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Loved my 2014 Spark and decided to trade it in on a 2015 Spark with more features earlier this year. 2 days in to having the car, it was taken in because it wouldn't accelerate when on the highway.  The dealership ended up replacing the flywheel.  Most of my driving is local and highway (55mph & higher) is usually 20 minutes or less.  First extended travel on highway, 30 minutes into the trip, the car decelerated on inclines and would not accelerate in a normal manner that would be considered safe. Took the car to the dealership and they found nothing on diagnostics. Told me to use "Premium Gas" as they thought maybe I had bad gas. Did that for the past 7 weeks. Headed out on a trip to Vermont on NYS I-90 on Friday.  30 minutes into the trip, car starts decelerating on inclines and no matter what I do acceleration is practically non-existent. Stopped at a rest area, called dealership, they said get it back to them by 5:30pm. After the car rested for 10 minutes had no problem accelerating to 65mph to get back on I-90. Less than 5 minutes same issue. To make a long story short, got the car to the dealership. Today they tell me they can't find a problem with the car as diagnostics doesn't show anything.  I told them they need someone to go on a trip at highway speeds for 30 minutes or more and I can guarantee they will experience the issue. This car only has 3800 miles on it. I've been searching for any clue as to what might be going on with it.  Has anyone here experienced this?

Edited by Sparkette
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No modifications.  Automatic. Today I was told by the dealership and handed paper that this is normal operating conditions for the CVT7 engine and that the car is "learning" my driving habits. Sure didn't have this problem with my 2014. Next step is to do another trip on a less busy highway and then videotape the instrument panel when this occurs as the RPMs, upon acceleration won't go past 3000. I just can't believe this is "normal". 

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Well my experience isn't much better Chevrolets service departments are clueless when it come to the spark my first 2 oil changes were a quart past the full mark this happened at 2 different dealers  my transmission shudders and jerks I've complained several times with only to be told it's working as designed lol my patience with Chevrolet is about over . It's really too bad I like the car love the gas mileage but the transmission is complete junk ,Chevrolet should be ashamed of the way customers are being treated . This trans issue is being brushed off 

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Took the car back in last night along with videos. The Service Manager had told me it would be safe to take a trip to Vermont. My gut said no, so we did a test run. In the first 20-25 minutes of driving the car drove beautifully and had no problems passing. Right after 25 minutes even on the slightest incline MPH would drop and engine wouldn't go past 3000 RPMs. Husband videotaped it, we got off of the expressway and turned around to take it back to the dealership.  We even took a video of trying to get back on the expressway and showing that we couldn't even get up to speed with the tractor trailer that was in front of us.  Took about 5 minutes to get up to the highway speed of 65 MPH. Showed the videos to the Service Manager, they gave a us a loaner and said they were going to get a trany expert in.  Not sure if anyone else experienced this, but before the performance of the car really really deteriorates, the engine gets extremely loud and then goes totally quiet. I've yet to experience any bucking, shuddering or jerking. More to come....but I am not accepting that this is normal behavior for any car.

Edited by Sparkette
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20 hours ago, Sparkette said:

Took the car back in last night along with videos. The Service Manager had told me it would be safe to take a trip to Vermont. My gut said no, so we did a test run. In the first 20-25 minutes of driving the car drove beautifully and had no problems passing. Right after 25 minutes even on the slightest incline MPH would drop and engine wouldn't go past 3000 RPMs. Husband videotaped it, we got off of the expressway and turned around to take it back to the dealership.  We even took a video of trying to get back on the expressway and showing that we couldn't even get up to speed with the tractor trailer that was in front of us.  Took about 5 minutes to get up to the highway speed of 65 MPH. Showed the videos to the Service Manager, they gave a us a loaner and said they were going to get a trany expert in.  Not sure if anyone else experienced this, but before the performance of the car really really deteriorates, the engine gets extremely loud and then goes totally quiet. I've yet to experience any bucking, shuddering or jerking. More to come....but I am not accepting that this is normal behavior for any car.

Nice logical work to get this issue resolved...videos always excellent as proof and a visual aid to the techs who, no doubt will relay the info to GM Dealer Tech Services Dept.

     To me it sounds like a case where the tranny controller is not finding the right gear (ratio) for the speed and conditions...pretty well identical to all cases I have heard of. Since the car is low mileage almost new, no doubt GM will authorize a new tranny and or controller since it is cheaper than have the techs try this and that at expense to GM HQ not to mention more bad posts, word of mouth that could cut into sales of the Spark and in fact other units as confidence in the CVT falls, whether the particular model of the CVT is good or not..and some Jatco models are very good in other units. You would be surprised how many people go to forums rather than reviews before a purchase...and this is one big and busy forum..anyways..I think you are going about this the correct way..logically and not loosing your cool. If they do infact get a Tranny expert in, it would be a GM or Jatco US tech because of the unique design of this particular Jatco unit...My own mechanic, who I consider very good (he has a waiting list) told me he does not touch any CVT and some tranny shops won't either. My method is that if I have a good vehicle, I keep it for as long as possible since new features can always be added.;)

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My experience so far has been that the CVT seemed just fine when we bought the car (Certified Pre-Owned with just over 14k on the odo). I didn't initially notice anything going awry until we got a notice in the mail about a service campaign to adjust or replace the trans pulley. I had this service done last week, and WOW, what a difference. The car pulls much better off of a stop light, and has no hesitation on the highway or in passing situations.

 

I'm just confused that my experience of a gradual, long-term loss of function was so different to your much more pronounced and somewhat unpredictable loss of acceleration. I will note, however, that a half-hour or so is just about long enough to get the trans fluid good and warm - which seems to be about the time your CVT started acting up. So I wonder if the problem in your case might also be fluid-related?

 

In any case, let us know how Chevy resolves the issue. I love this car, and am willing to forgo some design quirks here and there so long as they stand behind them if problems occur.

 

Duncan :)

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