NHTSA Complaint #10415586 — 2004 CHEVROLET CAVALIER

MY 2004 CHEVY CAVALIER HAS SUFFERED A NUMBER OF DEFECTS SINCE ITS PURCHASE. WHILE THEY DID NOT RESULT IN ANY COLLISIONS OR INJURIES, THEY EASILY COULD HAVE. AT 10,211 MILES (8/31/2004) THE WATER PUMP FAILED; LUCKILY, THIS WAS COVERED UNDER WARRANTY, AND THE PUMP, ALONG WITH SEVERAL SEALS AND GASKETS WERE REPLACED. AT 29,522 MILES (5/23/2005), WHITE SMOKE BEGAN BILLOWING OUT OF THE EXHAUST. MULTI CHEVROLET IN UNION, NJ DISCOVERED THAT A CYLINDER HEAD WAS DEFECTIVE, THE HEAD GASKETS WERE CRACKED, AND THE TIMING CHAIN NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THESE REPAIRS WERE AGAIN COVERED BY THE WARRANTY AT 48,241 MILES (6/9/2006), THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER AND A SUSPENSION BEAM FAILED. LUCKILY, WE HAD PURCHASED AN EXTENDED WARRANTY, AND THE REPAIRS WERE AGAIN COVERED. FINALLY, AT 74,000 MILES (5/10/10), THE VEHICLE SUFFERED CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE. LUCKILY, MY SON [XXX] WAS DRIVING ON A LOCAL ROAD, AND WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER SAFELY. AFTER HAVING THE VEHICLE TOWED, [XXX], SERVICE MANAGER OF BILL DEFOUW CHEVROLET IN LAFAYETTE, INDIANA, INFORMED US THAT EVERY LIFTER WAS BROKEN AND EVERY VALVE WAS BENT, AND THE PISTONS WERE IRREPARABLY DAMAGED AS WELL. BECAUSE THE VEHICLE IS OUTSIDE OF WARRANTY, GM HAS REFUSED TO REPLACE THE ENGINE, AND WE CANNOT AFFORD TO DO SO OUT OF POCKET. WE ARE REPORTING THIS IN CASE OTHER BUYERS OF THIS MODEL/YEAR OR LATER HAVE EXPERIENCED ISSUES, AND ARE CURRENTLY DRIVING UNSAFE VEHICLES. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR