26th Sep 2006, 23:45
Wow..seeing the comment I did not expect it will be that worst.
I owned 1.8LT on June 2005 and now the mileage clocked at 42000km.
The only problem during warranty period was replacing air-conditioned compressor and full set of drive shaft (tripod joint problem).Good service done by Chevrolet agent in Malaysia.
Although these two parts was not so serious, but I do take into consideration in long term usage especially tripod joint.
Other than that SSPS (Speed Sensitive Power Steering) light went on. Agent said due to hot climate the sensor wire sometimes too hot. So they repaired at no cost.
10th Nov 2006, 09:33
My optra has served me well for the last one year. No major problem at all. A few tips below may be useful to some user out there.
- If your battery is not maintenance free, remember to top up
- After every servicing, make sure the oil cap, radiator cap and "all" the rest of the caps are tight. (You never know some mechanic may be inexperience)
- There was a design weakness in optra engine, there was a sensor line (engine rpm sensor) that is prone to contact the engine block at the interface of the engine and gearbox. if the wire is burn, the engine will start to have abnormal behavior. make sure the wire clip is pull upward so that there is no contact with the engine block
- ensure tire are properly inflated for fuel economy.
Chevrolet optra is a good car.
27th Dec 2006, 12:27
Location: Canada
2004 Optra5 S.
I thought I would add my opinion about an Optra5 S that I purchased 2 years ago.
Reason why I purchased it at first was for the Options, Style and Price. Fully equipped car with a nice style for a low price was all what I could ask for.
But problems started to arise shortly after.
1-
1 year later I started getting the SSPS light flickering on and off every once in a while. Until it stayed on more often than not. Had it serviced and they said it was because of a simple rewiring (Most likely eeprom reprogramming).
2-
When turning at a slow speed (Parking), you feel a slight *Clucking* sound and feel it through the gas pedal. This didn't happen during the first year. When going to have it serviced, they said it was the Shaft that isn't as tight as before in the steering wheel which creates the *Cluck* when turning. But said it was safe to drive.
3- THIS IS THE MOST ANNOYING ONE
After 2 years, a strong disgusting smell is coming out from teh Air Vents. A type of old sweaty gym socks smell that comes out stronger when you initially start the car. It occurs mostly when it is warm, humid or just leaving the car somewhere where it is above freezing climate. If it is cold out, it seems to freeze the smell (Or Bacteria) and you won't smell the odor, or as much.
Took 3 trips to the dealer and still nothing has been fixed.
1st trip, they actually said they found something.. but had to go back a week later because they didn't have the part in stock.
2nd trip, changed the front Airvent (Where the Wipers are). Seemed fix for a while.
3rd Trip, 4 months later, Went back because the smell is even worse than before. Left it overnight. To only be told that they didn't find anything, and that the smell doesn't exist!!! Only problem is it is cold out and the smell (Bacteria) disappears when it is not humid or hot. I wasnt very happy about this and to have wasted a trip for them to say they didn't find anything. To Top it all off, They spray Mens Perfume all over the car and especially in the vents!! This smell was even worse than the initial Gym Sock smell.. It went away after 3 days, and the sock smell came back the day after when it rained and wasnt as Cold outside...
All this being said.
DO NOT GO WITH A GM.. if you have a problem with the car, their after sales service isn't worth the Time you waste trying to have them fix it. Be it Incompetency or because GM isn't doing very well financially (Cutting corners).
I was always with Toyota before, and the cars and after sales service is not even comparable.. Aside from Price TOYOTA wins in every category, but trust me, the price you pay for going with a GM is far Costlier than saving a 1000 or 2000$ dollars...
Of course this is all posted in my opinion and experience, please so your own DD.
3rd Jan 2007, 22:12
Just change Air Conditioned filter it will be fine. Spray it with anti bacterial spray.
Other thing is, change this filter at every 10000km instead of 30000km as per manual. This can be apply in hot country with high humidity.
Neglecting changing the filler can lead to vents and air conditioned compressor initial minor problem.
12th Feb 2007, 22:50
Drove it for 2 days after I got the car, and the coil distributor went wrong. They replaced it and said 'it depends on your luck'.
13th Feb 2007, 22:04
The Hold button is suggested only can be used during these circumstances:-
1) Emergency Overtaking. Press the hold button and drop the gear. Please see the rev meter. Do not over rev.
2) Going uphill whereby the hill angle is more than 40% steep.
It is not advisable to use the hold button during cruising especially high speed.
Using hold button means you need to shift the gear.
Otherwise, other than the above circumstances, just drive using 'D' as much as possible. Use "Step Down Accelerator Method" for normal overtaking.
13th Feb 2007, 22:36
What I've always been told is that the time to have the overdrive off is when you are driving around in stop and go traffic. I've noticed when I just put it in D with the overdrive on, it always shifts into overdrive too soon, and then as soon as you step on the gas again it shifts back down into 3rd, and back and forth, back and forth. This increases wear on the trans. I can't figure out why you would turn off the overdrive when you're passing, because if you step on the gas pedal it will down shift by itself. You're also supposed to down shift if you are going down hills so you don't ride the brakes.
26th Feb 2007, 00:32
The hold button only applicable on 1.8LT model. It does not come with Overdrive function.
While 1.6 model do have overdrive button (at certain countries).
30th Jul 2006, 23:14
Well I have a Chevy Optra from Nov-15-2004. Only had one problem, but the dealer took care of it. Since had a fog lamp burned out. Since that have not had a problem with my Optra.