hey guys quick question...
whats wrong with my vin number if anything?

my 00 cavalier has a 2200 automatic engine in it... yet the vin number says it is a 5 speed manual tranny installed... is the vin wrong? or is someone screwing with me? or did someone do a swap (im the second owner) - third if you count my father.

im so confused.. i wish it was a stick, but i know for a fact that my slush box is not.

are you going by the door VIN or the dash VIN? we have that problem a lot at work. guys used the door VIN but the door has been replaced so the VIN's don't match.


id say its a wrong VIN plate from factory. i have never heard of someone swapping VIN's after converting the tranny. because then the car will need to be registered again. im not sure about the U.S. but in Canada it is illegal to switch a VIN plate.


http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/my2005cav/my%20car%20the%20bash.jpg

thats the door one... should i check to make sure it matches the other one?

the only thing is, ive taken it to a bodyshop recently (3 actually) for estimates on work... and they all have the correct information, color, year, model, engine, interior, options, and everything... the only thing is they all say its a manual... ill check on that tomorrow... i guess i need a carfax report on my car... anybody have a subscription to carfax?

ill report back with the vin(s) in the morning if they are different.

Take the VIN off the dash... the one visible thru the front glass... then take it to a GM dealer and see what they say.

Heck, if the VIN number matches the one on the sticker under the spare tire... it should have your RPO codes on it.. which will tell you for sure what the car came from the factory with. If your numbers don't match, then the GM dealer will be able to get you a new door sticker and spare tire cover RPO sticker to match.

that shouldnt cost me anything either should it? ill check them all out today when im cleaning up the cavy... ill let ya know if theres something kookie going on

OMG! I have the same issue with my car! it is a rebuild, so I figure it's been painted... got some chips in the paint, took it to GM and they sold me the wrong match paint! It's a gray paint, and my car is silver, yet he took the VIN and matched it up. He also told me mine is an AUTO, while I drive a 5 spd... I'm in canada... so hmmm... illegal? lol
Let me know if you find anything out.



Buddy Club Ecotec Cavalier
* More to come *

^ That's what I was thinking. Maybe the origional owner wrecked it.

sorry i didnt have time to get to it today... to much stuff going on... im going to check it tomorrow when im detailing her up all day...

jay.... weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiird... lol

...AND THE RESULTS ARE

my Vins match, door and windshield

i actually had two stickers on the door, they also match...

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN UNITED STATES
MANUFACTURER GENERAL MOTORS
MAKE CHEVROLET
LINE CAVALIER
BODY STYLE 2 DR COUPE
RESTRAINT SYSTEM MANUAL/W DR.& PASS.INFLATABLE(FRNT)
ENGINE 2.2L L4 MFI
ASSEMBLY PLANT LORDSTOWN, OH

thats from two different places, the dealer and "VIN checker"

again, my car is an AUTOMATIC slush box vehicle... what in the world is going on here?

they dont know whats up either.. figures, why should they know anything, they just built the damn machine. i wish it was a 5 speed...

i also found out the previous owner was a girl who went to college locally and bought it new... so im guessing this car has never been beaten up, unless it was a 5speed and she killed it *WTF

Herb Wilson wrote:...AND THE RESULTS ARE

my Vins match, door and windshield

i actually had two stickers on the door, they also match...

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN UNITED STATES
MANUFACTURER GENERAL MOTORS
MAKE CHEVROLET
LINE CAVALIER
BODY STYLE 2 DR COUPE
RESTRAINT SYSTEM MANUAL/W DR.& PASS.INFLATABLE(FRNT)
ENGINE 2.2L L4 MFI
ASSEMBLY PLANT LORDSTOWN, OH

thats from two different places, the dealer and "VIN checker"

again, my car is an AUTOMATIC slush box vehicle... what in the world is going on here?

Just wondering where your getting it's a 5 speed from, because it doesn't say anything about trans. in there ..

to me it look like your reading the "RESTRAINT SYSTEM MANUAL/W DR.& PASS.INFLATABLE(FRNT)

but that just means manual seat belts. not auto ones like saturns and sh*t.

but maybe your getting it from somewhere else just wanted to point that out in case.

Your GM dealer should be able to print a 'worksheet' of your car based off of a VIN, which lists every single RPO you possibly can have. Often, they go beyond your car's RPO sticker in that it actually tells you WHAT each code's for. As GM employees are in my family, I'm able to get quick access to them - this is a sample of mine:


I cut out the actual VIN for protection - but you can see how much detail this goes into. Below this section is a history of where it was sold and what - if any - warranty work was performed.

I don't have an '00, but I have an '02. Interestingly, you can see there are two codes indicating that my car's got a 5-speed: M94 (which is the part code for the Getrag box, IIRC) and MM5. My guess is MM5 is the sales code saying that the car would have a manual; the other code told assemblers what tranny it was to have.

Look for the MM5 on your RPO sticker (should be underneath spare tire lid, if yours' is original; otherwise hit a dealer). If it's not there, then your car was and always has been an auto. If it is - well, you've got one interesting situation on your hands...





Too busy driving to mod...

i was just looking off of my sheets from the auto-body tech print outs... dealing with repairing my car.. ill get to the dealership soon enough... spare tire lid would be the pressboard cover with the screw lock? on the floor of the trunk

Yes, that's correct - I thought that's where the RPO codes sticker's placed on a J-body, but I'm not completely sure on that.



Too busy driving to mod...

Herb Wilson wrote:sorry i didnt have time to get to it today... to much stuff going on... im going to check it tomorrow when im detailing her up all day...

jay.... weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiird... lol

What you saying I'm weeeeeeeeiiiiiiiird for?




Buddy Club Ecotec Cavalier
* More to come *

not you.... the co-incidense...

There is one Small, Area this could have happened? The Dealer order the car as a 5-Speed Standard, but the customer wanted an or Requested an Automatic trany. So The deal did the swap after realize there was a mistake.. I has happened to someone else years back. It's Rare but It can happens. Just because the dealer would have to ship it back! Or try to resell it and have the customer waiting for another 4-6 week. Or It could have had a orignal bad trany off the lot. and they caught it for it left the lot. Like so many things now a day's it build with such a mass production that there are some allowed deffective parts.

that would make sense, because the original owner was a college female. not saying she couldnt drive a five speed, but it seems that women like autos more...

But You should be able to go to the orignal dealer of the car too see if they have record of it? They Should have a record say they changed it.

now i gotta find out where the original dealer is, and who they are... guess the window sticker would have that...