2004 Chevrolet Aveo Reviews

91,000; timing belt broke, so heads had to be re-machined, valves replaced, and 1 cracked piston because of the zero clearance engine, costing $2,000.

180,000; heads had to be re-machined, valves replaced, and 1 piston shattered because of a timing belt, costing $2,000.

The car vibrates really bad; window knobs broke.

If you use the power point, it blows a fuse due to an electrical problem.

Wheel bearing within 2 years of owning; very expensive and hard to find.

Fast, great MPG, sometimes 43 MPG, and very versatile.

Good tranny, but rusts badly.

My husband and I bought this car in 2006 with 26,715 miles on it. At that point, the dealer had told us that the timing belt had already been replaced on the car. Since we thought that was weird for the timing belt to go that soon, we have been watching it very closely.

I had to replace one of the side tail lights.. for those being small, they are sure costly!

The hub caps are a joke! It seems like every time I turn a corner with this car, I am losing one! We're looking at replacing the wheels themselves.

We replaced the seals on the control arms. I would put the brake on, and it pulled really hard to the right. The part was only $10, but cost me over $100 in labor on each side!

I only drive this car to school a couple times a week and little errands around town. For this kind of driving, the car has been pretty good. If you're looking for an Aveo for long journeys, I really don't recommend it! The car was not designed for comfort at all!!!

We also own a 2004 Chevy Impala, and that baby runs like a dream... with 181,124 miles on it! If you want a decent car, I recommend one of those! :)

Drive belt was replaced under warranty by a small town Chevy dealer the day after I bought it.

The clock display flickers constantly. As I've also lost a number of bulbs (headlight and turn signal), I suspect a wonky electrical system, or simply systematic 'moderate' build quality.

Crunching noise that gets worse in cold weather, but apparently isn't the front end suspension exploding.

Really random fuel economy. In town, in moderate weather, as low as @ 23 mpg. After two years, occasional highway or mixed driving can get @ 40 mpg or better. Difference seems extreme, and highest is still not as advertised.

Body has several small dents, especially around trunk - suspect from people leaning on it or resting things on the trunk lid.

My last car was elderly and much abused, but continued to be a happy surprise for reliability, build quality and just good passenger car engineering. Plus it looked cool (red wedge, 1989, built 1988, with pop up headlights). I also miss the A/C and non-leaking sunroof.

I do believe that concerns about build quality in this car, and the horrible reputation of the factory installed drive belt letting go before 100 000 km, mean it is a substantially inferior car to my ancient Toyota.

I wasn't in a position to maintain my old car, and thought it would be 'prudent' to get a car that still had warranties on it, as well as supporting people who make cars in North America, and buying locally at a small shop.

It cost me much more to buy this car outright than to rebuild the body on my old car. This 'American' car is apparently designed and built by Daewoo of South Korea, who as far as I can tell, went out of business building construction equipment in an area of the world where economies continue to boom. And the dealer didn't check out the drive belt specifically, as I requested.

The car is not completely awful. I am 5 feet tall and can drive it comfortably. I do find that, as in most American cars, pillars block many sightlines (not so bad in a 2 door, but this is 4). I like the fact that I apparently can't lock the driver's door from the inside while it's open - so way harder to lock keys in. The electric blue would look way better on a classic Camaro, but makes the car easy to find in a parking lot. Easy enough to handle. Seats are more comfortable than some of the old family Fords.