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Chevrolet Aveo Electrical/Lighting

106 messages,  Last post on May 17, 2011 at 7:07 AM

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What is this discussion about? Chevrolet Aveo, Lights, Electrical, Hatchback, Sedan

Messages Page 3 of 11

#20 of 106 2007 Chevrolet Aveo MAJOR Electrical Problems by shortychell

Jul 27, 2007 (1:04 pm)

My husband and I purchased a 2007 Aveo Sedan in October 2006. We had a good car for a while, until June. On June 19th, we had to take our car to the dealership we bought it from, in Anniston, Al, because of the brake light and battery light coming on for no reason. They said nothing was wrong, it didn't do it for them, sent us home. We took it back to the same dealership June 22nd due to the lights coming on and now, in addition to that, the headlights cutting off. They kept our car Fri~Wed, we got it back that Wed, supposedly fixed. They said they replaced the fuse block, along with fixing a recall on a piece of fuel line. The car ran okay for a couple of weeks, then the lights were coming on again! I then called them to let them know, they said bring it in first thing that coming Monday morning. Being as that the lights went off and we had not had serious issues with it, we decided to go ahead on our scheduled trip that Sunday. Coming home from Atlanta down I~20 just outside of Bremen Ga, the radio goes out, the lights go out, then ALL the lights on the dash come on! All of a sudden, the car drops from 70mph to 15mph (with an 18 wheeler behind me and 3 children in our back seat!) The car starts to spit and sputter, with a bad vibration. The car then just completely quit about 2 mins after I got onto the side of the interstate. After restarting it, my husband could not drive over 21mph. This is what they call the car going into "Emergency mode". It will only run what you have to have, so we spent 2 hrs getting from Carrollton Ga to Oxford, Al. Roadside could have come and got the car, taken it to Carrollton Ga, but could do nothing with us or our children. We had no choice but to get it back as close to the dealership we bought it from as we could. We ended up having to get our children's other parents come and get them, stay in a motel overnight, and my husband miss a day of work. Come Monday morning, we take it back, for the 3rd time in less than a month, for the same problem and worse. They keep it 3 days, call and tell us there is NOTHING wrong with our car!!! Come to find out, they said this because it pulled NO CODES! By this time we are both flustered and I have filed a complaint with the BBB against the dealership's service dept. We are in contact with GM over and over again. We got our car back, GM says "take it somewhere else for a 2nd opinion" We drive to Boaz Al to another dealership. They pull no codes from the computer, BUT they did pull a history, proving something IS wrong with our car. It is losing voltage for some unknown reason, they replace the battery, but they will not attempt to try to find out where it is losing the voltage, due to them having a 2007 Chevy Aveo in their shop for 3 months and nobody, not even the engineers, being able to find the problem. Well, we let GM know what they tell us, we wait, and in the meantime, the lights come on again and again. NOW, our car is in the shop for the 5th time in just over a month, at another dealership! We are having to spend money on insurance on a rental car, but they have been kind enough to pay for the actual car rental. We have yet to hear anything from them about it, but of course our car is still in the same spot 2 days after I dropped it off and got our rental, so I am assuming they have not even attempted to look at it yet. I want to know if anyone else has had this kind of issues, and if so, has it been resolved????? What ended up being the cause of the problem? If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know!!

#21 of 106 Re: 2007 Chevrolet Aveo MAJOR Electrical Problems [shortychell] by ilaveo

Jul 28, 2007 (12:18 pm)

Replying to: shortychell (Jul 27, 2007 1:04 pm)
Probably there is a bad wire in a wiring harness or a bad connection somewhere. From the symptoms you described, the first thing I would check is the alternator and its plug and harness. I've never met a mechanic who liked working on an intermittent electrical problem, it flusters and frustrates them too, so I think they are trying to give you the brush off. It's not how the world is supposed to work, but you'll probably have to be a pest to get the service you deserve. Maybe ask for daily updates until they resolve the problem and escalate the complaint (but not straight to BBB) if they refuse.

#22 of 106 Re: 2007 Chevrolet Aveo MAJOR Electrical Problems [ilaveo] by richard1haines

Jul 29, 2007 (8:12 am)

Replying to: ilaveo (Jul 28, 2007 12:18 pm)
Go back and them put a 'co-pilot' into the car - it plugs into the diagnostic system under the dash and clips onto the sunvisor. When you have the problem, you push the button and it will record what is going on.
 
That should finally solve the issue for you.
 
 

#23 of 106 Re: 2007 Chevrolet Aveo MAJOR Electrical Problems [richard1haines] by nordy200

Jul 30, 2007 (5:36 am)

Replying to: richard1haines (Jul 29, 2007 8:12 am)
Unfortunately the type of problems reported here might not set a code in the computer if it's a bad alternator, bad ground, an intermittent short (or open circuit), or a problem with wires going through the steering column mounted switches (my guess here). The computer CAN cause these type of problems though and after thoroughly checking the electrical system, they should just swap out a computer and see if the problem goes away.
   A technician should drive the car home and around town as his personal vehicle until it malfunctions again. This can be the best way to figure out what's going on. The car may be made in Korea, but it's not impossible to troubleshoot.
   I had a customer with a Saab that had an intermittent no-start condition that was hard to figure out. We swapped vehicles for a week and on the last day I had her car, it did it's thing. I had all my test equipment in the car along with a factory trouble tree printout and ran down the list, figured it out (bad ignition module) and after fixing it she never had the problem again.
   Good luck and let us know when it's finally fixed!

#24 of 106 Re: 2007 Chevrolet Aveo MAJOR Electrical Problems [nordy200] by shortychell

Jul 30, 2007 (7:37 am)

Replying to: nordy200 (Jul 30, 2007 5:36 am)
Ok, I spoke with the service manager this morning at the dealership the Aveo is at. He says they have ordered an alternator for our car. Yes, you would think that would have been the FIRST thing that other people would have thought too, I did. The reason why I backed off that idea is because I had told one of the "technicians" it could have been the alternator and he asked me if I had went to any kind of school for mechanics! I was appalled and never the less pissed, so I refrained from comment at the time. I did in fact used to work for an auto mechanic, for almost 3 years, but I was 17 at the time, and the FIRST thing I thought about was the alternator. I also know on rare occasion, the alternator will test as good, but have a malfunction in it! Anyway, about the Lemon Law thing, NOPE! It does not apply to warranty cases! The only thing we can do to take it a step farther, if this does not fix it and GM will not do a trade~assist, is find an attorney and try to fight GM to get another vehicle! I have had it up to my eyeballs and back around with this car and the nonsense we have had to deal with. Now, WE have to fork out MORE money for insurance on the rental car to keep it longer, since the dealership doesn't even know when the alternator will even be in! Although this may seem fair to some people that we are having to pay the insurance, think about this~~~~~We also still have to pay the Aveo payment as well as the insurance on it!! We can't let the payment fall behind just because the car has been in the shop 5 times in 6 weeks. An interesting though *My Pops, who will be 95 in a cpl weeks said this to me "That car is a 4/90......4 days on the road and 90 in the shop!" I could not help but laugh, but I did think he was darn close to right!...lol
Oh, I did not know anything about that co~pilot thing! Also, one of the guys form the dealership (the one we bought it from) did drive our car home, but only one night, and "could not duplicate the incident"
I will post an update when I find out something else from the dealership, and will continue when we get the cra back and see how it goes from there.

#25 of 106 Re: 2007 Chevrolet Aveo MAJOR Electrical Problems [shortychell] by richard1haines

Jul 30, 2007 (9:15 am)

Replying to: shortychell (Jul 30, 2007 7:37 am)
They should have an alternator in stock and if not, to you tne next day. If not, I find this story a bit fishy.

#26 of 106 Right... by iluvmysephia1

Jul 30, 2007 (11:16 am)

it stinks of Chevrolet pie to me.

#27 of 106 Re: 2007 Chevrolet Aveo MAJOR Electrical Problems [shortychell] by poncho167

Jul 30, 2007 (2:47 pm)

Replying to: shortychell (Jul 30, 2007 7:37 am)
Are you sure you have to pay that rental company for insurance if you already have it?

#28 of 106 Re: 2007 Chevrolet Aveo MAJOR Electrical Problems [shortychell] by richard1haines

Aug 04, 2007 (9:38 am)

Replying to: shortychell (Jul 30, 2007 7:37 am)
Did you get the alternator installed? I don't think the alternator is the problem here and was a co-pilot every given to you to put in the car?

#29 of 106 Aveo Electrical Issue - SVM vs. LT/LS by bry1023ny

Aug 10, 2007 (6:27 pm)

I own a 2006 Aveo LT, currently no problems with the car. Love the car. Love it so much that I bought a 2007 Aveo SVM.
 
One thing I notice with my new 2007 SVM is that when I depress the brake pedal, or use any accessory item (such as turning on the signals, fan, etc.) there is a dimming in the instrument panel when the lights are on at nighttime. For example at night I have the lights on (w/the instrument panel lit) and the lights dim both on the instrument panel and even the headlights briefly, then return to normal. It is not a severe dim, but it is definitely noticeable.
 
My question is why would this car have this problem? I have returned it to the dealer and they gave me a very generic service bulletin that was applicable to all GM cars stating that it is a 'normal' condition. I could understand that when a lot of accessories are being used and the car is at idle that this condition could be present, but it does this even at 50 mph. In other words, it doesn't matter which speed you are driving.
 
The reason I question this is that my 2006 Aveo LT does not exhibit this problem. I'm wondering if the reason for this is that the SVM does not have air conditioning, and that there is some different setup in the electrical. I even called the dealer and they confirm that both cars have an 85-amp alternator/500 battery. So what gives?
 
I'm wondering if ordering an SVM with the A/C provisions kit would fix the problem, or does the vehicle simply have to have A/C in order for this issue not to be noticeable. Or, maybe I have a faulty alternator or the alternator is weak? Any suggestions would be helpful, particularly owners of SVM's that might exhibit the same problem.
 
Thanks.

Messages Page 3 of 11

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