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Another Spark traded in.


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Not mine yet.

The tenant at my work finally threw in the towel after dealing with my dealer and another local dealer. Like she said they just don't give a crap about your car or their work. She traded her lemonade lt2 for a fiat 500. They gave her $11500 for it and the used fiat was $10900, win win for her.

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Consumer Reports give the Fiat not very good reviews.

No reviews on the Spark yet.

One of the best reviews for a small car was the Scion xB.

On the worst list was the Fiat 500L.

Just my 2 cents..

For what ever this is worth, if you read Consumers Reports?

I want to wish her much luck.

We had looked at the new Fiats.

My wife liked the looks, and color options, and the cloth top vert.

Edited by stevesparky
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Consumer Reports give the Fiat not very good reviews.

No reviews on the Spark yet.

One of the best reviews for a small car was the Scion xB.

On the worst list was the Fiat 500L.

Just my 2 cents..

For what ever this is worth, if you read Consumers Reports?

Nope I dont.

It's her car not mine. I would not choose it but it just shows that even people that don't post on the net are fed up too.

Edited by bluer101
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Boy, that sucks. What kind of problems was she having, with the car? It seems a lot of these dealers are the problem, not the cars. If you've got the knowledge, and the proper parts, there isn't anything that can't be fixed. The dealers are just too damned lazy, and they are getting away with it. If they gave her $11,500, they have to know that they can turn that car over, for a profit, with a very small investment. How that Fiat is going to hold up for her, will determine if it was a win win or not. From what I read and hear, they aren't worth the powder to blow them up.

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Check a Fiat 500 forum, and you won't find anywhere near the problems and complaints you do here. I'm talking about the 2 door 500. I don't even know why they built the 4 door. The Mini Cooper is the one with problems, but that is to be expected. It is built by BMW, the most unreliable brand in the world.

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I also like the Fiat 500 as well as the Mini Cooper. Both have generally good reviews. I have friends and family with various BMW models and all are very pleased. Sometimes on a car forum a problem is written up and people think they will have the same problem and it just gets blown up out of proportion. When you weed all this out, problems with the Spark that are indeed wide spread and not just a few forum posters can be narrowed down to the defective PCV that presented all kinds of issues and a few others for which recalls have been issued.

Our Spark 2013 1LT auto has had zero issues other than the PCV recall that was done before it failed and has ±30Kmi of hard driving. At first I was a bit unsure about the small engine's reliability, but now after some very hard long distance driving and a few rough roads with the hard suspension, I feel the car and engine are reliable and can't see issues that would impact the reliability of that model year. Not too sure about the CVT transmissions in the newer models as they seem to run at different gear ratios and not using higher rpm's...

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The Fiat forum is filled with problems, from the regular 500 to the Abarth . My test drive included the car just stalling at speed , software issue they said . While there are owners happy with their car , there's a ton of owners who regret the purchase . The " fix it again Tony " comes up a lot on the 500 forum . There's a great story of somebody observing a Spark right on the bumper of a 500 doing 85 on the highway . When the observer got further down the road there was the Fiat sitting with its hood open overheating and the girl with the Spark was getting gas lol .Fiat is one of the few cars that actually have parts fall off just inspecting it . When you push on the buttons everything moves , I really wanted to love the Abarth but it's to hit and miss With quality .

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I do agree if the GM dealer network improved on customer satisfaction and correcting issues on the cars they sell, I would be much happier with owning both the brand, and my Spark, and others would probably hold onto their Sparks longer. I already knew enough about the Fiat 500 when I bought my Spark, which is why I'm here, lol.

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The Fiat 500s are extremely troublesome.... a little research into them will show that. Personally, I wouldn't touch one with a 10 foot pole. Not to mention they are as ugly as sin. But as they say, each to their own. And as far as all Chevy dealers being lousy and not caring, that is not true at all. When my Spark got recalled for the possible defective PCV valve, Watson Chevrolet here in Tucson took care of it right away and treated me as if I had brought in a 70K Corvette to be repaired !! Also, one might wish to compare crash test results between the Spark and the Fiat. Spark real good, Fiat not so much!!

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And as far as all Chevy dealers being lousy and not caring, that is not true at all. When my Spark got recalled for the possible defective PCV valve, Watson Chevrolet here in Tucson took care of it right away and treated me as if I had brought in a 70K Corvette to be repaired !!

Not saying all, fortunately, you are one of the lucky ones. I have a terrific dealership also, I've had all the recalls done, the two for the a/c, the PVC, hood latch, and I had to bring the car in once for a malfunctioning rear window washer. I've never had to wait for a part, and always had the car done same day, within a four hour time frame. The whole staff is knowledgeable, courteous, and patient.

Unfortunately, everyone isn't that lucky, from what I've read here, I think in some cases the car is getting a bad rap, not because the car is bad, but the fact that the dealerships are being negligent in supporting the Spark, which can frustrate the hell out of you, and cause you to hate the product.

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When dealerships were closing down a lot of experienced techs couldn't find work or work that paid the same . Some of those people moved on to other things . A lot of dealerships were bringing in less experienced cheaper help to cut costs . I have 2 friends that graduated tech school and promptly found jobs at dealerships. I wouldn't let either change my oil much less anything more complex . So it's no surprise so people have had a subpar dealer experience.

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Not saying all, fortunately, you are one of the lucky ones. I have a terrific dealership also, I've had all the recalls done, the two for the a/c, the PVC, hood latch, and I had to bring the car in once for a malfunctioning rear window washer. I've never had to wait for a part, and always had the car done same day, within a four hour time frame. The whole staff is knowledgeable, courteous, and patient.

Unfortunately, everyone isn't that lucky, from what I've read here, I think in some cases the car is getting a bad rap, not because the car is bad, but the fact that the dealerships are being negligent in supporting the Spark, which can frustrate the hell out of you, and cause you to hate the product.

Walt is correct. I too have a good dealership but as 'sparkfanatic' says a lot of younger, less experienced are given jobs for minor work like oil changes etc. I had 2 kids working on my Spark recently doing an oil change and they put in the wrong oil (10W30 conventional) even though the filler cap clearly has 5W20 imprinted on it. Only caught it when I walked into the service area and saw them filling the oil from the 10W30 bulk hose even though I had specifically asked the service rep to use 5w20 synthetic. So, Ya, dealers that don't stand behind a new car or kids that screw up will make ownership of that car an unpleasant experience, specially during the warranty period.

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A lot of this mess might be cleared up if GM would be open and honest and upfront about it. They are doing their best at a coverup.

"good morning recall, chevy just listed on there recall center list another recall for the chevy 2013 spark. up until yesterday afternoon one of the recalls listed was grogram A140110 dated 7/25/2014 nothing listed for title but this___, CARFAX refers to this recall as #2014110 manufracturer safety recall, chevy spark fourm everyone is refering to this as 14110 and a customer service agent named patsy has not listed more information on it because it is somewhat restricted. it is not list on gm 2014 year to date recall list. my daughts car is still under warranty and gilhcrest refused to give her rental until i sent them email. chevy has a program called customer service transportation progam where up get some option on transportation if your car is still under warranty, there still the bad guy in our eyes

This is the RESTRICTED recall concerning the supposed PCV valve that caused so many engine failures. This goes all the way to the top. GM has admitted there is a problem with the PCV valve, a small and inexpensive part. But they have not come out and said that this was the cause of the engine failures. Not even dealers know.

There is a possibility that this, combined with poor maintenance and driving at high speeds could have played a major role in it. When you have been cooking the oil for 7,000 miles, without proper ventilation, and driving at 80 mph (the Spark was/is marketed as a "city car" ) My interest in one was for mostly highway mileage, but at far lower that what most people would consider highway speeds, plus I was going to seriously over maintain it, at least by the book. But, what kills most oil is contamination, not lubrication. That's why transmission and gear oils can last so long. They don't get contaminated by combustion gases. So where did the contamination come from if it did not leak past the rings in the first place? And why would combustion gases be leaking past the rings after such a short time (there will always be "some" leakage) but there was enough to destroy engines.

I have hunted down over 20 different incidents from all over the country where Spark owners whose engines failed were told by the dealership that the pistons did not fit properly? Again, nothing from GM. Did these dealers "know" that was an issue? Did someone tell them? over 20 different unrelated incidents? Standard procedure when a nearly new engine fails under warranty is that it gets shipped back to GM so they can determine the cause of failure. You can bet they know the cause by now. Question is, will Spark owners and the public ever know? The more I dig into this the more I feel like I'm watching the X-Files.

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I guess iam confused what are they covering up????? They have issued the recalls to take care of the problems the oil comsumption was caused by the faulty pcv valve , they came out with a redesigned pcv valve to correct the issue , recall 14110. The hood latch recall 14056 there was also a recall which I dont have the number lower control arm bolts on a few 2014 had to be inspected . What's the big coverup here ? T

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A lot of this mess might be cleared up if GM would be open and honest and upfront about it. They are doing their best at a coverup.

"good morning recall, chevy just listed on there recall center list another recall for the chevy 2013 spark. up until yesterday afternoon one of the recalls listed was grogram A140110 dated 7/25/2014 nothing listed for title but this___, CARFAX refers to this recall as #2014110 manufracturer safety recall, chevy spark fourm everyone is refering to this as 14110 and a customer service agent named patsy has not listed more information on it because it is somewhat restricted. it is not list on gm 2014 year to date recall list. my daughts car is still under warranty and gilhcrest refused to give her rental until i sent them email. chevy has a program called customer service transportation progam where up get some option on transportation if your car is still under warranty, there still the bad guy in our eyes

This is the RESTRICTED recall concerning the supposed PCV valve that caused so many engine failures. This goes all the way to the top. GM has admitted there is a problem with the PCV valve, a small and inexpensive part. But they have not come out and said that this was the cause of the engine failures. Not even dealers know.

There is a possibility that this, combined with poor maintenance and driving at high speeds could have played a major role in it. When you have been cooking the oil for 7,000 miles, without proper ventilation, and driving at 80 mph (the Spark was/is marketed as a "city car" ) My interest in one was for mostly highway mileage, but at far lower that what most people would consider highway speeds, plus I was going to seriously over maintain it, at least by the book. But, what kills most oil is contamination, not lubrication. That's why transmission and gear oils can last so long. They don't get contaminated by combustion gases. So where did the contamination come from if it did not leak past the rings in the first place? And why would combustion gases be leaking past the rings after such a short time (there will always be "some" leakage) but there was enough to destroy engines.

I have hunted down over 20 different incidents from all over the country where Spark owners whose engines failed were told by the dealership that the pistons did not fit properly? Again, nothing from GM. Did these dealers "know" that was an issue? Did someone tell them? over 20 different unrelated incidents? Standard procedure when a nearly new engine fails under warranty is that it gets shipped back to GM so they can determine the cause of failure. You can bet they know the cause by now. Question is, will Spark owners and the public ever know? The more I dig into this the more I feel like I'm watching the X-Files.

First off..no mystery with the PCV issue. Various recall #'s for the same issue mean nothing. All PCV valves were replaced with the same part #. As far as pistons not fitting properly, well, that would be an issue that would present immediate problems right off the lot and I have not seen any documentation anywhere concerning that. Have you got any links to back that up? "Restricted" probably means restricted recall and procedure info to dealers only. I really see no mystery as far as the actual fixes anywhere.

1-PCV unit supplied by 3rd party (GM Asia contractor) was found defective and replaced with GM part # 25193675.

2-A/C design flaw was fixed with new sensor and rewire.

3-Hood latch rust issue-new latch installed.

4-lower control arm bolts on some 2014's- Bolts replaced and torque to specs.

Some of the recalls had different #'s for some reason but it's not the #'s we care about, rather a fix that was uniform with the same parts right across the recalls regardless of the recall name or #.

Unfortunately, by the time the PCV recall was announced and implemented, some Sparks had the PCV fail, causing problems from oil consumption, fouled plugs, overheated engine parts and engine damage...this caused some early speculation that the pistons or cylinders were at fault and since the PCV issue initially effected the #4 cylinder/valve/piston area, it was widely thought that those parts were defective but upon closer examination it was widely determined these failures were a direct/secondary cause of the PCV failure and the fact some drivers were unaware they were driving with almost no oil left due to the PCV blowing oil into the intake. Engines damaged by that issue were replaced and now with the new PCV it seems the engine issues are now resolved. I have read of some Spark owners that have 60Kmi+ without any engine related issues. My own Spark is nearing 40Kmi and burns no visible amount of oil, starts with a flick of the key and idles quiet and smoothly and I drive it hard and fast as well as having tested the limits with A/C on at 95mph++ for long stretches in Miami heat. No small engine with poorly fitting pistons or in fact any issue could sustain that kind of workout without some kind of engine related issue presenting.

When ever a newly designed product that is not widely understood by users such as the US version of the Spark 1.2-liter I4 Ecotec LL0 engine presents a specific problem, there is always a wide area of speculation as to causes by users and techs ..'Nuff said?

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well said Gearhead! you explained much better than i tried too.

Sometimes it's a bit hard to weed through all the info & speculation out there but most times you can weed the #'s and specs out and find the actual causes and results. Most users don't care about details & speculation..only results. When you go through all the info on Spark issues, we can narrow it down to only the 4 that are common and all addressed by GM. I see no mystery in any of the Spark issues and my 2013 has had only the PCV done, is no different than any other 2013 and if there were any other engine, design or otherwise, issues it would certainly have shown up by now after 40K of very hard driving.

Just because a single poster has a transmission, electrical, engine blowing up etc problem does not mean this is an issue with all or even a few Sparks.

I have a strong mechanical background and the logical thought process of a former commercial pilot that helps in quickly narrowing things down to what is important and what can be discarded.

Edited by Retired old Gearhead
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  • 1 year later...

The trouble seems to be just a few posters that keep posting the same things over and over about thier displeasure with some service and a few issues that they had not nessssary that all spark owners have had. All model cars are gonna have issues and failures that doesn't mean that every car of the same make is gonna be the same problem. I think Gm handled the few problems they had with the recalls at least in my case they did. My local dealer was great in doing this and getting it done.

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Just for interest sake, I was at my garage on the wkend and noticed a badly rear-ended '13 Spark. Inside they had the motor apart and it was explained to me that they had bought the writeoff from the Ins. Co. and wanted the engine. They service five or six Sparks including my own and said that the 3 pizza delivery guys all have well over 110,000 miles on their units..of the 3 non have had any engine related issues but 2 of the 3 hi-mileage units have had wheel bearing replacements on one to all wheels. One had a tie rod end replacement due to a curb hit, but all the Sparks he services none have had any real issues at all. I had a look at the Spark engine they had apart and it was a spotless clean head and VVT area..they serviced the car and always put in synthetic Eonos oil...only reason they had it apart was to shave the head etc to prep it for a go-cart type frame they wanted to use for unspecified sport driving events. Head mechanic claims the Spark engine is one of the better ones out there at 2L and smaller VVT engines and shaving the head will give the 'reclaimed' engine a 13/1 (10.5/1 Stock) compression that they think the crank, rods and internals can easily handle on a flat-top buggy type event class. So..With that kinda info from some good mechanics, well, "ain't gonna last 100Kmi" myth or spoken by others has now been proven wrong..

Edited by Retired old Gearhead
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