CHEVROLET NIVA test drive since 2002 SUV

The holiday of Neptune

Manufacturer: Ji-Em-Autsovaz
Year of release: November 2002
In operation while driving: Since December 2002
Mileage at the time of the report: 47 thousand km
Previous publications in the journal: 2004, No. 1; 2003, No. 2, 4, 6, 8, 12

A detailed story about the results of long editorial trials is usually timed to round the round numbers on the odometer. But since the joint Russian-American enterprise measured the Chevrolet-Niva resource of 90 thousand km*, and its equator (45 thousand) we defeated the time of Neptune.
Bathing an iron horse
Perhaps one of the most unpleasant incidents that happened to the Niva was the ingress of water into the cylinders of the engine. Recall that this happened in the run of Eurasia-2003 (see ZR, 2003, No. 912), when the most passable of the cars transported participants in the mileage through the water barrier. And although the oil was replaced immediately after the incident, there is reason to think that the negative consequences of swimming still have come. Even then, in the run, the participants noticed that the work of the motor somehow changed. Upon returning to Moscow, the sound was identified occasionally tapped one of the valves.
The malfunction made itself felt episodically, so it is not surprising that the specialists of the proprietary STO, conducting the service of the car after the run (on the 35th thousand), did not hear anything, but they didn’t disassemble. Since then, the car drove another 12 thousand km. An unpleasant sound annoyed more and more often, therefore, at the next planned, then no one had to convince anyone in the need to replace at least one of the hydraulic compensators. The masters changed three compensators, an oil ramp and a chain with a tensioner.
The car had two more expensive operations the second in the history of the machine replacing the rear bumper and installing the right external mirror broken by the hooligans. Both positions, by golly, deserve attention. At first about the bumper.
When for the first time he broke off on a harmless Kochka one of his colleagues, the author scolded his friend. But after only six months, the tricks had a chance to repeat himself. It took a little car with five riders and a very small load in the trunk drove along a large dirty puddle in which the hole was found. Do not understand?
Somehow, a couple of years ago, when the Chevrolet-Niva was in full swing, authoritative testers from the ji-em decided that for better handling, it is necessary to reduce the rigidity of the rear springs, change the diameter of the reptile stability stabilizer, and fix something else. You know, as they say: a brilliant artist makes a careless smear with a brush, and then the whole world is delighted for a long time.
In our case, it turned out differently. There was no time left for full tests, and the car went into the series such as foreigners prompted. Result? The car easier performs high -speed maneuvers on the asphalt, more smoothly overcomes the irregularities of the road with a partial (!) Loading, even a small goat characteristic of the pre -production VAZ 2123 disappeared. But now it is worth it to load the car normally (three people or two plus things in the trunk), the large move of the rear suspension becomes noticeable when driving in any Russian city, not to mention off -road. On the laundry, it develops into a problem. With each large bump, you need to go down slowly, otherwise the loaded ass on soft springs sway to the ground and ... Farewell to the bumper and $ 100.
Well, having outlined the problem, we ask ourselves the question of what to do? For starters, we decided to fasten the traction-linked device from the Samara company Technomaster, and we'll see there. The certified product got up as a glove. From now on, the machine will touch the Earth not with plastic, but with iron.
Now about the mirror. How much do you think it can cost its replacement of 30, 50 or 100 conditional units? Bold, comrades, you are still unlikely to guess. It costs three hundred eighty dollars! And the point is not that they are very expensive for a Russian -made mirror. Just earlier, they were installed on cars in minimum configuration without an electric drive. And now only with that of the old mirrors at the branded station is simply not! So you have to fork out two mirrors at once, a block with buttons and the entire wiring with installation.
Bathing-2
Each box office must have a continuation. I did not expect anything like that from the Niva, so I had to swim unexpectedly, only this time not in the water, but in Tosol.
This happened exactly after overcoming the cherished mark of 45,000. In one of the sluggish Moscow traffic jams, the cooling system electric fan is habitually. Then his song was picked up by the second, which also sometimes happens.
Since a pair of propeller works very efficiently, after 510 seconds they usually fall silent. But then ten seconds are buzzing, twenty are buzzing. As luck would have it, in the last week, the temperature pointer began to junk, then 90 with a little show how it should be, then suddenly 50 C. In general, I urgently leave on the side of the road and lift up the hood.
The couple seems to be not visible, but the expansion tank is empty. I add antipsychot and almost immediately I hear the murmur under the car. Since it was dark on the street, the place of leak was determined only by the touch, the removal pipe from the radiator broke. The one that always leaked to our experimental 23rd field, and then on this, gray. To return the hose to the place, I had to wallow for almost an hour under the machine to remove the powerful engine protection first, then a light mudguard. I put on the hose and bore the clamp again to the touch and, fundamentally important, with a wrench, since it is impossible to get a screwdriver!
Now the clamp is sitting much deeper, it can hardly be seen from under the hood. It turns out that all these 45 thousand km of a thick hose kept on a honest word. The leakage of the abdicing hose is bothering many owners: it is possible that the clamps at the factory are poorly put on precisely because of the impossibility of dragging it out with a screwdriver later.
What is bad
Although on the grate of the radiator of the editorial chevrolet-niva, or, as it was nicknamed, the shniv, a foreign emblem flaunts, readers do not stop asking about the weak places of the car. Do not believe in impeccable joint quality yet.
Chevrolet was assembled better than the old field, and the cars converging from the conveyor are becoming more and more perfect every month (however, the experience of operating the second editorial field, alas, does not confirm for in any way). Talking about some imported quality level is still too early for Schniva for congenital shortcomings.
The most significant for the consumer is disgusting clamps, poor anthers, an unstable quality of assembly and/or manufacturing (emphasize the necessary) transmission components. Including the jerks found on most cars when touching from a place inherited from the old field.
In a personal meeting with representatives of the JI-EMAVSTOVAZ joint venture, I was interested in when the manufacturer would overcome transmission plays. They know about the problem there, but so far there are so many slotted connections from the old field in the car, the problem cannot be solved.
The explanation seems to be logical, but why, for example, UAZ cars (not Pajero, not Lend-Cruster, but only UAZ) problems with backlash in slotted connections do not arise? It is not clear why the manufacturer at least does not normalize the maximum allowable backlash. Then buyers who are unlucky with a specific copy of the car will receive a chance to solve the problem under warranty.
The owner can also encounter a number of minor troubles: opened glasses of the rear doors (apparently from vibrations), sometimes scrolling around the climate control and a very poor standard jack. We hope that someday to the smallest details of a joint venture will reach their hands. In the meantime, themselves.
What walks
The walnut of the main details, of course, depends on the driving style and the general operating mode. But you can focus on such life. Front brake pads serve 2030 thousand km, rear 4560, shock absorbers on average 3050 thousand (however, the first was changed according to the guarantee for the 23rd thousand), the anthers of ball supports and the wheel drives of 2540 thousand on the resource of brake discs or clutch with certainty can be possible Only to say that they do not require replacement for half a hundred thousand.
Wheel bearings sometimes have to tighten between planned what is very unpleasant. At each service, we are changed at least one oil seal, boot or gasket. The clinic belt of the generator (such is no longer installed) normally works only with the simultaneous observance of several conditions. If it is imported, if the pulleys are perfectly even (not everyone is lucky) and if oil, antifreeze, dirt, etc. does not get to the belt or pulleys.
If, after the belt is pulled, he soon begins to whistle again, you should not contact the station with a request to pull up even more, but with the wish to replace the belt and, if necessary, pulleys. Otherwise, it may happen as with our Niva, when I had to change the pump (under warranty). Once again, this applies only to cars of the first year of production, on which the Zhigulevsky belts, which later gave way to Polyclinov.
Oh, these testers
Agree, it would be strange to take an all -resistant car for testing and blow out dust from it. Yes, the car sometimes got it. At least he planted her on the very headlights in the mud, and in the sand, and in the snow. Understanding that the ordinary consumer loads the machine to a lesser extent, everything that is somehow connected with difficult working conditions is written into a separate statement. Or even better I will start three accounting books. This is justified, for example, unnecessary (for run), not provided for the instruction for the operation of the machine. There were also diagnostic works performed solely in order to prepare publications.
So, I called the expenses for planned ones mandatory (see table. 1). There were 87,688 rubles for 47 thousand km of run, of which 63 gasoline thousands disappeared into the atmosphere along with the exhaust gases.
In table. 2 shows the amount of costs that the editors incurred as a result of breakdowns or failures that were not related to severe operation, this is what anyone would face in our place. You can enter them without adventure unscheduled. There are 24,709 rubles.
Finally, in the third table, test expenses (46,762 rubles). This is the misadventures in the rally to Vladivostok, and the elimination of their consequences, and so useful, from the point of view of the author, a thing, like tires corresponding to the purpose of the car. By the way, here I do not propose to follow an example. Off -road tires a thing is very specific. If you do not regularly climb this, you understand it is not needed. Moreover, the next half of the resource will take place on the tires of the standard dimension, since the editorial office, and the author mainly satisfied their interest in the off-road abilities of Chevrolet, and the author ...
And now we will delve into the tables to evaluate the results of more than the annual operation of the car. I highly recommend asking where $ 5500 was gained from the run from the run.

ERROR
In the ZR, 2004, No. 2 in the material, the year of mature was made an error. In the signature to the photo on the p. 174, the muffler of the auto-cargate is called the product from the tenneko-abutomotive. SP JI EMAVSTOVAZ intends to install products from Tenneko on Chevrolet Niva cars, however, the machine shown in the photo was equipped with an auto-consumer product.

Ji-Emavtsovaz reports that
Since February 2004, AvtoVAZ switched to the production of a new gearbox for Chevrolet Niva.
Previously, a package of gears on the secondary shaft during assembly was compressed by one nut, which caused a large axial load on the details of the secondary shaft. Now the locking ring is used between the gear of the reverse and the hub of the synchronizer V of the gear. Thus, part of the effort perceives the stop ring on itself, and the other part of the nut.
A spring washer was introduced between the gear of the reverse and the hub of the synchronizer V of the gear. For planting gear and hubs of synchronizer V, the gearing instead of a whale is used by elementary slots. The same are made on the flange of the shank of the secondary shaft instead of straightforward ones.
The new unit is better than the old one both in terms of performance and noise.

Table 1. Expenses for the service of chevrolet-noves mandatory (47 thousand km)
Work materials sum
rub.
Then 2500 km 3737 2710 6447
Then 15,000 km 2855 2558 5413
Then 30,000 km 4553 1135 5688
Then 45,000 km 4210 2930 7140
Total for planned then 15 355 9333 24 688
AI-92 * 63,000 gasoline
(average consumption
11.9 l/100 km)
Total 15 355 72 333 87 688
* The instruction requires AI-95, the official website of the manufacturer makes it clear that AI-92 is possible.

Table 2. Expenses for 47 thousand. Km is unscheduled
Mileage, cost,
thousand km rub.
Wiper brushes 22 270
Replacing the front
shock absorbers (work) 35 1134 (504)
Headlight adjustment 35 158
Replacing the heater hose
salon (work) 35 454 (378)
Tosol 35 46
Replacement of the position sensor 35 417 (189)
throttle shutters (work)
A set of front gaskets
gearbox 35 56
Replacing front wheels 35 1575
Adjustment of the angles of the wheel installation 35 1260
SHIRRUS ABC 35 1040
Replacing ball supports 35 2205
Replacement of the boom of the drive
wheels (work) 45 638 (580)
Replacing the rear brakes
pads (work) 45 1175 (653)
Replacing the rear brake
cylinder, pumping brakes 45 1197 (675)
(Job)
Parking brake adjustment 45 109
Replacing the indicator sensor
temperatures 45 115 (72)
coolant (work)
Replacing the neck of the fuel tank 45 674 (181)
Repair of the rear washer 45 410 (145)
Replacing external mirrors (work) 45 10 776 (4466)
Type-lord device
(Own work) 45 about 1000
Total 24 709

Table 3. Test expenses
Mileage, cost,
thousand km rub.
Cooper Discoverer STT tires, 5 pcs. 15 13 500
Diagnosis of the chassis and
shock absorbers 23 580
Then 23,000 km (unscheduled)* 23 5000
Balls of ball (4 pcs.) 35 1200
Rear bumper 35 2835
Front wheels 35 11 970
Longeron welding (in place 35 1260
steering mechanism fasteners)
Diagnosis of the chassis and
shock absorbers 35 580
Replacement of the inner door handle
(work) 35 582 (504)
Replacing the generator belt (work) 35 679 (504)
Brake pumping 35 315
Repair of a clothing box 35 504
Rear bumper 45 2835
Replacing hydraulic compensators, chains, 45 4922 (964)
sedative (work)
Total 46 762
Total (Table 13) 159 159
* Conducted before the auto-industry of Eurasia-2003.
Alexander Budkin. Photo: Konstantin Yakubov

A source: The magazine "Driving"