The 'RARE' Chevy Optra-SRV at 23000 kms.

carrazy · 22nd March 2010, 13:03

Hello to all my fellow T-BHPians. I would like to take this opportunity to share my experiences and unite all the handful (if any

) of Optra-SRV owners on T-BHP to discuss their rides.

Just for the records, I am a terrible writer. So please bear with me for my novice write-up.

A little background: I have been an auto enthusiast from as long as I can remember. My present garage has an Accord, Lancer, SRV & a Santro parked in it. I sold off my Scorpio, Ikon, Indigo and Wagon-R to make some more garage space and have a lean car-scene for my family.

Current Scene: The car has done almost 23000 kms and my brother’s so-called talent resulted in complete baldness of the stock tyres. So, I recently got new shoes for the car.

Problems so far: Unfortunately, I have been facing a very weird technical glitch in the car. There are some mild but prominent ‘jerks’ on the third and fourth gears every time I drive the car. I have taken it to the service center four times this year itself for the same problem but they could not trace it. What is even more disappointing is that many of the mechanics don’t even recognize the fact that there ‘IS’ a problem

. They all say that it is normal in all Optras, whereas I have driven other Optras and my friends (Optra owners) have driven my SRV and everyone feels that the jerks in my car are quite unusual. Change of spark plugs, cleaning of injections, car scanning, and change of ignition coil have all resulted in a failure to cure the disease. Now, as a last resort the works manager of the service center is calling a technician from General Motors itself to identify and (hopefully) rectify the problem.

Apart from the jerks, there are other refinement issues such as noise from the dashboard, squeaky noise of the plastic moldings on the doors, etc. etc. which I will be taking up later once the main problem of ‘jerks’ gets resolved.

I also got my front suspensions replaced (under warranty) the last time (feb.2010) I went to the SC.

Upgrades & Mods: As I mentioned before, I recently changed the shoes of the car. The stock tyres were 185/65 R14 Goodyear NT-5 on rims with wheel caps. I was looking for some decent alloys and have been active with my research for the right upsize. Finally, after a month long event of discussions and market research I upgraded to 16 inch wheels. The alloys are Lenso SC-08 (DFS) in 16 inches and the tyres I opted for are Yokohama S-Drive 205/50 R16. The tyre tread pattern looks really nice and it is comparatively silent than G3's. The ride has gone firm considerably with bumps and potholes crawling inside the cabin but the looks make up for everything. This is the only upgrade I have done so far.

Next on the list are HID conversion, suspension upgrades, air filter upgrade and an exhaust muffler. I also want to get rid of the scratches on the car and get back the deep black sheen it use to have earlier but don’t know what’s the best way to achieve that. Suggestions regarding the same will be highly appreciated. ICE upgrades will follow later as I am satisfied with the current setup as of now.

Any comments/suggestions/questions are most welcome.

Enjoy the pics.
CHEERS…!!

kraft.wagen · 22nd March 2010, 15:22

Nice car with a perfect alloy to pump up its looks.

Why not try writing a letter to the GM directly for the jerk issue?
Do let us know your driving experience

sammyboy · 22nd March 2010, 15:28

I always thought that the SRV was a really good looking car which suffered due to the stupidity of GM. Congrats of completing 23K kms on it man, hope the issues get sorted out soon.

shantyrocks · 22nd March 2010, 15:36

hey..nice pics and thats a HOT looking car you got there dude!

Abbas · 22nd March 2010, 15:38

Dunno about your writing but the pics are really good.

Technocrat · 22nd March 2010, 15:50

Lovely Car, its one of my favorites, thanks for sharing the pics

Thanks for sharing this report, could also post your overall experience with the car so far, also isnt 23k too less even with hard driving for stock tyre replacement?

p.s. What the red ring in 2 of the pics?

Akshay1234 · 22nd March 2010, 15:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Technocrat

p.s. What the red ring in 2 of the pics?

i think that is there because he was shooting into the sunlight and after editing its become a red ring.

btw - nice car and great choice of rims. it does feel a bit slow stock, an air filter and a free flow would help immensely. also if you could get a remap then nothing like it.

McLaren Rulez · 22nd March 2010, 18:17

What a looker! Shame that GM let this car fail.

torqueyTND · 22nd March 2010, 19:02

This reminds of the mini version of GMC Acadia

cheers

extreme_torque · 22nd March 2010, 19:32

Stunning looking car... again a car ahead of its time resulting in failure.

Guna · 22nd March 2010, 21:22

Probably the best looking hatchback on Indian Roads. Your photography flair is remarkable.

Utopian · 22nd March 2010, 21:39

That is quite a garage carrazy, I must say. The SRV has really some OOMPH factor with those lovely alloys. Its a shame we do not see many nowadays on Delhi roads. The snaps have come out quite well.

Some interior pics would also be welcome

gemithomas · 22nd March 2010, 22:10

great looking car. wonderful choice of alloys.

IF the scratches are minor i guess a polishing and some rubbing compound will do the job. If they are deep you might need a paint job to get rid of it.

james · 22nd March 2010, 22:32

Firstly, the pics are lovely. The first pic makes her look like an suv. Your writing skills arent all that bad! Better than mine atleast!

I had the similar jerking problem in one of our maruti's long ago. It turned out to be a faulty spark plug cable that was causing a spark plug to fire a bit late resulting in the jerking!

brraj · 23rd March 2010, 10:16

Lovely car there, I would have brought one if they had plonked magnum diesel engine.

22nd March 2010, 13:03	#1
carrazy BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 42 Thanked: 59 Times	The 'RARE' Chevy Optra-SRV at 23000 kms. Hello to all my fellow T-BHPians. I would like to take this opportunity to share my experiences and unite all the handful (if any) of Optra-SRV owners on T-BHP to discuss their rides. Just for the records, I am a terrible writer. So please bear with me for my novice write-up. A little background: I have been an auto enthusiast from as long as I can remember. My present garage has an Accord, Lancer, SRV & a Santro parked in it. I sold off my Scorpio, Ikon, Indigo and Wagon-R to make some more garage space and have a lean car-scene for my family. Current Scene: The car has done almost 23000 kms and my brother’s so-called talent resulted in complete baldness of the stock tyres. So, I recently got new shoes for the car. Problems so far: Unfortunately, I have been facing a very weird technical glitch in the car. There are some mild but prominent ‘jerks’ on the third and fourth gears every time I drive the car. I have taken it to the service center four times this year itself for the same problem but they could not trace it. What is even more disappointing is that many of the mechanics don’t even recognize the fact that there ‘IS’ a problem. They all say that it is normal in all Optras, whereas I have driven other Optras and my friends (Optra owners) have driven my SRV and everyone feels that the jerks in my car are quite unusual. Change of spark plugs, cleaning of injections, car scanning, and change of ignition coil have all resulted in a failure to cure the disease. Now, as a last resort the works manager of the service center is calling a technician from General Motors itself to identify and (hopefully) rectify the problem. Apart from the jerks, there are other refinement issues such as noise from the dashboard, squeaky noise of the plastic moldings on the doors, etc. etc. which I will be taking up later once the main problem of ‘jerks’ gets resolved. I also got my front suspensions replaced (under warranty) the last time (feb.2010) I went to the SC. Upgrades & Mods: As I mentioned before, I recently changed the shoes of the car. The stock tyres were 185/65 R14 Goodyear NT-5 on rims with wheel caps. I was looking for some decent alloys and have been active with my research for the right upsize. Finally, after a month long event of discussions and market research I upgraded to 16 inch wheels. The alloys are Lenso SC-08 (DFS) in 16 inches and the tyres I opted for are Yokohama S-Drive 205/50 R16. The tyre tread pattern looks really nice and it is comparatively silent than G3's. The ride has gone firm considerably with bumps and potholes crawling inside the cabin but the looks make up for everything. This is the only upgrade I have done so far. Next on the list are HID conversion, suspension upgrades, air filter upgrade and an exhaust muffler. I also want to get rid of the scratches on the car and get back the deep black sheen it use to have earlier but don’t know what’s the best way to achieve that. Suggestions regarding the same will be highly appreciated. ICE upgrades will follow later as I am satisfied with the current setup as of now. Any comments/suggestions/questions are most welcome. Enjoy the pics. CHEERS…!! Attached Thumbnails
	(2) Thanks

22nd March 2010, 15:22	#2
kraft.wagen BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Cbe <- >Ams Posts: 981 Thanked: 335 Times View My Garage	Nice car with a perfect alloy to pump up its looks. Why not try writing a letter to the GM directly for the jerk issue? Do let us know your driving experience
	() Thanks

22nd March 2010, 15:28	#3
sammyboy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Ggn/Dehradun Posts: 1,842 Thanked: 526 Times View My Garage	I always thought that the SRV was a really good looking car which suffered due to the stupidity of GM. Congrats of completing 23K kms on it man, hope the issues get sorted out soon.
	() Thanks

22nd March 2010, 15:36	#4
shantyrocks BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: thane Posts: 741 Thanked: 6 Times	hey..nice pics and thats a HOT looking car you got there dude!
	() Thanks

22nd March 2010, 15:38	#5
Abbas BHPian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Visakhapatnam Posts: 473 Thanked: 581 Times View My Garage	Dunno about your writing but the pics are really good.
	() Thanks

22nd March 2010, 15:50	#6
Technocrat Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: GTA Posts: 14,765 Thanked: 2,705 Times	Lovely Car, its one of my favorites, thanks for sharing the pics Thanks for sharing this report, could also post your overall experience with the car so far, also isnt 23k too less even with hard driving for stock tyre replacement? p.s. What the red ring in 2 of the pics?
	() Thanks

22nd March 2010, 18:17	#8
McLaren Rulez Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Mysore Posts: 3,465 Thanked: 5,538 Times	What a looker! Shame that GM let this car fail.
	() Thanks

22nd March 2010, 19:02	#9
torqueyTND BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: mumbai Posts: 102 Thanked: 3 Times	This reminds of the mini version of GMC Acadia cheers
	() Thanks

22nd March 2010, 19:32	#10
extreme_torque BANNED Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Melbourne Posts: 4,461 Thanked: 5,534 Times	Stunning looking car... again a car ahead of its time resulting in failure.
	() Thanks

22nd March 2010, 21:22	#11
Guna Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 4,189 Thanked: 4,636 Times	Probably the best looking hatchback on Indian Roads. Your photography flair is remarkable.
	() Thanks

22nd March 2010, 21:39	#12
Utopian BHPian Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: New Delhi Posts: 721 Thanked: 270 Times	That is quite a garage carrazy, I must say. The SRV has really some OOMPH factor with those lovely alloys. Its a shame we do not see many nowadays on Delhi roads. The snaps have come out quite well. Some interior pics would also be welcome
	() Thanks

22nd March 2010, 22:10	#13
gemithomas Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 2,366 Thanked: 143 Times View My Garage	great looking car. wonderful choice of alloys. IF the scratches are minor i guess a polishing and some rubbing compound will do the job. If they are deep you might need a paint job to get rid of it.
	() Thanks

22nd March 2010, 22:32	#14
james BHPian Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Mangalore Posts: 583 Thanked: 650 Times	Firstly, the pics are lovely. The first pic makes her look like an suv. Your writing skills arent all that bad! Better than mine atleast! I had the similar jerking problem in one of our maruti's long ago. It turned out to be a faulty spark plug cable that was causing a spark plug to fire a bit late resulting in the jerking!
	() Thanks

23rd March 2010, 10:16	#15
brraj BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: bangalore Posts: 926 Thanked: 1,316 Times	Lovely car there, I would have brought one if they had plonked magnum diesel engine.
	() Thanks