352 of the
1,930 complaints filed about the Chevrolet Aveo
are about the electrical system —
18% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2005.
While driving, the vehicle began experiencing repeated electrical failures including blown fuses, inoperative headlights and brake lights, and the transmission becoming locked in PARK. When the fuse blows, the gear shift cannot be moved out of PARK and the ignition key cannot be removed, leaving the vehicle stuck and unable to be driven or safely turned off. The brake lights and daytime running lights also stop working, making the vehicle unsafe to operate in traffic. This condition has been occurring repeatedly and requires frequent fuse replacement just to move or shut off the vehicle. An emergency override hole on the shifter had already been exposed, indicating the problem existed before and the vehicle was previously being forced out of PARK manually. A tow truck driver had to use this override to move the vehicle. The airbag warning light is also illuminated, indicating the safety restraint system may not function properly in a crash. These failures create a serious safety risk due to loss of exterior lighting, inability to shift, inability to turn the ignition off, and possible airbag malfunction. This failure is consistent with a known defect involving the Daytime Running Light (DRL) module overheating and causing electrical shorts, as documented in manufacturer recall and technical service bulletins for this vehicle. The problem has been reproduced multiple times and remains unresolved.
NHTSA complaint #11713135 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The interior dash caught on fire and burned only in the middle of the dashboard. This happened hours after it started smoking inside the car and the headlights would not turn off even though they were already off.
NHTSA complaint #11682754 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Lights malfunction. Headlights dim intermittently, turn signal causes headlights to turn off, dashboard lights do not work, running lights work intermittently. The splice pack in the fuse box is burnt and so are the wires connected to it.
NHTSA complaint #11664741 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
There was no prior warnings or notices that there was an issue. While diving on a major road with my children, smoke started coming into the cabin from the vents, and around the stereo. Luckily I was near a very vacant parking lot and immediately pulled over. I removed the kids from the car safely and did open the hood to try troubleshoot the problem. There was no smoke anywhere under the hood. Immediately after, sparks started falling from under the steering wheel to the gas pedal. Immediately after that the car was engulfed in flames. The car is currently located at my local police impound and is available for inspection upon request. From the time the smoke started to when the car was engulfed, it was approximately 5 minutes. This could have been dangerous had we been on a highway and unable to pull over and get out of the car safely within that time. It was only inspected briefly by the fire department who arrived to put out the fire and they reported it was an electrical issue that caused the fire.
NHTSA complaint #11609379 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Aveo. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle shut off independently. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the dealer. The dealer informed the contact that they could not diagnose the vehicle because the vehicle failed to start. The dealer informed the contact that an unknown wiring harness might need to be installed to restart the vehicle; however, the part had been discontinued. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to GM Campaign Number: N110290. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.
NHTSA complaint #11567280 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The splicer connected to the fuse box in the engine burns up after a while of use causing the Dash lights, right brake light and front marker light to not work at night. It is a major safety issue and hundreds/thousands of complaints online (via google) have been made about it burning up.
NHTSA complaint #11567114 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
This is happening to my car. Would like them to fix it . Manufacture defect and it is a huge safety issue. Effect pedal function. Some customers may comment on an intermittent malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) being Illuminated with a message or an indicator that displays Reduced Engine Power. The technician may observe on a scan tool DTC P2138 - Accelerator Pedal Position (APP) Sensor 1-2 Correlation set as Current or in History. This condition may be caused by water intrusion into the instrument panel (IP) to body harness connector, which carries the APP sensor signals to the ECM/PCM. This water intrusion results in a voltage difference between APP Sensor 1 and APP Sensor 2 that exceeds a predetermined value for more than a calibrated period of time, setting P2138. This technical bulletin provides repair information for repairing the ip to body harness connector to correct a customer concern for intermittent malfunction indicator lamp (mil) illuminated with reduced engine power displayed and dtc p2138 set. Known issue. Has not been recalled yet. https://www.tsbsearch.com/Chevrolet/07-06-04-019E
NHTSA complaint #11510902 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Aveo. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to stop the vehicle, the vehicle was bouncing. The contact also stated the key had gotten stuck inside the ignition switch. The contact called the local dealer and was informed that the failure could be attributed to driver's error. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 5,000.
NHTSA complaint #11491275 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
In-dash clock module contains the vehicle 'Check Engine Light' - required to pass inspection. Solder joints are defective ('cold' or cracked) creating intermittent electrical connections. Prevents warning of engine defects to driver. Solder defects eventually cause destruction of the module incurring unreimbursed denial of transport and expense to driver to repair.
NHTSA complaint #11449748 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I HAVE BEEN TO THE SHOP SO MANY TIMES SINCE I BOUGHT THIS CAR. THE FIRST TIME OUT OF NOWHERE IT STARTED SMOKING WHITE SMOKE AND OVERHEATED THE ENGINE AND COME TO FIND OUT THE TUBING IN THE CAR HAD EXPLODED. THEN GOT EVERYTHING FIXED AND NOW STILL HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM WITH OVERHEATING AND WHITE SMOKE BUT NOW A BURNING SMELL. IT'S SOMETHING NEW EVERY TIME. I FOUND THIS RESPONSE O. YOUR WEBSITE WITH ANOTHER PERSON WHO HAS THIS CAR AND THIS HAPPENED TO MINE AS WELL: ' HOSES TO MY COOLING SYSTEM ALL BUSTED ONE AFTER ANOTHER WITH IN 5 DAY WE COULD SEE THE WEEK SPOT IN THE HOSE AFTER THY BUSTED,HAD THE THERMOSTAT CHANGED , IT ALSO BLOW MY HEAD GASKET' THIS IS ALSO HAPPENED AND I BARELY DRIVE IT. IT'S 5 MILES DOWN THE STREET WHERE I WORK WITH A 45MPH MAX SPEED LIMIT. I HAVE PICTURES AND VIDEOS AS WELL BUT CAN'T ATTACH IT
NHTSA complaint #11296778 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2008 CHEVROLET AVEO. WHILE DRIVING 20 MPH, SMOKE ENTERED THE CABIN OF THE VEHICLE FROM UNDER THE STEERING PANEL. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO SAFELY EXIT THE VEHICLE. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS CALLED AND WAS ABLE TO EXTINGUISH THE FIRE. A FIRE REPORT WAS FILED. THERE WERE NO INJURIES SUSTAINED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A SALVAGE YARD. PRIOR TO THE FIRE, THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC DUE TO AN ABNORMAL CHEMICAL ODOR IN THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED TO LUBRICATE THE WIRES IN THE INSTRUMENT PANEL, REMOVE THE FUSES FROM THE FUSE PANEL, AND DO THE SAME WITH THE PROPER DI-ELECTRIC GREASE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE CAUGHT FIRE BEFORE PERFORMING THE LUBRICATION. THE VEHICLE WAS INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V261000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING). THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 124,000.
NHTSA complaint #11280257 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
MY ELECTRICAL PANEL WAS DEFECTIVE, SENT IN 4 TIMES AND THEY CLAIMED TO REPLACE THE ELECTRICAL PANEL. IT WAS RIGGED BY CROSSING WIRES AND LIGHTS IN DASH DONT WORK AND RADIO TAPPED INTO WIPERS. THEN CALIPERS,SWAY ARMS,SHOCKS, CATALYTIC CONVERTER WAS DEFECTIVE AND ALSO NEVER REPLACED RIGHT. PAID SOMEONE TO PUT EMISSIONS STICKER TO PASS.
NHTSA complaint #11242427 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
TACADA RECALL I BOUGHT MY CAR HAD 121000 MILES ALL A SUDDEN I HAVE NO RIGHT TAIL LIGHT NO DASH LIGHTS AN NO PASSENGERS FRONT ORANGE LIGHT THER IS NO POWER GOING TO FUSE BOX UNDER HOOD I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP THEY STATED MY VIN HAD BEEN FIXED FOR THAT RECAL AND IT HAS NOT
NHTSA complaint #11229828 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I TRY TO PUT A SEAT BELT ON A CHILD IN THE BACK SEAT AND IT DOSE NOT WORK AT ALL. THE STEERING ON MY AVEO IS ALSO NOT SAFE IT FEELS AS IF MY AXEL ON MY CAR IS GOING TO BRAKE? ALSO THIS CAR HAS CAUGHT ON FIRE AS I WAS ON THE FREEWAY COMING FROM WORK. I HAVE REPLACE THE CADILLAC CONVERTER ON THIS CAR AS WELL AS 2,000 OTHER REPAIRS INTO MY CAR. IT IS VERY DANGEROUS KNOWING THAT ONE DAY WHEN I GET IN MY CAR IT MAY CAUGHT ON FIRE IF IT GET TO HOT. IT VERY SAD ALL I WOULD LIKE TO DO IS GO TO SCHOOL AND WORK GET HOME SAFE GUARANTEED EVERY DAY.
NHTSA complaint #11218221 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
TL* THE CONTACT CALLED ON BEHALF OF THEIR MOTHER WHO OWNED A 2008 CHEVROLET AVEO. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE THE DRIVER WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, A WHITE SMOKE WAS PRESENT COMING FROM THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE AND THE INSTRUMENT GAUGES BEGAN TO MALFUNCTION. THE ENGINE RPMS VIOLENTLY INCREASED AND DECREASED. THE HAZARDS WERE ENGAGED AND MOMENTS LATER SMOKE WAS SCENE COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD OF THE VEHICLE. AFTER STOPPING AND EXITING THE VEHICLE, FLAMES WERE SEEN COMING FROM UNDER THE VEHICLE AND FROM UNDER THE HOOD. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS CALLED TO THE SCENE AND EXTINGUISHED THE FLAMES. DURING THE INCIDENT THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. A FIRE REPORT WAS TAKEN AT THE SCENE. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT DETERMINED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE LOCAL DEALER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 124,000.
NHTSA complaint #11218247 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SO I WAS AT HOME AND MY CAR WAS PARKED OUTSIDE AND IT CAUGHT ON FIRE IN THE INSIDE. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT CAME AND PUT OUT THE FIRE. IT DAMAGED THE DASHBOARD AND THE WINDOW. I HAVE READ THAT IT IS A RECALL ON MY VEHICLE WHICH CAUSES IT TO CATCH ON FIRE. MANUFACTURER RECALL NUMBERA140093 NHTSA RECALL NUMBER14V261 RECALL STATUSRECALL INCOMPLETE
NHTSA complaint #11210190 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.