Is Chevrolet Captiva reliable

G

Gotham

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A friend of mine wants to buy a Chev Captiva 2007/2008, so he wanted to find out if the car is reliable, I have seen a couple of them on the road and their presence has been increasing but when going through forums for SUV recommendations I dont see them being recommended. Does anyone drive one or know anything about the Captiva as far as reliability is concerned and probably its maintenance, is it expensive to maintain?

Other SUV recommendations are welcome, he wants a seven seater but not the Fortuner.
 
I dont know too much about the Captiva (driving comfort, maintenance, etc.) but I know two people that own them, and one thing I can assure you about the car is that it is reliably thirsty - fuel usage is significantly higher than other SUVs in the price range...
 
I also know of someone that had one. Fuel pump and Aircon compressor was replaced and its HEAVY on petrol.
 
Family friends have the new one, so not sure about reliability since its still new. But that 2.4 is ridiculous on petrol, and abit underpowered for my liking. The gearbox is also not very smooth...
 
I too have heard of the 2.4 being a bit of a gas guzzler. It shouldn't give any hassles in terms of reliability but a good used Tucson/Sportage would be a better bet overall although you wont be getting 7 seats :/
 
Speaking of Captivas… I never realised how difficult it could be to get spares for it. My bendix went on my recently purchased 2009 2.0l diesel and trying to get a replacement starter motor elicited a 4-6 week wait from Chevrolet and there was no chance whatsoever of just sourcing a replacement bendix. In the end the dealer who I purchased the car from managed to find a replacement bendix from the manufacturer in Korea but I've got to wait 1-2 weeks even for that (it's currently stuck in customs).

Just for my own edification is a failing bendix a possible indication of a bigger problem that might haunt me down the line?
 
bwana said:
Yeah - I had a :wtf: moment when they told me too. :)

Wiki says…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bendix_drive
Click to expand...

Heh... a wiki of 'bendix' on its own leads to a history lesson on the innovation of ABS, so I was proper confused. And, purely for interest, a quick scour of wiki's article on starter motors does make it seem likely that your mechanic is still stuck in a prior era. I feel better now...

Starters fail; I wouldn't let it cause me undue concern. As for parts availability: if it doesn't say 'Corolla' or 'Polo' on the back you can expect the odd wait. The vast majority of vehicles on our roads are imports, and not all parts will be available on local soil at all times. Sucks, but it is what it is.

Also, Captivas suck ass, but that bit of wisdom comes too late for you. :p
 
HapticSimian said:
Heh... a wiki of 'bendix' on its own leads to a history lesson on the innovation of ABS, so I was proper confused. And, purely for interest, a quick scour of wiki's article on starter motors does make it seem likely that your mechanic is still stuck in a prior era. I feel better now…
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Why do you say that? :confused:

HapticSimian said:
Also, Captivas suck ass, but that bit of wisdom comes too late for you. :p
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Apart from the parts issue I love driving the thing, in fact as far as I'm concerned it's a nicer drive than any of the other SUVs we test drove.
 
bwana said:
Why do you say that? :confused:
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Because, if you give the article linked to a once-over, you'll see that 'bendix drives' in starter motors were systematically phased out starting in the 60s. It's thus quite unlikely that your Captiva uses anything of the sort, and rather less so that whoever made the diagnosis spoke in antiquated terms.

bwana said:
Apart from the parts issue I love driving the thing, in fact as far as I'm concerned it's a nicer drive than any of the other SUVs we test drove.
Click to expand...
Horses for courses; if it ticks the boxes important to you then so be it. Driving a V6 auto a few years back just left me thinking it's a lazy, cumbersome guzzler that isn't particularly well put together. A bit of a Daewoo... Admittedly that might not translate wholly to the diesel.
 
Quite a few mechanics would use the generic Bendix term when it comes to starter motors.

I remember rocking our Ford in gear in order to "unstick" the bendix - very weak point in the starter motors pre 1970.
 
Fazda said:
Quite a few mechanics would use the generic Bendix term when it comes to starter motors.

I remember rocking our Ford in gear in order to "unstick" the bendix - very weak point in the starter motors pre 1970.
Click to expand...

I am - happily or sadly, dependent on one's perspective - not old enough to know a starter by any other name. :o
 
HapticSimian said:
Because, if you give the article linked to a once-over, you'll see that 'bendix drives' in starter motors were systematically phased out starting in the 60s. It's thus quite unlikely that your Captiva uses anything of the sort, and rather less so that whoever made the diagnosis spoke in antiquated terms.
Click to expand...
According to your wiki it was replaced by the Bendix Folo-Thru drive - perhaps the mechanic was just being lazy when he referred to it as just a bendix?

Anyway it's the thingy that pops out to engage the other thingy that makes the engine start going vroom-vroom.
HapticSimian said:
Horses for courses; if it ticks the boxes important to you then so be it. Driving a V6 auto a few years back just left me thinking it's a lazy, cumbersome guzzler that isn't particularly well put together. A bit of a Daewoo... Admittedly that might not translate wholly to the diesel.
Click to expand...
It was the only thing that came close to ticking the right boxes, at least in my price range.
 
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bwana said:
According to your wiki it was replaced by the Bendix Folo-Thru drive - perhaps the mechanic was just being lazy when he referred to it as just a bendix?
Click to expand...
Yes, in the 60s, and subsequently those were replaced by overrunning clutches. But enough on the minutiae...

bwana said:
It was the only thing that came close to ticking the right boxes, at least in my price range.
Click to expand...
Diff'rent strokes... if everyone's boxes and budgets were equal, we'd all be driving the same cars.
 
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