New catalytic converter needed when bought, $200 at a local muffler shop.
Cheap plastic interior started breaking, council lid broke, ashtray lid broke.
New rotors needed shortly after bought, had the brake pads checked out at first and had 20% front, and 50% rear. 11 inch rotors cost over $350.
Alternator went out at 100,000 miles. Located near the firewall down by the passenger foot area on the side-mounted engine. $497 dollars to replace the alternator. 5 hours worth of labor to change, had to undo motor mounts and lift the engine several inches to change. Inadequate air supply makes it overheat I believe.
A/C compressor going out. Still pumped cold air, just made a horrible noise, close to $700 to replace. General Motors genius idea to have the A/C come on when you use the defrost and defrost/foot. Drys out the air? Somthing along those lines, using more gas, and overworking the A/C compressor making it need replacing sooner than most cars.
Idle needing to be fixed, would start the car and would race up to 2500 RPMS, then down to 2000 RPM's, and then over a 10-15 second period would return to 900 RPM's and idle quietly. Same thing applied with the slightest touch to the gas pedal, and coming to a stop.
Power windows not on tracks, driver's window needed to be pushed back while rolling up, but rolled down fine. Passenger window needed to be pushed forward rolling down, and rolled up just fine.
Power seats clunked when moved in the forward position, like the seat motor was about to expire.
Transmission acted funny at 102,145 miles. Had it checked out and needed to be replaced within 5,000 miles at the max, almost $2,000 at a local dealer. Read online reviews and famous for transmissions going out. One man said his did at 26,000 miles.
I live in the Pacific Northwest. Rains a lot! The brakes are HORRIBLE in wet weather. Had to stand on the brake pedal with all my might to stop in a somewhat short distance. Got a recall notice by Chevrolet saying that part of the wheel well needed to be removed, saying in wet weather it almost channeled the water onto the brakes making them suck!
Had to get a gas card just to keep up with the gas that is required. Seemed to get about 270 miles to a tank of gas, 14 gallon tank I believe. Easy driver, and most highway miles. 90 miles round trip to my job, All highway! 1/3 tank of gas required!
6-way power driver seat makes possible for anyone to drive.
The rear seat is quite spacious.
Trunk is absolutely huge!
Car is quite quick. Most power seems to come after you hit 3000 RPM's. Red-line at 7000 RPM's. Easy to guzzle a quarter tank of gas just driving around town for an hour!
I heard the 3.1 liter engine in the Monte Carlo LS is really reliable, not for sure.
No oil leaks ever spotted or smell of burning oil.
Universal key would be nice instead of having both a door and trunk key, and a ignition key.
Computer chip located on the key completes the circuit in the ignition. $32 to replace. Supposedly fails after key contact points wear after a couple years.
Previous owner took excellent care of the car, service records and documents available when purchased, just after the car hit 75,000 miles it was all downhill from there!
In my opinion the problem here is that you bought a newer Monte Carlo. I don't think of the '95-'02 Monte's as true Monte Carlo's. They look nothing like the originals. You should've bought a '73-'77 Monte. Those are the best. Big ass car, lots of trunk space, and reliable. Although the lack of horsepower is a bummer. Just my $0.02.
I own a 2002 Monte Carlo SS Dale Earnhardt Edition which I purchased in April of this year. I love it!The speed limiter was increased to 125 MPH and the 3800 SERIES II uses all 200 Horses to get you there in a hurry! The car handles like it's on rails and stops on a dime with the 12" rotors. Like you mentioned the classic Chevy plastic interior I'm sure will get damaged eventually, but this collector's Monte Carlo SS won't see the road that often. Anyway instead of bragging about mine I'll just say keep enjoying yours!
Bill F.
New York, N.Y.
I have a 1995 Monte Carlo. I'm approximately at 110K miles.
I have a small oil leak, but nothing major.. even though I don't know where it's coming from. It seems that when you're driving and want to get on it real slow, the motor or the whole car shakes and putters. I have to get off the gas and then the RPM's jump up and I go. Inside consoles cracked in a few places. The clear coat chipped off in a few places, leaving nothing but dull red paint. Alternator went out on it after the first week I had it. Got it replaced under warranty. Replaced Spark plugs... cost about 300 including labor. Had a hanging caliper, had to replace both calipers and got a new brake job all the way around...$750.00 later.
I bought my 1995 Z34 used at 45,000 miles. So far, it's up to 103,000 miles and the tranny still runs as well as the first day I drove it. All the repairs I have done to this car I have done myself except for the timing belt ($900) which would be a bear for someone like me especially since I had it floored when the belt snapped. Here's a quick list of my experiences with this car:
Heater core. Like every other chevy I have owned, the heater core went out at 100,000 miles. This was a real bear. The heater core s located under the dash right behind the stereo. It has two coolant lines that run to through the firewall into it. Unlike my blazer, the monte carlo actually has a drain tube that pours the coolant on the road instead of the passenger side carpets, a big plus! So I pull the old one out. The two tubes have clips on them at the core and the pull right out. I go to checker and the only heater core they have has the tubes permanantly attached meaning I'd have to wrestle the hose off on the engine side of the firewall. No way I was about to do that. I go to the chevy dealer looking for the exact part, no problems right? Wrong, the only heater core made for this car has the pipes attached to it so you have to cram your arm betweeen the intake manifold and the firewall. Looks like I got in a fight with a cat. Unless you pull the engine, here's the only way to do this. You have to remove the old pipes to the heater core. Then loosen the bolts that hold the two lines running them. Go back into the car and pull both hoses through the firewall so they are under the dash. Cut the pipes on the new heater core about 1" before the bend in them and file off any burrs. Take the pieces you cut off and fix them to the hoses you pulled through the firewall, then push them back through and fasten them back in place. Get about 3" of 3/8 and 3" of 5/8 heater hose and 4 hose clamps. Fit the hose over each of the pipes and slip the other ends from the heater core into it then clamp it all down. Then take the big pile of screws you have left over and put them in your toolbox because you can't find any holes for them. Kick the tires because you have cuts all over your arms.
Rotors. I bought a pair of rotors from autozone for about $25 a piece and pads from napa for $15. After about a month, there was a wobble in the front right and I pulled the wheel off to have a look. There was a huge crack all the way through the rotor and it had chewed off half the brake pad. Replaced them with $45 rotors from checker and their generic pad. Stops on a dime and makes change now. Get what ya pay for.
Regarding your problem with the high idle. I had the same problem. When I did the heater core, I figured while I had the engine torn apart I'd replace a few other things as well. I got champion platinum plugs and a new set of plug wires from the GM dealer. The plugs on the 95 z34 should be gapped at.45, mine were open to.52 -.55. After replacing those the engine is much more responsive and returns to idle almost instantly after a tap on the gas pedal.
I have other miscellaneous problems I might tackle one of these days. The driver's side window has to be held toward the rear of the car when it's going up otherwise it'll jam itself in the track. The ashtray cover is broken. The cigarette lighter broke. The cover to the center console has been replaced twice, and at $60 a pop there won't a third time unless I sell her. The screws that hold the drink holder in place are stripped out and glue doesn't hold very well in arizona's heat. It goes through a quart of oil a month. A heat shield down near the tie rods came loose and made a rattling noise, thought it was a serious problem until I found it. The turn signals don't work when you click the switch, they will only work when you hold it just before it clicks. I don't even want to screw with that. Airbags and steering columns aren't my cup of tea. Hazards don't work either. And yes, I have replaced the flasher. Twice to be sure.
The entire time I have owned this car I have only run premium unleaded through it and since the gas here dropped a point in octane rating, I use a can of STP octane booster every time I fill it up. I can still run it hard and it won't knock, even with the A/C on.
You have to make repairs to any car with high miles on it and as far as this car goes, it's been very very good to me. I can still take her out and teach the rice burners that stickers don't make you fast, horsepower does. Funny thing happened to my one day. Came to a light with a v6 camaro and we both floored it. We were going exactly the same speed. Our transmissions even shifted and the EXACT same time. That was kind of fun. I will probably own this car until the day I can afford that M3 I've been looking at.
Bought a '95 Monte Carlo LS Used in 2000 currently has 82k miles on it and besides the famous transmission problem (extended warranty covered it) this car is great. A note on the tranny, when yours does fail (and it most likely will GM used alnumim gears which simply wear out) make sure the shop replaces it with a good tranny with strong gears, most shops know of this problem and will take care of it.
A lot of the performance problems you describe seem to be from lack of maintance, I had many of the same issues, but when I had to take mine on a 3k road trip I went to the shop and had a full tune up, plugs replaced, Fuel system cleaning, throttle body cleaning, balance and rotation and all the other good stuff. Once that was done along with the new tranny the car has run great.
It shifts smooth and is pretty quicfrom the line (though not as quick as the SS).
My only wish is a little more power the 160bhp 3.1 V6 could have better acceleration. However with a new airflow module, a preformance chip and maybe a borla exhaust flow system I can fix those problems.
As for the comments of the plastic scratching, I have no idea what the deal is there, the plastic in the Monte Carlo is pretty much the same you will find in most GM cars. Keep in mind plastic does dry out due to sun and other envioenmental conditions, if the previous owner did not keep it up expect the plastic in any car to be flaky and easily scratched. The only way to prevent this is to take care of it, a quick wipe down with an armor all pad about once every 2 weeks or so should do the trick (once a week if you don't garage your car).
Update to the 6th July post:
The car now has 114,000 miles on it. I moved out to Rochester, NY a few weeks ago and here's the funny thing. When I left Phoenix, it was running like it normally does, accelerates great, but when you punch it to pass somebody it'll knock bad enough for me to pull right off the throttle. About 1 in 4 times it'll do that. Sometimes it runs great, sometimes not. Anyway, before I left I made damn sure that everything was up to par. New plugs and wires, cleaned the k&n air filter, new oil filter and oil, cooling system had been flushed and filled with that orange junk when I changed the heater core, plugged 2nd electric cooling fan back in (a testament to dexcool, the 2nd fan kicks in when the car is really hot and in the arizona desert, it never overheated even with only one fan), 2 new tires for the front, and of course, wiper fluid.
I took 260 out to 377 to I-40 to go across NM. Climbing all those hills was making the engine knock like crazy so I laid off and kept it from using anything below 3rd gear. Slow going most of the way until I came out of Tucimcari headed for the Texas panhandle. Myself and a group of 5 cars were crusing at about 100mph for 70 or so miles and after all that hauling arse, the car actually ran a little bit better. By the second day and not being in a state where "high test" gas is 91 octane, the car ran better than it has in a year. After the first 1000 miles there was such a difference in the car I strictly disobeyed every single posted speed limit I saw by at least 15MPH and after the 2250 mile trip the car is still running great.
One thing about the transmission. Even though the fluid level is where it should be, when you hard corner in this car, it will slip out of gear. My cousin out here has a 1993ish 300ZX and while I has able to hug the Z's rear end on the highway, when I tried to corner on the street, the damn thing kept slipping out of gear. I think if Chevy made a version of the Monte Carlo with a manual transmission it would be a hell of a car.
I own a 96' monte carlo z34. I have had problems with this car since the day I bought it. When I first bought it we took it to cole muffler to have the car checked out and had new struts, new tie rod ends, and brake pads - they told us the car was good to go - nice car - A month later while driving down the road the passenger tire fell off while driving (turned out to be the balljoint - it separated which separated the half shaft) and folded the front fender up into the hood, we had to have it towed home because the car would not move - Then while driving one day out of the blue the alternator went bad (no warning st all), Then the driver side tire fell off while driving (turned out to be the other ball joint) AND now my new problem is my dashboard lights, taillights and brake lights (except the middle one) won't work. I have only had the car for 8 months and before us it was very well maintained. I almost forgot that the center console and the ashtray are broken - This car is very beautiful and it gets up and goes, but IT HAS BEEN NOTHING BUT A HEADACHE!!!
I have a 95 Monte Carlo in 96 I have problems when I go to change the plugs. I never tried to do it by my self, it cost $80 to get them changed. Write me if you have any thing to help at Boss583@aol.com.
Ross.
I bought a 95' Monte Carlo LS in 1998. At first I thought it was a great car, but after a year of having it. It was nothing but trouble. The transmission went at 60,000 miles, then its had and EGR valve $500.00, 3 Rack and pinions, 3 starters, 2 alternators, new relays behind the fans, 2 power steering pumps, and a new water pump. and it also has a short in the wiring behind the dash. And I have also had to put in a new master switch for my electric windows, $102.00. Some of them are nice, but mine ain't been nothing but trouble.
What was the fix for your idle problem. I have had three EGR valves installed and my problem still hasn't went away. 95 Monte Carlo 3.4 liter. After the car sit's over night, Cold/Warm Wet/Dry, it refuses to start properly. It will Rev up to 3500 RPMS or so then down to a 1000 and usually stalls, this will go on for quite some time (usually 5 to 10 min's to get it start and stay running) That is unless you hold the Gas and brake down and get into to drive and go right away. Any help would be greatful wwbbs@nt.net.
I have a 1995 Z34.So far, i have had no major problems with the car other than the seemingly common idle problem. It went away in a couple of hours, so I guess i will wait its return.Yes, the console is broken, was that way when I bought it, and will likely stay that way. As for the guy with the $350.00 rotors, where in the world did you have to give that much for rotors?I replaced the entire mechanical parts for the brake system myself for less than $200.00 and it was the good stuff. Can anyone let me know the correct diagnosis, and cure for the idle problem? I would like to know what it is, so I can tackle it when it returns. Mine has just clocked 114,101 miles, and runs great. Since buying, i have done the brakes, and one tune up, charged the ac with a Walmart kit, and other than that, just Gas and oil changes. The car really hauls, and we have raced it at the local track. Turned a 9:38 et (1/8th mile) with my 110 lb Wife driving it. Only complaints I have would be the fuel mileage, it stinks, like another guy said, about 270 miles a tank. Sometimes a little better, but not much. email me : enaball3@aol.com in reference to the idle prob or anything else, thanks.
Hey there, I have a 96 Monte LS. I am having that same problem with the windows. I would like to find out what part in the door is causing it to come off track, and not go up completely. If any one can give me some advise, email me at utikevin@hotmail.com Thanks and peace out!
I have a 1995 Monte Carlo LS which I purchased new in 1995. Currently it has 144000 miles on it. I have had no major issues with it. Standard things like, replaced the braking system last year, alternator, battery, starter, tires, water pump... Most of the miles are highway miles. The only bad thing, which didn't make me happy, was the intake gasket blew at about 120000 miles. The cost to replace was approximately 800.00.
To date this car is still running smoothly with no problems.
I bought my 95 Monte Carlo LS in early 2002. Had about 140,000 miles on it. Thing ran great. Started with small problems... power window on driver side sticks, and doesn't go up all the way, I found that a good grease spray will solve that problem for a little while. Battery went after a month, and needs new rotors (been too busy to get to it). At around 155,000 the tensioner pulley snapped while I was on the highway, lost almost all steering.--quick fix though, only about $30.
About three weeks later the head gasket blew while I was on the highway (again), and the block filled with antifreeze. The engine seriously over heated, and the whole thing was toast. Found a 97 Lumina engine to replace it (basically the same thing). Had the idle problem, so I replaced the plugs and wires... cleared it right up. I also just dropped a K&N filter in for good measure.
My newest problem with it is an oil leak that I can't find. It goes through a LOT of oil; about a quart every week and a half. Plus I keep hearing a rattling on the passenger side--getting that looked at soon. Other than those problems, It's a sweet car. It has some real get-up and go, and when I pass someone, it lags until I just give a little more gas (then it jumps to get going).
When it comes to interiors, Chevy has never been known for quality. Even the Corvettes have a cheesy plastic interior that breaks away. So far the ashtray lid has snapped off, center console hinge broke (the whole top just comes right off now), passenger side sun visor actually fell out of the ceiling... talk about cheap. Also, I've had to replace the cigarette lighter, I wasn't getting any juice for my charger and radar detector.
If anyone figures out what the problem is with the power windows, let me know. Its getting a little annoying spraying them all the time.
Kjb_111082@hotmail.com.
Now all I have to do is finish installing my system and I'll be golden!
I have a 95 z34 monte with 165000 miles on it, no major problems, heres a list of whats been done (most after 100,000) two alternators, brakes done 3 or 4 times, two cam belts, battery, gasket on air plenum, brake booster hose, spark plugs and wires once, one set of tires, tie rods, rear struts I think that's it. as a whole the car has been a good car for that high of mileage, but I'm selling it because I want better gas mileage (last year I raced it at the local dragstrip and came in 2nd in the street class :) )