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Piston part numbers are the same for all LTG's from 2013 to 2018. Problem was in the tune, part throttle KR, GM addressed this an is easily seen in a comparison of a 2013-14 tune vs 15 and newer. If you have an 2013-2014 get it updated to a 2015 tune. Use premium fuel at all times, good oil and you'll be fine.
Good info. I also include 10oz of motorkote lubricant. Pops been running it for many years in his big rigs. Has put millions of miles on them and never once had a problem with engine internals except injectors. Trans was always the first to go.
 
Good info. I also include 10oz of motorkote lubricant. Pops been running it for many years in his big rigs. Has put millions of miles on them and never once had a problem with engine internals except injectors. Trans was always the first to go.
You might want to do some research on that oil additive in an ATS turbo. LSPI is a cause of these failures and in other direct injected turbo engines. Engine oil is a major contributor; LSPI reduction is part of the Dexos oil standard. And even without knowing if an additive hurts, unless it meets Dexos standards (and is labeleld as such), GM could refuse warranty repairs.

“LSPI is not a simple problem,” explained Thomas Briggs, Jr., manager of engine systems research and development at Southwest Research Institute (SWRI) in San Antonio, TX. Briggs led SWRI’s Pre-ignition Prevention Program team that includes industry partners (GM, Ford, Honda, Infineum International, Afton Chemical and others) that began investigating LSPI in 2011.

“When the fuel is injected directly into the combustion chamber, it dilutes the oil film lining the cylinder,” Briggs shared. “This fuel dilution reduces the surface tension and viscosity of the oil, causing an oil-fuel mixture to accumulate in the upper reaches of the piston top land crevice. The mechanical energy of the upstroke during compression pushes droplets into the combustion chamber, where they vaporize and can auto-ignite prior to spark ignition and subsequent engine damage.

“The team used high-speed video, crevice sampling and other specialized tools to better determine the source of the problem. Captured video showed that droplets of material were coming out of the piston crevice in the engine. Sometimes those droplets burned, leading to LSPI and strong engine knock. The video also showed that the material was a complex cocktail of fluids—fuel, lubricant, soot and other material. It’s clear to us now that resolving LSPI issues will require addressing lubricants, fuels, engine design and more.”
 
How do you update from 13-14 tune to 2015 tune?
You don't. GM is not going to do it for you. if you are going to change the tune, do a full tune and enjoy a lot more than just a small bump in TQ. Otherwise, leave it alone.
 
2013 ATS 2.0T with 59k, use regular gas, premium when I race at Track Night in America. Run the car very hard. Purrs like a Kitten. Bought the car at 28k miles, don't know if plugs were changed out previously. So far so good.
 
...sigh

2014 ATS 2.0T AWD.

Bought at about 35k, now at 42k. Went out to the garage to head to the grocery store and I got a rough idle, Stabilitrak and TC lights, and a blinking CEL.

I'm assuming this is a piston issue. Dealer says it'l be $135 to scan it, and can't get me in for a week :bigroll:. If this does end up being warranty work... will they waive that? Otherwise I'd rather put it towards buying my own scanner.
 
...sigh

2014 ATS 2.0T AWD.

Bought at about 35k, now at 42k. Went out to the garage to head to the grocery store and I got a rough idle, Stabilitrak and TC lights, and a blinking CEL.

I'm assuming this is a piston issue. Dealer says it'l be $135 to scan it, and can't get me in for a week :bigroll:. If this does end up being warranty work... will they waive that? Otherwise I'd rather put it towards buying my own scanner.
Yes, if it’s determined to be warranty covered the diag fee will be waived.
 
...sigh

2014 ATS 2.0T AWD.

Bought at about 35k, now at 42k. Went out to the garage to head to the grocery store and I got a rough idle, Stabilitrak and TC lights, and a blinking CEL.

I'm assuming this is a piston issue. Dealer says it'l be $135 to scan it, and can't get me in for a week :bigroll:. If this does end up being warranty work... will they waive that? Otherwise I'd rather put it towards buying my own scanner.
If you are under warranty, they would have to fix whatever is causing the CEL and error messages with NO charge. They won't be able to do that with bad pistons. I can see a dealer charging for something a customer requested outside of GM's documented problem solving procedure. Just tell them to fix the problem and let them decide how to do that. I would also ask for a loaner and make sure they document that. That way, there is no question who made things worse by driving the car for the week they want you to drive it. I think most dealers would give a loaner if the customer was afraid the car was going to strand them.

If you want to know the codes now, I think many auto-part stores will scan or let you borrow a scanner for free.
 
...sigh

2014 ATS 2.0T AWD.

Bought at about 35k, now at 42k. Went out to the garage to head to the grocery store and I got a rough idle, Stabilitrak and TC lights, and a blinking CEL.

I'm assuming this is a piston issue. Dealer says it'l be $135 to scan it, and can't get me in for a week :bigroll:. If this does end up being warranty work... will they waive that? Otherwise I'd rather put it towards buying my own scanner.
As far as I know, and as far as my own experience in the bumper to bumper period goes, pretty much anything that triggers a CEL is covered under warranty and so a fee shouldn't even be brought up. I'm over 50,000 miles, so I get the fee talk (waived once when the issue was a cam actuator which is covered under powertrain and I had to pay this last time because my issue was the MAF sensor which, evidently, isn't covered under powertrain or special coverage).
 
If you are under warranty, they would have to fix whatever is causing the CEL and error messages with NO charge. They won't be able to do that with bad pistons. I can see a dealer charging for something a customer requested outside of GM's documented problem solving procedure. Just tell them to fix the problem and let them decide how to do that. I would also ask for a loaner and make sure they document that. That way, there is no question who made things worse by driving the car for the week they want you to drive it. I think most dealers would give a loaner if the customer was afraid the car was going to strand them.

If you want to know the codes now, I think many auto-part stores will scan or let you borrow a scanner for free.
Thanks. I suppose I'll have to play dumb with them and let them figure it out on their own.

I just got a scanner in the mail and checked it out - Cylinder misfire as expected. Interesting that it is cylinder #2 (P0302 code) rather than #3 or #4 that most people have. Is it worth trying to swap out the plug or coil? Or should I just assume it's a piston?
 
Whole lot of other issues can cause these symptoms. Piston failures are much more rare then injector /fuel rail /coil/cam sensor issues which often go unmentioned here.

If you want to know before taking it in, yank the plugs (keep them in order just in case) and read them. Bad injector could be leaking (rich/wet) or not firing (lean/white). Piston/ring damage often sends bits up into combustion chamber (physical damage to electrode) and loss of oil control (oiled/sludge).
Rent/borrow an inspection camera from home depot or similar and take a look while the plugs are out (scoring or chunks). Run a compression test...

Doing a basic plug read/compression check should take less then an hour. If all looks well and you are under warranty, let the dealership sort out the rest. If you find issues, still play dumb (hey service advisor, it's got a check engine light and is running like crap) and see if they come back with honesty or BS.

I would have it towed in just in case.

Dealerships I've dealt with still charge diagnostic fee even if repair is covered by warranty (typically $50, bargain compared to $100 for BMW I got rid of).
 
Hi every one, Just got my piston cracked, 2nd time (25k miles and now 66k miles).

Only premium fuel.

No warranty already = have to rebuild by myself.


Just wandering is there something more reliable then stock pistons? New part numbers or pistons from other cars that can fit?
 
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
 
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