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Did not expect that even with a small population of chevys on the local scene that I needed a week advance booking for my first 1k servicing.
As there were problems with my aircon and door alignment, my car had to be left overnight when I sent it in for the oil change.
Got it back the next day, aircon was improved, but doors still cannot close properly (unless you pushed or slammed them)
However, barely 3 weeks are coming out of my first servicing, on my way to work, I got a burnt smell coming from the aircon. Ignored it and continued to get to my workplace. When I got out of the car, was shocked to see smoke coming out the front wheel arch!! Opened the boot immediately and found smoke coming from the engine too!! Visual check reveal that my engine oil was leaking till below the 'min' line on the dipstick.
Finally, had the car towed back to the authorized dealer. During the 4 days it was there, no effort was made to keep my updated on what's happening or what was wrong and only at the end of the 4th day, received a call to collect my car. Knowing that if I collected my car after hours, no mechanic would be around to tell me what's wrong so I told them I would go down the next morning.
However, as expected, when I collected my car the next morning, the adviser just handed me my keys without a word! when I asked him what's wrong, he only told me what I already knew : engine was leaking... and that they have replace the oil and some other parts... when I wanted details, I got the "all I can say..." crap and "factory fault" crap too... and I still don't what's really wrong!
Inspected my car visually and was disgusted to find a big oily mess they left in my almost-3-month-old engine bay which they did not even bother to clean up!
4 days later, I got a "screeching' sound coming from my rear wheel... had to tap the brakes to stop the sound... wonder what's wrong now?? have not decided to send it down yet... still waiting for GM / Chevrolet in Thailand to reply to my queries. (although car was bought in Singapore, but the service here sucks!!)
Note : car is only less than 3 months from collection from the authorized dealer!! almost brand new!! so why the serious defect!? from my mileage, I drive little and same route everyday... so why such a serious problem?
Chose the car because of the GM trademark. Expected it to be reliable...but...
Really liked the 4 individual suspension system which made the ride more comfy.
I also compromised on the smaller boot space in exchange for a roomier cabin.
Car is very much quieter than my previous one... but still can be improved, especially on the driver side window.
Handling is pretty OK as its of continental design and heavy too.
However, pickup and overtaking power is greatly compromised because of the weight factor too.
I just can't imagine all these problems in your 3 months old car and guess what it's Chevrolet.
I was thinking of buying the OPTRA, but after I read your comments I will think twice before doing so.
Anyone has a positive feedback please join.
Wow, that's really disgusting. I feel so sad for the person who's car is just 3months old and so many problems. Believe me the car is good. Its the service station. If you confident on your part why don't make a big complain to the relevant people. I bought by 1.8LT Optra on Nov2004. And until today I had clocked 53500km, I have no problems so far. Wonderful car I would say.
Well I have a Chevy Optra from Nov-15-2004. Only had one problem, but the dealer took care of it. Since had a fog lamp burned out. Since that have not had a problem with my Optra.
I understand the gentleman's concern and comments regarding the Chev Optra, I have had my 2lt Optra 2004 for 18 month and have driven 100K in that time, I have had the front light bulbs replaced twice, the underside of the car, just past the front wheels, resprayed three times.
Recently the engine caution light came on, it was diagnosed that my fuel evaporative valve was gone this was replaced and within a couple of days the light was back on and now it seems to be the fuel cap.
My main gripe with this vehicle is the slow rate at which the revolutions drop after removing your foot off the accelerator, I find it difficult to drive the car smoothly especialy when going down hills or gearing down.
I was informed that the revolutions drop slowly by design so as to allow for easier gear shift, that may be so when gearing up, but try and maintain a steady speed down a hill and lets see what happens, the car jerks, but has the Dealership have told me its normal for the Optra its by design and they cannot do anything about it.
Another issue which another Optra owner has brought to light is speed at which to obtain spares for the car, I ordered a fuel cap 8 weeks and still no joy, I am beginning to wonder is there a problem with these caps that there is none available, and do not ask GM you get no joy just some cock and bull about change of supplier and the such.
Anyway I am not impressed with either the Dealership or GM for that matter regarding after purchase service,
I am hoping that they will sort out the revolution issue soon as it is a problem especially in the snowy climate Canada as where it difficult enough without having to fight with a car that does its own thing by design.
I think The problem is, it's a chevy.
Wow..seeing the comment I did not expect it will be that worst.
I owned 1.8LT on June 2005 and now the mileage clocked at 42000km.
The only problem during warranty period was replacing air-conditioned compressor and full set of drive shaft (tripod joint problem).Good service done by Chevrolet agent in Malaysia.
Although these two parts was not so serious, but I do take into consideration in long term usage especially tripod joint.
Other than that SSPS (Speed Sensitive Power Steering) light went on. Agent said due to hot climate the sensor wire sometimes too hot. So they repaired at no cost.
I bought a 2004 Optra in April 2005 and got a great deal on it. There were 3 Optra's left on the lot that didn't sell, probably because they were 5 speeds and did not have a/c. The car was $11 000 and I got to use $700 worth of GM VISA points. Good price for a brand new car with a full warranty.
I have had isolated problems that TSB's were issued on, and it was for control arm bushings that made a crunching sound over bumps particularily in cold weather. Other than the GM dealership having to order the parts, the car was fixed promply and properly, although I did have to bring it in 4 times due to not having the parts. The only other problem were some surface rust on the rotors which was taken care by shaving a bit off the rotors.
I am pleased with the car, but not with the service at the dealership. The sales manager (who is no longer there... gee go figure) basically lied to GM's head office customer service as I sent a letter about poor follow up service on an alarm system the dealership installed with a local after market installer. Other than that I have had been pleasantly surprised by the ride quality and build quality of the car. Also for an economy car it has a great sound system that is MP3 compatible.
My wife bought a KIA and has had many problems with it. I think the fact GM is overseeing the production of the Optra may mean a higher quality of manufacturing because my wife's KIA SPectra and a friends Hyundai Elantra have both had extensive problems and my friend's Elantra ended being sent back to Hyundai and dissembled by their engineers to address an unsafe steerting wheel vibration during braking on the highway. Hyundai only agreed to do that when he threatened a law suit, as he had 30 work orders for the problem from 3 different Hyundai dealerships.
The problems I had with my 2004 optra is continuing almost on a daily basis. I just recently got her back after a almost three month at the dealership, trying why the lights keep cutting out and she almost caught on fire smoke coming from the dash vents. i would never recommend this car to anybody. i certainly will never purchaase another one. the service treated you like it's your fault the car is a lemon. you certainly don't get any smile's from the mechanics, they treat you like dirt and make you feel even worst.
A dissastified customer in newfoundland.
My optra has served me well for the last one year. No major problem at all. A few tips below may be useful to some user out there.
- If your battery is not maintenance free, remember to top up
- After every servicing, make sure the oil cap, radiator cap and "all" the rest of the caps are tight. (You never know some mechanic may be inexperience)
- There was a design weakness in optra engine, there was a sensor line (engine rpm sensor) that is prone to contact the engine block at the interface of the engine and gearbox. if the wire is burn, the engine will start to have abnormal behavior. make sure the wire clip is pull upward so that there is no contact with the engine block
- ensure tire are properly inflated for fuel economy.
Chevrolet optra is a good car.
Location: Canada
2004 Optra5 S.
I thought I would add my opinion about an Optra5 S that I purchased 2 years ago.
Reason why I purchased it at first was for the Options, Style and Price. Fully equipped car with a nice style for a low price was all what I could ask for.
But problems started to arise shortly after.
1-
1 year later I started getting the SSPS light flickering on and off every once in a while. Until it stayed on more often than not. Had it serviced and they said it was because of a simple rewiring (Most likely eeprom reprogramming).
2-
When turning at a slow speed (Parking), you feel a slight *Clucking* sound and feel it through the gas pedal. This didn't happen during the first year. When going to have it serviced, they said it was the Shaft that isn't as tight as before in the steering wheel which creates the *Cluck* when turning. But said it was safe to drive.
3- THIS IS THE MOST ANNOYING ONE
After 2 years, a strong disgusting smell is coming out from teh Air Vents. A type of old sweaty gym socks smell that comes out stronger when you initially start the car. It occurs mostly when it is warm, humid or just leaving the car somewhere where it is above freezing climate. If it is cold out, it seems to freeze the smell (Or Bacteria) and you won't smell the odor, or as much.
Took 3 trips to the dealer and still nothing has been fixed.
1st trip, they actually said they found something.. but had to go back a week later because they didn't have the part in stock.
2nd trip, changed the front Airvent (Where the Wipers are). Seemed fix for a while.
3rd Trip, 4 months later, Went back because the smell is even worse than before. Left it overnight. To only be told that they didn't find anything, and that the smell doesn't exist!!! Only problem is it is cold out and the smell (Bacteria) disappears when it is not humid or hot. I wasnt very happy about this and to have wasted a trip for them to say they didn't find anything. To Top it all off, They spray Mens Perfume all over the car and especially in the vents!! This smell was even worse than the initial Gym Sock smell.. It went away after 3 days, and the sock smell came back the day after when it rained and wasnt as Cold outside...
All this being said.
DO NOT GO WITH A GM.. if you have a problem with the car, their after sales service isn't worth the Time you waste trying to have them fix it. Be it Incompetency or because GM isn't doing very well financially (Cutting corners).
I was always with Toyota before, and the cars and after sales service is not even comparable.. Aside from Price TOYOTA wins in every category, but trust me, the price you pay for going with a GM is far Costlier than saving a 1000 or 2000$ dollars...
Of course this is all posted in my opinion and experience, please so your own DD.
Just change Air Conditioned filter it will be fine. Spray it with anti bacterial spray.
Other thing is, change this filter at every 10000km instead of 30000km as per manual. This can be apply in hot country with high humidity.
Neglecting changing the filler can lead to vents and air conditioned compressor initial minor problem.
I have an Optra too!! I'm so not happy eith it at all. I had some work done under the hood, the housing unit that holds the antifreeze. The gaskets let go and had a slow leak, got it towed and they SAID that they fixed it (HAHAHA) well I woke the next morning and went to town only to find that is was overheating to the max, and then turnde around to come home in time to see the hoses let go. They then fixed oit again this time not refilling the coolant, so I overheated again. Well my father refilled it this time, the service dept obviously didn't know how. Well now a month later my Head Gaskets are shot. My car is only 2&half yrs old. I guess the car can't help it it's the people who made it. All the service sucked evry time that I had to get the poor thing serviced. I guess with this car being a very first on the market, I'll never buy another that's for sure, not worth the 28000 txs included. This was my first car ever, not a very good experience.I'm off to trade it in for a pontiac G5 maybe I'll have better luck at this dealership, as long as it's better than the one that I'm at. OPTRA OWNER, IN NOVA SCOTIA. Good luck to all you current optra owners.
To the last commentor, that's what a temp gauge on the dash is for and you only have yourself to blame for the car overheating, despite the claimed neglect of the servicing dealer.
Drove it for 2 days after I got the car, and the coil distributor went wrong. They replaced it and said 'it depends on your luck'.
I'm really disappointed with the comments, not because I think they're unwarranted, but because I was hoping my problems were isolated. Three weeks after rolling my 2005 1.8L Optra LS off the lot a piece fell out of the moonroof when it was opened, I shrugged and put the piece into the center console, my first refill I pulled the gas cover lever and the plastic piece came off... this too went in the center console. Not a huge deal. Two months in I felt like I was towing a house and had all, but lost power completely slowing to a crawl. I took the car in and they said it was due to a computer issue and reprogramming it would solve the problem. I got my car back that day and all seemed fine. A year later I've lost the pickup that I was enjoying so much, the car now feels and sounds like an old car, it clacks in the morning and eats gas like a truck. I took it in and was told there was nothing wrong it it and that perhaps the performance decrease I was experiencing was due to me somehow pushing the hold button EVERY SINGLE TIME I GOT IN THE CAR, yes, this was actually suggested to me. The kid (and I say kid because he was, couldn't have had his full license for more than 4 years) took the car for a drive to see if he could reproduce the problem, he was back in 2 minutes saying it was gutless because it was a 4 cylinder (not knowing I was standing right behind him). I got ticked off and said he wasn't out long enough to know anything about the ride and he asked if i'd like to accompany him on another test drive. Out of the lot the kid was hammering the gas to the floor and got on the highway, I immediately noticed the car making a horrible noise like it was labouring or under gear, I looked down and the automatic shift was in 3rd gear with this kid pinning it to the boards. I told him to put the car in drive before he blows my engine and he said it shouldn't matter... We get back to the shop and I'm not convinced this kid even knew what a car would feel like driving normally as he didn't even know he was about to red-line, but they said if they took it back and inspected it since it was put to the computer and came up clear they'd have to charge me for the service. I left. I don't blame Daewoo nor do I think the Optra is a crappy car despite all this bad press. The car is still under warranty and if something smokes on it I'll be more than happy to go back and funnel a litre of oil down that kids throat. Chevy service blows.