2005 Chevrolet Aveo LS from North America - Comments

The bumpers have extremely poor quality paint that scratches very easily, my footlocker brushed the rear bumper while I was loading it up and now there are huge gouges on top of the rear bumper.

At 4400 miles it started locking me out of third gear at higher rpm's. I have even made a conscious effort to hold down the clutch until its all the way in gear, the transmision will click then the engine will rev like its in neutral. The dealership says this is normal, but since it didn't used to do this before and third is the only gear it happens in I think it has a bad synchronizer.

Now at 6600 miles the transmission started making clunking sounds when taking off as well as when shifting. There is also excesive movement in the shifter when accelerating and decelerating, it moves approximately 4 inches when either the gas or brakes are applied. I'm guessing motor mount, its been at the dealership for the past three days.

With the exception of the transmision problems this is a good little car, however this many problems without even 10k is ridiculous.

This is a surprisingly well mannered car on the highway, quiet, smooth, and adequate passing power at high speeds.

This is also a surprisingly comfortable and roomy car for its size, I'm 6'2" with broad shoulder and this car provides ample room more along the lines of a mid size than a subcompact. Very smooth ride.

Performance is very good for an entry level car, but its no sports car. Acceleration is average, torque is good for a 1.6l, but it still feels anemic at lower rpm's and needs a few revs to really get going.

The car has good traction around corners, but is very twitchy. Sudden lift throttle over steer means you need to be careful when slowing down while cornering at high speeds.

The Transmission sucks, with longs throws and a vague, rubbery feeling. The clutch is also very rubbery and does not snap back like it should. Basically the transmission is this cars biggest weak point.

I'm deploying in support of OIF this fall and when I come back I'm trading this pile of junk in for another European car. My old Volo had 225,000 miles on it and was way more reliable than this car.

You're comparing a Volvo to a $10,000 Korean built subcompact? A little unfair, ain't it?

As for the tranny problems you are under warranty. Take it to your dealer and it will get fixed.

The car's built by Daewoo, & GM. The 2 worst car manufacturers in the world. Junk is an understatement. I haven't driven one, but I won't need to, because common sense tells me to stay away.

I've had my Aveo for 1 year, 5 months... No problems whatsoever... it sounds like you got the lemon out of the bunch.

I've had my Aveo for nine months. I have had it in the shop 3 times for brake problems. Still not fixed. Yesterday, when I was driving it, it completely lost power and now will not go over 5 miles an hour. Had to have it towed. Clock and other gizmo's have never worked correctly. Seems like I spend more time in the repair shop than on the road. Thank goodness, it is still under warranty, however, would never buy another one. Chevy had a good idea. It's a shame that it turned out to be junk.

Had mine since March 2005 and so far no much has gone wrong. During changes in climate overnight, the driver's window won't go down easily. And there is some sort of squeak coming from the shocks/suspension only when I have weight in the back (passengers/heavy load). The brakes work fine although they feel weird.

I DO really not trust Chevrolet dealers so I dread having to go in to get these things looked at. And the fact one of them wanted over $50 for an oil change was ridiculous.

Overall you can't blame Chevrolet, but Daewoo for any problems since the Aveo is simply badge engineering. Daewoo has mixed reliability.

Another poster said: You're comparing a Volvo to a $10,000 Korean built subcompact? A little unfair, ain't it?

As for the tranny problems you are under warranty. Take it to your dealer and it will get fixed.

You're absolutely right. The shoddy workmanship overwhelmingly typical of today's Volvos tips the scales unfairly toward that Korean-built subcompact.

I have owned my 2004 Aveo for 15 months and it has been in the shop 17 times...

I have 60,000 km on it and I am on my 3rd set of tires, it shakes down the road and causes premature tire wear. The throttle sticks and is one of its recalls. the paint came off

the front bumper after 3 days, its first wash. I STRONGLY RECOMEND NOT PURCHASING THIS JUNK. The radio doesn't work squeaks everywhere... I could go on, but it is not worth talking about.

Do not buy this GM JUNK.

I just bought a 2004 Aveo (hatchback) with the 5 speed manual transmission. Not one problem has occurred since I've owned it. I think the problem everyone else has with this car is their own inability to take care of a car. As another post mentioned, these are things that you should have noticed in your test drive.

"Another poster said: You're comparing a Volvo to a $10,000 Korean built subcompact? A little unfair, ain't it?

As for the tranny problems you are under warranty. Take it to your dealer and it will get fixed."

That's true, but this Volvo have 200.000 miles (probably this car have 10 years) and cost less than 10.000$.

PS.

I wish Chevy Aveo get this mileage.

I really take issue with the people who are posting saying that we should have noticed these things in the test drive. We are not stupid people. If they had been noticed in the test drive, I would not have bought the car. During the test drive, the brakes did not squeal, it did not lose power, the tire did not fall off, and the engine didn't blow up. During the test drive, which by the way, I was able to keep it overnight, everything appeared fine. After one week, it started having problems. My son bought an Aveo from a different dealer in a different state, 2 days after I bought mine. Three days later, his was in the shop. I've had mine for 10 months now, and it is now in the shop for the 11th and last time. I will take a loss on this vehicle and buy something else. It's really a shame, because I really liked the car when I saw it and drove it for the first time. My son's Aveo has been in the shop 6 times. I have had several new vehicles in my lifetime, and there was only one time that I had to put a vehicle in the shop, and when I did, it was fixed the first time and never had to go back. For those of you that has not had problems, good for you, but you will. My sister bought one a month before I did. I was fussing the other day about my car and she said that I just got a lemon and she loves her. The next day, her transmission went out. Good luck to you all.

So when you said:

"The Transmission sucks, with longs throws and a vague, rubbery feeling. The clutch is also very rubbery and does not snap back like it should."

You are now telling us this was not evident when you test drove the vehicle? HMMMM, funny I noticed this in the first five minutes of my test drive (although I disagree with your clutch assessment).

What, were you under the influence of the new car smell?

Again, I have had my Aveo for nearly a year and it hasn't seen a Chevy dealer yet. It has a minor squeak when weight is placed in the back and I will have that corrected. Yes, this is unacceptable in my mind, but it isn't the end of the world, especially for the $6995 out the door price (plus taxes) I paid for it new.

Other than the squeak, it has started every time, heats up faster than any car I've ever had, and does everything I ask of it.

I won't swear by its ultimate reliability since Daewoo has a spotty record, but it is not the "junk heap" you are claiming unlike my friend's 2000 Focus that was in the shop 6 times in the first 12 months of ownership.

I've had the AVEO for about 16 months and here's my list.

3 month: car died rolling down the road at 55, all engine power gone. had it towed to the dealer. they couldn't "recreate" the problem after getting it running.

3 month/2 weeks: it happened again, seemed to be common denominator was rain. towed again, dealer checked with other dealers and found out there was a piston recall, replaced pistons, seals, rods and valves.

12 months replaced tires at 16,000 miles. one rear tire blown out on highway... tread OK. front tires at wear indicators.

15 months AUTO transmission will not shift into 3rd gear during cold of 25 degrees for first 5 minutes of driving. car stays in second gear even at 60 MPH.

What year is your Aveo? Most of the real horrible problems seem to be from the 2004 model year, not the 2005. We've had rain here and I drive very aggressively in my 2005 and have not encountered anything near what you have.

Re the above comment, isn't it always amusing when someone takes out their ignorance and waves it around for everyone to see, even if anonymously...

Just saw that comment above. Hilarious!

Yes, people should do research before posting here. I had one person swear up and down my car was made in China of Chinese parts. Funny given the window sticker says made in Korea.