why luminas suck

[Gauchoy2k]

I bought my 99 lumina back in april and so far it has been great.
I use it as my work car and do about 60 miles a day on average.
I had a leak of coolant i smelled but couldnt find so i use some of that cooper dust stuff and it sealed it and i don't smell it anymore.
Great on gas, so far so good. it currently has 42k. I hope to get to 150k and i would have got my 4k out of it.

[tblake]

wow, awesome price for a relatively brand new car.

[cassam]

Ya just a great vehicle (not). 85,000 miles on 96 apv. Replaced engine, cracked block, ac doesn't come on anymore, crappy door locks not working, brake rotors completly shot, plastic dash crap falling apart, various other things no longer work. I will never buy US made vehicle again. Had a Honda, 350,000 miles on it, everything still worked including a/c and all options. Want quality? Don't buy Chev, Ford, Dodge or any other POS made in North America. I'll take Toyota or Honda over any of the above

[RotorBalls]

My 90 lumina has 95,000 miles on it and the brakes have been replaced twice prior to 80,000 and right now are needing a third change. Also the struts have gone out twice and are needing new ones again now.

[tblake]

I wnt through a few brake jobs on my 90 lumina also, but, think about it, its the 1st year cheavy made the lumina, so they havn't had any time to fix the bad stuff. Better 3 brake jobs, than 3 tranny's. Oh' ya, my 1990 had 235,000 on it when I sold it.

[RotorBalls]

Is there any recommended aftermarket replacements brands for struts and brakepads?

[kevinb70]

autozone or whatever *lifetime warranty* brake shoes.

i go thru a ton of them! well not that bad anymore, I had always had problems with wear on one edge of my driver side brake rotor. Wound up getting it ok by replacing the rotor and caliper. It may be a bit expensive, but I recommend replacing your caliper when you change your pads (or every other time). $10-14 apiece. And always get your rotors turned.

As far as struts, no recommendation from me. My right side blew out at 40,000 after a cross country trip pulling a trailer to CA - leaked fluid. Then around 110,000K started getting clunky again. So I wasn't that good a judge of a quality strut. I would like to get a diff kind of strut or spring to stiffen up the ride a bit.

[drafuse]

1997 Lumina 3.1 with 200km. Piece of crap. I bought it three years ago with 70km on it and it looked and drove like new. Since then:

Steering Rack.
Steering pump.
AC Compressor.
AC Condensor.
Head Gaskets.
Intake Gasketes.
Several Alternators.
Damn Visor Clips.
Back windows don't work anymore.
Dark blue paint peeling like a week old sunburn.
Motor shutters at 80km/h and the dealer has no clue how to fix it.

I have held out buying a Japanese or European car, but Chev definately dropped the ball on this piece of crap and it is time to look at alternatives. I think that they are currently making cars that work fine for the 3 year lease, then fall apart after that. Second owners are second class citizens in the eyes of GM and they could car less about long term durability.

[kevinb70]

about the back window. My left side quit working to. I rewired it and it works fine now. I basically soldered two wire traces together and now the window will go up. I have no idea what went wrong, only that it works now.

[impoverishedcook]

I've been driving my '92 Lumina for 6 years now, purchased used and it still runs like new. Has a few electrical/cosmetice issues, but nothing important. If I ever have to get another car, it'll be a chevy for sure.

[DYI]

[quote=sysopt]For my 96 lumina, this car has serious electrical problems:

switch for door lock failed


WHAT DID YOU DO TO REPLACE THIS? MY DRIVERS SIDE POWER CONTROL DOESNT WORK BUT THE REST DOES WHEN USING THE REMOTE SWITCH/

[Manny_boy]

If you want good aftermarket pads, Autozone carries Performance Friction pads (about $35.00 per set). I love them. NO, and I mean NO heat fade, and they stop good in wet weather.

[kevinb70]

[quote=DYI]

Originally Posted by sysopt

For my 96 lumina, this car has serious electrical problems:

switch for door lock failed


WHAT DID YOU DO TO REPLACE THIS? MY DRIVERS SIDE POWER CONTROL DOESNT WORK BUT THE REST DOES WHEN USING THE REMOTE SWITCH/

I had to replace my driver side door lock switch because my car alarm often tries to lock/unlock my door when I'm trying to open the door (partly my fault for not waiting)... i know if you are pulling on the inside door handle when the hitting the Unlock door switch, it will eventually break the switch. I picked up a new door lock switch from the dealer and was quite easy to replace.

[mporsche911m]

I’ve made a decision of buying Lumina SS next year (2006), (where in my country there are four types of Lumina: LS, LTZ, S and SS) but after reading what all of you wrote, I’m having another thought. So can you please help me why I should buy it or should not, where I don’t know much about cars, but at least I can say which car look nice and which don’t.

[poslumina]

yeah brakes are crap for sure, have had to replace rear pads twice, a new rotor, now needs both rear calipers and pads, and the front needs new pads, haven't even had the car probably 6 months