Comments: 1-15, 16-21
All that has gone wrong is that the blower switch snapped. An easy repair.
This little machine is soooo much better than my old civic. Japanese parts are just to expensive to buy for repairs. American parts are reasonably priced, though I haven't needed to buy any parts yet! And this car is so easy to work on! Changing the oil only takes about 10 minutes, and everything is so conveniently located.
For a little car, it sure is comfy. And there aren't all the silly bells and whistles that come with most cars. Just a good, simple little way to get around. And cute, too. It really attracts the ladies like flies on honey!!
Nice to see someone else who appreciates the elegant simplicity of these little sub-C cars. Fewer "bells and whistles" generally means less to go wrong and the parts (in most cases) are cheap and plentiful. Plus, where else are you going to find an economical ~45MPG car? No other has yet been made.
My only gripes are related to visibility:
The bottom edge of the rear windows (+ hatch glass) was placed a little high (imho) in comparison to the drivers seated position and it's tough to negotiate winding driveways in reverse... surprising for such a little car!
Also, the aerodynamic windshield is raked so steeply that I encounter occasional glare issues with light reflected off the curvaceous dash surface interfering with actually viewing out the windshield... this might be a common issue among newer cars, but it's the first time I've experienced it.
I drove a Geo Metro from August 97 until May 2002. It was the most amazing car I ever or will ever own. I changed the oil in the three cylinder engine every 20 to 24 thousand (that's right thousand) miles. Now this sounds horrible I know, but I was also using Mobile one synthetic and most of the miles driven on the car was interstate miles. The car got in the high 40s to low 50 miles per gallon. I never checked the oil between changes and as I far as I could tell it never burned a drop. When the car had 125 thousand miles on it I took in to get the brakes checked because they sounded like they were rubbing. I was surprised when the mechanic told me that a rock got stuck in there and that the pads looked good as new. I had still not changed the brakes (that's right 165 thousand miles) when I sold the car. It should be noted here that most of my braking is done by the manual transmission. With fuel prices at their current levels I find it hard to believe that the manufacturer is not considering starting production on this model again.
I loved my little 5 speed metro, it was quite a speedy little car! A friend had the automatic, and I could tell the difference in the performance.
On your comment on the gas mileage, I went from North Jersey to Maryland on about $20.00 in gas. No other car compared in cost as far as upkeep and maintenance.
I Love my lil blue '92!! This is the only car I have ever had and I really do not want to get rid of it! But I need parts to fix some stuff! If anyone wants to part with a headlight/dimmer switch on the steering column, holler at me! Thanks!
~Laura Ashleigh
lam947@yahoo
I have a 2000 Metro and until now the only complaint has been the fact that the coffee tray is too close to the gear shift (cannot shift into Park unless you take coffee cup out). Needless to say lots of split coffee. Now I have taken it to one mechanic and there may be something wrong with the air compressor ($700.00) -- in fact the AC has had a slow slow slow freon leak since I got it and no one knows where it is -- and there is now a rather interesting noise taking place when I start up the car and shift it into neutral or park... did I drive across a cat's tail? I am now at another mechanic trying to fix some of the damage done by the first one and just seems that everything is going. I love the car, but right now a little frustrated.
About the A/C compressor problem-- I think this is a very common (and maybe the only) flaw in Metros. I have the very same problem with the mysterious leak in the freon. I just get it recharged every spring. It's cheap to get done and to avoid the costly repair of the leak. My mechanic said he would have to remove the entire dash assembly to get to it, so I won't bother with that. My mechanic was also concerned about the way the car vibrates and shakes in idle. I was too, though I've heard that these engines tend to shake as they age. But now my "service engine soon" light keeps coming on and blinking when I start the car. The manual says that this means there is a misfire. And then if I turn on the A/C at idle, the engine sometimes stalls. Is there a way to adjust the idle speed? I think it's a bit low or something. Other than those things, my Metro is a reliable, fun little ride.
The Metro's are based on the Suzuki Swift's - on the Swift there was a known problem that caused the engines to run a bit rough - actually two - one was simple - the gasket between the throttle body and the intake - the other was a failure in the control computer - personally I'd replace the gasket first (face it - a paper gasket is gonna be a lot cheaper than the computer) to see if it fixes the issue - then chase down the computer (if you're an AAA member and there's a diagnostic center near you they can probably scan the computer for you for next to zero dollars) -
Cheers.
Steve.
Thanks for the info. I always thought the rough running engine was normal, but maybe not. I'll try replacing that gasket. Also, every time I shift into reverse, the gearbox makes a brief, awful crunching noise that sounds like I'm shifting without using the clutch. But I press the clutch down all the way. Does my clutch need replacement? I hope not, because my Geo is still fairly young with 87,000 miles on it. It has been doing it for about a year, and luckily it hasn't torn up yet. Can anyone tell me what could be wrong?
If the bigger bra doesn't fix the problem, try holding the clutch pedal down for at least 5 seconds before you try to engage reverse to give the layshaft time to stop spinning.
You have syncromesh on 1st gear, but not on reverse.
All cars do this, with manual transmissions.
Try briefly shifting into 1st gear before reverse, this sometimes helps.
I have an aspire myself and I am looking for a Geo. I reached 180 miles with $14.00. this is about 28 mpg, at $2.17 per gallon. I think I can make 35 mpg if I drive at constant speed. At this constant speed I will expend $11.16. I drive from Hesperia to Los angeles every day. On my Mercedes I use to expend $22 dollars. If I was to drive a Geo I think I would only have to expend $9.76 round trip. This is about 1/2 of what I am usually expending a month, about $700. I can't imaging how much I would be expending if I buy one of those monster trucks: $1000, $2000? Compare this amounts if I could afford to buy me a Honda Insight, a merely $167.
Oh I bet the ladies were all over you when you drove that thing. So do you live in Compton or somewhere similar?
Did that other comment just say "The bigger bra?"
Re: Geo no longer in production.
My bet would be a buy out to stop production. If not a buy out a threat to make them stop.
Sounds like the little car was just to much for other makes to compete with.
If they were still in production, I would certainly give a new one a try.
I went the extreme to show my contempt for Bush & OPEC. Parked my one ton dually truck (8 mpg) & bought a 150 CC scooter that gets 80 + MPG. At age 59 look pretty silly. But it works for me!
Re the above comment, yeah GM bought itself out to stop production of the Metro they were selling. No wonder they are having such bad financial woes.