[RW9763]

congrats on your purchase. In the image i noticed you have Michelin tyres, are these standard? One advice on being a Optra Magnum owner, dont void your warranty Optra has a tendency to have problems and you might save lots of money during warranty.

[drive_or_die]

@RW9763

The Michelins are on bharath_ravi's Optra . The stock on my car is Apollo Accelere, check page 1 for pics of my car (I wish GM India gave Michelin as OEM fitment).

[RW9763]

LOL! sorry for the error! Thank god you are saved from the horrors of GoodYear atleast!

[kpzen]

Originally Posted by bharath_ravi

1.Exhilarating Power - The car is a rocket even as a stock car and I have added the Pete's tuning box and I can tell you that the performance is top notch. I have not had any vehicle overtake me on the highway unless I let them overtake me. The Pete's box also gives me the cushion of extra power when I want to overtake in overdrive , I dont need to downshift at all, one tap on the gas pedal and the car just takes off like an airplane leaving everyone behind. City driving is a pleasure too with no turbo lag. I think adding the Pete's box and the Green cotton (Storm) air filter is worth every penny.Go for it!

You have a point and shoot car

How often do you clean the GREEN ?

Originally Posted by bharath_ravi

2. Fuel Pump Failure: Very recently the Engine Malfunction Light came on when I driving in the city. I thought it may just be a temp issue and would go away if I restarted, but the light stayed. I took the car to sundaram and they checked the ECU with their "Tech 2" equipment, lo and behold it was the dreaded fuel pump failure. Thanfully, I have the CPC (Chevy Promise) and I got the pump replaced free of cost the same day.

Can you pls share more details on this.

Was there any other symptom other than engine malfunctioning light ?
What error did the Tech2 equipment show ? Rail pressure was low ?

[bharath_ravi]

Originally Posted by kpzen

You have a point and shoot car

How often do you clean the GREEN ?



Can you pls share more details on this.

Was there any other symptom other than engine malfunctioning light ?
What error did the Tech2 equipment show ? Rail pressure was low ?

Thanks Kpzen

I clean it every 7,000 kms and I've done about 9,500 after I got it installed. I love the TCDI growl it generates. Keep telling my wife to listen to the sweet growl and she gives me this "huh??" expression. hehe.... But I love the sweet sound!


On the Symptoms, of the fuel pump failure. The only noticebale symptom (if you could call it a symptom) was that the car dint start on one crank. The TCDI engine normally jumps to life with one crank and that day when I started out I realized I had to crank twice which kinda raised my eyebrows but as soon as it started it slipped my mind. The same day, when I driving near the Wison Garden Shell pump the ECM light came on. That's when I got a bit worried. I got her filled up but light wouldn't go and the same thing happenned when I tried to start after refuelling- 2 cranks to start. Other than this there no other symptoms.

When they plugged in the "tech2" it showed - "Common Rail Pressure Low" or something like that , you're right. I was aware of the pump failure issue on 2008 models (thanks to teambhp) and I immediately told the SE that this needs to be replaced under warranty and he secretly told me that they had received a circular from GM that the pumps with "blue" sticker are defective and they subsquently have received new "modified" pumps. Thankfully, they had just one piece in stock which was promptly fitted onto my car. I asked the Manager there as to why they(GM or Sundaram) weren't informing owners of this issue, to which he gave me an unsatisfactory answer as usual.

[RW9763]

HEY,

This fuel pump issue is with a lot of Optra Magnums, if you would have gone through another posts about the optra you would have realised this problem. The Goodyear tyres are faulty(you dont need to wry since you dont own them!) There would be a problem with the brakes(hope you are lucky), there would be heavy grating sound followed by which your ABS sign will switch on. This is a problem with the speed sensors.
This car is a solid car in terms of performance and comfort but there are some problems which really irritate you!

p.s. Incase of fuel pump failure your car will stall in the middle of traffic and not always warn you(in my case no warning sign was switched on) and will just refuse to start. So dont overtry and start else you may have some other problem!

[RW9763]

For your info you can visit this thread "Chevrolet Optra Magnum TCDi ... My new love ..!!" which has among the best discussions about the Optra Magnum.

[drive_or_die]

Originally Posted by RW9763

For your info you can visit this thread "Chevrolet Optra Magnum TCDi ... My new love ..!!" which has among the best discussions about the Optra Magnum.

You are right! I visited this and similar threads like "My Maroon Huge Sedan" before finalising on Maggy

Team BHP has been source of great info in purchase process

[drive_or_die]

Hello BHPians,

I have been maintaining low profile for last 4-5 weeks due to additional office load. During this period, Maggy kept complaining as I did not let her unleash on Highways.

During the New Year weekend, it was planned to visit Ooty but I was not delighted with Roads via Mysore. The irritating factors were traffic and senseless drivers on Mysore highway followed by some rough patches till Bandipur. So, the decision was taken to return via Salem, Krishnagiri-> Hosur road.

This was the time when I created fury on Road (quite controlled conditions and keeping stock of other road users) as we got a straight empty stretch to unleash the beast under the hood. Soon, Maggy was doing 180kmph and it was going further but at this moment in relation of Man & Machine, the man (i.e. me) got apprehensive and hence returned to normal speeds of 120-140 kmph.

I enjoyed every moment of unleashing the 2 litre TCDI. The speedo has been captured on video by my co-passenger.

Coming to ownership review at 10k (in 5 months)- Maggy is young as ever and I would say emerging stronger.

One particular issue I noticed, when I drive on rough (in fact very rough) patches, I can hear some rattling. Can not identify the source though. Can it be related to hard rubber compound of stock Apollo Accelere?

Thanks for reading!

-Sorabh
(aka drive or die)

[Highflyer]

Hey Sorabh congrats for your diesel rocket. Do let us know your experience of first servicing. How much is the tyre noise with windows rolled down compared to some other cars you must have test driven? I am also considering going in for maggy but there is likely launch of an upgraded Optra. In a dilemma as of now. Asked for servicing experience because a friend of mine who owns a Linea diesel had to spend 6k for first free servicing.I don't know what was free about it.

[Torquedo]

Hello Drive or Die –

It was a fellow T-BHPian, ‘brraj’ who ignited the Optra Magnum bug in me, that comparison between the Cruze, Sonata & Superb, was about a couple of months back and ever since I have following each and every thread on the Optra on Team BHP.

I have had 3 test drives and here are my initial impressions:

(1) Drive (Performance): Optra is a BLAST, ballistic missile ready to be launched. On one of my test drives, I clocked 185 Kmph, it was not the 185 that really took my breath away, it was actually the ease with which it reached there. Clocking 140 Kmph on a regular basis was like just ball park game for the Optra.

(2) Interiors: Plush, comfy, oozing out quality, I was actually smitten by the overall rich interiors of the Optra. I have test driven both the LT and LS variants, the steering feel on the LS was not all that great. I feel the steering wheel of the LS variant is also shared with the U-VA, which makes me think that GM has taken this sharing parts a bit too far. The horn which located at the center of the steering was also a bit awkward (my personal opinion).

(3) Exteriors: I do agree with you that the alloys on the 2009 model were much better looking, but again I guess someone who is going for the Optra Magnum TCDi in 2011 would be hell bent upon performance rather than exterior looks and other gizmos (steering mounted controls, ACC, etc.) that are being provided. Pardon me all but that’s the way I see the Optra Magnus.

I faced the following issues during my test drive, I would really be thankful to you and any of the Optra owners if they may clarify on my doubts before I take the Magnus Plunge!!

(1) On the 1st test drive, all was well and I was really stunned by the stupendous performance of the car, till this happened:

I was at about 4000 RPM and all was going well, I brought down the RPM’s to about 1500 RPM as I wanted to feel that adrenaline rush again & there went the turbocharger. Did my level best to revv hard and kick in the turbocharger but nothing happened, asked the SE sitting right beside me, but he said he has never come across this issue in the past. I did a restart on the engine and the problem disappeared, but again the moment I crossed the 4000 RPM mark, the turbocharger failed. This was a grave concern for me. I did a few follow up calls with the SE but to no avail.

I did happen to speak to the Workshop manager, he said a replacement of the turbocharger would cost close to about 1.5L and this left me dumbfounded. I just wanted to confirm if any of the fellow T-BHpians have encountered a turbocharger failure on their Optra Magnums?
(2) On my second test drive, while driving at high (120 +) speeds and trying to brake, the entire steering column was trembling, yes, TREMBLING, I had to hold the steering hard to control the Optra. My question again, has anyone faced any such issue in the past?

(3) AC Issue: There is someone known to me (resides close to my place) who owns an Optra, I had a word with him on the Optra, he said the major issue that he had faced once was that his AC stopped working and GM quoted 65K for the entire replacement as repair was beyond their means, again, the question here: has anyone faced AC issues with the Optra?


A few other questions for the fellow Optra owners on T-BHP:

(1) Has the TCDi Max been discontinued?
(2) Average maintenance cost, as in the regular 5K service cost
(3) Any other issues that have cropped up during the ownership?
(4) Any news of GM shelving the Optra Magnum?


Before I shall close, would like to mention that I test drove the Vento TDi yesterday and the feel, surge of the Vento was nowhere close to that of the Optra, in fact the driving position in itself did not go well with me on the Vento, pardon me Vento owners.

I would be thankful if any of the fellow T-BHPians would like to share any comparison tests with the Optra in the recent past.

Optra is a GEM, sadly not well perceived here in India, where I assume the A** and hassle free ownerships are of utmost importance, not denying the fact that it is important but a few bucks spent here and there for owning this GEM is worth every penny spent.

Thanks in anticipation to all, for comments and views.

[drive_or_die]

@Torquedo- I can relate to all your questions as I went through same 6 months back

Your Questions are Valid and let me give a shot to answer 1 by 1 (This will address Highflyer's question as well)

-TurboCharger failure is new to me, I had heard about Fuel Pump failure in past and especially on models prior to 2009. Point to be noted, Fuel Pump failure can be result of Fuel Quality as well. I always use High Speed Diesel from reputed BP filling stations in Bangalore. Moreover, Maggy is Euro 4 compliant, so we need to be careful about fuel quality (Most of new cars in India are Euro 4 even in cities with Euro 3 fuel :-x)
-I understand the issues, you faced during second test drive but I would say it can be specific to test drive vehicle. Rule of Thumb- "Respect the machine & it never let's you down" I still love driving my 10 year old Zen without hassle (it's open secret- regular servicing & attention to anything unusual). So is for Maggy, even not well kept Merc will have similar issues
-AC failure can again happen on any car, keep it regularly serviced & never ignore anything unusual. Things do not go wrong immediately, bigger losses happen due to ignorance to smaller hints
-Max model is discontinued, yes...but you can still get one if available with Dealer
- I have got 3 services done (10k Kms) and total out of pocket expense has been under 7k (all put together). I asked the Service team about estimate on my 4th service and it would be around 3500 (service/Oil Change)+ 1500 (for filter cleaning)
-I doubt, if Maggy is going to stopped in near future as the car has got Euro 4 engine (However, Highflyer mentioned about upgraded version, in my opinion I doubt as Globally the upgrade of Maggy is Cruze)
-I did test drive other vehicles too, found Maggy to be out of League. Cabin noise is not an issue too

Hope I addressed all your questions/concerns.

Happy Motoring! Would be glad to see you in the Chevy Maggy family

[Torquedo]

*** Pardon me administrators, I did post a reply on the message from Drive and Die, but did not receive a confirmation on the message being submitted, hence posting the same reply again, if the previous one has been submitted, request you to kindly delete this one, thank you ***

Thanks a Ton! - Drive or Die.
The responses were crisp and to the point.

You are bang on target about the 2nd test drive vehicle, I too own a 12 year old M800 (my other car is a Swift Vxi) and haven't faced such issue, RESPECT is something if you give, it comes back with due interest.

The reason why I was looking out for the MAX version was, I really want to land up paying for the Maggy Engine, other cosmetic items can be retrofitted, sure I’ll check out the dealers but I really cast a doubt on the availability.

I'm trying to work out my finances, hopefully should be able to join the illustrious Maggy league in the next 2-3 months.

Thanks once again for your responses.

Drive safe and enjoy !!

[Highflyer]

Thanks Sorabh, Cost of servicing seems to be lower than that of a Linea. I am planning my purchase towards April end. Optra is on the top of my list.

[drive_or_die]

@Highflyer- yes the maintenance cost of Chevy cars is perceived high but it really isn't

For my fellow BHPians & readers, I am glad to share that this thread on TBHP has been able to provide feedback about the car to wider audience. In fact, I have been approached by 3 like minded people & they booked Optra in same colour in Bangalore. Now my maggy has same coloured cousins in city

Happy Motoring!
Drive_or_Die
(aka Sorabh Bajaj)