Why did you buy your Aveo?

[MetroMPG]

If you don't like the small horn buttons on the Aveo, you would have hated the horn button on the original Mini. It was on the turn signal stalk.

[whitefish]

I was looking for a used commuter and found my 2005 with 13k km on it. The car is loaded except ABS

What I liked and still like:

- pretty good acceleration given their predecessor (Metro and Firefly)
- lots of room for a small car both for Cargo and people
- the warranty, althought the 5 year GM powertrain warranty is a joke. Apparently things bolted to the engine like O2 sensors, timing belts, and water pumps are not considered "powertrain". Give me a break. When I was still under the 3 year/60,000km warranty, everything was fixed, no problem.

What I don't like:

- extremely inconsistent fuel mileage - I bought this car as a commuter, so this is a big deal to me
- the car has been plagued with TSB's and recalls. I've had two Chev Silverados and not nearly the problems I've had with this car. Thankfully, I had a good dealership that address these
- terrible brakes - rear drums lock up when the brake dust from the organic shoe lining mixes with moisture. I've skidded through intersections in the winter because of this.

Bottom line, if there were lemon laws in Canada, this car would have been gone a long time ago.

[Thymeclock]

If you don't like the small horn buttons on the Aveo, you would have hated the horn button on the original Mini. It was on the turn signal stalk.

About a decade ago my in-laws had a Mercury Grand Marquis in which you had to push the turn signal stalk inwards toward the steering column as the only way to to blow the horn. I couldn't believe it!

Personally, for that reason alone I would never buy a car like that. Having an easily accessible horn is a safety issue. I can easily do without our Aveo's daytime running lights (imposed upon us for supposed safety?), but having an easily accessible horn and being quick on it when necessary can also prevent accidents from happening.

[whitefish]

I can easily do without our Aveo's daytime running lights

I've never had a problem with DRL's - saved my bacon a few times. We get a few cars up here that don't have them (bought in the US?) and they are a pain. So much easier to judge when to pass and consider oncoming traffic when there's a set of lights coming at you, especially if its a car that blends into the background.

That said, the friggin DRL module went bad on my 2005 Aveo and was killing the battery. Took me a month to figure out was going on until I noticed that the DRL didn't work when the car was first started, but worked when I shifted into drive. I decided to take a chance and replace the DRL module. As soon as I touched the module, I know I had my problem - the module was hot.

Thats another post I can do in the "How To" section.....

[serega12]

I don't have power door locks, so that's out. I just gotta remember to lock the hatch.

I didn't have the power locks either... but it got old very fast having to go around the whole car every time I leave it (especially if there was one than one person in the car) and checking all five handles to see if they're locked. It's a LOT of hassle with wiring to put in aftermarket door locks, but it sure is worth it. One hint though: if you use the regular DEI power door lock control module, make sure to bump up the amperage on the fuse (I had to go from 15 amp to 20) since it's designed to be used with four doors, but with having a separate actuator in the hatch, it put just enough load on it to blow the fuse... No problems whatsoever after changing the fuse to a bigger one.

[serega12]

I can easily do without our Aveo's daytime running lights (imposed upon us for supposed safety?),

That's when you go under the dash and disconnect the HASMAR (or something like that) marked module to completely disable the DRL's. This is absolutely necessary if you're going to run HID's since the voltage that is put out for the DRL's is a bit lower, so you will get your "DRL" light flashing very fast on the dash and no lights on when they're supposed to be (except for when they're actually turned on). And if you look, right on the DRL module it says "Made in Canada" (the safety laws you were talking about).

The biggest problem that I have with DRL's of the type that we have in our Aveos is that they ONLY keep the headlights on, and only partial brightness. I prefer my wife's HHR system - the lighting is completely automatic depending on the outside lighting... I don't have to touch anything, just leave the knob in "Auto" and it turns everything I need on and off (that's with having HID's installed too). The only thing I would need to do myself would be turning on the fog lights, but I'm fine with that.

[theclarkfam]

Hey gents....and ladies I am a newbie to this forum and like what I see so far. Great site mods =D>
My reason for buying and aveo came down to my dd costing too much to keep on the road safely and fuel going up to the point where I was pumping 55 bucks of gas every 10 days and the cash for clunkers program which gave me the 4500 toward it that sealed the deal.

Things I like:
The handling. It is fun to throw it into the corners
The fit: I am 6'2 and this is a small car and I fit comfortably along with the wifge and kids too.
The last is that I can park anywhere and easy maintenance.
Things I don't like:
The tires: It came with crappy kuhmo tires so after hydroplaning around for 1200 miles I went and bought a set of Cooper tires. Now the car is quiet..er and the handling and hydroplaning are 4 times improved.
The DRL'S: I want a switch to be able to turn them on/off (work reasons). Every other chevy has one.
Heated mirrors: I miss having them and it sucks not being able to see who is beside you without turning around.

I really don't have a big complaint about this car.....yet "except tires" and I hope that I never will and would recommend this car to the commuting public.
I can't wait to check out the rest of this forum and start contributing to the club. Take care all.

Will

[Thymeclock]

Things I don't like:
The tires: It came with crappy kuhmo tires so after hydroplaning around for 1200 miles I went and bought a set of Cooper tires. Now the car is quiet..er and the handling and hydroplaning are 4 times improved.
The DRL'S: I want a switch to be able to turn them on/off (work reasons). Every other chevy has one.

Welcome to the list! Do you have an '09?

Every car I ever bought new came with tires that were substandard (IMHO). From what I understand these are lousy and will be worn out by 20K. Not every tire Kumho makes is lousy, however. I just put a set of new Kumhos on my '89 Galant and so far I'm very pleased with them.

If there is anyone here who figures out how to install an on-off switch for the DRL's on the 2009 Aveo we'd be glad to see how to do it.

[MetroMPG]

Do the DRL's shut off when the handbrake is applied?

That's where I installed the mod on my Firefly (Metro) - I put an ON/OFF switch inline with the contact switch in the handbrake mechanism. Mounted the switch in the plastic housing around the brake (you could run it anywhere you want, I suppose).

Now I can choose to turn the lights off where their contribution to safety is negligible (ie. on a divided multi-lane freeway).

Welcome to the forum, Will.

[theclarkfam]

Do the DRL's shut off when the handbrake is applied?

Yes I have the 09 Aveo5 and I really like the face lift that they did to this year. For some reason my signiture never attached to post last time. I will figure that one out.
As for the hand brake yes it will shut off the DRL's and I want to do the exact thing that Metro is thinking (thanks ) but gotta wait on time and find a place to get the parts to do the job right. When and if I do get to actually doing this project I will take pictures and make an "how to" post.
Thanks for the welcome

Will