NHTSA Complaint #10924470 — 2001 CHEVROLET CAVALIER

IGNITION SWITCH AND THE IGNITION LOCK CYLINDER MALFUNCTIONED IN 2009, ROUGHLY FIVE YEARS AFTER GM'S RECALL. THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF THE VEHICLE TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE IGNITION SWITCH'S SERVICE. IN ADDITION TO THE RECALL, GM INSTALLED AN IGNITION WIRING HARNESS. BACK IN 2009, THE VEHICLE'S IGNITION WOULD OVERTURN, AND THEN, THE ENGINE WOULD AUTOMATICALLY SHUT-OFF. TO REPAIR THE PROBLEM, BOTH THE IGNITION SWITCH AND LOCK CYLINDER WERE REPLACED AT A COST OF $492. IN 2014, THE IGNITION SWITCH MALFUNCTIONS. THIS TIME, IT APPEARS THE IGNITION LOCK CYLINDER TO BE WORKING PROPERLY. THE IGNITION SWITCH BECAME DAMAGE DUE TO CURRENT FLOW TO THE IGNITION WHEN HOLDING THE KEY IN THE START POSITION. THE HEAT MELTED THE INTERNAL SWITCH. I HAD NOT KNOWN IN 2014 THAT THE PROBLEM WAS THE IGNITION SWITCH. IN THE SAME YEAR, HOWEVER, GM RECALLED A MASSIVE NUMBER OF VEHICLES FOR IGNITION SWITCH DEFECT. CHEVROLET CAVALIER WAS NOT ON THE LIST. TODAY, IT COSTS $180.00, EXCLUDING TAXES AND FEES, TO GET THE IGNITION SWITCH INSTALLED BY A CHEVROLET TECHNICIAN. A LOCKSMITH RATE STARTS AT $90 BUT DOES NOT INCLUDE SERVICE FEE, AND LABOR. BASED ON FEW ONLINE REPORTS, THE INSTALLATION TAKES A MINIMUM OF 20 MINUTES. WOULD INSTALLED THE IGNITION SWITCH MYSELF BUT CANNOT LOCATE STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS. ALL THE CHEVROLET MANUALS OWNED DO NOT PROVIDE INSTRUCTIONS ON REPLACING THE IGNITION SWITCH. IF I DO INSTALL THE IGNITION SWITCH, I AM UNSURE IF THE VEHICLE'S COMPUTER WILL NEED REPROGRAMMING. A FEW REPORTS MADE REFERENCE TO REPROGRAMMING THE VEHICLE'S COMPUTER FOLLOWING THE CHANGING OF THE IGNITION SWITCH. SOLUTION: I THINK GM NEEDS TO ADD CHEVROLET CAVALIER TO THE "RECALL" LIST. THE ALTERNATIVE, IGNITION WIRING HARNESS DOES NOT SUPPORT THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM ENTIRELY WHEN THE CHARGING SYSTEM LIGHT REMAINS ON THE DASHBOARD.