2004 Chevrolet Aveo LS from North America - Comments

Where to start?

When I first got the car from the dealer I noticed that the alignment was off. (We purchased 2 Aveo's and both had this problem.) I took it to the dealer, and they checked the alignment and it was OK, so they just rotated the tires, and it fixed the problem, for the most part. I am very picky about how my car pulls to one side or the other, especially on level roads. New cars should not pull period no matter what anyone says.

The next thing that went wrong was is at 5,000 miles, I would be at the gas station filling up my gas tank and it would stop every few seconds. It was a pain in the rear trying to fill up an empty tank. I did this twice, then called the dealer. When I took it in, they looked at it and couldn't find anything. They called the head office (Detroit?) and they said to look in the gas recirculation box, or something, for a spiders web. They pulled that part off of the car, and sure enough, there was a spiders web that had formed in there. Apparently when the cars we being assembled in Korea, a lot of other Aveo's had this problem with spider webs not allowing the fumes to escape, causing the driver to be unable to fill the tank. After they fixed that, it worked great.

At 6,000, while doing my 2nd oil change, I noticed that a rubber stub piece was missing from my hood, as well as a slight oil leak coming from the valve cover gasket. I took it to the dealer, they replaced the stub, and said they couldn't figure out the oil leak. They said whoever replaced my oil must have spilt some oil. I told them that I had replaced the oil both times and had never spelt any oil, let alone in a horizontal strip across the bottom of the valve cover. They we just making excuses. They put some die in the oil, and said they would look at it again the next oil change.

At 18,000 the interior light bulb went out for no reason. The dealer replaced it, no problem.

I am at over 30,000 and so far, no more problems.

I never thought that I would ever purchase another american car again (last one a 65 Chevy Pickup). I was forced to rent a car when the transmission in my honda went out, and they were going to give me a Caviler, but I asked for another car, and they said they had an Aveo. I remembered the super bowl commercials with the big tall guys getting into the car and becoming really small (very dumb commercial) and said I would rather rent that car. I was so glad I did. That car was so nice. Me and my girlfriend fell in love with the car. A few weeks later, me and her went out and purchased 2 Aveo's. Mine, which this review is about, is a Summer Yellow LS Hatchback, and she got a Victory Red LS Sedan.

We only wanted, as options, the colors we selected, obviously, models (sedan or hatch), AC, Automatic, and a CD Player. We really loved the fact that the CD player is an MP3 player. We just have 1 or 2 cd's per car that each hold about 220 songs. That is so nice to have. Better than carrying around 50 CD's to get all those songs!

The automatic transmission shifts effortlessly. All of our previous cars were stick shift. It was always so annoying when we got stuck in traffic. Since I use my car to commute, the automatic transmission is heaven.

The AC works perty good. In the California Centeral Valley, it gets very hot, and that AC you just want to be just a tad bit cooler. But otherwise, it works great.

When I make phone calls from my car using my cell phone, my friends and family can never tell I am driving. They always comment on how quiet my car is. I really love that fact. It is much nicer than my old honda which was very hard to hear someone on my cell.

I don't know about all of these other surveys, but I do all the mechanical work, and car washes to my cars. I have changed the oil every 3,000, and have just replaced the spark plugs. I am a perfectionist when it comes to my car maintenance. I use only the best stuff on the market. Of course, they will NOT void my warranty. I use Mobile 1 Full Synthetic Oil with a K&N Oil Filter, K & N Air Filter, and Denso Irediem Spark Plugs. I know that full synthetic Oil can go at least 7,500 miles before being changed, but I still like to have my stuff run in perfect shape, so I change at every 3,000.

Now, with all of the maintenance products that I use on my Aveo, I actually get better than what General Motors list as my Highway Miles per gallon. They state that the Automatic Aveo is only going to get 35mpg, when I am getting 36.5mpg. That may not seem like that big of an incerease, but with the rising cost of gas, and considering how many times you fill up your tank, it adds up really quickly.

Sorry for the long post, but when it comes down to it, me and my now wife, love our Aveo's. My mustard car, and her ketchup car are great. If it came down to purchasing another one, well hopefully we would have enough money to purchase a Toyota Prius, and wouldn't have to buy another Aveo. Sorry Chevy. We still love our Toyota's. But, I have recommended this car to everyone we know. It is a great, fun, reliable car. I love good quality items, and Daewoo of Korea has built an outstanding car to sell in America is a Chevrolet. Good job Daewoo! (Which went bankrupt in America a few years ago)

PS: This car was sold as the Daewoo Lanos when Daewoo was still around in America. This is the new model that Chevrolet sells as their own.

I also have an Chevy Aveo with the same problem with the alignment. The car would pull to one side - right out of the dealer. I took it back and the dealer fixed it, but it has never been perfect and continues to have a tendency to pull to one side. Also, after several oil changes it began to leak at the screw-on oil catheter. I took it to dealer and they said it must have been something done where I had the oil changed. The place that changed the oil showed me it was a defect in how the oil filter screws in. This problem seems to be subject to recall.

I notice in the review the Aveo owner said he liked the Aveo much better than his previous Honda. I am also an Aveo owner who formally owned a Honda and I must agree that the Aveo is far superior and much lower priced than my old Accord.

I've just passed the 80,000 warranty mark with my 2004 Aveo and can honestly say it has been the nicest experience of any car I've owned. Previously, that would be Toyotas and Mazdas. Repairs (other than some recalls) involved brake drums and some some wheel bearings, all covered by warranty. Hopefully, they will not flare up again now the warranty period is up. The car's handling does take a bit of getting used to. It is a bit of a tank, has a wider turning radius than I'd like, and snowplows on drastic turns. Overall, however, a very comfortable car, peppier than I expected, and good value.

It's funny, as I read the post, half the stuff has happened my 04 Aveo as well.

The alignment was off out of the gate, I had a problem with a rotational noise on my front wheel, which required that I replace the bushings.

The interior light doesn't last long, and burnt out before I reached 30,000 miles.

The biggest problem, not mentioned here, was my timing belt snapped off and damaged the engine. It seems to be a common problem on the 04 Aveos. Fortunately the engine was still under manufacturer warranty, and the whole thing was replaced. But fair warning, pay close attention to you timing belts, and get them replaced sooner than recommended.

My 2004 Aveo (5-speed), after 4.5 years I must say on scale 1:10 it's about 9. On initial problem with a clock, a mechanic changed a fuse I think with different amperage and works. Under basic (3 years) warranty the dealer replaced all bushings and that's all. I've passed 50000km.

It is very good city car. It's not a beemer or Mercedes, but for 13000 Canadian dollars.