The 1988 Chevrolet Cavalier has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 14,873 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 14 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the electrical system. Last updated July 5, 2026.
THERE MAY BE POOR BOND ADHESION BETWEEN WINDSHIELD GLASS AND MOUNTING.
WINDSHIELD COULD SEPARATE DURING A 30 MPH FRONTAL BARRIERTEST REQUIRED BY FMVSS 212. SUCH SEPARATION DURING AN ACCIDENT COULD RESULT INAN UNBELTED OCCUPANT BEING EJECTED AND INJURIED.
REINSTALL WINDSHIELD ASSURING PROPER ADHESION.
REAR LAMP WIRING HARNESS MAY CONTAIN OPEN OR INTERMITTENT CIRCUITS AFFECTING BACK UP LAMP OR LICENSE PLATE LAMP OPERATION.
LAMPS WOULD FLASH OR BE INOPERATIVE; CARS WOULD NOTCOMPLY WITH FMVSS 108.
INSTALL NEW WIRING HARNESS.
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“Windshield bonding does not meet fmvss 212, 1988, chevrolet cavalier, nhtsa campaign no: 88v121000. *ak”
“Purchased a 1988 chevrolet cavalier from e[ilotos auto sales 2230 frankfort ave. Phila. Pa. The car was sold without the dealer informing the buyer of the defects. There were many....two main crunchers were the brakes and huddled systems. The emission stickers were due. The dealer said,"he would…”
“Dt: the contact stated there is wind blowing around the front windshield sealants, allowing cold drafts to enter into the vehicle. The contact discovered nhtsa recall 88v121000, but this vehicle was not included in the recall due to the vin. However, the vehicle had the same symptoms as indicated…”
“During a frontal impact collision, the driver's side lap seat belt broke apart. Please describe. *ak”
“While driving, vehicle caught fire in front dash, electrical. Tt”
“The elctronic instrument panel goes out while driving. *ak consumer states the cluster goes out while driving consumer has to pukk over to wait for the cluster to come back on, consumer has contacted dealership and they refuse to fix problem, consumer states he has anothr vehicle that has this…”
“'cold power steering'. *dh”
“Was driving the car came to a stop light put on brake it feel like car is already to go. Tt”
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SUMMARY:A CHEVROLET SERVICE BULLETIN DATED JULY 1988 INDICATES THAT BOTHSOCKETS MUST BE REPLACED USING PART NUMBER 5972532.THIS SERVICE STOCKUSES A NEW HEAT RESISTANT MATERIAL.PRODUCTION STOCK WAS ALSO CORRECTEDBEGINNING WITH VINS J7163799 AND JJ187909.===
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Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1988 Chevrolet Cavalier as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.