1992 Geo Metro Base review from North America

3-Speed Automatic Transmission.

Thermostat Housing.

Loses a little oil (Leaky valve cover gasket I suspect)

Radio.

Driver's seat wear.

Some rust.

Left lower ball joint.

I purchased my 92 Geo Metro in April of 2006 and I am glad I did. Just a few days later gas prices went up to over $3.00 a gallon. I have the automatic transmission and it is the second automatic I have owned. I try to stay away from automatics because when something goes wrong with one, you end up paying out the nose to get it fixed.

Excuse me while I rant a little bit.

The first automatic I owned was a late 1980's Chrysler product. The transmission stopped working, sent the car to the salvage yard. The rest of my vehicles since then have been 4 or 5 speed manuals and I've only had to replace one clutch in those vehicles' lifetimes (Six cars to be exact). I did this myself. Automatics on the other hand are a lot more complex, let's just hope you know somebody who can repair it inexpensively.

I'm a backyard mechanic at best and I didn't even want to mess with this when my Metro's automatic transmission started to slip. Luckily, I knew somebody who could repair it for half the cost (roughly $300 with a used automatic transmission).

The transmission that broke was probably damaged by it becoming overheated. A week prior to the demise of the first automatic transmission my thermostat housing sprung a leak and the engine had gotten a little too hot (plus it was over 90 F out for that week).

I found the thermostat housing at a salvage yard for $20, but the fan sensor was bad in it. I just put a paper clip in the plug and the fan runs constantly when the car is turned on. The sensor is $40 retail, so I am looking at salvage yards for it.

The transmission does not want to shift on its own, but the linkage is set correctly and the kick down cable is, too. It won't down shift on it's own. I am trying to figure out how to repair it, but I am lost. I shift it manually right now. I would appreciate any suggestions as to the fix.

When I purchased the vehicle, there was some rust on it. I just sanded it down, put some body filler in the holes, primed, and painted. I live in the snow belt so rust was expected when I went for a test drive.

The radio works, but the lighting on it does not unless I hit a bump in the road.

I was at the salvage yard yesterday looking for stock hub caps (which I found 4 for $10) and I noticed that a lot of the Metro's on the lot have torn driver's seats where the seam meets the front of the seat. They probably don't hold up too well over time.

The Metro loses some oil. I have have come to the conclusion that the valve cover gasket is in bad shape and that the engine is probably burning some because it was manufactured in 1992. I am also told the Metro has a loose lower ball joint from the mechanic who fixed my transmission.

The ride is pretty bumpy, but this is probably expected because the car is so tiny. It weighs under a ton wet.

I just installed a 1998 Geo Metro instrument cluster today (this includes a tachometer) from the salvage yard. Very easy to hook up if you have small hands. I am not a big guy at all, but this car suits my needs as a second vehicle.

The engine is a 993cc Suzuki In line 3-cylinder engine that when new produced 55 horsepower. I think my vehicle has sent about 8 of those ponies to the glue factory. Performance isn't as bad as I expected from a 3-cylinder. automatic. The engine does about 4 grand at 60mph/100kmh. I've personally only had it up to 80mph because I did not want to push the engine too hard. I'm told the top speed is between 89mph to 93mph with the 3-cylinder.

Gas mileage is pretty good averaging about 40 mpg. I enjoy the car and it has been a learning experience about auto repair. I will probably buy another one or ever an earlier Chevrolet Sprint just to tinker with when I get the transmission fixed. As I write this a will say that I am not super satisfied with the vehicle, but I am not disapointed.