2005 Chevrolet Aveo LS from North America - Comments

Unfortunately my sister owns a 2004 Aveo. Just recently the timing belt went and caused major engine damage (to the tune of $4000). The car is just out of warranty and the dealer refused to take care of the repair as good will (they said having service done elsewhere voids goodwill replacement). I feel very badly for my sister. This was her first car and she still has 2 years of payments to go. I'll encourage her to fight GM and the dealer.

I bought my 2005 Aveo in May, 2005. Tires seem to wear quickly, at the 4 month mark my 17 year old had an accident when he tried to slow down and the car jerked left. 3 of the 4 wheels & rims were replaced - bearing and other jargon. Now at the 0ne year mark and 17k miles I took it in because I felt the car was too loud. Yes, I need 3 new rims and bearings and all that. If I need to pay $1400 every 9 - 12 month for new rims, my $8,400 purchase is getting pricey.

Working for a high line dealership, I am not ashamed to be driving my 2004 Aveo. The Aveo has great features most cars that cost more. With common sense, comparing with other cars, sometimes the general public does not "it is what you pay for"makes sense.Futhermore, cars are made of metal. So cars are prone to repair, maintenance

I am looking to purchase a 2006 Chevrolet Aveo Hatchback within the next few months, however this will not be my first American/Korean based automobile. I have owned a 1993 Ford Festiva with the automatic transmission. To be completely honest, I was not satisfied with it at all. With all of the positive Ford Festiva reviews that I have read on this website, it had to have been a lemon. I am hoping that my experiences with the Chevrolet Aveo are different, but I am still a bit skeptical. I have read nothing but mixed reviews about this vehicle on here and I am wondering if I should buy one or not. Spending $9,500 on a car and then investing serious money into it when it is two or three years old does not sound like a smart investment to me. Please let me know if I should buy one. Thank you.

"rear engine Volvos"? -- Where do you find those?

It CERTAINLY is no coincidence that there are good GM, or American for that matter, cars out there. AS WITH EVERY CAR EVER MADE, they are ALL hit and miss.

I've never had problems with any of my American GM vehicles, from my current 2004 Chevy Malibu (6K miles), 2005 Chevy Aveo SVM (7000 miles at trade in, 0 problems) to the 2002 Olds Intrigue (50 K miles at trade in), 2005 Pontiac Montana (currently driving-60K miles, no problems), 1996 Pontiac Trans Sport (one had 120,000 miles, the other 106,000 before trading on the Malibu), 1994 Pontiac Trans Sport 3800 (200,000 miles when sold privately), 1994 Chevy Lumina car (172,000 miles when totaled) and a 1991 Chevy Lumina car with 487,000 miles when broadsided by a drunk driver, and last, but not least, my first car, a 1985 Chrysler Lebaron Turbo Convertible, which self destructed at 150,000 miles when the head gasket went out.

My sister has a 2005 Chevy Aveo LT fully loaded that she got for under $14,000, 17,000 miles, also with 0 problems. It's been a terrific car. All of my American cars (GM in specific for me) have been superb, and I would never contemplate the idea of going to a foreign brand. Ever.

And many people are that way. It's just something about the idea of supporting my country and the jobs here, not to mention the high level of quality and workmanship in all of the cars I've had, that keeps me coming back.

In fact, I did have one horrifying experience with a little 1989 Honda Accord crap bucket. It was my friends car, and we were coming back from a late night out, and the piece of junk just out of the blue broke down, on the darkest, most rural road possible. And that was before the age of cell phones. That rattle trap only had 74,000 miles on it, and left us completely stranded. Gee, my GM American vehicles have never done that to me. My aunts 2001 Honda Civic has been a complete nightmare and financial headache to own. In fact, her review to her 2001 Civic is posted on this site. Look at the one entitled NEVER AGAIN!!... that's her thought of her Honda.

I know what you mean. I drive down the road with my 94 Accord and get into some kind of parade formation with at least 3-6 at a time. I think it is kinda cool. The same with the Camry.

Maybe you'd experience more problems if you actually held on to your vehicles long enough. Ironically you trade them in before any goes wrong. Such great cars, but you trade them in? Something doesn't add up.

I bought a 2004 Aveo with 15K on it and have had some problems. It stated to idle rough and the gas mileage was suffering at about 20K. The dealer said the valve stems were too long and replaced them all under warranty. It ran good after that. Now at 30K the idle is rough again and I have to add water occasionally, but there is no leak. I hope it's not the head gasket or a crack. Need to go back to the dealer again. I have not had any auto trans problems or tire wear. I did replace the tires because the car seemed to be unstable at freeway speeds, but it did not help. I also hear a lot of creaks and squeaks from all areas of the suspension. After the last oil change the lifters make noise for a few minutes until warmed up. Now that problem has gone away. I wonder if it will return on the next oil change. I'm using Mobil 1 synthetic.

We have an '04 Aveo, actually the first one to be sold in Ontario, Canada. It has 56,000 kilometers on it and we have had several problems that needed to be resolved under warranty.. now the warranty is up at 60,000 we are having intermittent starting problems.. it has left my partner stranded twice now... I work for GM and quit driving GM cars in 1982 after having a nightmare Pontiac J2000 which basically exploded under me.. since then I have only owned Toyotas keeping each car for 8-10 years and running some of them for over 400,000 kms. In the fall of 2003 we decided to try GM product again and bought the Aveo, now I'm thinking we should have kept buying Toyotas... that is sad.

Please help! I am looking for some information, as the dealership is not providing me with much in the way of assistance. I own a 2005 Chevy Aveo and as of late (I have owned the car just over a year) I have had a considerable deal of trouble starting the car - regardless of how long it has been sitting, etc. Thank God it has been covered under the warranty, but my warranty is about to expire and the problems continue. The dealership has assured me that they will cover anything that deals with the issues I have been having, in the meantime my car is not very reliable and it is quite bothersome to have your vehicle towed into the dealership over four times in the past two months. I am, in essence, looking for anyone who may shed some light or may have had similar issues with an Aveo of this year. I need something to back me up when I go back to the dealership - possibly to get rid of this car that I actually liked!

I wrote earlier (may) with timing belt problems which Chevy would not warranty. This was due to the fact I did not check my timing belt at 50,000kms.. therefore a lack of maintenance I was told. I can't wait to get rid of this car!.

I don't know what the maintenance manual states in the USA, but I strongly recommend to read the maintenance manual and check it at it's set times.

I think it depends on what you did. For example, if you always took your Aveo into the Chevy dealer for maintenance then GM should honor the warranty and pay for the belt since THEIR mechanics were allegedly following the rules.

But if you took it to an independent repair shop or did the work yourself, GM shouldn't necessarily honor the warranty if you did not follow proper maintenance.

A woman I used to work with told me she hated BMWs. I asked her why and she said because they were unreliable. But the reality is she never changed her timing belt as outlined in the manual and her engine seized.

You can't blame the car if you abused it.

I've had my aveo for about a year now, so far no problems other than today the key has gotten stuck in the ignition on the A.C.C mode it won't go to the lock position to remove the key from the car, not sure if anyone has experienced that with theirs. I like the car though, it works for my needs. so far this is the only problem I have encountered, but my hubby went to take it to get looked at, wich is not a chevy dealer since there is none near us, we are currently in Germany so the only thing near us is an independently owned car shop.

My friend also has an aveo similar to mine, she has had problems with it started, but we also moved from the states to overseas and had our cars shipped here, but my car started up just fine when we picked it up however hers had to be jump started. Since then she has had to jump it to start it occasionally. I've had my aveo about a year now and have not noticed any problems with it other than the key getting stuck in the A.C.C part on the ignition and not going to the lock position to remove the key. Unfortunately I have not seen a chevy dealership out here anywhere. For the money I paid for the car it was worth it. I've never had to have it serviced yet other than today to get the key removed wich I'm not sure yet if that was fixed since my husband hasn't came back with the car yet. The car itself starts, but it won't go completely off, you can listen to the radio etc, but leaving the key like that would drain the battery so we had no choice, but to get it serviced. Has anyone had problems turning the key to start it where it seems like it gets stuck? That's happened a few times, but has never been a nuisance to the point of taking it in to get looked at. The whole shift lock and hold things a bit confusing on this car. So far I haven't heard of any recalls on the 2005 aveos, hopefully there aren't any.