The rear bench seat would unlock and fold forward if I braked too hard.
The car would smell strongly of petrol when entering the car.
The "fuel empty" light would light up when turning a corner.
The headlights would flood with water when crossing rivers.
The Lada Niva was a mountain goat off road. It's good ground clearance and attack/departure angles meant it could handle very rough ground easily.
On road comfort left a lot to be desired. The original off road tyres were extremely noisy at any speed over 20km/h.
Acceleration was below par when compared to most cars built in the 1990's.
This car may be OK for a second car purely for off-roading, but don't purchase it as a family car, as the rear seat issue would be a death trap for children even in a minor accident.
A very accurate description of the Niva. Exactly the same experiences as I've had with mine.. But a great car for the money.. Thousands of dollars cheaper then any other "real" 4WD.
A very cheap 4WD, and a good off road car. That's the whole idea.
I had a Niva when my kids were teenagers. I never had a problem with the back seat, but the anchorages for the front seats were a bit flimsy. Yes, my headlights filled with water too.
I bought it for its off-road ability and I was constantly impressed. The low gearing, long suspension, large tyres and small overhangs were amazing in the rough stuff.
Its lack of power steering was a pain at parking speeds on the road, but I had two sets of wheels which worked well. I used the standard wheels and tyres for weekends away and wider wheels with street tyres during the week. With the wide rims it handled well on the road for a 4WD.
I look back on it as the most fun I ever had in a car despite its poor build quality when compared with Japanese offerings. I guess I appreciated the driving experience so much I put up with the build quality.
Yes, this is an accurate description of the Niva. I presently own a '97 model, and have owned an old carburetor-equipped '84 model in the past. It is indeed '70s tech, but with very clever design, which translates into truly incredible off-road capabilities. Really too bad that general quality of the materials was not on par with the level of ingenuity of its mechanical design...
I also have the same problem, the Lada has a very strong smell of petrol. I still have not been able to find the problem.
I have a Lada Niva 1986 model. It has all of the idiosyncrasies that are mentioned above except the back seat problem. For that I would suggest that the owner checks out the clips, mine works OK. The driver's foot well on my Niva was a problem when driving with my boots on, but this is because it has been designed as a left-hand drive vehicle. I simply "spread" the pedals out a bit more by bending and reshaping to get more distance between each pedal and now it's tolerable.
The versatility of this vehicle is very good off-road. I don't expect great things in town, but there's no problem there either.
To the guy who was smelling fuel inside the cab. If you are sitting in back seat behind the driver seat take the side wall panel off and you will see a black box this is a fuel expansion chamber for the fuel tank sometimes they leak. get a new one and the problem will go away. steve
A lot of the road and transmission noise can be easily and significantly reduced by simply adding soundproofing materials to the vehicle. I have soundproofed the transmission tunnel inside the car as well as the footwells using appropriately cut sheets of insulation felt material which has an inner layer of a bituminous compound. The material is approx. 1 to 1.5 cm. thick and fits easily under and behind the original plastic covers in the Niva. I have also lined the firewall inside the engine bay with the same material and the noise reduction in my Niva is tremendous. Soundproofing felt can be readily purchased in rolls from most automotive accessory shops and is quite inexpensive. Soundproofing under the engine bonnet is also worthwhile.
A 1997 Niva does NOT have a 1.6 L. engine- it is a 1.7 L. and has been since 1995. Are you sure your car was a 1997 model? The bench rear seat "folding forward on braking" is something I`ve never heard of- and if it was the case, could`nt you, as the owner, simply re-adjust the clips and fix this trivial "problem" in the first instance? You don`t have to be an expert mechanic- just need to use a bit of common sense. As far as the point goes about "flooding" the headlights when crossing rivers, my simple question is: How DEEP was the river? Novice off-road drivers often do bizarre things with their 4x4`s, and then criticise their vehicles instead of confronting their own foolishness. I`ve had none of the problems listed by this reviewer, except for the "fuel low" warning coming on intermittently- when the fuel tank is half full or less- this is common to all Nivas, and is certainly nothing to be too concerned about. It is a pity the reviewer did`nt keep his (her) car a little bit longer in which time he might have started to appreciate the multitude of positive attributes the Niva has. I own a 1997 model, (my second Niva}, and it is an absolute pleasure to drive and maintain. People who don`t understand cars do not make good Niva owners and are probably better off in boring, run of-the-mill Japanese or Korean imitations- that, by and large, are NOT even true 4x4 vehicles- i.e. they don`t have high AND low range gearing-like the Niva- which effectively has 10 forward gears, 2 reverse gears AND a diff. lock facility! A well maintained Niva is simply a GREAT car! The car is inexpensive to buy, and new spare parts are plentiful and cheap. Happy motoring!
"On road comfort left a lot to be desired". In what way? Using off-road tyres for highway driving is not advisable on any car. Seats? Well, their comfort is legendary.
As far as suspension is concerned, if your Niva is a bit "bouncy" over uneven or corrugated surfaces, all you need to do, is fit a new set of upper and lower front ball joints. The originals wear, after some 75-100,000 kms., and will cause a somewhat uncomfortable and 'pitchy' ride. The new ball joints only cost about $35 Aust. each- and are easy to fit. I had mine done recently, and the difference in road comfort-and road holding, is tremendous! Get yours done; make sure you fill them with long-life grease; and whilst you`re at it, check, and if need be, replace the inner and outer rubber CV boots.
I also changed the two front wheel bearings. My Niva now purrs along the highway, at any speed. Completely stable and smooth. Well worth the money. Parts are plentiful and inexpensive.
Having fell in love with 4x4’s through a chance purchase of a range rover and the subsequent loss of this vehicle due to becoming a father and needing something sensible and cheaper to carry newborn around in I saved a few pounds and bought a 1997 lada niva. Even though I have only owned the car for a few months it has broken. Firstly I can sympathise with the folks who smelt petrol – I nearly passed out twice due to the fumes – it was down to the little black box in the rear side well that had a slight leak. I now realise why the vendor of the vehicle had the windows open and the fan blowing when I test drove it. However this was easy to fix, the next problem however was not so straight forward, I have no brakes. The front passenger side calliper has frozen open so changed this and pads etc, but now cannot bleed system or get any braking. Took it- slowly - to a garage where I was told I only had 8% braking. Any advice out there? Anyone had similar problems?
I have not had the brake problem (s) you describe, however I`d like to offer some help- which may be relevant in your case
1. Is the brake booster working? The diaphragm inside may be faulty. Also, check the vacuum line (from engine to booster). Intact?
2. Check caliper on the other side (if not done already) - may be defective.
3. Check that both pistons on the front brakes are working- i.e. are able to push in and out- and thus operate the new disc pads. They may be seized up, and may need to be removed (not easy) and thoroughly cleaned or replaced.
4. Check all rubber brake hoses for possible splits, cracks and/or leaks. Check master cylinder and obviously fluid level.
5. Check bleed nipples. Are they blocked and/or rusted?
These are just some thoughts as to what might be wrong. Generally, Niva brakes are reliable- unless of-course they have not been properly maintained e. g brake fluid never changed. Water in the fluid can cause problems- as in any car.
Personally, I would refer the Niva to a good brake specialist, and give the brakes a thorough over-haul.Once fixed, they will be great for many years.
Hope this has been of some assistance. Cheers.
I live in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia and am debating whether to purchase a Niva. It would be my first car, so I know I have a bit to learn, and am prepared to do some maintenance on the vehicle before it's ready for the road. I just need a cheap way to get up into the mountains. The Niva is up for auction starting at 900 USD (obviously bids will be higher). It is a 2000 model with 76961 km. According to the auctioneer, the suspension, front and rear shaft, gear box and shift need to be repaired. Are these major, or will they be easy to fix? What else should I know about this vehicle before I commit to buying it?
Thanks!
Hopefully somebody with specific knowledge of these cars will get back to you, but in general, it's pretty serious on any 4x4 when you talk about needing to rebuild the transmission, transfer case, and drive shafts. That kind of adds up to a car that has been beat on pretty good, regardless of the apparently low 76,000 kms on the odometer. Not sure what costs are like in Georgia, but in the US, the cost of that work would probably run about $2,500 on an older 4x4 at an honest garage. That doesn't include whatever the suspension needs, but I figure that unless the springs are broken or the front end is totally trashed, it's probably still drivable.
Sounds like this particular vehicle has had a REAL hard life. As a Niva owner, I`d be cautious about purchasing it- unless you`re mechanically skilled, and confident of doing a lot of the repairs yourself. Parts are relatively inexpensive, but it`s the labour component that could end up being very expensive. My advice- 'look for one that hasn`t been abused.'