NHTSA Complaint #10331627 — 2004 CHEVROLET AVEO

INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) MY NAME IS [XXX], I HAVE A 2004 CHEVROLET AVEO LS WITH A 1.6L ENGINE. ON MAY 21 OF 2010 WHEN I WAS ON MY WAY TO SCHOOL LODI CA, TO SACRAMENTO CA, THE THERMOSTAT HOUSING CRACKED. I WAS UNABLE TO MAKE IT TO CLASS AND HAD TO PAY OVER 100.00 DOLLARS TO GET MY VEHICLE TOWED. WHEN I GOT THE CAR HOME I NOTICED THAT THE THERMOSTAT WAS MADE OF A "PLASTIC" MATERIAL. HOW COULD SOMETHING THAT FLOWS COOLANT AND HOLDS SUCH AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE COOLING SYSTEM BE MADE OF "PLASTIC." I THEN DID SOME RESEARCH ON THE PART, AND FINDING OUT THAT THE THERMOSTAT HOUSING HAS BEEN REPLACED WITH A FACTORY CORRECT REPLACEMENT. SO THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME IT HAS HAPPENED TO THIS VEHICLE. MY VEHICLE IS AT 125,000 MILES AND HAS BEEN WELL MAINTAINED, ALL NECESSARY TUNE-UPS, OIL CHANGES, TRANS. FLUID CHANGES, COOLANT FLUSH, PLUGS, ECT. I ALSO KNOW THIS IS NOT THE ONLY AVEO THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED TO MULTIPLE TIMES. THIS IS AN ONGOING PROBLEM FOR THE AVEO. ONCE AGAIN, WHY IS SOMETHING SO IMPORTANT MADE OF "PLASTIC?" I FEEL THAT THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD, FOR EXAMPLE, IF THE ENGINE GOT TO A HIGHER TEMP. THAN IT DID, I WOULD BE LOOKING AT A WARPED HEAD, ARE EVEN WORSE, A CRACKED BLOCK. THAT COULD CAUSE MAJOR DAMAGE AND EVEN A WRECK. I ALSO FEEL CHEVROLET SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY IN THIS POOR JUDGMENT OF A PART. A RECALL SHOULD BE ISSUED AND A BETTER QUALITY PART SHOULD BE USED. I AM NOW FORCED TO REPLACE THIS PART WITHOUT ANY ASSISTANCE FROM CHEVROLET, AND IT IS NOT CHEAP. I AM A COLLEGE STUDENT THAT BOUGHT THIS CAR FOR THE ECONOMICAL AND WHAT I THOUGHT WAS "RELIABILITY" VALUE. IF THERE IS ANYTHING YOU CAN DO I WOULD APPRECIATE IT. I AND A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE WOULD FEEL A RECALL IS DUE FOR THE THERMOSTAT HOUSING. [XXX] *TR