Faults:

Only a vacuum leak, which was easily repaired with the use of a Hayes Auto Repair manual (the upper intake manifold gasket needed to be replaced). EASY, EASY, EASY!!!

Misfiring due too bad plugs, EASY, EASY, EASY!!!

General Comments:

I love this car!!! I've had it over 6.5 years now and it's been a blast. I do wish that I could get more power from the engine seeing that they don't make a supercharger for this engine. It's too bad too because for what I am getting out of is actually really good, I just want MORE POWER!!!

Handling is great and that may be due to the fact that I installed a set of Khumo Ecsta ASX ultra high performance all season tires on it too. Get up and go is on par with many of the new so-called performance cars with superchargers and turbos on them.

Interior is very inviting and comfortable. That is until you have to sit an adult in the back seat behind you! I mean, it is a coupe for crying out loud.

Faults:

At 89,000 dual mufflers had to be replaced to pass inspection. $179.99.

Inspection cost me 155.00 due to a worn out front right ball joint.

It has developed a vacuum leak... this causes it to idle very roughly when cold. It likes to rev itself between 2500 rpm and 900, almost stalling. This leak also caused the HVAC system to stick on feet/defrost. Annoying, but not really a big deal, but keep reading.

Something is wrong with the cooling system... I can't figure it out. It began overheating a few weeks ago and we replaced the thermostat, and it seemed to fix the overheating problem for a while. Then, on my way to school, it began overheating again. I pulled over and let it cool completely and made it to school when it was almost overheating once again.

Then, at the end of the day, I started my Monte and my "low coolant" light was on. I opened the hood to find there is NO coolant in the overflow tank and very little in the radiator, and a big green puddle underneath my car. I decided to try to make it home. Well, one of my friends told me to try turning on the air conditioning because that would turn the fans on, thus helping engine stay cool. It did keep the engine cool for most of the way home, but now since it has a vacuum leak, IT'S NOW STUCK ON AIR CONDITIONING! It's December in northwest Pennsylvania. :(

After a half hour of searching under the hood, I found the leaking hose, waaay down at the bottom of the compartment, close to the bottom of the engine. I could only see it with a flashlight, so I can't figure out any way to replace it without pulling the engine.

So I bought some bar's stop-leak stuff and added that to the radiator. Well, something caused this leaking hose to burst, and a few minutes after that happened, steam began coming out of somewhere in the radiator (the engine was NOT hot!)

General Comments:

This is my first car. I loved it up until about 3 weeks ago. Now every time I drive this car something goes wrong. It just turned over 91,000 miles. It's simply unacceptable. It's like Chevy planned everything to go wrong at 90,000 miles. Every time I fix something, something else goes wrong. My car now sits in my driveway until I have enough money to take it to a mechanic, which I have a feeling won't be cheap...

Do yourself a favor, and STAY AWAY from the 3.4L V6. It is extremely hard to work on, and from what I've read, labor costs are high due to the crowded engine compartment.

I loved the power and sound this engine made when it ran right. I love the comfortable seats, the nice sounding stereo, and the way this car handles. My car is bright red and with alloy wheels, it is a very very sharp car. People are amazed when I tell them how many problems I'm having. They find it hard to believe such a nice looking car is such a heap of junk.

As soon as I fix ALL the problems with this car, I am planning on selling it. I cannot afford the way this car breaks down literally every week.

The problems with the cooling system on this car continues to puzzle me. If anyone has any ideas on what is wrong, PLEASE let me know!! mmltml@aol.com.