My Aveo Wont Start,But Everything Else Works On The Car........

Hi. I JUST found this forum,only took me 6 years. Anyway, my 2006 Aveo hatchback wont start, and is at a garage right now. Yesterday, I turned the key and got 1 click and then nothing. I got it started by just keeping the key turned and it started one last time. I got home, and then it wouldnt even make that clicking noise anymore.

To get to the point, for weeks it was hard to start, then it was back to easy to start, then it was hard to start, then easy again. Last year I had to replace the factory battery, so it is only 1 year old, the battery has been tested 2 times and reads as 'good/full charge', but the weird thing is that all the lights work and are bright as usual,the radio works, all the other electrical things like that, the headlights all work, but it wont start at all. It is totally dead. I am waiting to hear from the garage, but I was hoping to get opinions from someone that might know what is going on, maybe this has happened to someone else?

I looked online and found sites that say these conditions indicate that it is the 'starter'. Not the alternator. True?
Any opinions or ideas would be great to hear. This is the first mechanical thing to go wrong since I bought the car new. The engine has never given me a days trouble, I also only have 19K miles on it, I have had the coolant flushed out, several gaskets replaced, but not the head gasket, they were found to be leaking during an oil change at the Chevy dealer. But it wasn't a 'mechanical' issue.

So...how bad off am I going to be today when I get the call about whats wrong? I would love to be able to ask them if it could be this or that, to make sure they get it right. And it isn't a HUGE problem. Any input would be great. Thanks.

it could be as simple as a bad starter relay, it could be the starter, or even the ignition switch.

these all act about the same when trying to start the car, the key to diagnosing them s following the electrical flow within the system.

If the key is in the start position, and there is power to the starter, but it dies not crank it is the starter. If no power to the starter then you need to see if the power is at the relay. If the relay has both signal and source power, but is not sending it to the starter, you need a relay. The relay should always have source power, but if there is no signal power then you need to check the ignition switch end of the harness, fuse, or switch itself.

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Originally Posted by petrified.rabbit

it could be as simple as a bad starter relay, it could be the starter, or even the ignition switch.

these all act about the same when trying to start the car, the key to diagnosing them s following the electrical flow within the system.

If the key is in the start position, and there is power to the starter, but it dies not crank it is the starter. If no power to the starter then you need to see if the power is at the relay. If the relay has both signal and source power, but is not sending it to the starter, you need a relay. The relay should always have source power, but if there is no signal power then you need to check the ignition switch end of the harness, fuse, or switch itself.

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Hi. Thanks for those ideas...I assume that a good garage will know how to test for these things....right? It isnt a fly by night place, it has been around for decades,and is well respected in the city. Are those things expensive? Or less than a starter? Is the starter a hard to replace part. I have seen the price of a new one or a rebuilt one, and they seem to be fairly cheap,but the price of installation depends on where it is located, if it is hard to get to,or easy....which is it on our Aveos?

who did you take it to?

the relay is cheapest, the starter and relay really depend on what you pay for the part and the garages labor for diagnose and replace.

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Originally Posted by petrified.rabbit

who did you take it to?

the relay is cheapest, the starter and relay really depend on what you pay for the part and the garages labor for diagnose and replace.

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Well it is at a garage in Pompano Beach called Sunshine Auto Repair. My new brother in law works there on the weekends, and they have a very good reputation, and I wasnt going to go to the dealer for something like this. The diagnosis alone would be ungodly. So it was towed LATE yesterday to them.
I took it to them weeks ago to have the battery ,alternator and starter tested, they all read out as 'good', and THAT day it was starting up better and better the more I started it....like going to the doctor when your sick, then you get there and you feel fine! Well everything read as 'good' and all the numbers were well within the ranges they were suppose to be. So they didnt have anything to fix. So then after a few weeks of hard to start and easy to start, it finally died yesterday. So...IF it is the starter itself is it hard to replace, or am I lucky and it is on the bottom of the engine and it wont take 4 hours of labor to take out, IF needed.

it wont take 4 hours, but i cant say they wont charge that..

sunshine did some work to a vanagon we had years ago, and my cadillac had some work done there, just general maintenance before the drive home. at least i think its the same place, off E Atlantic? They were at least as good as firestone, etc, but better priced.

Hi. Yes! Thats the place. It is on Dixie Hwy, just below Atlantic. Are you a snowbird or did you move away? Well I called them at noon to find out what is going on. They apologized for not calling me, the owner didnt know why someone didn't call me to ok the work! Well it is the starter. It is totally dead. They already ordered it, and should be done today. Well does anyone have $400 to lend me for a few months? I'm good for it. :) He said it is $391.16 out the door. Then $65 for towing. God, I need a loan.
I get a 1 year warranty on the part and the labor. Is that good? Is the price good or am I getting taken for a ride? Thats why I wanted to know where the starter is located. So I could say, 'why is it so much for labor when the starter is so easy to get to'. BUT if it is buried under a bunch of other parts and it does take a long time to remove and replace, then I cant say much. Where is it? I would like to see what I am paying for, and not ask them where it is to see it...I want to at least SEEM to know something about my cars engine. So...where is this starter located? Thanks for the help and input. I'll hag around to see if you reply soon.

Thanks to your replies, I did ask about the relay, and the ignition, and they said they checked everything, thats the way to find out whats wrong. So am I getting a 'deal'...or getting taken for a ride? I know the dealer would cost 3 times more. But since the part is like $60-90....the rest is labor. Unless I am seeing prices for re-manufactured parts. They assured me it is new.

the starter is behind the engine under the intake manifold, and above the axle. You pull it out through the bottom with the car in the air. $391 is a fair price. Since almost half of that is probably the price of the starter (retail markup). they list for @ $150-200 so it would have depended on which was the local availability. $60-90 is definitely reman, but that is also wholesale, most shops do not pass that price along, they adjust it to retail.

We have a place we stay at near my family in lighthouse point. I've been going down at least 2 times a year my entire life, when my grandparents bought a place in the mid 70s before i was born.

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Originally Posted by petrified.rabbit

the starter is behind the engine under the intake manifold, and above the axle. You pull it out through the bottom with the car in the air. $391 is a fair price. Since almost half of that is probably the price of the starter (retail markup). they list for @ $150-200 so it would have depended on which was the local availability. $60-90 is definitely reman, but that is also wholesale, most shops do not pass that price along, they adjust it to retail.

We have a place we stay at near my family in lighthouse point. I've been going down at least 2 times a year my entire life, when my grandparents bought a place in the mid 70s before i was born.

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Boy, thought I was getting the 'brother in law discount'...guess it doesnt apply when he is out of the country. but at least I am not getting taken for a ride. The starters I found for 'New' were on EBay, with a year warranty to. Started at $60 and went up tp 95. I forgot about repairshop discounts/markups. Well it is 440pm now, they said my car is about ready, so knowing it is way in the back,it sounds like they have to remove a lot of parts to get to it, so it is a lot of labor. Cant just see it from the top...right? Since I dont know you...which Aveo do you have...I assume yuo have one, or why would you be here and you know so much!!! Are you a mechanic to? Well I have to go get a ride to go pick it up in 20mins. Cant wait to have my little blue car back in my hands. Again, thank you for all the information. Are you coming down anytime soon? Or no? Thanks!!!

i am probably not going down until summer. i have a yellow 09 aveo hatch. i have been a mechanic, yes.

Its not that you have to tear into it from the top, you get to it from the bottom of the car. not hard really, but takes some work/tools fishing it out from above the axle, etc.

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Originally Posted by petrified.rabbit

i am probably not going down until summer. i have a yellow 09 aveo hatch. i have been a mechanic, yes.

Its not that you have to tear into it from the top, you get to it from the bottom of the car. not hard really, but takes some work/tools fishing it out from above the axle, etc.

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I love yellow...my truck was bright yellow. Lucky you! Well I got the car back. The starter was like $259! The labor was only $115! That thing must be gold plated!! It sure has a lot of power now to start...it isnt factory quite thats for sure. Very loud on start up,I am so use to it being VERY quite, but I guess it has to wear in a bit, as long as it lasts, it can make farting noises as I start it up:)
Well before I left, I checked he car over, to make sure there were no dents or dings, and started it up to make sure it works, you know...once you leave, if they did something wrong, I wouldn't have a leg to stand on. Well I got the scare of my life. My A/C didnt work, and smoke started to come up out of the engine!! I shut it off in like 10 seconds. Long story short, they put it back in the shop and in about ten minutes they found out that the shroud around the electric fan was bent, and the blades couldnt move....thats where the smoke was coming from. Turns out that the tow truck driver guy bent the shroud somehow with the front lift that went under the front end. The reason I HATE to have any of my cars/trucks towed behind a tow truck, I prefer a flatbed tow. Well they just 'undented' it, and it started right up of course and the A/C works perfectly. so I ran some errands and it works great and the A/C is fine. so thats over. Fingers crossed. But man, the price for that starter is unreal! THAT is a big mark up. But they have you by the b-lls...so what can you do? Hopefully no problems for at least a year. I have to pay back everyone that paid for this repair!

Did you get back your vehicle from Garage??

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Originally Posted by Mckenzie500

Did you get back your vehicle from Garage??

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Yes, it is on the second page of replies in this section.

there are three problems in a starter you can fix by hitting it with hammer.

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Originally Posted by AnouraTheMarsupial

there are three problems in a starter you can fix by hitting it with hammer.

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Yes if the car was from the 70's. Not anymore. The teeth that made the starter 'catch',and then slide back out of the way, were all worn off and basically gone, so nothing was there to catch and start the starter. It is over, it is replaced, and hitting it with a hammer went out with old Novas and old Fords. There was nothing left to make it work on the inside of the unit, it was all ground down from 5 years of starting.

that makes sense.. this is my first post '67 car. I guess i wont be turning on it with a 10 lb mallet...

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Originally Posted by FlaAveo5

hitting it with a hammer went out with old Novas and old Fords.

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Not true. Electric starter motors are still built very much like the way they were built in the 70's. The difference is in how the power gets to the motor.

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Originally Posted by wylee

Not true. Electric starter motors are still built very much like the way they were built in the 70's. The difference is in how the power gets to the motor.

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It is replaced and over. If you care to somehow crawl under your Aveo each time you want to start it, in the rain, in the middle of summer, in snow, if you have it, at shopping centers, under a hot engine, in work/dress clothes, please feel free. I thanked everyone for the input about my problem, but it is done. I can barely get under there to change the oil. I am not going to crawl under it several times a day and get burned on a hot engine. It is worth the hundreds and hundreds it cost. Now I just want a stupid little $5 turn signal bulb to stop blinking at the speed of light now! :)

Now, now, clean the sand out.

I wasn't suggesting not replacing the starter which you had clearly already replaced. I was merely corrected misinformation for future readers. Wacking the starter with a hammer very well may get the car to start one more time and save a towing bill.

As far as the turn signal...clean the socket and use dielectric grease when you put the bulb back in.

where is the starter relay on a 2005 aveo???