oil consumption - program code 14110 - pcv valve

[Greg_E 211]

Just a note... If you get a chance to see the printout from this work you may notice that it says it is in some way restricted which is why Patsy hasn't posted the actual program information. Since it isn't a safety recall they don't really need to be too specific to the general public.

I'd like to think they would look at the cylinders to make sure the carbon build up hasn't damaged anything inside the motor, but I somewhat doubt this is one of the checks and cleanings.

[Angrybird12 61]

I am hoping since I only have 5200 miles on mine and have not seen any oil consumption mine will still be clean. I hope since we have a 60,000 mile emissions warranty if the new valves start doing the same thing it will be covered again.

Edited August 19, 2014 by Angrybird12

[austex04 48]

Mine just had the cel flashing and traction control light on while missfiring very bad for the first 30 seconds after starting it after sitting overnight, it went away on its own. It goes to the dealer next week for the recall anyway, so I'll bring it up.

Update: I used my code scanner, and I got cylinder 4 missfire as a stored code. I also checked the oil after a 300 mile trip, appears it burned almost a quarter qt of oil. I also noticed it lost some power. I wonder if I also got the cracked intake valve issue? 31K miles now

Edited August 20, 2014 by austex04

[Greg_E 211]

No CEL but mine is getting harder to start, normally takes several seconds before it lights and it used to be pretty much immediate back about 12,000 miles ago.

[Dori 13]

Parts for some reason on this do come in fast. I have an appointment tomorrow morning to bring mine in and decided to call the dealer this afternoon to confirm they had received the part in just under a week. Sure enough, they stated they receive it last night. i asked them if it was a new designed part and not the same one that is recalled and of course they said it was a new designed one. I was told last week when i found out about the warranty that the recall information informs the service department to pull all spark plugs to ensure they are not damaged and replace if needed. It also said that the idle will be re tuned as well as a thorough inspection of the engine will be done. Unknown if this thorough inspection includes looking inside the cylinders to inspect for carbon build up and/or engine sludge. Guess I will find out…

On a side note, my vehicle backfired yesterday…. I thought that was a little odd since no one on here has brought this up. Was just about to round a sharp corner and pushed in the clutch and “POP” comes from the rear end. Sounded just like a back fire, but not as loud as you usually hear. Then again I’ve never been inside a vehicle when it has back fired.

[ctasmith 1]

The parts for mine came in too, but they are very busy with recalls for many cars so my appointment is setup for 8/28, which is fine with me. They told me that they would need half a day to do all the required work, so it's not a quick fix. I am happy knowing the parts are in and it will be fixed in a week.

I really hope this will fix/prevent the oil consumption issues we see on this board.

[Greg_E 211]

I'm 100% certain that my local dealers would not check anything inside the engine that wasn't spelled out in perfectly clear commands in the bulletin! If they were going to do that they would have already done it when it was in last time and they had to put another quart of oil in. I've said it before and I'll say it again... The warranty is only as good as the service centers around you, and other than the AC recall they have only been good for oil changes.

[Jwyrick 0]

Sorry, posting this on two threads hoping for responses. Also, I was mad enough that I had a few typos on the other thread, hopefully fixed here:

Been lurking for a few weeks, now I'm mad enough to post. After the disaster that was the ac recall for my wife's 2013 spark, we took a trip to Chicago (about 600 miles one way). On the drive back, the check engine light came on and the car started to drastically lose power. We were able to get the car back home, but about 10 miles from the house the low oil light flashed on for a few seconds, then back off.

When I pulled into the driveway, I checked the oil and there was none on the dipstick at all. I immediately googled chevy spark low oil and found this site.

Hoping it might avoid the oil consumption test, I drove the car immediately to the dealership. The three weeks that have followed have been a NIGHTMARE. And now we are in the oil consumption test club, although with a replaced pcv valve.

Does anybody have the specs on what the cylinder compression should be on these ecotec engines? My dealership says they performed a compression test, but could not give me the measurements from each cylinder, just said everything was within tolerances (then put a range of psis that they supposedly fell between).

I have a strong suspicion plugs were never pulled and no compression test has been done. I actually think they might have looked at the wrong specs to pencilwhip the numbers, which would prove, to me at least, that they are falsifying service reports. If anyone has the correct specs for cylinder compression, I would really appreciate it.

I can't believe we have to do the oil consumption test - we have had every oil change done at the dealership, and it should be obvious the car is burning too much oil when a trip to Chicago and back leaves it dangerously low on oil.

My other question, and this is for the GM customer service people that read these --- what inspections are performed after a customer fails the consumption test that aren't performed before? Is it really worth this much customer dissatisfaction to not just go ahead and check components that are, by this point, known to be faulty?!?!

[WaltK 305]

According to MSN, it is 10.5 to 1 http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/spec_engines.aspx?year=2013&make=Chevrolet&model=Spark&trimid=-1

After rereading your post, I realized it was not the compression ratio, you were looking for, sorry..

Edited August 22, 2014 by WaltK

[WaltK 305]

This link may give you some answers... http://www.carcomplaints.com/Chevrolet/Spark/2013/engine/excessive_oil_consumption.shtml

[Jwyrick 0]

Walt, thanks for the link, but I couldn't find any actual numbers for the "correct" cranking compression. This is my question: if I pulled the plugs myself and hooked up a compression tester, what readings would be acceptable?

[Jwyrick 0]

For instance, in one of the posts in the link you provided, a guy mentioned they would replace the engine if the compression in cylinder 4 was less than 80 psi. What "good" compression psi is this based off of?

[WaltK 305]

For instance, in one of the posts in the link you provided, a guy mentioned they would replace the engine if the compression in cylinder 4 was less than 80 psi. What "good" compression psi is this based off of?

From what Ive read, about 110 psi. There is not really much out there regarding compression.

[Greg_E 211]

And even if you do this, the dealers and Chevy will believe you did it wrong in order to try and scam them. Basically you are screwed, welcome to the consumption club.

[Jwyrick 0]

My guess was about 110-120 psi as well after reading about everything. On my service sheet, they said "all cyl. in spec within less than 14% 148-151 psi."

That seems very high to me, almost like they looked at the wrong engine specs to pencilwhip a compression test.

[WaltK 305]

Although high, those numbers are not really excessively high, the rule of thumb used to be a baseline of at least 135 psi. I am just thinking out loud, unfortunately there is nothing out there to reference what is considered normal for the Spark. Strange, how little information is actually available, for a car that is being sold in the American market for a few years now.

[Greg_E 211]

On an engine this size I would expect 120psi or so because each piston isn't that large and the compression isn't that high. A 14% variance is a bit big though and I would expect lower limit is about 90psi to 100psi and would hope only a 10% or smaller variance between cylinders. That 10% would make a good shake in the car.

The lack of information comes from the price of the service manual and the fact that mine was stolen from the steps at my house

[Jwyrick 0]

Greg, would you agree that 148-151 seems unreasonably high?

[Greg_E 211]

200 would be high, but 150 seems outside of my guess for the low force rings used in these engines. It could be that high so I don't want to come right out and say they are making it up. Really need a service manual to know, or a friend that has access to Chevy info or one of the third party data systems that some independent shops use.

[malibuguy 14]

Whoa...now I know cam timing affects this...but any modern motor should be around 200. I had an old 267 that still gave me 175 and that only had like 8.3:1 compression.

Ive ordered a better catch can for ours and im waiting on a smaller adaptor so I can compression test and leak down test ours

[Chevrolet Customer Care 25]

The parts for mine came in too, but they are very busy with recalls for many cars so my appointment is setup for 8/28, which is fine with me. They told me that they would need half a day to do all the required work, so it's not a quick fix. I am happy knowing the parts are in and it will be fixed in a week.

I really hope this will fix/prevent the oil consumption issues we see on this board.

Best of luck with your dealership visit, ctasmith. Please let us know if any further assistance is needed. We'd also love to hear any feedback you may have after your visit. Please don't hesitate to contact us!

Kristen A.

Chevrolet Customer Care

[powel01k 2]

Have an appt. on Sept. 9th for the repair will update on how it went after.

[WaltK 305]

Mine is going to be done in the morning. (Fri.), if there is anything of interest done, beside the valve, I will post back.

[ctasmith 1]

Picked up my car today after getting the 14110 repair done. They replaced the valve and also checked the throttle body (which was clean). In addition they looked for any error codes (none were found).

Car seems to be driving just fine after, just like before. I have only driven about 50 miles since getting it back.

Everything went very smooth and all the work was done exactly as promised and finished on time. The new dealer I went to this time was much better than the previous and I will be doing any future work on my car. They were much more polite, professional and organized. The parts were ordered and delivered in two days, then the dealership called/emailed me to let me know the parts were in and to set an appointment time. Dropped my car off in the morning and picked it up around 1:00pm. This was a much better experience than the previous AC recall.

Everything went very smooth for me and I hope it does for all of you. If you are having a hard time getting parts/service it might be worth looking into a new dealership, it made a huge difference for me. I wanted to say thanks to Kristen and the other Chevy customer reps on this board, anytime I have a concern or issue they get back to me asap.

[WaltK 305]

Brought mine in around 9 this morning, and picked it up at lunch. As the above message states, all went smooth, the invoice reads, replace pcv valve, clean throttle body, and relearn idle.

Part # for the pcv is, 25193675.