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Sedans Chevrolet Cavalier Chevrolet Cavalier: Head Gasket Issues
58 messages, Last post on Oct 09, 2009 at 7:36 AM
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Replying to: mandi77 (Jun 21, 2005 11:01 am) My wife and I traded our otherwise perfectly good 1995 Cavalier for a Mazda Protege5 in 2002 because, at 52,000 miles, we were in need of our FOURTH head gasket in the car! Chevy knew there was a problem and warranted the original head gasket for 100,000 miles -- but once you had the original replaced, you were on your own to the tune of about $600 each time. Oh, we went back and forth with the dealership and GM, to no avail. The first head gasket went at about 32,000 miles, and each subsequent one went anywhere from 6,000 to 8,000 miles before busting open and covering the engine with smelly green antifreeze. We got really tired of cleaning pools of antifreeze off our driveway and choking up $600 annually for a car that was so young. By comparison, by the way, the 2002 Protege5 has just crossed 50,000 miles and has yet to visit the shop for a problem of any kind. It was one thing for GM to have a bad engine, but something even worse to not come clean and issue a recall for the real defect. They put band-aids on the problem instead of fixing the problem itself -- -- a poorly designed HEAD -- and then left their customers hanging. For that reason we now refer to my wife's former car as the "Crapalier" and have vowed never to patronize General Motors again. If you love the Cavalier so much, trade it -- quick -- for a 1997 or newer model with the Ecotec engine. It'll be the same look and the same interior, but with a much more reliable engine under the hood. Meade |
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Replying to: mandi77 (Jun 21, 2005 11:01 am) |
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Replying to: candie (Jun 22, 2005 7:25 am) 
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Replying to: joe3891 (Jun 22, 2005 9:01 am) Meade
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Replying to: mdaffron (Jun 22, 2005 9:44 am)
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Replying to: joe3891 (Jun 22, 2005 9:01 am) For the record, I purchased the '95 Cavalier because it was all I could afford. The car looked well taken care of, had exceptionally low mileage; I ran a carfax on it, and believe I did everything possible to assure myself that this was a "good little vehicle for me." I had no idea that the car had gasket and all of the other problems because I had my mechaniccheck it out (who until then I trusted) tell me it was a "great" little car, buy it! Some of us can't just purchase a vehicle and "run" either. Nice thought but I'm not one who can.
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Replying to: mdaffron (Jun 22, 2005 9:44 am)
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Replying to: candie (Jun 22, 2005 10:38 am)
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I'm purchasing a used Cavalier (4 cylinder) for my daughter to use while attending Grad School this fall. It seems to be in excellent shape with one flaw noone, so far, can diagnose. Once the engine is at operating temp., the coolant seeps back into the overflow/recovery bottle, rises slowly and dribbles out past the cap. It eventually drips down the inside fender well and onto the ground. One shop sez its the head gasket. Another sez its not the head gasket but he's uncertain what is wrong. Anyone else run into this problem? Thanks.
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Replying to: murphy15 (Jul 07, 2005 12:42 pm) 
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