I have a mint 2002 chevy cavalier(33,000mi.) with a 2.2L mfi L4 dohc (2200) engine with 4 speed auto trans. The manual says DO NOT tow with this engine. I want to tow a small tear drop trailer at 980 lbs. with a tongue weight of 95 lbs. will tow this just 80 miles twice a year on flat road in cool weather. I have also had installed a trans fluid cooler just to be safe. Do I need to still worry or will I be ok
Can I consider out or town trips at all?
Out of five engines chevy made for the cavalier why is mine the only one they say don’t tow with it?No weight in car except wife and I.No cooking gear,(we eat out), some clothes and thats it.please answer,hate to ruin my car.
How could anyone on the Web overide such a important safety warning provided in your owners manual?
Rent a tow vehicle twice a year. It makes much more sense than doing something that could hurt the Cavalier.
The people who wrote the owner’s manual know more about this car’s capability than anyone else here.
I once owned a Cavalier (Buick Skyhawk, but same car with different name), and I would have never considered towing with it. None of the Cavaliers were made for towing. This wasn’t unique to those with your same engine.
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FWD makes for a horrible towing vehicle
False!!! I have towed a lightweight trailer with several hundred pounds of lumber many times to a building site for a total of several thousand miles with no problem using a 1984 Cavalier with a manual transmission with no damage to the driveline or unusual driving difficulties; traded the car at 160,000 miles due to rust.
Our VW also with a manual transmission can tow the trailer with no difference in driving characteristics other than limited acceleration, reduced emergency steering maneuverability and reduced stopping ability but no surprises.
We had friends that towed an Airstream camping trailer with a front drive Oldsmobile Toronado with no complaints.
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Since you have installed a transmission cooler, you should be fine to tow under 1k pounds with your Cavalier.
Don’t get into any drag races, though. 
BC.
TIME WARP 2019 AUGUST . Go to You tube and find EUROPEAN campers and see what they tow with MICRO CARS. I am bewildered with the Authors of OWNERS manuals first the Advice they give is seldom valid for YOUR personal car nor even relevant . TOWING WITH YOUR AUTO First Ill fit you in on My memories of 1957 England Livierpool to Hastings kent in a 1955 AUSTIN A 55 4 cyl car Estimated BHP ( brake Horse power
Yes, the Europeans have a tradition of tying up traffic by towing big campers with little cars. Enjoy this video from eight years ago:
Many of those small European cars have diesels, better for towing.
A Focus 1.0 Eco boost Gas engine is rated to tow the equivalent of 1,400lbs in the UK where the US model you aren’t allowed to tow anything. Other than US vs UK regulations or product liiability issue I don’t know the reason.