At 60,000 miles, the engine light came on, the transmission stopped shifting, and the turn signals didn't work. This turned out to be a blown "back up light" fuse. This design is meant to deceive the driver and force repairs by a dealer. (The owners manual does not show any fuse for the above items)
At 65,000 miles, the engine overheated slightly. When I stopped to see why, I found the coolant was gone. It was not leaking out anywhere. I finally found the coolant, mixed in with the oil. This was either a head gasket or a cracked head. This is not important, because the coolant in the oil damaged the engine. It is currently getting a "used" engine installed (under 50,000 miles). This means if the replacement engine is as good as the first one, I might get another 15,000 miles out of it before I need another one.
Some of the plastic parts on the seat and the vents are broken.
The rear struts make popping noises due to binding.
The front brake rotors warp badly about every 20,000 miles. This causes a scary shaking when trying to stop.
The Chevrolet dealer has no clue about this car. They don't consider it a "Real Chevrolet", and don't care to look into the problems.
On the good side, the car is safe despite the size. I was recently hit from behind by a Suburban. The Suburban skidded 70 feet. I saw it coming and kept my foot off the brake and turned the wheels so I wouldn't get slammed into the next car. The Metro damage amounted to only the bumper cover and bumper parts inside. (less than $1000.00) I was surprised at how well it absorbed such a shock without causing whiplash to my wife and I.
I just can't believe this review, after having several Metro's I feel like this is just someone trying to trash Metro's all together, you know the type of guy with the fast car with the big engine.. trying to make up for a little... oh well back to the subject I feel this review is fake as they come.
I whole heartedly believe this person about his Metro. I have a 94 that has a blown Head Gasket and it leaks coolant into the piston and blows white smoke out the tailpipe. Not all the time that is, but once and a while.
As for it falling apart, he hit it on right on the head of the nail. The interior is really cheap plastic, but then again these cars are really inexpensive in the first place. All and all, it is cheap transportation when it runs good.
Per your comment on the back up light fuse. Please do not make a sinister comment like "This design is meant to deceive the driver and force repairs by a dealer". This is merely a conspiracy theory and doesn't belong in a forum like this. As if the car company had nothing better to do than to think up tricks like that.
As for your cylinder head/head gasket issue. This is a small 4 cylinder engine meant for econo driving. If these engines are driven like they were designed they will last a long time. If they are driven hard and rough the cylinder heads and head gaskets are the first to go. Also you bought this car used. Do you know how the previous person drove it? It is also possible that you got a faulty gasket or that it was assembled incorrectly. If so, your next engine should run fine, assuming it was taken good care of as well. Any doubts just read the other reviews.
I don't know what everyone is fussing about. The car is 3-4 years old and he only mentions 3-4 problems. Most Chevy's have 2-3 problems per year on average. I don't consider driving hard as an excuse for the problems mentioned either, with exception of the brake issues perhaps. Hard braking causes premature pad wear and rotor warping (I can attest to that from my own car). But you're never really going fast enough in a Metro to account for that.
I really think this person is biased against Metros. I have a '99 Metro that has a spotless record and 100% reliablity, and everyone else I have ever talked to has said the same. You probably just neglected the car or something because these little suckers have a great reputation. I still see lots of late '80s Metros chugging along like loyal servants on the highways.
My 2000 Metro is a piece of crap. It's been one thing after another after another. It currently has a dysfunctional engine. Before that, the exhaust system fell off (no, seriously, it *fell off*). Before that, the transmission system sprang a leak, dropping oil on the front left control arm so that both the arm and the transmission had to be completely replaced. This has been the most expensive economy car of my life.
I got an idea, go buy a Mustang. The original 1985 Chevy sprint was the best ever, but not a race car. Late Metros with 4 cylinder automatics suck, but that's your fault for wanting more power.
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