I have a 2003 Cavalier with less than 1500 miles and already it has several
annoying problems. First off, the driver side power mirror (the glass
itself) shakes very noticeably when driving. Also, there is a very annoying
rattle noise coming from the right side of the dash near the passenger
airbag. If you push on the part of the dash between the glove box and
airbag, the noise goes away. A third issue is that the exhaust appears
awfully black and sooty for such a new car. Is this normal. You can wipe
off pure black when touching the inside of the exhaust. Car's idle is
somewhat smooth, but more noticeable and rougher than when I first picked up
the car. I obtained 25.8 MPG city and highway combined.

Anyone else have these problems? I intend to go to the dealer and soon as I
can get a chance, but just curious whether I am the only one with these
problems or not.

Oh yeah, if I get a replacement mirror assembly, will the dealer have to
remove the door panel to remove the mirror (thus probably causing a new
rattle when put back on), or just the black cover (where the control is)?

TIA,
Matt

"Scholar779" <XXNOSPAMXXsmartaleckXX (AT) wideopenwest (DOT) com> wrote

Your not, they just dont put the padding and stuff in cavaliers that they
put on the higher end models, on the edges of the dash on my roomates impala
they have a rubber culking that seems to absorb any plastic on plastic rub,
and the only noises I hear from my monte is when the dash is cooling off
from the AC from being 100 degrees +, and it makes some wierd creeking
noises.

its just the small panel by where the control is.

It is UNDER WARRANTY
Return the car to the DEALER
Return it often enough for the same problem and invoke the Lemon Law and get
your $$ back and go get a different car.

"Scholar779" <XXNOSPAMXXsmartaleckXX (AT) wideopenwest (DOT) com> wrote

: I have a 2003 Cavalier with less than 1500 miles and already it has
several
: annoying problems. First off, the driver side power mirror (the glass
: itself) shakes very noticeably when driving. Also, there is a very
annoying
: rattle noise coming from the right side of the dash near the passenger
: airbag. If you push on the part of the dash between the glove box and
: airbag, the noise goes away. A third issue is that the exhaust appears
: awfully black and sooty for such a new car. Is this normal. You can wipe
: off pure black when touching the inside of the exhaust. Car's idle is
: somewhat smooth, but more noticeable and rougher than when I first picked
up
: the car. I obtained 25.8 MPG city and highway combined.
:
: Anyone else have these problems? I intend to go to the dealer and soon as
I
: can get a chance, but just curious whether I am the only one with these
: problems or not.
:
: Oh yeah, if I get a replacement mirror assembly, will the dealer have to
: remove the door panel to remove the mirror (thus probably causing a new
: rattle when put back on), or just the black cover (where the control is)?
:
: TIA,
: Matt
:
:

Welcome to the world of J-bodys. They have been doing this since 95.

Jim

02 Pontiac Sunfire SE ECOtec

I'll start out by saying that I have no intention of damning a Cavalier or
Sunfire. My family has owned a '90 Cavalier, a '90 Sunbird, and an '00
Cavalier. The '90 Cavalier was quieter, smoother, and more comfortable then
the '00, and has needed only an alternator, radiator fan, and TCC solenoid
in it's 83,000 mile lifetime since new. It also needed a heater core a
couple of years ago, but that was because we forgot to change the coolant
for 11 years. Oops. Then there was Grandma running the A/C full blast while
sitting in parking lots for 30 minutes when it was over 100 degrees outside.
That might explain the alternator and fan. To this day, everything else
works like new. It's been handed down to several family members and just
recenltly got a new paint job. Looks brand new and the factory A/C stills
blows ice cubes.

Anyway, aside from the Metro, the Cavalier is the least expensive GM
offering. There simply isn't as much quality control, technology, or noise
reducing features that go into these vehicles. Granted, any vehicle can and
will have problems ranging from minor annoyances to major failures. However,
the less a vehicles costs, the more annoyances you will likely have to put
up with.

The '00 has it share of buzzes and rattles in the dash and doors with 18,000
miles, but more annoying is the minor surging upon light to no throttle
application while coasting. Dealer(s) can't find a problem, no codes, no
other symptoms. The driver just lives with it. It's been doing that since we
bought it. It also burned out a taillight prematurely (why does GM seem to
have so many problems with bulbs and sockets, i.e. fog lamps and DRLs on
full size trucks?).

What I'm trying to say is... It's a $15,000 Cavalier, not a $40,000 Cadillac
or even a $25,000 Buick! It's an inexpensive, domestic automobile - it's
SUPPOSED to rattle, hehe! If it didn't, you'd need to take it back to the
dealer to find out why it stopped rattling.

Roger

"Scholar779" <XXNOSPAMXXsmartaleckXX (AT) wideopenwest (DOT) com> wrote

In article <vhrmtuqqlbjdb3 (AT) corp (DOT) supernews.com>,
zroger73 <zroger73 (AT) cox-internet (DOT) com> wrote:
But wouldn't building inexpensive cars to high quality standards (which
does not necessarily mean lots of luxury features) make it more likely
that the buyer will come back to GM for his/her next car (from GM's point
of view, hopefully a nicer, more expensive, more profitable car)?

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Timothy J. Lee
Unsolicited bulk or commercial email is not welcome.
No warranty of any kind is provided with this message.

"Timothy J. Lee" <remove22 (AT) sonic (DOT) net> wrote

If you built an inexpensive car to high quality standards, you no longer
have an inexpensive car.

"Paradox" <l33ta0lhax0r (AT) mindspring (DOT) com> wrote

You can have some level of quality control built into the line and not have
to worry about rattles and squeaks.

Ensure proper fit and finish from the start and maintain quality through the
assembly process wouldn't cost more.

They can make cheap materials look decent.

Toyota Corollas and Civics are cheap and have better fit and finish than
many domestic entry and mid-level cars.