2005 Chevrolet Aveo LS from North America - Comments

Purchased '04 Aveo sedan in March that year. Now have 48,000 miles and had to replace the tires at 35,000 miles. Have had no other problems, period. My wife liked this car so much that she purchased an '05 LT hatchback in March of that year. Had the check engine light stay on constantly and was fixed by the dealer, under warranty. She has 25,000 miles and is well pleased. I have replaced the air filters on both cars and the spark plus on the '04 Sedan.

Our 2005 Aveo is in the shop again. Car loses power on start up when a/c is running. Had it in for that before, they flushed the fuel line so it wouldn't stall... before that they replaced computer chip and "down-loaded new software"...no help. They can't seem to figure out what's wrong with it.

Wondering about the suspension... it's making an awful clunking (Ka-chunk!) sound on bumps. Help. Are there any recalls on 2005 Aveo? I think our car's on the way out.

I have a 2006 Aveo 4 door Sedan Automatic. Was driving down the road the other day with my daughter when the car started filling up with smoke (smelled like plastic burning) and the air conditioning fan quit working. shut it off and pulled off the side of the road to look under hood. no belts or anything broken, but the air/heat fan not working now. Car has approximately 40,000 miles on it. Even though the fan is covered under warranty, scared to death to take to dealership to have it repaired because of warranty stipulations about having only them work on servicing (which is hogwash) Will be trying to locate service manual to replace the fan assembly myself. I have never heard of a vehicle with so few miles on it burn up an air fan.

I bought a 2004 Aveo in Feb 2006. Only 14,000 miles, looked good, hoped to save on gas (never did somehow).

Within weeks it started shaking like crazy driving on the interstate. Took it to the dealer, couldn't find anything. Car was fine for a while. Tires went bald before 40,000 miles. Odd. Keep hearing a clunking noise from the back. It never goes away.

At 48,000 miles some hose came off or leaked and caused the car to die and smoke to billow everywhere on my 1st day of work in a new city. The mechanic said 'that shouldn't happen on a new car like this'. My thoughts exactly.

By 52,000 the timing belt shreds while I'm going 65 mph in rush hour traffic in downtown Atlanta in July. Luckily we weren't killed as the car literally stops in highway traffic. Of course, it bent the valves or whatever... $2000 +/- and 3 weeks later and the car just won't turn over this AM.

After reading the many posts here, I am not optimistic that GM will help me with any of these bills as most of the work was not done by the dealer.

For sale: Great little inner city red car, under 60,000 miles! New tires! New battery! New timing belt! Expect great gas mileage (which you will never actualize!). Any takers??

I loved my new 2004 Chevy Aveo. I hated the dealer, who "forgot" to tell me it was time to replace the timing belt. Which of course broke and took out the engine. Because there was no record of them "forgetting" it was my fault, and they would not replace it. Up until the engine dying, fortunately at a garage, it was a dream car for me. cheap, high mph, (usually 35+). Low maintenance, oil changes every 3000 miles... towed my row boat to where ever I wanted to go. It is currently sitting in my driveway waiting for an engine transplant. My car clock never kept good time, but the stereo I put in did, but the malfunctioning clock became a great excuse to be late...

I liked it so much I have bought a new 2008 Aveo, but it does not get the mpg the old one did. And it has a stupid tire pressure sensor malfunction. Fixed once but still reads low pressure, but checks out OK.

No offense, but you shouldn't rely on your dealer to keep you up to date on needed repairs or service. Once I drive a vehicle off the lot the dealer never sees me again unless I have a warranty-covered problem. Your owner's manual clearly lists all your required/recommended servicing needs with clearly indicated mileage intervals. All cars using rubber timing belts to turn the overhead cam (or cams) MUST have them replaced as recommended or risk engine damage.

As for the tire pressure sensors, they ARE a nuisance. You may not have any problem with yours, as it may be the same issue I've had. They are just INCREDIBLY sensitive. The "low tire pressure" light on my 2007 Mustang comes on if there is as little as 2 psi difference in any of the 4 tires. I have to scrupulously maintain the exact same pressure in all 4 tires, which I am NOT accustomed to doing, as most cars need 3-4 psi more in the front tires than in the rear due to weight distribution.

I've driven the Aveo and find it a very comfortable and smooth small car. I have also heard that the fuel mileage is not as good as the much faster and larger Cobalt/G5 models. Although I found the Aveo actually smoother and better riding than the Cobalt, I think I'd opt for the Cobalt due to its being a true GM car built by GM and being slightly larger and MUCH faster.

I own a 2004 Aveo with 106,000 miles. I drive 160 miles per day round trip to and from work. Been a great car!

I have an 05 Aveo and it was fine for a while. Then out of nowhere the thermostat housing comes apart. I've had the head heat straightened and replaced the head gasket. The car started a couple of times and now it won't start anymore.

The check engine light is on, so I had the codes read. It has something to do with the MAP sensor. I can't find a repair manual or information anywhere, so I don't know where the MAP sensor is located on the engine. I found a vaccum connection on the valve cover with nothing on it. I think it's supposed to connect to the MAP sensor.

If anyone has any suggestions or information I would greatly appreciate it. I could also use a picture from an 05 Aveo to determine where the vaccum line connects. My email is xxstarvinmarvinxx@yahoo.com.

Have an 04 Aveo, driving on the highway at 110 kms the car decided to shut off. Pulled over with emergency lights on. Tried to restart, sound of starter and alternator belt rotating fast. Guess what it was, TIMING BELT FAILURE!!! 150$ tow job to get back to city. My tech hopes the valves are not bent or worse, piston rods// head//and who knows what else!!!

GM are going to have to accept this car is crap!!! They should have to reimburse anybody who got sucked in on these horrible cars. The consumer group for honest hard working people should file a civil suit to have GM replace the money's that people are "FORCED" to spend/or throw away the car!!!

Signed HIGHWAY ROBBERY.

Re the above comment: and how many miles/km did the car have on it when the timing belt failed? Was the belt replaced at the required interval? Timing belts wear out after so many miles, no matter what kind of car, and have to be replaced.

Too many people are quick to accuse the manufacturer of shoddy workmanship when negligence is the real culprit.

The timing belts on the Aveos are known for premature breakdown, it's happened at 40k 45k 50k 55k whatever, the dealer recommends changing the belts at 60k. Anybody that purchases one of these cars with 30k + on it, should ask the person you're buying off if the belt has been changed or not. This will cost you a lot of money if it breaks, Just as well to dump it!!!

Disposable cars is what they are. Korean junk, with a GM sticker on it to sell them. Good luck to all Aveo owners, hear from you soon!!! 40k miles, 45k miles etc.

We have a 2005 Aveo and the little port on the rear of the cam cover is not used for anything. It is sealed internally as such. The MAP port is on the throttle body and is connected with plastic tubing to the MAP sensor.

Be careful about anyone else putting oil in the engine and spilling some into the cam cover tray below the plastic dust shield. A few ounces spilled under the cover will disappear out of sight but may spill over into the hidden spark plug tubes below the plastic cover. If the spark plug boots are old this will create a path for the secondary voltage to the head and will produce a miss at idle and higher revs, otherwise difficult to diagnose. The boot ends are sitting in a puddle of oil. If this happens make sure to get all of the oil out before you remove the spark plugs. Best to use a split in half wood chop stick with a little cloth wrapped around the end to soak up the oil. Wipe off the boot ends or, better, replace the wire set.

Timing belts! There is not much info around on how to change these belts. So when I changed mine I wrote up a web page with pictures. It is here:

http://home.earthlink.net/~aveobot/id1.html

There is another page that goes over how to change the belt:

http://www.aa1car.com/library/timing_belt_aveo.htm

But it has a very serious error: it fails to tell about having to remove the motor mount. Unless the motor mount is removed it is impossible to remove the timing belt!

I have a 2005 Aveo that has been a trainwreck since 9,000 miles. I bought it with 8,xxx.

Electrical problems started first. (e.g. dome only comes on when door is ajar) my digital odometer works sometimes. Shows half numbers/no numbers... glows... doesn't glow.

I now have a MAJOR oil leak. The check engine light has been on for a year (no mechanic could figure it out) and now I have oil in 3 out of 4 spark plugs as well as everywhere else. Looked under car today after discovering oil spots on driveway. Oil is everywhere under the car... even in my wheels!

I also have that squeaking noise when hitting bumps. Hear they are notorious for that.

Also, only one of my rear seatbelts work properly, and during the winter my heat wasn't working. I replaced relay's and fuses... nothing would blow out. The next day, it worked fine. This has happened several times in the past year.

Regardless of all the issues, the car now has a whopping 139,xxx miles on it and it's still kicking (barely). I have serviced it as recommended and replaced several things out of pocket. My powertrain warranty went out at 60,xxx.

It's been a trooper, but it is truly a piece of crap! Anyone know how to take some action?

I have a 2005 Aveo and have had extreme difficulty with the front end and GM. After the dealer told me they couldn't fix the persistent (and significant) vibration in the steering wheel I contacted GM. After 3 months of lies, a total of 16 phone calls, and 6 different advisers I finally gave up. One day I talked to 4 different people at GM but insisted on talking with a manager. She gave me "her word" that she would personally address my problem... which she didn't. So my Aveo still shakes down the street and I have to get the wheels balanced every few months. Tires are bald at 45K miles and the new tires also vibrate. I've always owned GM cars and trucks, but will never again. Other than the vibration I think it's a fine little car. Too bad.