i just started a list with a list of members i found that reported failures. (i posted a link to this list in the CTS section so they can add their failures and info to this list)

of course i dont have build dates of other member cars, and mine is at dealer so i cant look

TSB for piston failure *PI-1178


List updated 2015-01-05 per smurfkiller

1. smurfkiller 4700 2014 ATS ??/?? #3 replaced 2nd engine blew at 69xx miles
2. 400hpATS 4213 2013 ATS ??/?? #3 warranty would not cover, building aftermarket 800+hp engine
3. caleb bennett ???? 2014 ATS ??/?? #4 repaired
4. byrce2.0t 15000 2013 ATS ??/?? #1&4 repaired
5. shortfur7 5200 2014 ATS ??/?? #3&4 repaired
6. soop3rn0t 6800 2014 ATS 07/13 #4 repaired
7. calicts 9000 ???? CTS ??/?? #1 repaired
8. romanats 20000 2013 ATS ??/?? #3 replaced
9. ElanX 3700? 2014 ATS ??/?? ? repaired (from the other thread this looks like it was injector failed and blew a hole in the piston, maybe not the same type of failure?)
10. Shooter2384 5k miles 2014 ATS ??/?? ? repaired
11. chrisgarner ???? 2014 ATS ??/?? ? replaced
12. Skenny50 6000 ???? ATS ??/?? #4 replaced
13. DB_Outlaw 12000 ???? ATS ??/?? #1 repaired, he sold car then new owner possibly had to have engine replacement
14. Firepower ATS 9000 2014 CTS 09/13 #1 repaired
15. TheRival 5500 2014 ATS 02/2014 #4 replaced
16. parker133t 17000 2013 ATS ??/?? #4 repaired
17. pnm215 20000 2013 ATS ??/?? ? repaired
18. SmurfettesCaddy 16000 2013 ATS ??/?? ? repaired?
19. lemons1843 22000 2013 ATS ??/?? ? repaired?
20. LChris24 40,000 miles 2013 ATS
21. Dolvich 2013 ATS 6700miles #2 cyl failure pistons replaced
22. RemaxAL 2013 ATS 27,000 miles
23. ilovejuicysteak Ats 6700 miles
24. Macvanglist 2013 ATS 6m
25. FDNY-L107 2013 ATS 38k miles
26. GoofyGoober 2013 ATS 34,5k miles #3 cyl failure pistons replaced
27. Darren67 2014 ATS #4 cyl failure
28. Dpelow07 24k miles #4 cyl failure
29. Smurfkiller (loaner car) 2014 CTS 3500 miles engine replacement

----------

ok so this is getting ridiculous. my car is at dealer currently. they are installing a entire new long block.

we need to start a list of members who have had piston failures so we can keep track of build dates, gas used etc.


my car is at dealer so i cant currently get build date.

fuel other than first tank dealer stupidly filled with 87. (they dont care its cheaper) i only use 93 octane from shell or marathon. & never fill up when i see the tanker there stirring up all the trash in the tanks.

my car is a 2014 i purchased 4 months ago with 3 miles on it. car went back at 16xx miles for Human interface module replacement (CUE) . car currently has 47xx miles. at 1626 miles i changed the oil and filter AC Delco filter Mobil 1 5w30 oil.

symptoms were: service traction & stablitrac message, rough idle, lots of burnt oil smoke out of exhaust, loss of power & CEL for misfires in CYL #3.

i did not do a compression test. i just had car towed to dealer. (my service writer is kinda dumb so i couldnt get any answers from him on what tests they did) mine is the first failure they have seen at my dealer. my service writer said "Might be low on oil" LOL. i didnt tell him i work at a shop and consistently build 1000+ hp cars. and have been working on cars & building engines for 20+ yrs.

talking a with guy on FB in the CTS-V pages he is a tech at a caddy dealer, he claims in the past few months he has personally repaired 8 cars with failures of 2.0t pistons. he claims #3 seems to be most common but most engines have failures on multiple cylinders. most recent engine he was doing and posting pics of had failures in cyl #1,3 & 4.

yes of course my dealer is fixing car under warranty and gave me a loaner car, but this issue seems to be far worse then just a bad batch of pistons. i understand a batch of pistons could be 1000+ but we need to keep track of info so we can know what cars might be affected. (for resell and potential buyers in the future)

when i get my car back i will post build date VIN whatever so we can try to figure out a window for affected cars. that to say the 2015s dont end up having failures as well.

 

i just started a list with a list of members i found that reported failures. (i posted a link to this list in the CTS section so they can add their failures and info to this list)

of course i dont have build dates of other member cars, and mine is at dealer so i cant look

TSB for piston failure *PI-1178


List updated 2015-01-05 per smurfkiller

1. smurfkiller 4700 2014 ATS ??/?? #3 replaced 2nd engine blew at 69xx miles
2. 400hpATS 4213 2013 ATS ??/?? #3 warranty would not cover, building aftermarket 800+hp engine
3. caleb bennett ???? 2014 ATS ??/?? #4 repaired
4. byrce2.0t 15000 2013 ATS ??/?? #1&4 repaired
5. shortfur7 5200 2014 ATS ??/?? #3&4 repaired
6. soop3rn0t 6800 2014 ATS 07/13 #4 repaired
7. calicts 9000 ???? CTS ??/?? #1 repaired
8. romanats 20000 2013 ATS ??/?? #3 replaced
9. ElanX 3700? 2014 ATS ??/?? ? repaired (from the other thread this looks like it was injector failed and blew a hole in the piston, maybe not the same type of failure?)
10. Shooter2384 5k miles 2014 ATS ??/?? ? repaired
11. chrisgarner ???? 2014 ATS ??/?? ? replaced
12. Skenny50 6000 ???? ATS ??/?? #4 replaced
13. DB_Outlaw 12000 ???? ATS ??/?? #1 repaired, he sold car then new owner possibly had to have engine replacement
14. Firepower ATS 9000 2014 CTS 09/13 #1 repaired
15. TheRival 5500 2014 ATS 02/2014 #4 replaced
16. parker133t 17000 2013 ATS ??/?? #4 repaired
17. pnm215 20000 2013 ATS ??/?? ? repaired
18. SmurfettesCaddy 16000 2013 ATS ??/?? ? repaired?
19. lemons1843 22000 2013 ATS ??/?? ? repaired?
20. LChris24 40,000 miles 2013 ATS
21. Dolvich 2013 ATS 6700miles #2 cyl failure pistons replaced
22. RemaxAL 2013 ATS 27,000 miles
23. ilovejuicysteak Ats 6700 miles
24. Macvanglist 2013 ATS 6m
25. FDNY-L107 2013 ATS 38k miles
26. GoofyGoober 2013 ATS 34,5k miles #3 cyl failure pistons replaced
27. Darren67 2014 ATS #4 cyl failure
28. Dpelow07 24k miles #4 cyl failure
29. Smurfkiller (loaner car) 2014 CTS 3500 miles engine replacement

----------

ok so this is getting ridiculous. my car is at dealer currently. they are installing a entire new long block.

we need to start a list of members who have had piston failures so we can keep track of build dates, gas used etc.


my car is at dealer so i cant currently get build date.

fuel other than first tank dealer stupidly filled with 87. (they dont care its cheaper) i only use 93 octane from shell or marathon. & never fill up when i see the tanker there stirring up all the trash in the tanks.

my car is a 2014 i purchased 4 months ago with 3 miles on it. car went back at 16xx miles for Human interface module replacement (CUE) . car currently has 47xx miles. at 1626 miles i changed the oil and filter AC Delco filter Mobil 1 5w30 oil.

symptoms were: service traction & stablitrac message, rough idle, lots of burnt oil smoke out of exhaust, loss of power & CEL for misfires in CYL #3.

i did not do a compression test. i just had car towed to dealer. (my service writer is kinda dumb so i couldnt get any answers from him on what tests they did) mine is the first failure they have seen at my dealer. my service writer said "Might be low on oil" LOL. i didnt tell him i work at a shop and consistently build 1000+ hp cars. and have been working on cars & building engines for 20+ yrs.

talking a with guy on FB in the CTS-V pages he is a tech at a caddy dealer, he claims in the past few months he has personally repaired 8 cars with failures of 2.0t pistons. he claims #3 seems to be most common but most engines have failures on multiple cylinders. most recent engine he was doing and posting pics of had failures in cyl #1,3 & 4.

yes of course my dealer is fixing car under warranty and gave me a loaner car, but this issue seems to be far worse then just a bad batch of pistons. i understand a batch of pistons could be 1000+ but we need to keep track of info so we can know what cars might be affected. (for resell and potential buyers in the future)

when i get my car back i will post build date VIN whatever so we can try to figure out a window for affected cars. that to say the 2015s dont end up having failures as well.

Lol so funny to see this again. Just picked up a ATS-V for the wife so I hopped back on here. I really did like my Ats 2.0t. To bad it turned out to be such a POS

 

I'd also request users post their approximate miles at failure, which cylinder failed (if they know) and whether the dealer replaced the pistons or the whole longblock or shortblock and any compression test results the dealer or service shop will share.

That way we can see when they fail, how they fail, and what is being done about it.

 

I'd tell them to hold off replacing the motor and drop a twin turbo V motor in it, lol.

 

Will the twin turbo v engine even bolt up to the tranny? Been thinking about doing this myself since the #1 cylinder went out and has had no compression

 

Firepower ATS had the problem in his CTS 2.0T.
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...llac-ats-technical-discussion-forum/611898-2-0t-bad-pistons-epedemic-rough.html

Maybe a similar sticky is needed in the CTS forum? I haven't looked over there for reported failures.

 

Just wondering, so no report on bad piston in a 3.6l yet? Mine is 3.6 and the piston failure on 2.0l u guys are reporting is making me worried...

 

You shouldn't have any piston issues as your motor is naturally aspirated. The turbo motors generate a lot of heat and cylinder pressure and are detonating either due to a design flaw or a stock tune problem. (Likely going stoich at full boost for CAFE is my guess)

 

Add to the list: #4 piston at about 11,000 km / 6,800 miles. Car build date 07/13. Replaced the pistons after waiting a month for the "updated" parts to come in. They also found bad build up on valves and flashing on a seat, so the head was out to the machine shop to fix that up.

It was a service loaner for the first 9,000 km / 5,600 miles, probably safe to assume beat on with low octane fuel for that time. I don't go easy on it either, but with good fuel at least 91 octane.

 

I have had the 2.0T in my last 3 vehicles over 2 years:

'12 Regal GS (30K miles)
'14 ATS (9K miles)
'14 CTS (5K miles)

All these vehicles were bought new, all routine maintenance done at the dealership and 93 Octane used in every car. Never had one single issue at all. Nonetheless, I agree with the sticky and monitoring it--but I think that this is a very small issue considering the amount of 2.0T engines that are being used everyday.

 

But we really don't know how many cars are affected by this. These are just people on the forum and not even a fraction of cars with the piston problems. For the sake of these people we hope it is very small.

 

I've done a bit of googling around for GM 2.0T piston issues in general, rather than specific to a car or model year. There seem to be quite a few examples of people reporting the same/similar type of piston failures in the gen II LNF. As a lot people have mentioned on here, it's hard to say what actual % of engines have failed based on forum posts. It does appear that this isn't really a new issue though, just a new gen engine and in the case of the ATS a new car they've put it in.

 

I'm really concerned about 13 failures on this forum all with low miles.

My car is stock and I always run premium gas but this is worrying me...I may look at a trade to a 2014 V6...

 

Wow, up to 14 now! Scary. At least GM seems to be taking care of people, even the tuned cars.

Do we know if they are using new and improved pistons? If not, we need build dates to see if it was a bad batch of pistons...

 

My 2013 2.0T has 35K on it, I hope that I'm in the clear. When I got the car it had 31K. Carfax never said anything about any work being performed.

 

carfax will not show any work like this done under warranty. you can take your vin to your dealer and have them lookup the gm service history. it will show everythign that has ever been done to the car at a gm dealer. well if you find someone at the dealership who isnt lazy and willing to help you.

 

Smurfettes caddy is another one...saw it in another thread...

 

We need to get the word out that everyone with pistpn failure needs to file a report with NHTSA... Unless you get their attention GM will not acknowledge there is a problem let alone fix it via a recall.

I have been thru this on a brake issue and it took damm near 6 years total to fix it. Then it was a voluntary recall after 4 years of fighting and 2 more years to get the actual fix. Lots of customers were out thousands of dollars in repairs that the OEM refused to reimburse.

 

I'm a big advocate for reporting safety issues to the NHTSA, so if someone's engine actually blew just when they pulled out in front of a semi they should definitely report it. I even believe in reporting safety grey areas to light a fire under a manufacturer. But most of these exhibit other symptoms before complete failure AND GM seems to be fixing these as they happen. I would not want to see a recall for something that is low percentages because the cost of inspecting or replacing every piston would be huge and passed on to future cars as price increases or (more likely) corner cutting. What's needed is an extended warranty which the NTHSA is not in business for. The government is slow and largely ineffectual but it is also often a bull in a china shop. Be careful dragging the NHTSA into this by exaggerating the safety aspect of this, especially if it is low percentages.

 

I am not advocating anyone exaggerating the safety issue. But, it is there. Let your conscience be your guide.

Had the same type of issue with the Dodge Challenger with MDS. It seems the timing chain would take a dump after a number of miles. I had an online "discussion" with a Dodge Dealer Rep and he said is was less than 1%.... My answer was Horse Manure and it was a disaster waiting to happen. Needless to say after about 2 years and a lot of documented cases Dodge finally step up to the plate and fixed the the problem. But, there were a few near missings when the timing chain let loose at 70 mph on the freeway. I would probably stain my laundry if my Caddy blew out #3 piston at 70 mph!

 

Let your conscience be your guide.

Definitely.

----------

I am hoping more build dates mentioned .It's helpful.

That's my biggest interest. It could show if this is related to parts or processes in a certain time window.

 

I am hoping more build dates mentioned .It's helpful.

 

Has anyone heard if the Malibu and Regals are also having this issue? Probably worth a check to strengthen the case.

 

1. smurfkiller , 47xx miles , ATS 2014 #3 failure, engine replacement
2 .400hpATS , ATS #3 failure , 2013, 4213 miles, warranty would not cover, building aftermarket 800+hp engine
3. caleb bennet , ATS #4 failure, piston replacement
4. byrce2.0t , ATS
5. shortfur7 , ATS 5200 miles #3&4 failure , piston replacement
6. soop3rn0t , ATS 6800 miles built 7/13 #4 failure, piston replacement
7. calicts CTS , 9000 miles, #1 failure , piston replacement
8. romanats , engine replacement
9. firepowerats , CTS #1 failure
10. ElanX , ATS piston replacement
11. Shooter2384 , ATS piston replacement
12. chrisgarner , ATS engine replacement
13. Skenny50 , ATS 6000 miles, #4 failure , engine replacement
14. DB_Outlaw , ATS 12k miles, #1 failure, piston replacement , he sold car then new owner possibly had to have engine replacement
15. Firepower ATS. CTS 9k miles #1 failure piston replacement (replaced all 4)
----------

 

#1 failure is most common as this is the closest to the incoming water/fuel/gunk entering from the intercooler. It is the first one to ingest the mix and partial hydro-lock occurs when the piston cannot compress the liquid, putting more pressure on the top ring forcing it on the top ringland where it breaks:

 

Picked up my car last night after engine replacement the invoice said cylinder 3 low compression found scaring on walls. My car is 2013 2.0 t with 20.000 k mikes purchased April 2013

 

New to this thread. My 2013 ATS has been at the dealership now for 10 days. Not sure when it will be repaired. The Service tech let me know last week that I had at least one cracked piston and that they would be replacing that one and any other defectives ones that they found. What has been the experience for most of the people on this post? Was the engine replaced or were the defective pistons replaced? If the pistons were replaced, do we know if they are being replaced by the same part number? I am very concerned that I will get the car back and realized that either additional problems have been introduced because the engine has been ripped open and - I fear - will never be the same. I am also concerned that I'll get the car back and sometime soon after the car is outside of warranty, I will experience similar - if not the same - types of issues with the car.

I am growing more & more concerned about my purchase. Prior to my purchase, the car had been used as a dealership loaner/salesman's car. It now has 20k miles on it, but I am not confident what brought this on so not sure if I'm likely to get bitten after warranty. The dealership has been highly cooperative and seem to not be rushing the repair which - on some level - makes me feel a bit better. But still, having read these posts, the issue seems much more pervasive than I initially thought.

What is my recommended course of action?

1. Force the dealership to replace the engine?

2. Live with the replaced pistons?

 

Add him to the list. I can't really answer your questions man. I have the 3.6. No problems yet. I would push for a new motor though.

 

I bought a Chevy Colorado new in 2009, had 12 miles on it. At 18,500 I spun a rod bearing, which done other internal damage as well.

Most people told me to push for a new engine, but I didn't want the "new" engine to fail as well. So, I figured it would be best to have them go through everything and make sure it is "in spec" this time around. Obviously, it wasn't from the factory.

I still have it and it is running great at 80K.

I know that GM technicians are different and some are more meticulous than others. I'm sharing my experience with my dealership so there is something to weigh against a new engine.

I believe that if I have piston problems in my ATS, I will have the same guy (which is the shop foreman) go through it like they did my 'Rado.

Just my .02.

 

not all Forman are as good as yours most of them don't give a crap and will screw things up so we don't want to take that chance

 

Hey, I understand that completely and in that situation, I would probably want a new engine. Guess I lucked out.

 

Pistons #1 and #4. Replaced all 4. 15,000 miles. 2013 ATS. No idea about build date

 

I have a 2013 Ats premium. It has 22000
miles and started acting up at about 5000 miles. The car is in the shop now with bad pistons that have to be replaced. Need less to say I am very upset with cadillac. When you pay $30,000 to $40,000 on a luxury car and you have nothing but problems with it from the first week you drive it of the lot they really makes you not want to buy another GM products. All they tell me is we will put new pistons in your car but we want extend your warranty or give you credit on a trade. They should not just replace the pistons they should replace the engine with a new one. Now I have to take a chance and keep driving a car that may not last another year or so or take a big loss and trade it in on a different car. If I trade it will not be another GM product it will probably not be made in the US because there's no pride in their products anymore. They have to get bailed out by the government but they want even stand behind their products and try to make their mistakes right.

 

This is about how I feel too. To add to the engines, my Q has an electrical short. The dealer had 4 attempts to fix it. Granted, it is intermittent. When it happens, I get no radio, and no AC. I have not driven the car regularly since February. I've been using it for long trip, and loaning it to friends to try to recoup my cost on the lease. I tried to at least get out of the last three lease payments. GM says no help unless I buy another. I asked the dealer for help since they made a big chunk on the sale and all the repairs. They say no way because they don't make much on cars. The real kicker - when the car was in pre-delivery prep, they needed to take it apart an mess with wiring to get the Q going. This all stinks.

 

Have people report the build dates! We all know that 2014 vehicles were being sold in 2013. I just want to reiterate, you have 15 reports out of how many hundreds (thousands) of members on this forum have an ATS or CTS with the 2.0T? It was asked earlier about the Regal (might as well add the Verano Turbo) & Malibu with the 2.0T--anyone seen any reports of owners with issues? 15 people (1 who was modding the motor) isn't enough to make me panic.

 

You should panic given the sample size of this site and number of failures. It is a very serious problem.

Manufacturers look at failure rates in parts per million. 15 failures in even 800 cars is a big problem.