nullcoding@gmail.com 3 Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 I suppose I'd have more mileage if I did regular local driving in addition to all the highway stuff. 13743 right now. Guess that's a lot for somebody currently without a job to which to drive. Took them close to three hours to replace the PCV valve and all that, apparently because "re-learning the idle didn't take the first time - software glitch." Being from an IT background (and as a programmer), that didn't bother me too much. Not sure if it's just confirmation bias or what, but it does seem to be shifting more smoothly from 1-2 and 2-3, which previously were kinda rough, and it's handling smoothly as well. Funny thing, all these GM recalls...in the waiting area, I was the youngest person there by far. Seemed like mostly elderly people with early 2000s Malibus and Impalas in for airbag replacement (the Takata recall). I like how my jalapeño Spark still gets looks almost everywhere I go. Link to post Share on other sites
elroyjetsn 16 Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Appt, for our Spark number 2 is next Tues. It isn't using too much at this point. But, i'll feel much better when the new grey part is in there... Link to post Share on other sites
badspark 0 Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 so you people still havent figured out that your spark and its motor that was production line produced during a specific date/time might be bad with a cyclinder out of round #4, why dont someone get a compression test done by a certified shop/mechanic and why is the recall not doing a compression test, and another recall serviced in 45 minutes when my daughters took 29 days, cop a clue, there not telling you everything. Link to post Share on other sites
21783mike 17 Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Special Korean oval cutting bits were used to cut the bores on some of the blocks??? Dammitt I better get working on getting that patent on the mower blades that cut square corners before they beat me to it.... Link to post Share on other sites
Retired old Gearhead 201 Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 so you people still havent figured out that your spark and its motor that was production line produced during a specific date/time might be bad with a cyclinder out of round #4, why dont someone get a compression test done by a certified shop/mechanic and why is the recall not doing a compression test, and another recall serviced in 45 minutes when my daughters took 29 days, cop a clue, there not telling you everything. Since tooling the engine block cylinders uses the same tooling hardware and machine it would not be logical to have only one of the 4 cylinders machined incorrectly. Although not impossible, if the block to be machined or the machine itself were not at the correct angle all 4 cylinders would be affected but the cylinder at the greatest angle would be the first or last. In a case like that the cylinder sleeves and pistons would not fit at production pressure and would surely set off some kind of machine tolerance alert. But...assuming the very unlikely event that an engine with incorrect angled or out of round cylinders, sleeves or pistons did make it out, the engine would fail badly after a mile or so assuming it would even start. Link to post Share on other sites
Angrybird12 61 Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 I thought they discovered that it was the PCV valve causing excessive carbon buildup in the #4 Cylinder and that carbon breaking loose was scoring the cylinder or damaging the rings causing the loss of compression, not an out of round cylinder as originally thought. Link to post Share on other sites
elroyjetsn 16 Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 These engines have a comp ration of 10.5 to 1 (and seriousluy detuned} so they must be made to very high standards in order to run safely on 87 oct. (That is of course unless they have an offset crank??? Hmm, that would be very cool! It also means that running high oct alone may give 5 to 10 more HP..... Too bad you can't run E85 with its 98 oct, may give you 100 HP!!!) Anyway,with full synth (DEXOS) oil there is very little carbon to deposit, maybe some silica which is harder (though mostly powder like fine sand) than carbon from usual engine oil deposits? (the major downside of syth oil) Link to post Share on other sites
Angrybird12 61 Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 These engines have a comp ration of 10.5 to 1 (and seriousluy detuned} so they must be made to very high standards in order to run safely on 87 oct. (That is of course unless they have an offset crank??? Hmm, that would be very cool! It also means that running high oct alone may give 5 to 10 more HP..... Too bad you can't run E85 with its 98 oct, may give you 100 HP!!!) Anyway,with full synth (DEXOS) oil there is very little carbon to deposit, maybe some silica which is harder (though mostly powder like fine sand) than carbon from usual engine oil deposits? (the major downside of syth oil) There are more than one type DEXOS oil. A semi synthetic blend and full synthetic. The owners manual says our Sparks take the synthetic blend just like my Camaro does. Link to post Share on other sites
elroyjetsn 16 Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 I suspect that the #4 cylinder issue stems from the placement of the PCV port close to or on the #4 intake port. Retired old Gearhead 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Retired old Gearhead 201 Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 I suspect that the #4 cylinder issue stems from the placement of the PCV port close to or on the #4 intake port. I have the same suspicion as to the #4 issues. With the Spark's PCV routing the #4 is the first in line to fire for what comes out of the PCV. If it is defective and blowing oil the #4 would foul first and #1,2,3 take what is left over, in that order. IMO...#4 runs a little hotter than the other 3 and therefore better suited to burn the gasses from the PCV when operating properly. Link to post Share on other sites
njresler 14 Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 My oil issue has seemed to stop for now. It was never severe but I keep an eye on it. Justin Myers 1 Link to post Share on other sites
KY-SparkOwner 0 Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 2013 Spark LS I have a technical question regarding the 14110 recall. Why does the service bulletin say "clean throttle body"? The connection point of PCV hose, at manifold end, is "past" the throttle body! The intake manifold is what should be cleaned. My Spark was serviced on 12/4 for the following: 13434(a/c low pressure switch), 14110(PCV replacement), and 14456(hood latch). The A/C switch-filter was installed and new wire harness ran correctly. I am having a hard time believing that my PCV valve was replaced, because of the road grime that was covering the spring clamp, securing hose to PCV. My neighbor is an ASE Technician. I asked him to remove the hose between PCV and manifold. When he removed it it was coated internally with oil. Looking down into hose tube on manifold, there is oil standing. Not sure what avenue to pursue. Anyone have any ideas? Link to post Share on other sites
WaltK 305 Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Not much at this point, I would start out by returning to the dealership with a copy of your invoice, and expressing your concerns to the service manager. See what he tells you, and if you get no satisfaction, then it is time to go further lespoole and Retired old Gearhead 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Retired old Gearhead 201 Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 2013 Spark LS I have a technical question regarding the 14110 recall. Why does the service bulletin say "clean throttle body"? The connection point of PCV hose, at manifold end, is "past" the throttle body! The intake manifold is what should be cleaned. My Spark was serviced on 12/4 for the following: 13434(a/c low pressure switch), 14110(PCV replacement), and 14456(hood latch). The A/C switch-filter was installed and new wire harness ran correctly. I am having a hard time believing that my PCV valve was replaced, because of the road grime that was covering the spring clamp, securing hose to PCV. My neighbor is an ASE Technician. I asked him to remove the hose between PCV and manifold. When he removed it it was coated internally with oil. Looking down into hose tube on manifold, there is oil standing. Not sure what avenue to pursue. Anyone have any ideas? The hose from the PCV to the air intake hose was supposed to be replaced as part of the recall since it may be clogged with oil on cars that had the PCV fail before the replacement. Mine had the hose replaced even though the PCV had not failed at the time the recall was done. Link to post Share on other sites
KY-SparkOwner 0 Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 Thanks, WaltK, I plan on contacting the dealership after the holiday. Gearhead, i am most certain that the hose was not replaced either. The work ticket says " R&R PCV AND CLEAN THROTTLE BODY. RELEARN IDLE." I can only assume that "R&R" means remove and replace? The only reason I am just now verifing these repairs is, because yesterday morning when I started up, it had a rough idle for a few seconds, then quickly went away. Link to post Share on other sites
malibuguy 14 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Ours is approaching 29k and im starting to get very concerned. The catch can I installed is filling up really fast. Before it used to be about every 2-3weeks it would get full. Now its less then a week. Going to bite the bullet and have the recall done...one of the techs at the dealer & I used to race together and he is a good guy so i'm not concerned about the work. I more nervous about the car. When it gets full it puffs oil smoke out the exhaust...so my new plugs are probably getting ashy Link to post Share on other sites
Chevrolet Customer Care 25 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Ours is approaching 29k and im starting to get very concerned. The catch can I installed is filling up really fast. Before it used to be about every 2-3weeks it would get full. Now its less then a week. Going to bite the bullet and have the recall done...one of the techs at the dealer & I used to race together and he is a good guy so i'm not concerned about the work. I more nervous about the car. When it gets full it puffs oil smoke out the exhaust...so my new plugs are probably getting ashy Hey Malibuguy, If you are in need of any additional assistance with this into the dealership, please feel free to send me a private message with your VIN, current mileage, contact information and preferred dealership. I would be happy to reach out to them on your behalf. Looking forward to your updates with this! Patsy G Chevrolet Customer Care WaltK 1 Link to post Share on other sites
gypsyangel 0 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Ok ,so does anyone know if the knock sensor "issue" is at the recall stage yet for the 2013's? I have already had the oil consuption issue happen before it was a recall. (They just replaced the spark plugs and a gasket I believe, supposedly my compression test was still ok, despite having been driven with no oil 4 different times thanks to no CEL coming on to let me know there was a problem and the dealer thinking I was an idiot that didnt know how to check the oil and telling me there was nothing wrong with it.) Now according to my dealer, my knock sensor failed and caused my check engine light to come on and my car to sputter several times and try to die on me. Because of mileage I am outside my warranty and I am having to pay to get this fixed. They are telling me its not very common, but that it does happen. However, from what I am seeing online this seems to be a very common issue on this vehicle. Considering there have already been 4 or 5 recalls on this vehicle I think its time to trade it despite the fact that I almost have it paid off and would really like to still have it to run errands etc in. Link to post Share on other sites
WaltK 305 Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 There hasn't been any recalls regarding the knock sensor, but when you took it in for the oil consumption recall, they were supposed to replace the pcv valve, regardless of your compression readings. You need to check into that, as the pcv valve was the rogue part that was the cause of the oil consumption. Retired old Gearhead 1 Link to post Share on other sites
gypsyangel 0 Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Ok I will check that. Thank you Link to post Share on other sites
gypsyangel 0 Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Ok they did replace the PCV valve as well when they did this. I have another question though. They are now telling me that there is quite a bit of carbon build up (of course this is probably going to cost me more money to get fixed) Can this oil consumption issue have caused abnormal carbon build up? Link to post Share on other sites
WaltK 305 Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 It's possible that some carbon or sludge could have built up. Link to post Share on other sites
gypsyangel 0 Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Thank you Link to post Share on other sites
Angrybird12 61 Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 I think the carbon should have been cleaned as part of the PCV valve recall, also if your work was done before the actual recall then they may have put in the old style valve instead of the new one. Also some dealers actually had some in stock and went ahead and used the old valves they had instead of ordering the new style. You should have them check the part number of the new one against the one they installed in your car. Link to post Share on other sites
deal4412 0 Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 New to the forum but found this thread when I was searching in Google for the symptoms my wife's 2013 spark was experiencing. The other day we were on the expressway and the car suddenly lost power and I had to literally push the accelerator to the floor to barely maintain speed. The CEL and traction control indicators quickly flashed on the dash and the vehicle began to shake as I pulled off the expressway. I attempted to restart the vehicle as I had done in the past to fix the issue it has with not shifting out of first, but no luck. Immediately after restarting the vehicle idled very roughly and all the indicator lights remained on the dash (CEL and traction control). To make a long story short, we had the vehicle towed back to the dealership, and the service rep told us we needed a simple tune up and fuel clean service. This didn't seem right to me, but I went along with it assuming the plugs became fouled because of the PCV valve. After this service was completed, the tech called us and told us that cylinder 4 was still missfiring, and the compression was checked and had a PSI of 30. I'm still waiting to hear back from them regarding the needed repairs but I will keep you guys updated. I definitely appreciate all the information posted on this thread, as its been helpful in determining the issue I've been battling with. Needless to say, my Chevy Avalanche with 200,000 miles seems to be more reliable then my wife's spark with 46,000....lol. Link to post Share on other sites
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