When a beater gets "beat"

[daves87rs]

Normally, I don't do this to my cars....

But this one really pissed me off.....

The Cobalt has done the good job pissing me off left and right the last few weeks with all kind of little issues....

- Trans deccided to take its sweet time getting up to speed on I-96...which nearly got me rear ended..twice....

-power locks didn't work..which wouldn't be a big deal if the alarm wouldn't go off-and not turn off.

-what radio?

I shouldn't pick on her too bad....cars have hit her, as well as people.....

That, and this has been some wild weather around here....

Anyways, I went to warm up the Balt outside before I headed off to work, and would not turn over....Tried it a few times..no go. Checked battery-fine. Checked connections-fine.

Tried again-still would not start. I was like-

Don't know why-but I got real pissed and kicked the hell out of the front driver's tire....

After feeling nice and calm, I decided to try one more time.

Turns right over. Fine the rest of the day (and now).

This wouldn't have been so funny to me if this hadn't happened to me about 10 years ago....in my old Cavalier coupe....

It's like my old car came back to haunt me.....strange, no?

[NOS2006]

Yeah, that's pretty weird.

I haven't had many problems with my Cobalt, just a few.

But I'm sure it'll all work out in time.. what year is it?

Why wasn't the trans working? Just not downshifting maybe?

I'd bring that to the dealer and tell them about it. Might not even be the trans, might be a sensor (IAC?) or something.

And do you want a complete stock Pioneer system from an SS/SC? I'll be selling mine in a month or two.. not sure for how much though.

[Robert Hall]

Speaking of beaters, I had a friend in college that had a worn out beater Citation that had a lot of problems...he finally gave up and parked it in a rough neighborhood in Youngstown, Ohio and hoped that someone would steal it or torch it..

[Cory Wolfe]

It's like a modern incarnation of the Cutlass. Dave, you've been touched!

[daves87rs]

Yeah, that's pretty weird.

I haven't had many problems with my Cobalt, just a few.

But I'm sure it'll all work out in time.. what year is it?

Why wasn't the trans working? Just not downshifting maybe?

I'd bring that to the dealer and tell them about it. Might not even be the trans, might be a sensor (IAC?) or something.

And do you want a complete stock Pioneer system from an SS/SC? I'll be selling mine in a month or two.. not sure for how much though.

It is a 2006 LS Coupe w/ 32k on the clock (silver)

I got it as a replacement for the wagon.....airbags for me (makes wife happy) and a safer car for the little guy when I drive him around town...

It does need a little work (mostly a good cleaning-which I am working on )...but it has been a good car for the most part.

It is going back to it's home dealership (Bill Wink Chevrolet) next week to get looked at...my concern at this point is the trans, as my thinking is the rest of the stuff is probably most related to the weather (and potholes)...

I'll be changing the fuel filter soon too....

Pioneer? Hmmm....that doesn't sound too bad...

[daves87rs]

It's like a modern incarnation of the Cutlass. Dave, you've been touched!

*considers setting car on fire*

[knightfan26917]

*raises eyebrow cautiously*

Wait ... you're telling me that your Cobalt (2006? 2007?) is less reliable than my 1987 Monte Carlo LS?

Heh ... interesting. I've had no problems with my car starting at all this winter ... even in the subzero temps.

Cort:34swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve&pacemaker

WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"No one's there to talk or understand" ... Sugar Ray ... 'Falls Apart'

[2005 EquinoxLS]

The Equinox has been perfect. So has Moms Aveo. And we have had a harder winter than the last few. So not all new cars have more problems than old ones Havent though had trouble out of the old ones either. Though I dont drive them through the salt and slush unless its an emergency. Figure this out though Knightfan. My Bonneville works pretty well in the snow the one time I had to drive it when my sister had the truck in December. The Caprice the one time I tried it slid all over the place. Same kind of car. Both have new tires. Figure that one out.

[Sixty8panther]

Sounds like you bought a "former-rental-car" special!

My parents have driven the wheels off their 2005 Cobalt and they

have reported no issue whatsoever, I think they have about 45K

miles on theirs and they're HARD miles.

[A Horse With No Name]

It is a 2006 LS Coupe w/ 32k on the clock (silver)

I got it as a replacement for the wagon.....airbags for me (makes wife happy) and a safer car for the little guy when I drive him around town...

It does need a little work (mostly a good cleaning-which I am working on )...but it has been a good car for the most part.

It is going back to it's home dealership (Bill Wink Chevrolet) next week to get looked at...my concern at this point is the trans, as my thinking is the rest of the stuff is probably most related to the weather (and potholes)...

I'll be changing the fuel filter soon too....

Pioneer? Hmmm....that doesn't sound too bad...

One word-Manual. This is one reason why I don't buy Automatic trans vehicles. Yes, I know most of them (99.7%) are reliable, but the same damned thing happened to me driving an Econoline at work. Shifted from 3rd to first just as we were crossing a major interesection with some cross traffic.

32k should still be under warrenty. Back in the Day the trans was rebuilt in my Safari under warranty for just such behavior. Chevrolet dealership held all of the parts and it took a little bit of fighting, but in the und I got an $1800 covered with no out of pocket.

Chris

[A Horse With No Name]

Sounds like you bought a "former-rental-car" special!

My parents have driven the wheels off their 2005 Cobalt and they

have reported no issue whatsoever, I think they have about 45K

miles on theirs and they're HARD miles.

Cobalts are usually about as reliable as gravity...

Chris

[Intrepidation]

There was one time during my experience with a Cobalt that I had a transmission issue. I had turned off of my street to head to work and was casually driving down the road, but the car wouldn't upshift from 2nd to 3rd. I noticed I was going about 40 mph and it still was in 2nd gear. I tried to get it to shift but to no avail. After I parked it and went on my first delivery 10 minutes later the problem was gonna. That was the only time it happened, but it did worry me a bit.

[vonVeezelsnider]

Sounds like you bought a "former-rental-car" special!

We've had 4 Vehicles which were former rentals, and they were never bad in terms of dependability...

[daves87rs]

Sounds like you bought a "former-rental-car" special!

My parents have driven the wheels off their 2005 Cobalt and they

have reported no issue whatsoever, I think they have about 45K

miles on theirs and they're HARD miles.

No rental car special here...bought it from a family member...to help out my family...

The Cobalt has had it a little rough (and driven a little hard), but not bad enough for the issues...

Heck. about 65-70% of those miles are highway..

[daves87rs]

One word-Manual. This is one reason why I don't buy Automatic trans vehicles. Yes, I know most of them (99.7%) are reliable, but the same damned thing happened to me driving an Econoline at work. Shifted from 3rd to first just as we were crossing a major interesection with some cross traffic.

32k should still be under warrenty. Back in the Day the trans was rebuilt in my Safari under warranty for just such behavior. Chevrolet dealership held all of the parts and it took a little bit of fighting, but in the und I got an $1800 covered with no out of pocket.

Chris

Yep. It's going into the dealership next week for the trans issue. I'll have them take a good look at it while it's there...

They do a pretty good job....

[daves87rs]

*raises eyebrow cautiously*

Wait ... you're telling me that your Cobalt (2006? 2007?) is less reliable than my 1987 Monte Carlo LS?

Heh ... interesting. I've had no problems with my car starting at all this winter ... even in the subzero temps.

Cort:34swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve&pacemaker

WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"No one's there to talk or understand" ... Sugar Ray ... 'Falls Apart'

Yeah, I'm wondering if maybe it doesn't like the new owner or something....

I've detailed the outside (too cold to finish the inside)

Next oil change I switch the Cobalt to a Wix air/oil filter and Mobil 1... and a new Fuel filter....

And some other stuff....

[daves87rs]

Cobalts are usually about as reliable as gravity...

Chris

[Sixty8panther]

VonVeez... My parents have owned a few formal rental car Pontiac Grand Ams,

some of the weird problems that came about always made me wonder if it had

anything to do with all the abuse the car takes as a rental.

[daves87rs]

The Equinox has been perfect. So has Moms Aveo. And we have had a harder winter than the last few. So not all new cars have more problems than old ones Havent though had trouble out of the old ones either. Though I dont drive them through the salt and slush unless its an emergency. Figure this out though Knightfan. My Bonneville works pretty well in the snow the one time I had to drive it when my sister had the truck in December. The Caprice the one time I tried it slid all over the place. Same kind of car. Both have new tires. Figure that one out.

Ah, Caprices usually don't like snow.....

My neighbor down the street has a 78....it was out of the garage for a few hours a few months ago, and it snowed on it. Car decided not to turn over and got pushed back into the garage. Once there, after the snow was cleaned off-she turned right over....

[daves87rs]

VonVeez... My parents have owned a few formal rental car Pontiac Grand Ams,

some of the weird problems that came about always made me wonder if it had

anything to do with all the abuse the car takes as a rental.

I've noticed that the newer Grand Ams (02-05) don't seem to take abuse well....

[Sixty8panther]

66-Pony:

I agree... in most cases I prefer manual transmissions for reliability, durrability & fun factor.

That being said Ford sucks at transmissions. That is just a fact of life. Even my pampered

'87 Cougar XR7, as awesome as it was, had a typical Metric trans issue that haunted me

for a while. I just learned how to drive the car gentle and how to manually shift if into OD.

Now a typical GM transmission from a truck or RWD vehicle... be it an old-school (two-speed)

powerglide, TH350/TH400/700R4 or what have you is about as solid, smooth and reliable as

they get. Remember at one point Rolls Royce, Jaguar, BMW & Mercedes all used automatic

transmissions from GM in their big sedans!

[daves87rs]

66-Pony:

I agree... in most cases I prefer manual transmissions for reliability, durrability & fun factor.

That being said Ford sucks at transmissions. That is just a fact of life. Even my pampered

'87 Cougar XR7, as awesome as it was, had a typical Metric trans issue that haunted me

for a while. I just learned how to drive the car gentle and how to manually shift if into OD.

Now a typical GM transmission from a truck or RWD vehicle... be it an old-school (two-speed)

powerglide, TH350/TH400/700R4 or what have you is about as solid, smooth and reliable as

they get. Remember at one point Rolls Royce, Jaguar, BMW & Mercedes all used automatic

transmissions from GM in their big sedans!

Yep.

[A Horse With No Name]

I've noticed that the newer Grand Ams (02-05) don't seem to take abuse well....

Depends, I've seen a few that were never cared for that did fine...one in particular that ran 80,000 miles w/o an oil change, woman who owned it just kept topping it off...and it still ran fine...

Chris

[A Horse With No Name]

66-Pony:

I agree... in most cases I prefer manual transmissions for reliability, durrability & fun factor.

That being said Ford sucks at transmissions. That is just a fact of life. Even my pampered

'87 Cougar XR7, as awesome as it was, had a typical Metric trans issue that haunted me

for a while. I just learned how to drive the car gentle and how to manually shift if into OD.

Now a typical GM transmission from a truck or RWD vehicle... be it an old-school (two-speed)

powerglide, TH350/TH400/700R4 or what have you is about as solid, smooth and reliable as

they get. Remember at one point Rolls Royce, Jaguar, BMW & Mercedes all used automatic

transmissions from GM in their big sedans!

GM automatics are usually great...

Chris

[daves87rs]

Depends, I've seen a few that were never cared for that did fine...one in particular that ran 80,000 miles w/o an oil change, woman who owned it just kept topping it off...and it still ran fine...

Chris

Sadly, Ive seen that with a 98 Sunfire...but with no new oil...and it kept running...I think it finally got an oil change at 70k, and it took them over an hour to get the oil filter off....

[A Horse With No Name]

...and then these MORONS berate GM for building a low quality automobile and buy a Toyota...

Chris

[Cory Wolfe]

Now a typical GM transmission from a truck or RWD vehicle... be it an old-school (two-speed)

powerglide, TH350/TH400/700R4 or what have you is about as solid, smooth and reliable as

they get. Remember at one point Rolls Royce, Jaguar, BMW & Mercedes all used automatic

transmissions from GM in their big sedans!

I guess the one in the Cutlass is an exception.

[gmpartsgirl]

Yeah the Cutty has the metric 200, I went through 3 before I got sick of it. I put a really old TH400 in it and solved all problems other than the 20% of the laughable 140 horses is stole. But that old 400 is bullet proof. The poor old Cuttys got sh!t trannys, and rear ends.

[ocnblu]

I always heard the TH200-4R was a better transmission than the TH700-R4, that's why GM stuck it in the Monte Carlo SS and Regal GN.

[vonVeezelsnider]

I guess the one in the Cutlass is an exception.

Hey BV, Red Green has some advice for you on how to make your Cutlass run better...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAn8rgrcGRU&NR=1

[knightfan26917]

Ah, Caprices usually don't like snow.....

My neighbor down the street has a 78....it was out of the garage for a few hours a few months ago, and it snowed on it. Car decided not to turn over and got pushed back into the garage. Once there, after the snow was cleaned off-she turned right over....

LOL!

This is how I half-expected my '87 MC LS to be, since I had planned to have a winter beater so the '87 MC LS didn't have to suffer through the winter again... But, instead, the '87 MC LS has been more reliable than any new car I've ever had.... Go figure.

Cort:34swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve&pacemaker

WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"What can you do?" ... Mickey Gilley ... 'Full Grown Fool'

[2005 EquinoxLS]

You got lucky Knightfan. Plus great maintenence on the origional owners part and yours helped it along more than anything. Along with Chevrolet using tried and true technology on your Montes and my 2 Full sizers.

[Intrepidation]

I've never had a car not start in cold weather, although when it dips down to around 0 the Shadow gives you a hard time for a few seconds.

[A Horse With No Name]

Gonna be hard to watch that Shadow go, isn't it DF?

Sounds like when you graduate you need to buy a nice Charger SRT8 in its memory.

Chris

[jcgable]

MY 97 corolla is falling apart! I understand where you are coming from!

[daves87rs]

LOL!

This is how I half-expected my '87 MC LS to be, since I had planned to have a winter beater so the '87 MC LS didn't have to suffer through the winter again... But, instead, the '87 MC LS has been more reliable than any new car I've ever had.... Go figure.

Cort:34swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve&pacemaker

WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"What can you do?" ... Mickey Gilley ... 'Full Grown Fool'

It's strange that old cars do that...My wagon did fine for many years.....

[daves87rs]

Gonna be hard to watch that Shadow go, isn't it DF?

Sounds like when you graduate you need to buy a nice Charger SRT8 in its memory.

Chris

That, or hunt down a really nice shadow in it's place.....

[2005 EquinoxLS]

The Caprice cranks slowly when it is very cold but if the battery is good it will start. Havent had the 2 old ones out in almost 2 months. Dont want them getting rusted. Thats why I dont want an old car for winter. If its too good I wouldnt want it getting rusted and if it isnt in good shape then I would worry about it. Plus I do like the new cars too.