of scared to drive this car with my family in it due to chevy not wanting to replace this widely known problem, I greatly appreciate you taking your time for reading this.

2004 chevy Cavalier all gauges on dash do not work.

Gauges in car is not working. Read on your site there is another 65 people who have the same problem.

Speedometer and other gauges going haywire. At times I have no idea what speed I am going. I can be stopped at a redlight and my speedometer reads 90mph. Or I can be keeping with the flow of traffic on route 30 and it reads 20mph.

My speedometer has stopped working. It has been repaired once and has started not functioning again. It occasionally works correctly, but mostly it goes up to a high reading and sticks there.

The speedometer does not read accurately. Sometimes it reads too fast and sometimes too slow. No accidents have occurred, but the potential is there. The problem is sporadic, happening over the course of a day, several days a week. I have not had it repaired.

My speedometer is malfunctioning. It is setting on 65 when stopped. Then when driving it sets on 110+. Then for no reason it starts working again. I took it in to a chevy dealership they said nothing was wrong, I am still under warranty. I only have one car, I have to drive to work. But this is scary and dangerous. Not to mention I could get a ticket.

My 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier has instrument cluster issues. The speedometer, tachometer, fuel and temperature gauges do not work properly. I have read many post from Cavalier owners with the same problem. It is a safety issue since I cannot tell how fast I am going.

The gauges on my Cavalier are all messed up. Sometimes the only gage that works are my rpm gauges. All the other gauges: the gas gage, the thermometer gauges and the mph gage never work right. I can't tell how fast I am going, how much gas is in the car or if it's going to overheat on me or not. It will not reset. This has been going on for two years.

The rpm and the mph gauge are not working.

I have a 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier 2-dr coupe. The instrument panel is not working correctly. The gas gauge pointer works only part of the time. It will show (0) zero gas, even after a fill-up. The temperature gauge works the same way, sometimes, the pointer will move and sometimes it stays at the (0) temperature position, even while being driven. The speedometer pointers turns counter-clockwise. The only gauge that seems to work properly so far is the tachometer gauge. The car was purchased new and has about 53,000 miles on it.

Speedometer stopped working.

Odometer would not read correctly and would end up over 110mph and get stuck. Eventually would make it to 0 and work for a couple days and the go back over 110mph. While it was over 110 if you started the car the fuel gauge would turn towards the temp gauge. Took car to the dealer and had to replace the entire instrument cluster. Cost about $400. 00.

Defective stepper motors on the cluster instrument panel. Now affecting fuel gauge,speedometer,and tachometer on about a year now. Just found out what is causing the problem. Gm already recalled trucks and SUV's. No recall on cars yet.

All four gauges that make up the instrument panel cluster (lr fuel, temp, speed and tech) will show zero reading or varies reading that have nothing to do with reality. By turning the key numerous times I can reset the speedometer back to zero and then use the vehicle, till at a random time it will just increase in speed shown. I feel this is a safety issue and there should be a recall. Gm has had numerous complaints and have done zero except charge high fee to fix a defective safety equipment that they place in the vehicle.

The dash board cluster in my 2004 chevy Cavalier coupe has problems. The dials of my gauges are inaccurate. The engine heat gauge dial can cross over intermittently into my speedometer causing that to get stuck and not work. The heat gauge dial has also been pointed towards my steering wheel, pointing directly down. My rpm gauge rarely works correctly. I have taken it into a repair shop to be looked at and was told by the repairman that he had the same problem with the cluster on his Cavalier. He knew what the problem was as I described it. He told me how to temporarily correct the problem. This is done by continually turning the key in the ignition slightly, until the dials return the normal position, I have to do this at least once a week. He quoted me a repair price of $500. 00. I do not have enough money to fix this and believe it should be recalled. I have done some investigating of my own on-line and have found that many people have this problem. In the winter this problem is worse. Help!!!.