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2014 spark reliability


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Using some oil can be a bit deceptive on the Spark. Every internal combustion engine I've ever seen uses some oil when run at full throttle. The Spark is not a high speed freeway cruiser. If I had one, I would probably not drive it above 55 mph. But. There is a very real problem with the Spark's engine. many engines have been rebuilt or replaced under warranty. GM will not admit what the problem is, nor will they say that they have corrected it. I wanted a Spark in the worst way, but finally gave up and bought a Sonic, at $3000 under MSRP. I got the 1.8L engine, which I believe will hold up better than the 1.4L turbo.

My understanding is that the Spark is not a new model, that it has been sold in other parts of the world for a few years. There should be some kind of history on it.

Edited by Big-Bob
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1st I run mine 800 miles a week at 70 mph, it effectively uses no oil..... there is no engine capable of going 7,000 miles between oil changes with zero loss of a few ounces of oil. Seriously at operating temperature over the course of 7,000 miles I'd suspect most of that 6 ounces to be from vaporization that got past PCV.

2nd Mr Bob I keep hearing you drone on about that the Spark will destroy itself if driven over 55..... WTF? Move on from 1970 already, Over the past 25 years I have owned dozens of commercial mowers that get run at 3,200 - 3,500 RPM all day long 6 days a week. Most Kohler 22-25hp have lasted me well over 2,500 hrs and probably close to 50% made it over 3,000 hrs in far more harsh conditions than any car engine will ever experience. Plus those are air cooled and honestly much more poorly built engines than anything made for automotive use. If you do the math that's equivalent to 175,000-210,000 miles driven at 70 mph in a 5 spd Spark.

3rd Other than the bottom end of the engine not much else is the same on the U.S. model engine.... The head, valve train, and engine management system is exclusive to the US model as are many of the suspension components. The US model is a 1.25 liter, the rest of the world has a 1.2 liter and a 1.0 liter (except India gets some different variations) In order to meet US regulations ours have some very advanced technology compared to what has been the industry norm and as a result there are some kinks that are being worked out.... it looks like the latest is a insufficient PCV system which GM is now fixing. I suspect some of that issue is showing up with drivers who run much shorter distances than myself and the constant heat cycling is causing condensation to accumulate in the oil and cause a "sludgy" condition. The longer you run at full operating temps the better chance you have to vaporize the water and fuel contaminents from the oil.... which comes to #4

4th Ok those who keep ranting about the oil should be changed every 3k, 5k, ect..... show us your oil analysis from the lab showing that the oil had broke down past spec and then I'll agree that in your case you are right..... otherwise stop telling folks to waste their money on something that even GM doesn't think they need. I have an 02 WJ with the 4.7 that has never had an oil change in less than 10K over the past 200,000 miles. I pull a sample every other change to send to get analyzed and have never seen the oil once out of spec., a good full synthetic like Amsoil Sig series or Mobil 1 EP will go 15k so I'm actually being overly cautious changing at 10k.... as for the Spark I'll stick with the 7k interval just to be safe since the filter is so small.

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Mine never consumed any oil between changes for the first 30k miles, until 2 months ago, even driving it 85mph for many miles when I lived in Texas. Seems like the oil consumption problems start around the 30k mile mark, and it doesn't matter how fast or where they're driven, before valves crack, pcv valves stick (recall), or piston sleeves warp. My advice is pass up the Spark until the flaws are worked out, the Sonic is way better for only another grand or two.

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Mine never consumed any oil between changes for the first 30k miles, until 2 months ago, even driving it 85mph for many miles when I lived in Texas. Seems like the oil consumption problems start around the 30k mile mark, and it doesn't matter how fast or where they're driven, before valves crack, pcv valves stick (recall), or piston sleeves warp. My advice is pass up the Spark until the flaws are worked out, the Sonic is way better for only another grand or two.

This is what I seem to be seeing as well. Run it at full throttle, only change the oil every 7000 miles, and it holds up until around the 30,000 mile mark. It might very well do the same thing if driven at a more reasonable speed, and with reasonable (3000 mile) oil changes. I have not driven my Sonic over 60 mph, and just changed the oil at 3100 miles. My goal is 200,000 miles. Will it do it? I don't know, but my 13 year old Chevy did.

The quality of oil has little to do with oil change intervals. Oil ran in a transmission or gearcase can last nearly forever. But oil in an engine is constantly being contaminated by combustion gases, and if there is a problem with crankcase venting (PCV system) it will be much worse. Sludge builds up quickly, and plugs up the oil passages. In the Spark, the first oil passage that seems to get plugged up is on the VVT unit. There are also documented cases of pistons actually being to small for the bore. The Spark seems to be the victim of both very bad quality control (and possibly poor quality materials) and hard use and lack of maintenance by some owners. Maintaining a car by the book is rarely adequate. I don't know anything about CVT transmissions, other than how they work, but on all new cars, the oil should be changed at 3000 miles, the transmission fluid at 20,000-30,000 (depending on severity of use) and in GM vehicles, the coolant should be changed every 2 years. Dexcool will completely plug up a cooling system if left in too long. As for the transmission fluid changes, I mean dropping the pan, draining what will come out, replacing the filter, and refilling. This usually only gets about half the fluid out, which is why it needs to be done more often. Under no circumstances should a conventional automatic transmission be "flushed" I have first hand knowledge of transmission damage caused by "flushing" Plus I have read several negative articles in fleet service trade journals warning about transmission flushing. It may not be 1970, but cars still need maintenance, despite the seemingly best efforts of manufacturers to convince people otherwise.

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This is what I seem to be seeing as well. Run it at full throttle, only change the oil every 7000 miles, and it holds up until around the 30,000 mile mark. It might very well do the same thing if driven at a more reasonable speed, and with reasonable (3000 mile) oil changes. I have not driven my Sonic over 60 mph, and just changed the oil at 3100 miles. My goal is 200,000 miles. Will it do it? I don't know, but my 13 year old Chevy did.

The quality of oil has little to do with oil change intervals. Oil ran in a transmission or gearcase can last nearly forever. But oil in an engine is constantly being contaminated by combustion gases, and if there is a problem with crankcase venting (PCV system) it will be much worse. Sludge builds up quickly, and plugs up the oil passages. In the Spark, the first oil passage that seems to get plugged up is on the VVT unit. There are also documented cases of pistons actually being to small for the bore. The Spark seems to be the victim of both very bad quality control (and possibly poor quality materials) and hard use and lack of maintenance by some owners. Maintaining a car by the book is rarely adequate. I don't know anything about CVT transmissions, other than how they work, but on all new cars, the oil should be changed at 3000 miles, the transmission fluid at 20,000-30,000 (depending on severity of use) and in GM vehicles, the coolant should be changed every 2 years. Dexcool will completely plug up a cooling system if left in too long. As for the transmission fluid changes, I mean dropping the pan, draining what will come out, replacing the filter, and refilling. This usually only gets about half the fluid out, which is why it needs to be done more often. Under no circumstances should a conventional automatic transmission be "flushed" I have first hand knowledge of transmission damage caused by "flushing" Plus I have read several negative articles in fleet service trade journals warning about transmission flushing. It may not be 1970, but cars still need maintenance, despite the seemingly best efforts of manufacturers to convince people otherwise.

The owners manual on mine also states you should never use any flushing agents in the oil before changing the engine oil.

I made that mistake on an 89 Chevy truck I had. When it got to be 7 years old with 120,000 miles a so called expert suggested I use some Rislone engine flush before my next like change. Before I used it it never smoked or used oil. After I used it it smoked on start up and used a quart of oil every 1,500 miles... I haven't done that since.

One thing about the early versions of dexcool that I found out is if you do mostly short trips that is when your coolant will jell up. I think the newer Dexcool isn't as bad though.

My 2008 Saturn Vue still has the original Dex Cool in it and it is still fine.

Edited by Angrybird12
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But we aren't running them at red line! Mine has done 99.5% of all driving at under 5000rpm, and the time above 4000rpm is probably about 0.1%. Most of the time my car is sitting between 3200rpm and 3500rpm. So please don't characterize us all as speed freaks pushing this little car just as hard as we can, I haven't even modded the airbox on mine.

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For what it is worth. My 2014 LS manual just went over 9,000 miles. With not a single problem. No oil loss, no A/C issues,,,,nothing. And I do a lot of driving between Tucson and Phoenix on the I-10 at 80 mph, in 100 -110 heat !! In fact sometimes I actually have to turn down the A/C a notch or two. When I changed the oil at 6,000 miles, it was right on the full mark, still gold in color. I have only 2 complaints with the Spark. One, the outside mirrors are weirdly shaped and to small. And two, cruise control SHOULD be a standard feature. I suppose I could complain about the extra work to get the rear seats folded flat, but a person could nit pik about things on a $80,000 Audi to I suppose.Overall, for a $12,000 car brand new, I think my Spark was a pretty good deal.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Just turned 14,000 miles on my Spark. Going in for replacement of PVC and A/C/ recall. A/C is very weak, and living in SW Florida, that is not good. It seems to me that it blows cool, not cold, especially when stopped or in slow moving traffic. The fan is very weak and to keep comfortable, must run it at 3 or 4 setting. Oil consumption must be an issue as mechanic said needed PVC replaced due to that problem. The problem I am most unhappy about is the hesitation and lurching behaviors. I could have been in an accident the other day when trying to pull out into traffic and depressed the accelerator and NOTHING. Car just sat there, revs skyrocketed, and it didn't move an inch! Luckily, there was ample spacing between cars or I could have been hit by the time the car decided to move. Another occasion, it did the same thing and I had to slam on the brake as the gap between cars was not as big and moving out too late would end up BADLY. If you floor it, it results in high revs and lots of engine noise, and the car just barely inches forward, then accelerates after several seconds... like it isn't quite sure if you really want it to move or not. I blamed this on the CVT, as there are also times when I feel a "dead spot" in the pedal when accelerating... like the car has slipped momentarily into neutral. Revs go up, car just drifts. Not pleasant. And I've had 2 previous cars with CVT's (Sentra and Suzuki SX4) and neither exhibited any behavior like this. Will discuss with dealer when I take it in for recall work. First dealer I took it to (close to my home), had it for 4 1/2 hours and did not have the parts for the recall! So that was a waste of time. Then later that evening, I discovered that they had done something as my fog lights no longer worked. Trying a different dealership. The car averages 38 MPG with a/c on, so that is pretty good, especially in 90+ degree weather and high humidity. But I am really getting nervous about the drivetrain issues and wonder about long term reliability. I drive a LOT for work, and wanted a nice, little, inexpensive, high MPG car that would be a good "drive it into the ground" car. I just don't want the "in the ground" part to arrive at 36,000 miles. So I would not recommend this car at this time... will update after visit with mechanic.

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  • 2 weeks later...

@tishpit to help with your cvt revs and not going issue, try adding a bottle of fuel treatment to the tank before your next fill up and remove the air resonator pipe and air intake snorkel from the box fill up 87 octane. youll feel a noticable differance search the forum on how to remove these 2 pieces pretty easy and you can put them back on when taking it to the dealer so they dont think you messed with anything. also you cant floor it in these things, engine is too small to burn off the flood of fuel you send it so start accelerating, youll see this in any car if you floor it it takes a second or two before anything actually happens. this small engine and cvt tranny it just takes a bit longer. get going a bit before you floor it, or if need be put it in L then shift up to D once youre going.

@ big-bob doing oil changes at 3k and all that new cars these days is just silly and a waste of money unless youre hauling heavy loads all over in truck its less than necessary thats all old school cars and there fluids have changed a lot since 1990 all my chevys have oil life monitors as does the spark. it will tell you when to change the oil, but i always do it at 50% or 5 months whichever comes first. trannys dont need to be changed till 100k again unless your putting serious strain on the tranny like hauling in a truck not these little guys (unless youre flooring it everywhere, which is bad for a car anyway)

ive had my sparks for a little over 3 months, and a little over 2k miles on it i know not much, but no issues so far, once you figure out how o get the best mpg and performance out of the cvt (there is a learning curve) and do those simple free tweaks to the intake i mentioned above (and i had to replace the speakers cause the music is what makes any car worth driving to me) its a pretty sweet car, you get a lot for the cost. not to mention the onstar(saves you on insurance) and the 2 years free maintenance (about $200 depending on your dealer) plus depending on your credit score and the promo at the time 6 years no interest .. all of these most competitors dont have or offer its hard to go wrong. plus gm stands behind their warranties, in my experience anyway, had almost everything but the tranny replaced, this included a $10k job (the price of the used car) to put in a new v8 north star engine on a used 98 cadillac under gmpp major guard warranty. just bought an extended one for my silverado stretching it out to cover everything till its 10 years old for $2,800, thats on a $50k truck so im sure getting one on a spark would be super cheap. even if something breaks im not worried about it.

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  • 1 year later...

I am new to the forum but I bought the base model 2014 Spark 2 years ago for my commute , which is a hundred mile round trip each day at 55 mph . I keep the oil changed every 5000 miles and I run full synthetic oil. I have over 55,000 miles with no problems so far. But I am a very mellow driver . I am averaging about 42 miles to the gallon . The car rarely gets above 4200 rpm and only rarely sees 65 mph.

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