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Chevrolet Aveo Engine Problems

299 messages,  Last post on May 16, 2013 at 6:16 AM

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What is this discussion about? Chevrolet Aveo, Engine, Hatchback, Sedan

    
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Messages Page 8 of 30

#70 of 299 ODB Code P0303 Misfire Cylinder #3 by ecotec2009

Feb 23, 2011 (2:54 pm)

I have a 2009 Chevy Aveo LS, 4 door sedan with 5 speed manual transmission and 1.6 Ecotec egine. About one week ago I got the infamous flashing yellow engine symbol light and car began to run rough, idle rough, lose lots of power and gas mileage drop 10 mg a gallon immediately.
 
1) Went to Autozone after checking on this website and researching the internet for others that may have similar problem. Code reader at Autozone gave a P0303 cylinder misfire #3. Thus I bought 4 new spark plugs, Platinum NGK V power to replace the copper tipped NGK from factory. Hoping this might be solution or at least a cheap fix if lucky. After finally figuring out how to take off the black plastic cover to the engine ignition coil pack that had the four spark plugs under it, I changed out the old plugs and put in the new ones.
 
2) NO LUCK, car did run noticeably better but still flashing yellow engine light and slight rough idle within few miles of driving with new spark plugs. So call dealer and set up appointment to have them run their diagnostic machine check on the Aveo. This will cost you so expect to plunk down at least $75-$100 just for them to hook the machine up to your car but it is worth it.
 
3) Today I am $307 poorer! Yes, I have over 57250 miles on the car, all highway, so warranty of bumper to bumper was expired and no good. Apparently after doing more research, Aveos seem to all have a problem with their ignition coil or what the dealer calls coil or coil pack or coil bridge which sits on top of the four spark plugs with 4 black rubber boots that look like tits on a cow hanging down, literally. Inside those black rubber boots are the spark plug wires. Basically unlike other cars where you can just change out a bad spark plug wire for $25 or less and take out bad spark plug wire and put in good one, Chevy Aveo does not allow for that, YOU will have to buy the entire new coil pack or ignition coil pack, there is no way to fix just one or replace that bad spark plug wire, thus you have to buy the entire coil!
 
3) After doing much research and seeing other Aveo owners comment and checking ODB code reports, around 30,000 to 60,000 miles on Aveo there is a high probability that you may have a spark plug wire go bad inside this coil pack causing your check engine light to come on or stay on or flash or blink and it may give you the P0303 code. Thought others on here would like to know this so they do not drive themselves crazy trying to figure it out or spend lot of money on other areas trying to fix this problem that are not necessary.
 
4) I paid $144 for the labor and diagnostic machine reading plus $152 for new coil pack today. I got off easy I thought considering that I priced a new coil pack at Autozone and Oreillys last week and both were $762 - $815 each! I only found one other place online that had the new one for $426 for the coil pack alone. Granted it is not hard and is easy to install this coil pack, simply disconnect the connection plug on side of it, unscrew 2 Torx size 40 screws, lift up coil pack then put the new coil pack in it's place and done, then re-connect connection plug and put back in screws. Only should take 5-10 minutes at most. Key here is finding that coil pack though under $300, just was not able to do it so I took it to the dealer.
 
5) WARNING For those of you that think, oh what the hell, I can drive it anyway, so what if I lose a little power and light flashes or it idles rough I will get it worked on later when I get time. DO NOT DO THIS. You will ruin many more other parts or components that tie into your emission system, engine system and exhaust system which will screw up the catalytic converter, O2 sensor, and many other miscellaneous parts. The first two mentioned will run $150 for O2 sensor or more and the catalytic converter will run around $1000 or more to fix plus it could even harm engine valves and heads, not counting the labor also.
 
 So it is not worth it. Go get it fixed immediately or stop driving your Aveo until you can have it fixed.
 
Had mechanic today tell me that he had worked on 3 other Aveos last year that the owners had ignored this warning light and kept on driving the car for many more thousands of miles until it would not hardly run or start at all, then try to have it fixed and ended up causing serious damage to the Aveo and having a several thousand dollar repair bill. Thus if you get one of these flashing engine yellow lights or the light stays on constantly or you go to Autozone and get a code reading of P0303, I strongly recommend you go to your dealer ASAP and or if you know where to find one of those new coil packs for less than $152 you can do it yourself.

#71 of 299 My experience 2 years later after buying 2009 Chevy Aveo LS by ecotec2009

Feb 24, 2011 (11:20 am)

My experience with buying a new 2009 Chevy Aveo has been pretty good.
 
Only problems I had during first year of ownership the dealer resolved immediately and did a great job with no hassles. Very pleased with the dealer, it is actually too bad Chevy does not include the actual dealer mechanics in their product design or get ideas or suggestions from them first before building or designing a new car, for it is these people that actually know what will work and last and hold up well as opposed to the engineers that come up with some pretty stupid ideas for design thus causing a lot of problems for the car owner and a lot of needless repairs.
 
Year 1 - I had to have the weather strips along both driver and passenger door adjusted and built up and re-attached so the howling wind or squealing loud wind noise would stop, and dealer fixed this for me during first year.
    Second problem I had and it was covered under warranty also was the front left wheel bearing went out, no big deal, just a slight noise which I knew what it was immediately from past experience owning other car brands having same problem, dealer fixed this as well. This is something that happens and is normal wear and tear, I actually think I did it when I hit a hidden pot hole on I44 turnpike in Oklahoma last Feb running about 75 mph, since right after that I noticed the noise coming from front left wheel. Who knows maybe not. Anyway it was under warranty and got it fixed.
 
Year 2 - No problems at all, drove for entire second year and no problems other than the fact I had to replace the Hankook factory installed tires. After 27,000 miles they were completely wore out and no good, should have at least lasted 40-50 thousand miles, anyway at the end of year 1, I had new Hankook tires put back on the car, that was not good idea and was a big $300 mistake, I do not recommend Hankook to anyone now, they are not good tires to last, or well you do not get your moneys worth out of them at all, they wear out too fast and are far too expensive since they only last one year or year and half. This second set I have are ready to be replaced now and only have a little over a year and one month driving on highway with them after 30,000 miles. And this was with me rotating the tires 4 times in one year, helped a little bit, I may be able to get through spring and summer but doubt much more longer than that.
 
Year 3 - Check engine light came on and started flashing within couple blocks of home driving in from work last week, car immediately began to run rough, idle rough, misfire and lose power. I took it to Autozone and had it checked for free next day and got the ODB code P0303 when checked for free at Autozone. Changed out spark plugs, improved the rough idle and loss of power and gas mileage but still it was flashing check engine light and running rough or missing and losing power. Took to dealer yesterday, out of warranty now, I have put on 57,684 miles on it in little over two years, all highway driving 55-65 miles hour for work. Anyway, problem was the spark plug wire inside the ignition coil pack that sits on top of the spark plugs, unable to repair the one wire that was bad, have to buy entire coil. Checked prices at parts stores and best I could find was in $400 range for new coil, thus I ended up paying $307 to have new one installed. $152 for parts and $144 for labor of which $75-$100 of the labor is for the diagnostic hook up to machine that can tell Chevy mechanic exactly what is wrong unlike the Autozone hand held code machine reader you can get them to check with for free. Anyway I spent $14 on new spark plugs also at Autozone and even though they were not in bad shape yet I replaced them, according to manual they are to be replaced every 25,000 miles and no more than 37,000 miles, so I guess 57,000 plus out of them was not bad.
 
Conclusion - for what I paid for this brand new in Jan 2009, $10,675, I really cannot complain, and overall have been very pleased with the car or well more then pleased since it has exceeded my expectations. It is a manual 4 door sedan LS 2009. The gas mileage has been great. 40-46 mpg on highway driving always at 55-65 or more. The lowest gas mileage I ever got was 33.5 mpg and that was driving all in a city one week in stop and go traffic. Never have had a problem with anything tearing up inside the car, no road noise issues, no body part issues, no squeaks or noises, just the things I listed above. If I could have found a ignition coil pack for the car myself for under $300 I would have done this last repair myself but just the way it goes.
 
For all of those that have had bad experience, I feel for you that is no fun and expensive, but looks like Chevy is putting the AVEO to rest now this year and will not be building anymore, thus not much more time left for griping or complaining about this model of car! Looks like a new model, the Sonic will debut this fall and take AVEO place. Oh well, now to got look for some deal on new tires. It never ends, all any car ever does is cost a person money to operate them, an ongoing expense necessary to work or live in USA, no more no less than another tool. And well all tools wear out or need to be maintained, just a person hopes to buy a car for small amount of money and hope not to spend a fortune repairing it or keeping it running.
 
Maybe some day they will make a car like that, I have yet to own a car or truck yet that did not have to have something done to it or repaired or replaced or worked on and I have owned many. I just try now to buy or operate the least expensive model to buy and operate/repair that I can if I can. It changes from model and make each year sadly if a car makers gets one right for one year it seems they always change it in the next year or so it goes and one year model is never the same quality. Go figure.
          Anyway here is wishing everyone owning AVEO many trouble free miles of driving.

#72 of 299 Re: Serious 2009 Chevrolet Aveo Sedan Problem [hopewell] by mrsmonkeypants

Mar 13, 2011 (2:56 pm)

Replying to: hopewell (Jan 07, 2011 10:25 am)
Wow...I am suprised at some of the posts with the Chevy Aveo. Mine just turned a little over 106,000 miles and this car has paid for itself. My check engine light is on...the code is reading the second 02 sensor. I've never had any major repairs with it. Just its normal wear and tear and up keep at this milage. (battery, new belts, breaks, rotor rotation, tires, spark plugs, wires, and a couple worn hoses...Now looks like just an O2 sensor needs to be replaced) I had the issue once with the flashing engine and hold light. It was spark plugs. I hope that helps. I am going to continue making the little repairs to my aveo. I plan on giving the car to my mother who drives very little to start with. I want to make sure it is in good shape and will be safe for her. Im thinking about purchasing the Chevy Sonic once it hits the market.

#73 of 299 Engine Wont Start Aveo Help! by dalekinder

Apr 04, 2011 (1:06 am)

#74 of 299 Engine Wont Start Aveo Help! by dalekinder

Apr 04, 2011 (1:06 am)

So, where to start... About 2 months ago I had the timing belt on my aveo changed and new tensioner etc.. 3 days after I got it a loud noise was coming from the timing cover. So we called the shop and we forced them to bring back the car to take a look. My dad is a engineer/mechanic (retired thats why we had to take it to someone to do the belt job) and he told them the noise was not normal, so after the shop hassling us about having to fix it they finally did and it ended up being the tensioner being over torqued and broke. So thats replaced...
 
Today I let my GF drive my car to work on the way home she had called me and told me the engine jolted real hard lost power and then died. When I got there to see what was wrong the car will turn over but not start. Engine shakes a little bit when trying to do so. Car has a little over 134,000miles and has not been hot rodded in any way.
 
We got the car towed home (thanks triple AAA, I def recommend their membership to anyone who does not have them it will save you a crap load!) my dad first sprayed some starting fluid into the intake, it wont even start from that or act like its going to. we took the spark plug from #1 firing and conducting a test with a curtain hanger and a long wire connected to #1 on the cap and grounded it and started.. it has spark.. so no issues there. When we try to start it just turns over and thats it.
 
I dont think the timimg belt is broke bc the engine is not locked up. however we can not take it back to the same shop that did the work because we had to sign something for them to fix the tensioner for the 2nd time for free because they gave us hassle and the document basically says their not liable after any issues occur after its fixed.
 
All the lights light up like normal when the key is on, I can hear the fuel pump turning on when the key is turned so I dont think thats the issue, where should we start? Is it possible that it jumped time. Any suggestions would be helpful at this point before we tear it down and start trouble shooting, I think the first thing is to see if it did infact jump time, and maybe the 2nd tensioner went bad, wont know until we pull it apart. Thanks for looking and for your time! I look forward to seeing your responses.

#75 of 299 Re: Engine Wont Start Aveo Help! [dalekinder] by dappismom1

May 03, 2011 (10:42 am)

Replying to: dalekinder (Apr 04, 2011 1:06 am)
sorry to hear about your troubles...My daughters car has had similar problems...It started stalling..she would stop and restart and no problem...4 weeks ago it stalled and wouldn't restart...had it towed to shop....timing pulley broke and damaged heads/valves...$1700 to repair that....last week it was making a loud noise/she pulled over and we towed back to the shop....It has thrown a rod/ damaged engine/crank...new engine $4200....get rid of this car...it's not worth all the problems...now I'm stuck with a car that doesn't run and I still owe money on....

#76 of 299 sounds like my car by clowniex

May 06, 2011 (5:51 pm)

I got my 2008 abel last year. The day after I had it it was in the shop three days in a row for the oil light problem. They " fixed" it with a sensor that goes to a volvo. Now the the head gasket has gone out and was a longer job to fix that expected. That was thankfully covered by the extended warenty. Now two days latter it is back on the lift. I had to have it towed there after the oil light came on and the engine was leaking oil like a stuck pig. Now the oil sending unit is blessing out from all around it, and im in a rental yet again. Don't know the warenty is going to cover this or not yet, couldn't get an answer on that one from anyone yet. I hate this car. Chevy needs to recap this rolling money pit before some one gets seriously injured or worse. As soon as I can I am dumping this car and getting something that isn't listed on car sights as a "bad idea," before something else goes wrong.

#77 of 299 Re: 2005 Aveo problems [hoggguy] by astar

Jul 16, 2011 (8:41 pm)

Replying to: hoggguy (Oct 06, 2010 1:53 pm)
I had a chevy 4-cyl Berretta that started overheating and valves clattering and lagged and dragged and did not want to go into third gear, three dealerships later found that two plugs had burned up, so what caused the overheating and the plugs to burn up? A catalytic converter which was receiving a mixture of gas that was too rich and was melting the plastic insides of the converter. After replacing the converter and adjusting the gas mixture coming off the engine and changing all the spark plugs and wires, the engine was once again running on four cyl, not dragging and not overheating, the initial problem was caused by the dealership adjusting the gas mixture when tuning up the vehicle, they set the gas mixture for a 6 cyl engine by mistake, and it melted three converters before the third dealership discovered how the problem was started. Also, sand can clog the converter and not allow the exhaust to leave the engine fast enough which will also cause overheating problems, you can blow the sand out of a converter and continue using it instead of getting a new one, just make sure no areas are melted inside the converter.

#78 of 299 Re: 2005 Aveo problems [astar] by barkydog

Jul 17, 2011 (7:22 pm)

Replying to: astar (Jul 16, 2011 8:41 pm)
Two questions about your comments:
 
Please tell us what parts of a catalytic converter are made of plastic. (?)
 
Please tell us how sand could possibly enter a catalytic converter and clog it. (?)
 
If your advice is not credible, why should we believe it... (?)

#79 of 299 Re: Engine Wont Start Aveo Help! [dalekinder] by karebear

Jul 19, 2011 (12:05 pm)

Replying to: dalekinder (Apr 04, 2011 1:06 am)
I have a 2004 Chevy Aveo LS which I purchased a little over two years ago. The first two years of owning this car were bliss, but the last two months have been horrible.
 
In May my thermostat housing broke while I was driving home late at night, which left me stranded in the dark with a car that I was unable to drive. I had the car towed to a mechanic, who was shocked to see the state of the thermostat housing, as it had snapped right down the middle. They told me they had never seen that on a vehicle before. A few hundred dollars later, it was fixed. I should also note that at this time I had to have my break switch fixed as the lights would not turn off.
 
Then this month, I started to drive my car and it was working just fine. All of a sudden, the engine light started flashing, the motor was shaking very badly and my car was maxing out at 10km. I took it to a mechanic (very slowly as the car could barely drive) and they told me the spark plugs were shot, the wires needed to be replaced, and my ignition coil was no longer working. 600 later, and the car was fixed.
 
The next day I was driving and my engine light came on again. Now I am being told that the catalytic converter needs to be replaced completely. They were surprised by the fact that my coils and converter all went at the same time.
 
Not to mention the fact that the alarm on my car goes off about 10 times a night if I lock the car remotely.
 
I seriously regret buying this car.

Messages Page 8 of 30

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