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UPDATE

So I took my Spark in this morning as the the catalytic converter had arrived. It took about an hour and a half to replace. The service advisor stated that they could "bang on the old converter and hear something inside rattling". I then asked him what will cause the converter to go bad (half way knowning the answer and wanting to hear what line they would feed me). He stated that "anything can cause one to go bad. And it cound very well have been manufactured wrong". Got the vehicle back and immediatly took it around the quiet residential arear behing the dealership. Noted that I could hear the rattle, although it was not as loud. I also noted that the vehicle seemed to feel less restrictive and jumpier on the throttle. Well on my way to work in that afternoon the same great sounding rattle appeared again. I tested the noise in multiple gears with different RPM ranges, and it is the same as when I brought it in before. I honestly am not convinced that it is an "exhaust issue" like the dealership orginally told me they think it is. I am starting to lean towards something more mechanical. Long story short, I contacted the dealership once I arrived at work and am taking the car back in tomorrow morning. The service advisor stated that he will have a technician ride with me to listen to the noise.

We will see what they tell me in the morning...

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They will send the guy that does nothing but mount tires all day and bring things all day, you know, the guy with the permanent hearing damage.

Haha thatd be just my luck... If they say that the sound is normal, I will be questioning as to why they threw a new converter at the car and stated that there was a strange sound in the first place since the sound is the same as before...

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Took it in again this morning and rode with a technician. He word for word told me that he hears the sound that I was complain of. He then state he "doesn't know if the sound is normal or not. He will have to wait for another customer to bring in a spark with the same miles so he can test drive it". He then went on to say they will call me when another spark comes in.

Needless to say that irritated the hell out of me. Puts more proof into it backing up thay dealers don't know how to work on these cars... And that's not the dealers fault. That lies on chevy. Chevy needs to educate their technicians...

So here I am with a spark that has a strange engine metallic rattle and a dealer that doesn't know if it is normal or not...

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  • 3 weeks later...

So i took it to another dealer. They had it for a day and found that a conection with the headers was loose. So they added an additional exhaust clamp... The rattle is actually starting to come back now. I just noticed it today. It was pretty dang quiet for awhile after the fix.

My two cents about this "fix". If there is a loose connection between two pipes that are bolted together, then why not tighten them? Why just add an additinal exhaust clamp? DOesnt really make sense to me... I brought this up with the service advisor and she paused for a second and responded "the technician that performed the repairs has gone home for the day so i am unable to answer that question". I will be taking it back in when the sound is more loud.

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I am not very happy with how they are treating this for you. I have less than 3k miles on mine and am already upset with the rattle it makes. I'm so sure that it's shielding for the exhaust on mine. Does yours rattle when not in gear? Mine only rattles when in gear from 2.5k rpm through 3.5k rpm. And I hear it loudest when the passenger window is down.

Edited by manualsparkls
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There's no way it's my headers or exhaust pipes, the sound couldn't be made by them and there would definitely be an exhaust leak. As for the converter, I hope that's not it. It definitely sounds like thin sheet metal vibrating at the right rpm.

Edited by manualsparkls
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That's exactly what mine was. Catolytic Converter didnt change anything... The extra exhaust clamp quieted the sound for a bit but now it is coming back. I think it just may be a bad connection... But then again, who knows because the dealers sure don't!!

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  • 4 years later...

The metal rattle is coming from the heat shield that covers the power brake booster. It is located on the passenger side if the engine near the front. Mine had the 2 screws shake loose that hold it to a black "L" bracket. The bracket has 2 holes for screws and one for wires to clip too. Mine is afro-engineered with zip ties until I can get to the dealership since I still have 60k left on my warranty. Hope this helps some poor spark-driving -ass-fool until you can get it repair. She wasn't under the influence

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  • 2 months later...
On 3/16/2014 at 9:25 PM, Dori said:

Hmmm.... Interesting. What can damage the converter? I only have 6,400 miles on the thing... It's not like its been used and abused.

On 3/14/2014 at 6:35 PM, Dori said:

You would think, at least hope, a dealer service department would look at something as simple and easy as a heat shield...

On 3/11/2014 at 10:38 PM, austex04 said:

Mine does it too, around 3-3500rpms when accelerating. Sounds more like timing chain noise, like Greg said. I'm used to it now, and I'm not taking it in only to be told it's normal. Perhaps it is normal, do brand new Sparks make this noise too? I will be unloading mine at 99,000 miles, right before the powertrain warranty is up, and staying clear of GM for life. Those who are taking it in to the dealer are wasting your time. While your there, test drive a new Spark and see if you hear the noise, some of us are wondering.

My 2017 Spark will be 2 years old next February. She is very quiet under 55 MPH, at 70 MPH and above it is mostly wind and tire noise.

 

On 3/14/2014 at 6:35 PM, Dori said:

You would think, at least hope, a dealer service department would look at something as simple and easy as a heat shield...

There are around 15,000 individual parts in a car. Dealer Mechanics are not rocket scientists. I can write a book detailing how many times they diagnosed the problem incorrectly in my 57 years of driving. The worst case was when driving home on a Friday evening from work, my 1971 Chevy Nova with a small V-8 began making hammering sounds. I stopped at a Chevy dealer and 2 mechanics did the "testing" on my car and their diagnosis was broken rod bearing inside the engine. They further said it would be best to do a complete engine overhaul. 72,000 miles on a 3 year old car, so I hesitated to leave my car there. They warned me "do not  drive home, another 15 miles because the piston rods could break through the engine block". Cost estimate...$2500-3000 in 1974 dollars. Triple that  for today's prices.

 

Being a mechanical engineer, I began reading my car manual on the week end. It said if rod bearings are shot, the noise will be most prominent when accelerating or decelerating because of the reversing of clearance. That was not my car's symptoms. The noise was directly proportional to speed. According to the car manual, my problem indicates bad valve train. So Monday morning I visit a Buick dealer, told them I had a problem in the valve train, so please open the valve cover and take a look. 90 minutes later I was informed my car was ready. It was a bent rocker arm. Cost $130 (1974 $$).

 

And there are at least half a dozen very bad diagnosis by dealer mechanics. I never drive into a dealer and say there is some sort of problem. I read up the car manuals, and then tell the tech what needs fixing. Another incidence when my car would not start on a winter evening in Chicago, at end of shift. I called a nearby repair shop and told them to pick up my car and replace the fuel pump because it won't start. The person on phone says "how do you know it is the fuel pump?". I knew because I had installed a large see through in line filter in the fuel line because those crappy bronze fuel filters used in chevy V-8's would clog up frequently.  

 

But the incident which takes the cake was I bought this brand new Chevy Impala 1967 to get ready for a vacation.  I am still a greenhorn with car problems because this was my first new car. It was smooth at driving speeds but at every traffic light it was noticeable rough idle. I knew how smooth V-8's run on old cars, and mine was brand new. So I drive in to the dealer and leave the car. Pick it up next morning, and they said they could not find anything wrong, but they did clean the spark plugs and everything is fine. I am driving home and the car is still idling rough at traffic lights. I reach home, and floor the gas and look in the rear view mirror. There were white clouds coming out of the exhaust! So back again at the dealer and this time I had specific instructions. I told them the main gasket was bad and coolant was leaking into the cylinders. I pick up the car next day, and she was running as smooth as silk at all speeds. God, I loved those V-8's.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Interesting.  While the following is probably not the case with your Spark, it was with mine.

 

I bought a used 2016 Spark (21k mies) last Spring. It started rattling after a month. Rattled mostly at certain RPMs and it was consistent.

I initially thought it was a heat shield, then the right rear door. It was kind of hard to judge just where it was coming from.

After a few months of this, I finally booked an appointment to take it to the dealer for a broken driver's door lock and the 2 recalls. When I made the appointment, the mysterious 'rattle' was also on the list of things to fix.

 

The night before I was to take it in, I went over it all again to try and locate the rattle. 

DAMN! It was the stupid metal frame surrounding the license plate! I removed the frame and the rattle stopped.

Note: I was also able to induce the rattle again, without the frame, if the plate was bent just right (or 'wrong' I guess).

 

Don't we wish every problem in life could be fixed that easily?

 

.

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