Anybody Pulling Their Hair Out over A 2001 Chevy Tracker?

Well, I am. I own a 2001 Chevy Tracker. It is my first 4-wheel drive vehicle. I love being able to have access to the 4 wheel drive in bad weather, and it sits high enough to take through the field if I have to but the thing is nickel and diming me to death.

Two years ago the timing chain broke. The codes read that there was a problem with the cam shaft sensor. Yep sure was, it was not turning because the timing chain was broke. That said my two brothers and Dad tore the thing down and commenced surgery. They did an excellent job and the thing ran real well (so my daughter says because I never got to drive it after ward). About a year ago it started to run rough and now I can't take it out of the driveway without 3 feet to keep it running (it is a standard and have to keep one foot on the gas all the time, which leaves my left foot to the clutch and brake at the same time). It has no power and when you live in a region as I do where you are either going up or down and there is no flat road this is a problem.

The thing has 135,000 miles on it, which now days really is not that many, but she acts like she has 200,000. I like Chevy. Even my little Daewoo Lanos Hatchback which I might add has an engine light that NEVER goes off, unless something serious happens. The last time the engine light went off in that was when the timing belt broke. So unless the engine light is on in that car I do not dare drive it, and if I am driving it and the engine light goes off I get really scared because it means big bucks.The main problem here is that in NY if the engine light is on you can't get it inspected. Last year my mechanic had the vehicle for 2 months trying to get the light to off long enough to inspect it. The car purrs like a kitten though, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. The Tracker on the other hand will likely kill me and the engine light is not on. Thanks New York State to signing my death certificate over a damn engine light.

Perhaps my family will sue New York State when I kill myself driving a vehicle deemed to be safe by NY, that really is not, but because it will pass inspection it is the only vehicle I will have to drive. The New York State vehicle inspection program is nothing but a scam to fill the coffers, and maybe if more people died and families sued over it they would make the program based on safety instead of politics.

So I guess if you have a unsafe vehicle you have to drive like me because you live in New York State I will look forward to meeting you on the other side to swap body parts and horror stories.

And as it goes....
Deb