3rd Jul 2011, 10:48

I think I have the same thing on my '06. It's been in twice now, and is still not fixed. Sometimes as I'm driving along, I will hear a clunk, the engine light comes on, and it then won't downshift into first gear. I have also burned out two sets of headlight bulbs. Both sides go at the same time. I believe the two are connected.

I have noticed, a couple of times, at night that the lights get very bright for about a second and return to normal. The last mechanic, tells me the code he is reading is being set by an overvoltage situation. Apparently the code is set if the voltage exceeds 16V. I had not told him about the headlights or the bright lights, so he came to this conclusion by himself. I don't know what's next, but I expect it means replacing the alternator.

17th Feb 2017, 01:10

Well that is weird because I have a 05 Optra wagon; it's my second one, the first one I scrapped with 375,000km on it and drove it for a year with liquid weld on the engine to help with a blown head gasket. I did have to change the brakes yearly though.

All in all, pretty cheap transportation.