1993 CHEVROLET LUMINA APV Complaints

WHILE TRAVELING ON THE HIGHWAY AT 55 MPH THE ENGINE STALLED WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING ,CAUSING LOSS OF POWER STEERING. THE DEALER DETERMINED, THE CAUSE OF FAILURE WAS A CRACK IN THE ENGINE BLOCK. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *AK

I HAVE RECENTLY EXPERIENCED NUMEROUS PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH MY 1993 CHEVROLET LUMINA APV VAN. SHORTLY AFTER BUYING THE VAN NEW IN FALL 1992 I FOUND THAT THE GAS GAUGE WOULD NOT ACCURATELY REFLECT THE FUEL WHEN NEAR THE BOTTOM 1/4. I REPORTED IT TO THE DEALER TWICE WITH NO CHANGES MADE. IN JANUARY OF 1999, THE REAR TRUNK LID LOCK FELL OF AND AFTER HAVING IT REPLACED, I HAD TO RETURN IT AS THE MECH WAS LOOSE AT WHICH TIME I WAS TOLD THEY NEEDED TO REPLACE THE POWER LOCKING SYSTEM AS THAT WAS THE PROBLEM. ON APRIL 3, 1999, WHILE DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE WITH THE FACTORY INSTALLED CRUISE CONTROL SET, I NOTICED THE SPEED STARTED TO INCREASE. I APPLIED THE BRAKES TO DISENGAGE THE CRUISE CONTROL AND IT WOULD NOT DISENGAGE. I HAD TO USE THE BRAKES TO CONTROL THE SPEED AS I COULD NOT TURN OFF THE CRUISE CONTROL. WHEN I SHUT THE VEHICLE OFF AND RESTARTED IT THE ENGINE BEGAN TO RACE SO I TURNED IT OFF AND HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED IN. THE DEALER SAID THE CRUISE HAD GONE BAD SO I HAD THEM DISCONNECT RATHER THAN PAY $600. TO REPLACE IT. IN THE LAST WEEK I HAVE HAD TWO OF THE SEATBELT RETRACTORS STOP WORKING (FRT PASSENGER AND 2ND ROW LEFT). WHEN I TOLD THE DEALER, THEY SAID THEY COULD REPLACE THEM FOR $400. I FELT COMPELLED TO REPORT THE PROBLEMS SPECIFICALLY THE CRUISE AND SEATBELTS AS THEY ARE SAFETY ISSUES AND THE CRUISE IS POTENTIALLY A HAZARD. THE SEATBELTS MAKE THE CAR LEGALLY UNABLE TO TRANSPORT PASSENGERS UNLESS I PAY $400. TO HAVE THEM FIXED. AND THERE ARE 5 MORE RETRACTORS THAT I SUSPECT MAY FOLLOW THE FIRST TWO. THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST. *AK

AS MENTIONED, OCCASIONALLY, WINDSHIELD WIPER SIMPLY WON'T COME ON - AT NO PARTICULAR TIME, BUT CERTAINLY DANGEROUS ! OTHER TIMES, WORKS FINE. DEALER SAID IT HAD REPORTS OF IT...NOT SURE OF DATE WHEN FIRST OCCURRED, BUT APPROXIMATELY WHERE INDICATED. STILL OCCURS, OCCASSIONALLY...NOT A WARRANTY PROBLEM, I KNOW. DEALER SAID OTHER CHEVS OCCASIONALLY HAVE THE PROBLEM AS WELL...

THE WIRING TO THE RADIATOR COOLING FANS IS NOT CIRCUIT PROTECTED. NO FUSABLE LINK OR FUSE. WHEN THE WIRING OR FAN SHORTS IT CAUSES THE WIRING TO BURN. THIS IN TURN AFFECTS THE WIRING BUNDLE IT RUNS THROUGH AND WILL CAUSE AN ELECTRICAL FIRE. I HAVE SINCE PUT A FUSE IN THE SYSTEM PER THE RATING OF THE FAN AND GAUGE OF WIRING. IT SHOULD BE REQUIRED ON SUCH A HIGH AMPERAGE MOTOR TO HAVE SOME SORT OF ELECTRICAL PROTECTION.

WHILE DRIVING THE VAN AT ANY SPEED, ANY TIME A VALVE SPRING BREAKS. VAN GOES TO A ROUGH IDLE. HEARS A KNOCKING IN THE MOTOR AND THE MOTOR OVERHEATS. THIS HAS HAPPENED TWO OTHER TIMES; 8/11/97 WITH 130,000 MILES, AND 7/15/98 WITH 146,000 MILES. EACH TIME VALVE SPRINGS HAVE BEEN REPLACED BY THE DEALER.

WE HAVE HAD FOUR DIFFERENT SHOULDER BELTS GO OUT ON THIS 93 APV. THE FIRST TWO WERE REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY. SINCE THEN TWO OTHER BELTS HAVE GONE OUT. THE ONLY REASON THE BACK TWO PROBABLY HAVEN'T GONE OUT IS THEY HAVEN'T BEEN USED THAT MUCH. TWO BELTS STILL NEED TO BE REPLACED. THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT FOR 4 BELTS TO BREAK IN A FIVE YEAR OLD CAR. BUT THERE HAS BEEN NO RECALLS ON THIS VAN.

DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH, CARRIER THAT HOLDS SPARE TIRE WAS NOT SECURED PROPERLY, CAUSING IT TO FALL DOWN, WHICH COULD HAVE RESULTED IN AN ACCIDENT. *AK

THE DEFECTIVE DRIVER'S SEATBACK BROKE, CAUSING THE SEAT TO MOVE BACKWARDS UNEXPECTEDLY. *AK

WHILE DRIVING UNDER 40 MPH THE VEHICLE INTERMITTENTLY SHUTS OFF. THE DRIVER RECEIVES NO INDICATION THAT THE VEHICLE IS GOING TO SHUT OFF. THE DEALER HAS REPLACED THE AIR INTAKE CONTROL, THE COMPUTER AND THE IGNITION SWITCH. *AK

THE COVER OF THE STEERING WHEEL POPPED OFF WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN A LEFT HAND TURN. THE COVER LOCKED BETWEEN THE SPOOKE OF THE STEERING AND THE CRUISE CONTROL SWITCH, AND THE STEERING WHEEL COULD NOT BE STRAIGHTENED UP BECAUSE OF THIS INCIDENT. *AK