2nd Mar 2006, 08:19

I own a 2005 Aveo, have had it for 13-14mths and it's doing the same thing (AUTO transmission will not shift into 3rd gear during cold of 25 degrees for first 5 minutes of driving. Car stays in second gear even at 60 MPH.) Except mine happens even at temps of 35-45 degrees.

The other thing mine does is when I'm coasting, if I apply the brakes, the RPMs increase suddenly like I've hit the gas instead. Other than that, it's been a great little car.

28th Mar 2006, 20:18

As we all know, except for the person a few posts back, the Aveo is made by Daewoo and is not a rebadged Kia Spectra. If you are gonna make derogatory comments, at least get your facts straight.

30th Mar 2006, 20:55

I have a 2004 Chevy Aveo, and I hate it, I had the valves replaced, I notice the eratic shifting, dealer said it was normal. Had problems with the radio and the clock. Speaker wires shorted out causing all speakers not to work. Had work done on the transmission. I would not recommend this vehicle to anyone. Warranty on these I believe is 36000, so get rid of them before then. Right now it seems like the power steering is going, getting really hard to steer. Any ideas, or has anyone seen this before?

6th Apr 2006, 09:05

Chevy salesman here: The Aveo is in NO WAY related to the Metro. The Aveo is called the Suzuki Swift+ in Canada, and the Pontiac Wave, but they are in no way related to the old Swift/Metro combination. They are built in Bupyong Gu, South Korea, by Daewoo. In other European countries, it is called the Daewoo Kalos and Chevrolet Kalos. The car is 90 something percent Korean parts content (not that that makes it bad) The Aveo is a competent little car for what it is... an economy car. As far as the transmission goes, it should be third gear and locked out of overdrive until the engine/transmission reach a certain temperature. This is an emissions protection feature, not a defect. When the air temperature get's warmer, you should be able to notice that it takes less and less time for the car to shift into 4th gear and overdrive. I hope this clears up any confusion. Our customers who are buying the Aveo, and there has been quite a few, are all extremely pleased with their cars. No problems to report from any of them. Thank you.

9th Apr 2006, 00:53

I have to say that you all might have been better off if the Aveo was in anyway related to the Geo/Chevrolet Metro. The Metro even though slow and crude was very reliable I have had several and none have had any severe problems. I think that GM made a horrible mistake of dumping the Japanese designed Metro for the Korean designed Aveo. That is just my opinion though and everyone has one of those-

9th Apr 2006, 10:25

The reviews on this site regarding Metros seem to back up that claim.

I have an Aveo and so far it has been reliable. I bought it in part because I had a Festiva that was built by Kia with a Mazda engine. I know the Aveo is built by Daewoo, but it seems there is some quality stuff coming out of Korea.

Time will tell, of course.

1st May 2006, 13:05

I have a 2004 aveo, and was happy with it for the first 2 years. A month ago one of the tie rods went, and I had to purchase the entire steering rack. A month later (today) the timing belt broke! Upon investigating these things over the Internet I'm noticing I'm not alone with these problems. I bought a cheap new car because I do not have a lot of extra money, and did not want to be paying for repairs constantly. It looks like they've just begun! There should be laws against selling faulty cars like this.

2nd May 2006, 09:23

Just wondering what your annual mileage is since you claim to have owned the car for only 2 years and there is a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty. You put more than 18,000 per year on the car?

6th May 2006, 23:28

I am the happy owner of a "Mars Green", 2004 Suzuki Swift+ that I took delivery of on December 31st, 2003. I think I was one of the first in Canada.

The ONLY problem that I have had with this car was the MAP sensor. It died after almost two years and 60,000 km. The dealer changed it, no charge.

The warranty on the engine is 5 years or 100,000 km so I'll change the timing belt (myself) right after the warranty is up.

Nothing else has broken. The radio/CD player works. The manual transmission shifts fine. The tires still have plenty of tread on them. It now has over 75,000 kms on it. I get high 30's to low 40+ mpg. That's Canadian (Imperial) Miles Per Gallon.

I've read quite a few postings about premature broken timing belts, steering components, bad wiring, etc. I wonder if these people are pounding the stuffing out of their new car and crying when they break something?

I drive it over 100 km a day. Change the oil and filter every 6,000km, wash and wax it.

Yes, it's made in Korea. So what? It's a great car for the price.

7th May 2006, 13:29

As an Aveo owner and former GM service advisor, I can assure anyone thinking of buying an Aveo that they are in fact a very well built and reliable car. My dealership sold tons of them and very few ever came back for warranty work.

I might also add that things like worn out tie rod ends and bad brakes at low mileage is almost always caused by owner abuse. There has been only one recall on the car in three years. Compare that to a Cavalier or Focus.

8th May 2006, 15:50

To the above poster in regards to a Kia built, Mazda engined car: That's just it... a Japanese engine. THAT's why it was so bulletproof. The Aveo I'm no so sure about. Long term, I mean.

9th May 2006, 12:39

I have a 2005 Aveo with 14,000 miles on it. Not too long after I purchased it, it started having ignition problems. No matter if it's warm or cold, has been sitting over night or I just popped into the store, every 1 to 2 weeks it takes me about 10-20 minutes to start it. I have taken it to 2 different dealerships, but neither "cannot recreate the problem". And no codes are coming up from the computer

This issue, too simple of a radio, and the tires wear easily are my only complaints. I like how it handles and feels.

Anyone have any advice?

9th May 2006, 19:57

Well your first problem is that it's an Aveo. Nothing against you, but cars with that small a motor are not the most reliable

Honestly, you should trade it in and buy a Cobalt (if you don't like my comment here are a few things to check on, starter, battery, fuses, alternator, idle air control valve, check if you have a bad ground on your battery that can drain your power in only hours, belts and check for electrical shorts, check whole ignition system like the wire set, spark plugs, fuel injectors and check the cylinder firing order)