2006 Chevrolet Aveo problems
Owners have filed 280 complaints with NHTSA about the 2006 Chevrolet Aveo. Electrical system is the most reported problem area, at 24% of complaints. After that come air bags (21%) and lighting (14%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 280 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 24% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 23 and 24
- Injuries and deaths
- 11 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 65,000 miles 213 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 37 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 35 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 25 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 33 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 28 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 23 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 17 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 7 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 4 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 3 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Among the 213 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 65,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 77,000 miles (51 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 23 complaints mention a crash; 24 complaints mention a fire; 11 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2006 ranks 5th most-complained-about out of 8 model years of the Chevrolet Aveo with enough data (113 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle began to shudder, and caused a loss of vehicle control. The vehicle veered off the road, into a ditch, and subsequently crashed into a cemetery. The frontal air bags deployed, but did not inflate. The driver and passenger both suffered minor injuries. A police report was taken, and the vehicle was towed to an impound lot.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet aveo. While driving 30 MPH, the contact rear ended the preceding vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. The driver suffered severe headaches, neck, and back injuries. The vehicle sustained $4,100 worth of damage. A police report was filed. The VIN was unknown. The failure and current mileages were less than 63,000. Updated 8/3/09 updated 08/11/09.
Brake line rupture and resulting brake failure caused minor rear end collision with vehicle in front. Air bag activated but structural damage minor until the fire. Fire originated in front left (impacted) corner and consumed entire engine compartment to the fire wall. Weather perfect, dry roads, no obvious cause of fire. Except for brakes vehicle was drivable until fire.
The airbag light on the dashboard of my 2006 chevrolet aveo came on at about 110,000 miles. I worry that the bag could spontaneously deploy, or fail to deploy when it should. Having read the other complaints of dealers not being able to fix the problem, I hesitate to spend money I can't spare on a "fix" that doesn't work. Chevrolet should solve this problem and issue a recall for models that use this type of airbag.
Day time running lights work sometimes for a short time afraid of a fire. Called GM they said problem is not in their computer.