About a year ago I bought a very low mileage 91 Geo Storm (the title says Chevy Storm lol?)

I have the single cam 1.6 engine in it. Is this a reliable car mechanically? It has a weird problem that comes and goes sporadically, If I drive it for more than an hour , it all of a sudden feels like someone unplugged my spark wires. If you turn the car off then on the problem goes away. Is this a sensor problem? I have no check engine light or nothing on.

Other than that the car is a great daily driver and has been extremely reliable. I want to know if anyone has experience with the Isuzu Impulse / Geo Storm and know if its a reliable car?

not that it matters but this is exactly what mine looks like, I like the semi flip headlights, I also heard the windshield is interchangeable with Fieros

[This message has been edited by DanDamage (edited 03-03-2013).]

quote Originally posted by DanDamage: I also heard the windshield is interchangeable with Fieros

True, but then it is also prone to catch on fire, .
I had a Geo Metro, same engine, about the same year. In answer to your question, it was very reliable till I traded it for my first Fiero. The Metro had about 150k when I traded it and still got north of 43mpg. If someone unplugged your spark plug wires, all three of them, it would not run, .
I would say bad wires, perhaps with a heat related failure. Next suspect would be the distributor cap. Check your grounds also.

Weren't Metros a 3 cylinder, maybe about 1000 CC? I think the Storm was out of production before Metros got a 4 banger, and that was a Suzuki motor. The storm is a rebodied Isuzu Impulse, I bought one new in 91. It was extremely good. At 228K when I got rid of it the car still had the original clutch, fuel pump, starter, alternator, water pump. We went thru some struts and several sets of brake pads. Mileage averaged North of 35 MPG. It's a hundred HP motor, they had a 16 valve version with about 130 HP. I remember needing a spark plug socket with thin walls for one plug, may have been a casting quirk on the block.

[This message has been edited by weaselbeak (edited 03-03-2013).]

I had a 91 geo storm that I loved and I really regret ever getting rid of that car, but it had 179k on it and I was ready to move to a truck. I will say that the only problem that mine ever gave me was what sounds like the exact same issue you are having. I would drive and then all of the sudden the car would just shut off and then if I waited a min or gave it a squirt of starting fluid it would fire back up every time until the next shut down. I would bet that you have a failing ignition module which if I recall was very cheap to replace and took only a few minutes.

OK thanks everyone.

Like someone above stated, mine is a 4 cylinder Isuzu motor , the Geo Metro had a 3 cylinder Suzuki motor. Luckily my storm just has 79k and runs like it except for the module/ wire problem it may behaving

I'm actually selling my 92 Geo Storm after buying a fiero!
My 92 has the 1.8 DOHC engine. Unfortunately an automatic which isn't nearly as fun as the Manual shift.
I went big with the fiero purchase though.
Supercharged 3800 in an 85 SE.

I had a 92 Storm back aroind 01 or 02....those things are a BLAST to drive--when its dry out. Its an ignition module/ ignition system thing, but in a heave fog or after a heavy rain it gets wet and it will crank all day but not fire up. Get used to taking taxi's based on weather.

Never had these problems with mine at all.

The Geo Metro/Chevy Sprint were rebadged Suzuki Swifts. they had both the 1.0 3 cyl and the 1.3 4 cly motors. the Geo Storm was a Rebadged Isuzu and the Geo Prism was a Rebadged Toyota Corolla. I guess after the Monza/Vega GM decided to buy the better model Foreign cars and put new badges on them rather then develop their Own. I had a 91 Metro that ran like the dickens!! With 136k on the clock i paid $350 for it including new set of 4 12" tires! Ran it for over 2 years and got 42 MPG no matter how i drove it. wish i still had it. The Rebuild kits including new pistons are only like $200 and it is a motor you can pull without a hoist and clean all the parts in the dishwasher :P I will have another one in the future. Hybrid MPG without the Price tag!

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Wow a lotta Geo Stormers in here.

Jimmy, do you remember how the 1.8 felt? I see it has about as much HP as an Acura Integra. My 1.6 Storm is an automatic also but I think it has some pep to it because its such low milage.

Midengine Maniac, for some reason my engine wont start and just cranks unless I "prime" the ignition and send a lot of fuel into the motor before cranking it, no matter the weather. If the engine is warmed up though it cranks up instantly.

I wont ever admit to street racing, but lets just say the 1.8 on a stick whoops a V-6 camero's azz off the stoplight

You non-start when cold sounds like a weak spark to me. check the system that nothing is grounding out or arcing, check plug gap/ type....after that just start testing/ changing parts one-by-one until its solved. ....with mine it took me forever to figure out what was going on with it, and same as fiero's I learned to carry WD40 for moisture displacement and a couple spare modules.

Cool thanks for the quick response. I tried to positive you but it wont let me.