New member

[djmarch]

Hello everyone and thank you for the membership.

Just bought a 04 Aveo automatic with 51,700 miles on it. Did some research and alarmed about the customer
dis-satisfaction. Would like to hear owners that have had good luck with theirs. I was hopeing I got a good dependable car with good gas mileage as my commute to work will be 52 miles one way. The dreaded pre-mature timing belt failure caught my eye with concern. I worked out a deal with the dealership on getting a new belt installed real soon. Other issues that kept popping up was the brake light switch, (unable to shift out of park) and the "unable to remove ignition key", the plastic thermostat housing issue. The Aveo I bought has the metal housing. Must have been an issue with the previous owner. Is there any other issues that members can bring attention to me on that I should watch for...I do plan on reading up on all the threads here. How about the gas cap. How would one tell if I have a replacement ? Well, this is a start and will appreciate any feedback

Thanks again.

[Nemasys]

Welcome,

Never had a problem with mine when the 1.6 was in, drove it like i stole it most of the time without any problems, the timing belt blew at 114 000 kms, which was well overdue.

I had TERRIBLE gas mileage tho, didn't matter how much i babied it, horrible just horrible! Felt like i was driving a gas guzzling suv all the time. Else then that great little car.

[djmarch]

Thanks for the reply...So can you give me a estimate on what gas mileage you got ?

[Daox]

Welcome to the site djmarch. While the Aveo does have a few querks, its still a pretty dependable car. The timing belt is the main issue. I haven't really read about the shifting issue but I have a manual trans so I don't pay too much attention to automatic info. I wouldn't worry about the gas cap. If it leaks you'll get a check engine light and a new one is only about $15 or something.

Unfortunately people with the automatic transmission don't tend to get very good mileage. They tend not to do so great at lower speeds (city driving) and real high speeds. Most are happy to see low to mid 30s. There are a few seeing better, but there are also people seeing worse. If you take it easy you should be able to get low 30s fairly easily.

Here is a thread where people have posted what kind of mileage they get:
http://www.aveoforum.com/forum/f106/top-mpg-10490/

Here is another one explaining the bad city mileage:
http://www.aveoforum.com/forum/f106/...ity-mpg-10086/

[charlieb]

welcome djmarch,you are right about the timing belt do it soon.brake light switch when has been a problem for a few but easy 20.00 fix(does affect putting vehicle in gear)but you can override with the shifter key.the plastic thermostat housing was a recall and fixed by gm(thats why yours is the new metal 1).only other thing i would say is rear suspension the bushings tend to wear out,the ones on the axle to body are bit of a pain.(you will hear a clunk when goin over a bump)and some have had to do wheel bearings.but overall a nice inexpensive relatively reliable car.i just bought an 07 after owning an 05 for the last 4yrs(213,000km)no major problems.

[thehunterooo]

The timing belts most of the time never break before the 60k mark, but they need to be changed (change your belt soon ) Brake light switch is easy fix as said above, and everything else is really just regular maintanence. But I can see your worries, most people who have a ton of "issues" have no ideal about anything related to cars, and so are just plain stupid honestly. Some people come on here angry about how their timing belt broke at 100k miles and did not change it when they were supposed to. I think they are idiots. But if you take care of the car, you should never have any real issues. That is really low milage on an 04 as well, (I have 57k on my 07) and I have never had any issues besides the brake light switch (which is somewhat rare anyways).

Some aveo's came with metal housings as well (mine is metal, I never changed it) though the plastic one never has much of a problem anyways.

[djmarch]

Thanks everyone for your input..Yea...Tha's why I bought it, because of the low mileage...I do somewhat disagree with alot of the comments made regarding their Aveos...They never maintained them, and when something goes wrong they get all upset and post it...The dealer shop rates are ridiculous and I understand why they get upset. I know you have to read alot into these comments. I'm a pretty good mechanic myself...Do all my work myself on my 89 Transam and 94 Chevy stepside, but this Aveo is neither. I've read about the wheel bearings and bushings being difficult to replace. Are there service manuals on this site ? Usually some members have them for sale. I took my Aveo to work today for the first time. Looks like I'm getting around 23-25 mpg. Thought I should get more. Would be happy with 25-30 mpg. Its alot of stop and go driving though, but kept my foot out of it as much as I could. I plan on putting in a K&N filter. Any other recommendations I might do or add will be greatly appreciated.

[charlieb]

i bought an online manual for 10.99.cant post or send it to any1 else because of the size but if you have any questions myself or some1 else can post part of the manual.(petrifiedrabbit and 1 other member both have a manual)if you search the forum b4 you ask a question lots of times the answer is already there.or search online for a manual.just google shop repaire manual for aveo 10.99. only 1 i could find is listed as 2007-2009 but pretty much the same from 2004-2009.

[faithjr]

Hey welcome Djmarch, I had the dreaded timing belt failure and as thehunteroo pointed out to me even though I had changed my belt at 60k it still looked fine no cracks etc, I didn't(I'll plead ignorance here)replace the pulleys, make sure the dealer does this. I'm guessing most of the belt failures are actually pulley failures in disguise. They are made of cheap plastic I'm currently rebuilding my 05 and I'm trying to find metal pulleys if they exist. I have heard the belts in the newer aveos are supposed to last alot longer. I'm currently looking into this as I bought a 2010. Both of mine have been standard shift and have been very reliable other than the pulley failure at 100k which I should have caught ce est la vie... Most of the problem cars seem to be automatics and I can't tell you if there's any truth in that. Welcome again!!

[thehunterooo]

The new aveo timing belts last 100k miles instead of the 60k miles faithjr, so your 2010 will not need to be changed for quite a while. The pulleys themselves are not too bad, normally it is the belt that breaks before the pulleys, took the head off yet?