2003 Chevrolet Cavalier
small car / 4-door sedan
Moderate overlap front: original test
Rating applies to 1995-2005 models
Tested vehicle: 1995 Chevrolet Cavalier 4-door
The Chevrolet Cavalier and the Pontiac Sunfire were redesigned for the 1995 model year. The Sunfire sedan was dropped after the 2002 model year, and the Cavalier was dropped after the 2005 model year.
| Overall evaluation | |
|---|---|
| Structure and safety cage | |
| Driver injury measures | |
| Head/neck | |
| Chest | |
| Leg/foot, left | |
| Leg/foot, right | |
| Driver restraints and dummy kinematics Dummy movement wasn't well controlled. The dummy rotated around the left side of the airbag and, during rebound, the right rear of the dummy's head hit the window sill, denting it. Then the dummy's head hit the B-pillar. |
Post-crash damage shot.
The dummy's position in relation to the steering wheel and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space wasn't maintained well.
Dummy movement wasn't well controlled during the crash test. Smeared greasepaint indicates where the dummy's head hit the window sill, producing a high head acceleration.
The dummy's legs finished trapped by footwell intrusion.
Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side
| Test ID | CF95014 |
|---|---|
| Footwell intrusion | |
| Footrest (cm) | 23 |
| Left (cm) | 35 |
| Center (cm) | 30 |
| Right (cm) | 24 |
| Brake pedal (cm) | 26 |
| Instrument panel rearward movement | |
| Left (cm) | 16 |
| Right (cm) | 12 |
| Steering column movement | |
| Upward (cm) | 7 |
| Rearward (cm) | 11 |
| A-pillar rearward movement (cm) | 16 |
Driver injury measures
| Test ID | CF95014 |
|---|---|
| Head | |
| HIC-15 | 313 |
| Peak gs at hard contact | 70 |
| Neck | |
| Tension (kN) | 1.7 |
| Extension bending moment (Nm) | 41 |
| Maximum Nij | 0.40 |
| Chest maximum compression (mm) | 32 |
| Legs | |
| Femur force - left (kN) | 3.7 |
| Femur force - right (kN) | 2.5 |
| Knee displacement - left (mm) | 0 |
| Knee displacement - right (mm) | 0 |
| Maximum tibia index - left | 1.18 |
| Maximum tibia index - right | 0.66 |
| Tibia axial force - left (kN) | 3.7 |
| Tibia axial force - right (kN) | 4.1 |
| Foot acceleration (g) | |
| Left | 82 |
| Right | 58 |
Head restraints & seats
Seat type: All seats
| Overall evaluation | |
|---|---|
| Dynamic rating | |
| Seat/head restraint geometry |
| Seat type | All seats |
|---|---|
| Geometry | |
| Backset (mm) | 115 |
| Distance below top of head (mm) | 130 |
| Seat design parameters | |
| Pass/fail | Fail |
| Max T1 acceleration (g) | 0.0 |
| Head contact time (ms) | |
| Force rating | 0 |
| Neck forces | |
| Max neck shear force (N) | |
| Max neck tension (N) | |
About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.