Problems · by component
2004 Chevrolet Aveo engine and engine cooling problems
62 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2004 Chevrolet Aveo cite engine and engine cooling, 30% of all 206 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
62
30% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
What owners say about the engine and engine cooling
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“2004 CHEVROLET AVEO. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO WARRANTY NOTICE #14093 ISSUES. *SMD THE DEALER INFORMED THE CONSUMER, THE WARRANY HAD EXPIRED. ALSO, THE WATER PUMP AND TIMING BELT WERE REPLACED. *JB”
“IT'S THE 3RD TIME IT HAS HAPPENED. IT OCCURRED TWICE WITH MY DAUGHTER AND HER BABY IN THE CAR, TODAY WHEN I PICKED MY KID UP FROM SCHOOL; THE CAR CUT OFF WHILE IN MOTION. I HAVE CHANGED THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR, CRANK SENSOR, COOLING TEMPERATURE SENSOR, 15 AMP FUSE TWICE, REPLACED THE HEAD GASKET, SEALANT, EGR VALVE AND EGR GASKET. CLEANED OFF ALL OIL RESIDUE ON ENGINE, ON HEAD GASKETS, ON SPARK PLUGS. RECENTLY REPLACED THERMOSTAT, RADIATOR, TIMING BELT AND HAVE ALSO DID A TRANSMISSION OIL CHANGE. THE CAR IS NOT WORKING APPROPRIATELY. *TR”
“THE PLASTIC THERMOSTAT HOUSING COMPLETELY SNAPPED WHILE DRIVING ONLY 35 MILES PER HOUR. THERE ARE MULITPLE CHEVROLET AVEO OWNERS THAT HAVE A CAR BETWEEN THE YEARS 04-06 THAT HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. NOT ONLY IS THIS A SAFTY HAZARD, BUT A REALITIVE COSTLY FIX. *TR”
“I HAVE A 2004 CHEVY AVEO THAT ONLY HAS 65K MILES ON IT AND GETS REGULAR OIL CHANGES. I WENT IN AND HAD MY TRANSMISSION FLUID FLUSHED AND WAS TOLD THE CAR LOOKED GREAT. DROVE A FEW OTHER PLACES, AND WAS ON A STEEP HILL, TURNING AROUND (AS I HAVE DONE MANY TIMES BEFORE), AND ALL OF A SUDDEN SMOKE WAS POURING OUT OF MY ENGINE. I PARKED IMMEDIATELY. MY THERMOSTAT HOUSING PIECE (PLASTIC) HAD CRACKED IN HALF AND WAS SPEWING ANTIFREEZE. IN THE TWO SECONDS THE CAR WAS ON, I LOST HALF MY ANTI-FREEZE AND MY ENGINE COMPARTMENT IS COVERED IN ANTI-FREEZE. FURTHER, THE PART IS HARD TO FIND AND WILL TAKE SEVERAL DAYS FOR A REPLACEMENT. THIS PART BROKE OUT OF THE BLUE, IN THE MIDDLE OF ROUTINE DRIVING. THERE'S NO WAY TO DRIVE IT UNTIL IT'S FIXED - THE CAR WILL HAVE TO BE TOWED. I HEAR THAT THE PART IS NOW BEING MADE IN ALUMINUM AND THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS CAR (EVERY 50-70K THIS PIECE JUST INEXPLICABLY CRACKS). I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT THIS SHOULD BE PART OF A STANDARD RECALL. HAD THIS PIECE BROKE AT ANY OTHER TIME (SUCH AS FIVE MINUTES PRIOR, WHEN I WAS ON THE FREEWAY) THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN DIRE CONSEQUENCES. FURTHER, HAD I ATTEMPTED TO DRIVE THE CAR ANY FURTHER,…”
“ENGINE STOPPED RUNNING. AT FIRST I WAS TOLD IT WAS THE TIMING BELT BUT THAT WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE CHANGED TILL AROUND 60,000 MILES. THE CAR HAS ONLY 48,000 MILES ON IT. I WENT AND BOUGHT A TIMING BELT AND A WATER PUMP BECAUSE I WAS TOLD THAT IF I CHANGED THE BELT I MAY AS WELL CHANGE THE WATER PUMP ALSO. AFTER A GOOD DEAL OF MONEY I WAS TOLD IT WAS AN ENGINE FAILURE BECAUSE OF A "VALVE RING" HAD WORN AWAY. I NEED TO PUT A "NEW" ENGINE IN IT AT CONSIDERABLE COST. I HAVE BEEN LAID OFF FOR OVER A YEAR AND THIS HAS CREATED A HARDSHIP FOR ME. I CAN NOT AFFORD ANOTHER CAR PAYMENT AND THE COST TO FIX THIS CAR, ALTHOUGH CHEAPER THAN BUYING ANOTHER, IS STILL A LOT OF MONEY FOR ME. NOT ONLY IS IT HARD ENOUGH TO FIND WORK IT IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT A CAR. I BELIEVE THIS FAILURE SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED AT 48,000 MILES! I AM 55 YEARS OLD AND HAVE OWNED CHEVY'S ALL MY LIFE. NOT HAPPY.”
“MY AVEO IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE A WARNING LIGHT TO COME ON WHEN THE ENGINE HAS TO BE SERVICED. APPARENTLY, THIS LIGHT DID NOT COME ON FOR THE WARNING THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE THAT I NEED TO FIND OUT ABOUT. DRIVING TO ME(THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN BY MY CHILD OF 28 YEARS WITH A 3 MONTH OLD IN A REAR CAR SEAT) TO PICK ME UP TO TAKE ME TO WORK THE CAR JUST STOPPED. IN THE MIDDLE OF ONGOING TRAFFIC. THANKFULLY THE CAR WAS NOT HIT BUT THE POLICE AS WELL AS MY BROTHER (WHOM WAS ON HIS WAY TO WORK) WERE ABLE TO GET THE CAR TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. HER FATHER (HE WAS CALLED) SHOWED UP WITH A TOW ON ITS WAY TO TAKE IT TO MY MECHANIC. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE TIMING CHAIN/BELT WENT. BECAUSE THE CAR WAS IN MOTION IT ALSO CAUSED THE BENDING OF 2 PISTONS. IN ORDER TO FIX IT PROPERLY THIS MECHANIC WAS NOT ABLE TO DO SO. I WAS INFORMED HOWEVER THAT ALL AVEOS FROM THIS MODEL OR YEAR HAS SHOWN TO HAVE THE TIMING BELT/CHAIN TO MALFUNCTION BETWEEN THE MILEAGE OF 40,000- 80,000 MILES. SO, I AM TRYING TO FIND OUT IF THERE IS A RECALL ON FIRST THE WARNING LIGHT NOT INDICATING THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG AND SECOND, THE TIMING CHAIN/BELT MALFUNCTIONING REPEATEDLY…”
Showing 6 of 62 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.