1994 Chevrolet Astro ext from North America - Comments

Front drive shaft replacement.

All wheel drive transfer case bearing replacement.

Front cv drive shaft replacement both sides.

Transmission tail shaft assembly.

Front torsion bar broke smashing the front end to the grond both had to be replaced.

Calipers started sticking when applying brakes it would throw the car into other lanes of traffic so both had to be replaced.

Rotors and pads.

Complete steering arm assembly all of the bushings wore out.

Starter.

Shocks front and back twice.

Water pump and belts and hoses.

Left turn signal won't snap back because of electrical short causing small fire in steering colume.

This is a "w" code engine which means this has multiport fuel injection which has had to be replaced 3 times and very exspensive.

Special internal fuel lines to the injector.

Engine coil.

3 in the tank fuel pumps.

Exhaust system.

Exhaust donuts 1 year after system replacement.

Master fuzable link shutting car down.

Water control valve in heater lines.

Front grille cracked out needing replacement not from any accident just from closing the hood.

2 batteries.

This is an all wheel drive mini van we bought from a dealers used car lot. It has a vibration in it and still does no mechanics are able to fix it.

Tires would always go flat because of aluminum rims so steel rims were put on with the 3rd set of new tires one set of tires were destroyed having the rims re-sealed too many times destroying the rubber.

No back yard mechanic can tune this car no engine compartment room to even replace spark plugs.

I paid $7500 for this car and in 3 years I have had $8000 in car repairs need I say more

there are more things I just can't remeber all of them every 2 weeks it needs repair it has put me in the poor house.

Just now as I am typing my wife came in and said it won't start again.

That's what you get for buying off a used car lot. Problems, problems, problems, all the while the dealer got the $7500 car for more like $2000 or 2500 and is making a serious profit off you. Next time buy from a private owner because they usually have a reason to keep the car maintained.

Don't let the slick talking used car dealers fool you. They are really full of ____...

I would not blame the used car dealers for selling faulty vehicles, I would blame the buyer instead. The dealers are strictly selling for profit. They don't know what kind of history this vehicle had prior to it being on the lot. Sometimes you get a warranty, or get the vehicle as is at your own risk. The prospective buyer is suppose to thourougly test drive the vehicle, and have it inspected if he or she don't have mechanical knowledge. When I shop for vehicles, I check the exhaust for nasty smoke, and I check the fluid levels as I drive. I also give the cooling system a good workout by making the electric radiator fan cut in, and out a few times. This is a good thing to do checking for coolant use because coolant rises when hot. I always make sure the coolant level does not move in the overflow bottle during the test drive. I also check the coolant level in the radiator, and overflow bottle 30 minutes after shutdown. In the late summer of 2002, I bought a 1993 GMC Safari XT van with 149,000 miles from a local car lot that was open for many years in my area. This was the first vehicle I ever purchased at a used car lot. I felt very secure with the whole experience because I got to test drive it 3 times. I even offered to put gas in it! People laughed when I said I test drove it 3 times, but you don't know what headaches your gonna have buying a vehicle. Today this van just turned 193,000 miles, and is still going strong. Dispite the problems I had with the age and use of the vehicle, I'm satisfied. If I'm going shopping for vehicles again in the future, I might consider buying from the same car lot again. I was satisfied with the customer service there. I just don't like the hassel of dealing with private owners.

I don't like this model/make of this van either.

I once owned one of these (it was a 1987 model).

A piece came off the front end while driving, almost causing me to wreck it with my kids in the van.

That was not the only problem I had with it so I sold the stupid thing for junk.

And yes, I did maintain it.

By contrast, I have a 1987 Toyota Corolla LE I bought last year. Same year as the Astro. Much better vehicle, even though this car was terribly neglected engine wise. The oil had not been changed so long (maybe years) that the oil had a greenish tint to it! So it took several oil changes to make it normal. Yet it it is still running strong.

No more Astros for me!

I know there are "lemon" vehicles out there. I've had my share of them. However, the chevy astro van (ext/AWD) I do not believe to be one of them.

The remark about no backyard mechanic can even tune it up is preposterous! I have performed numerous tune-ups to mine without problem. I have had a few problems with the van, but with almost 200,000 miles on it without complete tranny & engine replacement I'd say it's a solid vehicle.

I drive a 1994 AWD Astro EXT. I bought it in 2003 with only 155,000 miles. I've only had to replace the lower intake manifold gasket & the front tranny seal along with other general maintenance - plugs, wires, oil/oil filter (at regular intervals), pcv valve, fuel filter dist. cap & rotor, air filter, brakes (no drums or rotors, just shoes & pads) & tires. I LOVE my van and would not trade it in for any new piece of "doodie" out there. I can fix any problem that goes wrong with it ('cept the tranny, I leave that up to my husband) and can diagnose the problems I cannot fix before I have it tested.

I think this person just got a raw deal from a shyster of a car dealer. I bought mine off eBay for under $1,000 and have done all the work myself (or have had my husband do it) for a total of $2,500 including the price I paid - not including the gas I used to pick it up in CT to drive it home to Ohio.

I also purchased a 1994 Astro Van about 10 months ago. We got it for a fair price being that it is old and has over 100,000 miles on it. Since we have bought this hunk of junk, we have put close to $2,000 in repairs into it. Had a bad injector cost us $1300 to fix. Now the exhaust smells so bad and it will not accelerate up small hills (you have to floor it) we just took it in this morning and it needs a new CAT which is an additional $700 in repairs. Needless to say the Astro vans are horrible. Would never purchase an older van again. We are in the process of trading it in.

Bad catalytic converters are caused by something being not right in the engine. Don't replace that until you are sure the engine is OK. Replace the oxygen sensor and fuel filter and spark plugs and wires, and check that there are no gasket leaks. That will almost certainly make a huge improvement.

Come on folks! You bought an old high mileage van. Chances are very high that there'll be problems. I bought my 94 Astro new. I maintain it mostly myself. It is pushing 200K and still runs as good as new.

It is, though, very tough choosing any used vehicle. One 2 years or less old could be a lemon. 5 to 8 years could have production issues.