1994 Geo Metro 1.0 three cylinder from North America

Summary:

Inexpensive, great mileage, very reliable

Faults:

Wheel bearings. I've replaced them all, and the left rear bearing twice. Not terribly expensive, but annoying.

Minor fit/finish issues such as the driver's window crank, switches, etc.

Normal stuff like brakes, tires, etc.

General Comments:

Compared to my last vehicle, this car has already paid for itself in gas savings. I drive it hard and fast, and still get 47 mpg.

The seats could stand a re-design, as I'm 6'2" and they just aren't shaped to fit me. Forget about putting people in the back seat of a 2-door (perhaps it's due to my height), but I regularly haul stuff around in it.

It has a lot more road noise than most other cars I've driven, and it isn't a stoplight sprinter by any means, but it cranks up every single time and still runs great for having 90k+ hard highway miles. I buy another one in a minute.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 11th April, 2001

14th Aug 2001, 20:30

Chuck - I've also had to replace the wheel bearings multiple times, window crank caused the window to shatter, and the brakes had to be replaced earlier than usual.

Overall a good car though.

18th Apr 2003, 00:19

I am glad to know my Metro isn't the only one with wheel bearing problems. It has over 120,000 miles, runs great and looks good, it's a 94. Does anyone know why the wheel bearings go bad so often.

Rosie.

29th Jul 2003, 09:45

I've got a 95' Metro, with 130,000 miles on it. I've had to change the tires and that's and the usual routine maintenance and that's about it.

The left rear wheel bearing is bad, anybody have a description as to how much it costs to get it replaced?

Bob.

23rd Jun 2004, 14:57

Gosh! Wheel bearings seems to be a very common fault. I have a '97 Geo Metro with 86K miles and the left rear wheel bearing needs replacing. Too bad I didn't get it fix while under warranty because I think it has been overly noisy for quite a while.

31st Dec 2005, 00:18

I have similar problems, I drive a 1994 Geo Metro 1.0 with 81K on it now, and I have replaced the rear left wheel bearing twice, and it went again today, and the rear right 3 times. I'm not sure why they keep going, I'm usually a pretty slow driver, but it makes me nervous when I am very far from home and they start making that roaring noise they make.

4th Jan 2007, 01:42

I own a '94 Metro and have never had to replace any of the wheel bearings and my car has 216,000 miles. Had it since new and in that time had to replace the water pump and radiator and struts.

10th Jul 2007, 19:11

I know that this sounds odd, but sometimes a bad ground can make bearings fail prematurely. I think it is due to the static electricity charge built up by the tires.

It may also be due to the fact that they are probably cheap imported junk bearings also.

23rd Jul 2007, 16:11

Wheel bearings on the geo metro don't have seals, mine went bad the day after I drove the car through a foot of water (bad call I know).

Nothing there to keep the grease in and the water out.

1994 Geo Metro Base 1.0 from North America

Summary:

A great car for the price

Faults:

The only problem of any significance I have had with the car is the transmission. Synchros began to give problems at about 100,000 miles.

I did not even have to replace spark plugs until about 100,000 miles! Still has the original battery. I have only had to do routine maintenance.

General Comments:

I have been very pleased with the car. There have been the minor fit and finish problems, but overall it has been very reliable. I had a 1985 Chevrolet Sprint and traded it off for a Ford Tempo which caused nothing but problems. I then decided to go back to Geo. The car (with the manual transmission) has more than adequate power and I find it very comfortable.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 9th March, 2001