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CVT slipping and Dealer won't look at it


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Hi, my beloved 2014 Spark's transmission slips and revs without engaging at somewhat random times. It doesn't seem to like too much cold or heat, or accelerating up a slight incline. I've taken it in to the dealer but have not been able to make it "do its thing" with the mechanic in the car. They flatly refuse to look at it unless they can hear/see it themselves. Is this justified/reasonable  on their part or should they be able to check the transmission, period? I don't want to wait until it craps out and damages the car sometime when I'm out on the road. Any advice?

TIA JulieT

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Same exact situation here. I just have to keep hoping they acknowledge the issues with this car and perform a recall. If you take a look in the back of your owner's manual, you'll see a number to call if your issues haven't been resolved after taking it in several times. Give that a shot.

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14 hours ago, JulieT said:

Hi, my beloved 2014 Spark's transmission slips and revs without engaging at somewhat random times. It doesn't seem to like too much cold or heat, or accelerating up a slight incline. I've taken it in to the dealer but have not been able to make it "do its thing" with the mechanic in the car. They flatly refuse to look at it unless they can hear/see it themselves. Is this justified/reasonable  on their part or should they be able to check the transmission, period? I don't want to wait until it craps out and damages the car sometime when I'm out on the road. Any advice?

TIA JulieT

They really cannot check the transmission, they dont rebuild, nor repair the cvt, if it is broken they will replace it. They will not do anything for you until they can see the problem happening or get a fault code. 

You can try another dealership, and hope they can find the problem.

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6 hours ago, Mr.tozzi said:

They really cannot check the transmission, they dont rebuild, nor repair the cvt, if it is broken they will replace it. They will not do anything for you until they can see the problem happening or get a fault code. 

You can try another dealership, and hope they can find the problem.

Mr.Tozzi said it right. Dealer mechanic can not repair or rebuild the CVT.

My question is, if the problem is pervasive as you say, why are you unable to recreate the problem with dealer mechanic? Obviously the problem is not occurring frequently enough. Have you changed the transmission fluid on schedule? CVT seems to be sensitive to degrading fluid with miles or time. 

 

 

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Thanks for the suggestions and advice. I bought the car new and it has only 23,000 miles. This slipping is recent, not just the normal annoying CVT antics. It isn't frequent enough to have it happen on cue, and of course not with the dealer rep on board. I guess I will have to wait til it gets worse. JulieT

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The first time the Spark introduced the CVT was the 2014 Model year. This 2014 CVT set-up and factory programming had the most issues, so be sure to get all the CVT software and hardware recalls/updates done. If it still is not working to spec or issues with it..Take it back in and see if they can replace it under the powertrain warranty with a new unit since the new units have far less issues when properly programmed..still, with the bizarre Jatco-7, two integrated units are active..one is the main CVT and attached to it is a smaller conventional auto trans. unit.. IMO the Jatco-7 is just not suited to the low torque 1.2L engine but works a little better with the constant higher torque 1.4L engine.. still, IMO a badly designed CVT. ... 'Nuff said on that..

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On 7/10/2017 at 1:03 PM, Ray Dockrey said:

Does it happen more often when the AC is on? Mine does this when the AC is on. Its not slipping. Its just the nature of the CVT when the engine has a load on it from the AC. 

That is not an issue ANY car should have unless some things are not working properly.

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I am sure its a programming issue but Chevy considers it normal and they aren't going to fix it. Once you get used to it its really not that big of a deal. It just requires, at times, more throttle to get the RPM's up to get it moving faster. They are quirky but not a death trap. I don't pay much attention to it anymore. 

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My 2017 Spark LS has factory A/C, CVT and 1.4 Liter Engine. I feel better in control of car acceleration than any slush box I have driven before. The car responds almost instantly when I press the gas pedal. Like I posted before there is a range between 5 mph & 15 mph, when pressing gas pedal the CVT rev's up without accelerating car in proportion. So, I have learned to not rush across busy highway. When traffic is safely clear, I accelerate gently and the CVT seems less confused. This situation occurs most frequently when approaching a red light, and my foot is off the gas pedal to coast and slowdown, but then before coming to a full stop, the light turns green. At that stage, if I accelerate gently instead of stomping on the pedal, there is no problem.

 

After 5 months of driving city+highway, I am eager to drive this little car because it is fun to drive, with good acceleration response and very tight steering response. The oil usage meter is at 68%, and I plan to get first oil change when it gets down to 40%. The oil looks very clean on dipstick. There are no fluid leaks. I did notice when the tire pressures dropped a few psi (to about 31 psi) due to weather changes, while the ride was softer, the steering became slightly less responsive. I would rather punish the tires than the suspension components. Tires are easy to replace. But I did pump air back up to 34 psi (35 is recommended in manual) on all 4 tires and 60 psi on the spare. Steering response is back to new status.

Edited by Bobby MSME
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  • 1 month later...
On 7/14/2017 at 8:54 AM, Retired old Gearhead said:

That is not an issue ANY car should have unless some things are not working properly.

I was wondering about that, I have a Silverwing 600 Scooter with CVT and it does none of the goofy things the Spark does

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On 7/14/2017 at 8:48 AM, Retired old Gearhead said:

The first time the Spark introduced the CVT was the 2014 Model year. This 2014 CVT set-up and factory programming had the most issues, so be sure to get all the CVT software and hardware recalls/updates done. If it still is not working to spec or issues with it..Take it back in and see if they can replace it under the powertrain warranty with a new unit since the new units have far less issues when properly programmed..still, with the bizarre Jatco-7, two integrated units are active..one is the main CVT and attached to it is a smaller conventional auto trans. unit.. IMO the Jatco-7 is just not suited to the low torque 1.2L engine but works a little better with the constant higher torque 1.4L engine.. still, IMO a badly designed CVT. ... 'Nuff said on that..

I was wondering about that, My Silverwing 600 Scooter has a CVT and it has none of these issues

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23 hours ago, Bobby MSME said:

CVT is used extensively in golf carts, and I owned one of those for many years. Like your scooter, I never had an issue.

 

The problem is that the cvt is electronically controlled in the spark and gm just cannot or doesnt want to figure out the programming on it.

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On 9/7/2017 at 3:03 PM, Mr.tozzi said:

The problem is that the cvt is electronically controlled in the spark and gm just cannot or doesnt want to figure out the programming on it.

Yes, GM will not invest money in improving the CVT electronic controls because is is not a money maker for them. Perhaps when gas price goes to $5/gal things could change.

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  • 3 months later...
On 7/6/2017 at 5:25 PM, JulieT said:

Hi, my beloved 2014 Spark's transmission slips and revs without engaging at somewhat random times. It doesn't seem to like too much cold or heat, or accelerating up a slight incline. I've taken it in to the dealer but have not been able to make it "do its thing" with the mechanic in the car. They flatly refuse to look at it unless they can hear/see it themselves. Is this justified/reasonable  on their part or should they be able to check the transmission, period? I don't want to wait until it craps out and damages the car sometime when I'm out on the road. Any advice?

TIA JulieT

Trade in your 2014 for a 2017 model. I am driving a 2017 Spark with CVT, and there is no slip in transmission, unlike all my previous geared automatics which had a distinct lurch with each gear change, and a distinct lag in response to pedal compression due to the fluid coupling. The CVT is metal chain on metal pulley transmission, and when it's computer is properly programmed, it is almost instant and positive response to gas pedal operation. After 10 months of driving the CVT Spark, I like it better every passing day.

Edited by Bobby MSME
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