1996 Chevrolet Cavalier from North America - Comments

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I have a tapping noise in the engine, GM is trying to tell me it is normal. I have had to take GM to court in order to have this problem fixed.

If there is anyone else who is told that a "piston slap" is normal, please fight this, as it is repairable.

I also have a 96 Chevy cavalier and I think it is a piece of "JUNK". The first week I had the car the fuel pump went, from then on the problems got worse. To name a few; throw bearing, main bearings, crank, and an on going piston slap problem. At 58,000 klms the dealer replaced the pistons, rods, and bearings to cure the problem. This worked for about 2 months then returned. From this point on I've been given many excuses from being normal to a timing chain noise (timing chain was replace also). The dealer refuses to make any more repairs which is forcing me to take the dealer to court. This person is having a similar problem and would appreciate any advice or help. Thanks Glenn azdriluk@vaxxine.com.

I own a 1996 Chevy Cavalier, in addition I have also had problems with a persistent tapping noise of some kind. One mechanic told me it was be cause "not only was my tensioner broken, but my timing chain was also broken-in three places no less". So about a month ago, I had those parts replaced. Now, the noise is starting up again and I have no idea what it could be.

My cavalier is a 1997, and also has the same engine tapping. It did not effect my performance, nor the way my car runs. I think that those who complain are just bitter old men looking for a reason to complain. It's 14 degrees outside here in Colorado, and my cavalier is doing great. I had to remove my after market air intake, due to the slush, and snow, however this is because my intake was manufactured for a civic. Horsepower is no complaint. It does not do well in the snow. On good driving conditions, I race civics, corollas, and sometimes even mustangs. I keep up with all of these models. I dig my Cavalier. Find the good in your car for once, not always the bad.

I have a 1996 Cavalier. And boy Oh! boy. It's a piece of junk. I'm changing the brakes every 6 months. Had the rotors changed twice. The rotors keeps warping. The transmission blew and the dash rattles. Has had two recalls. The engine is loud. Had a very large screw fall off from the front end unit while I was driving. Good thing I just exited the freeway. Gas gauge messed up. Had the ignition wires replaced. Shall I go on.

I own a 1996 2 dr. chevy cavalier coupe 2.2L. I had my first issue with the car just this past weekend. It started overheateing and got very hot! My husband and I looked and looked for the problem, come to find out it was the "head gasket". We went and picked the parts up from our local parts dealer and proceeded to fix it ourselves. Luckily the "head" didn't blow. Due to the fact that it has an "aluminum head" they will crack/ blow very easily due to the heat content. After getting the car back together 6 1/2 hours later, we were having problems reattaching the gas hose, finally we thought it was complete and took it on a test drive. "It went fine". Well needless to say when we started the car the next day there was gas everywhere under the hood and our garage. The "O" ring somehow came unattached. Almost forgot.. this car has 110,000 miles on it. Tis is the first time anything has gone wrong on it. It is a fantastic car, just take care of it.

I have a 1996 Cavalier Junk is all I can say, I would never advise anyone to purchase this year of car. It has 102,000 on it now and only had 42,000 on it when I bought it. ABS light stays on all the time, don't seem to be able to fix it, it's had new sensors put on. I even put a new computer in it to see if that would work, NO it didn't. It gives out different codes for problems every time it is hooked up to be checked out. The head lights dim every time I touch the brakes. I don't know if it's got wire problems or what, nobody seems to know!! I HATE this car!!!

I too was an owner of a 1996 Chevy Cavalier convertible. I must have replaced the bearings in the front wheels at least 6 times. The ABS hazard light would always stay on. Then about 2 months ago the car ignited in flames for no reason, completely destroying my car and my home since it was parked in the garage. It turns out there was a recall on the car for its faulty ignition switches. I am now attempting to sue Chevrolet for my loss. I advise any 1996 Chevrolet Cavalier owner to check for all recalls and have the proper adjustments made to your car before something like this happens to you.

I have also had problems with my 1996 Chevy Cavalier that I got for my birthday. I drove it for one week and something went wrong with the timing chain. We replaced it with a brand new one along with the tensioner. It started then went off and never turned back on. We have tried for 3 months to find the problem and so far the outcome is the computer.

We would like to comment on this subject. We are continuously having "little" problems with our '96 Chevy Cavalier. We've had to replace the brake pads, rotors, & drums--& guess what? The ABS light stays on no matter what we do. The car heats up when at a stop light or driving at low speed. It smells like gas. Quiet tapping noise when turned on. We've also replaced the starter and the ignition. Pretty slow starting. Also, the trunk is no longer working!

1996 Cavalier timing chain replacement number 2 in 6 months? I had my timing chain replaced 6 month ago to get rid of a horrible chain slapping noise. Now 6 month later the noise came back. Will I be replacing the chain every 6 months or do I have a problem??? Is there problems with the oil delivery to chain and sprockets??? Help!

I also have a 97 Chevy Cavalier. In the past 3 months I have had 4 oil leaks, two gas leaks. I had to replace the fuel pump, transmission, alternator, and now I just found out the timing chain is going. I guess when it rains it pours!

I also have a 1996 chevrolet cavalier and I have had to replace the water pump on it twice and now I am having to replace the head gasket on it. I have had the fan changed, the thermostat changed twice, a new radiator and hoses, and it was still overheating on me at red lights or when the air conditioner was on. I finally had to end up spending over 1,000 $ to get the head gasket replaced. I hate this car and I will never own another chevrolet cavalier in my life or better yet another GM car.

I love my 1996 cavalier, in the snow its great. I do notice "piston slap" but the car drives great and doesn't seem to be affected by the engine noise. The ABS light only comes on when I slam on the brakes in slick conditions... all 4 brakes do still work despite the light. I haven't minded the 2 recalls. The water pump appears to be going at 101k miles, other than that... that is my first major repair after almost two years of owning the car.

I also own a 1996 chevy cavalier and if I would have seen this website before I bought it I would have ran. I bought the car in October of of 2002. It broke down on me 3 weeks after I bought it. It was broke down for 3 days then I put it in the shop and they couldn't figure out what was wrong with it and it started for them. It has "mysteriously" broken down on me about 10 times since then. No one knows what is wrong with it. I have had the motor mounts replaced. My brakes and rotors replaced. A transmission flush. If I don't take off pretty fast it the car hesitates and won't switch gears and then when the gears finally switch it is a very hard shift. About two weeks ago my air conditioner was being held on by one bolt. It was coming lose so it in turn ate my serpentine belt off which you know is the main belt that runs your engine. So there it was broke down for 4 days. Now it idles really rough and catches in between all gears not just 2nd and 3rd anymore. It won't hardly shift out of gears now. It blows black smoke out the back every time I accelerate. My gas cap almost blows off in my hand when I try to unscrew it and fill up with gas. By the way this is an automatic. We are now looking at the throttle sensor and the spark plugs. This car only had 69 thousand miles on it when I bought it. And broke down 3 weeks later. It now has 81 thousand on it. So I don't know if it the car or the make or just me. But it sure does suck. If anyone has any ideas on what I need to do. Email me and Angeleyes73034@yahoo.com.

Hi, I know I don't have a Cavalier, but I do have a 1990 Chevrolet Corsica with about 215.000 miles and I couldn't be happier. I purchased it with 153.000 miles. I have put that car through hell and know my mom drives it. I have read all your comments and I'm sorry, but some cars break down for no reason. That's the price you pay as a culture, and besides, if every car stayed running without faults, the car manufacturers would be broke. It's all about the money sw in ohio.