I see my pictures in 222,223 & 224

 

FWIW I still see them too

 

Sorry, work firewall blocking hosting site. Carry on...

 

After reading this I'm wondering if I made a mistake buying this ats. I drive an awful lot. I can't deal with Jesus pistons or ring lands going on vacation. I'm going to leave my alone and see what happens. I had a little hhr ss that I drove for a year or so as my commuter. Tune with all kinds of goodies it made 320 wheel and got great mileage without a kick of trouble from it. I was kinda hoping u was getting a nicer car with that kind of reliability and fun factor. Bummer.

 

bms, do what I do: I'm not planning on having any issues with mine. It's the power of positive thinking. Your car will be fine, so enjoy it.

 

The LNF had a pretty legendary reputation as a reliable powerplant, and the HHR was a hoot to drive (I test drove one with a posi and Brembo's but couldn't get past the seating ergonomics... it was too much like a minivan). That said, once this engine gets into the Camaro and the aftermarket starts to gain traction things will hopefully change with more parts available and more data as to how bad the pistons really are (or aren't) or a long term swap/fix/upgrade. I hate to say it's cheap to swap pistons (it isn't) but it's not that bad if the OEMs still last a decade of daily driving.

 

As you can see here, a nice inch long chunk was taken out of my #4 piston. This got me a new engine

 

View attachment 291033
As you can see here, a nice inch long chunk was taken out of my #4 piston. This got me a new engine

That has to be a defect. Usually you don't loose a piston like THAT. Detonation knocks the top of the piston to hell and back and usually kills the top ring land.

 

...was it mentioned or does anyone know if the build location is a common factor, i.e. Lansing or Canada?

Thank You,

Anthony

 

2.0T & 2.5 are assembled in Tonawanda N.Y.

 

Build location has no relation to these failures, it is still all basically the same. Signs of partial hydro-lock breaks almost all at the top ring land, and if driven long enough with it broken then in burns right through from the flame.

No warranties denied to date with ANY RX systems installed, in fact more dealer signing up all the time to install these to prevent this.

The new replacement pistons are beefier and stronger, but they have still done nothing to prevent the problem that causes this. That will require redoing the PCV system so it evacuates at ALL operating levels at a steady and controlled rate to prevent the accumulation of the mix that causes this to begin with.

Also, to date, not a single 2.0T with the RX system installed (as long as they emptied and cleaned the accumulation from the intercooler at the same time so existing gunk is not already present) has reported a piston failure, and that is several hundred over the past 2 years. So to date, every one we are monitoring has shown zero accumulation in the intercooler of this:

This is what we drain from the intercoolers and the RX separators after they are installed.

 

The new replacement pistons are beefier and stronger

I thought the replacement pistons were not showing a major redesign to really make them "beefier"?

Also did you see the documentation around the new 3.0TT LGW?

Two-stage PCV system – This revolutionary system maintains low oil consumption. If features a pre-separator between the block and the engine’s rear cover and a high-efficiency separator in the center of the block’s “V.”

With everything DI engines deal with these days, its amazing it took this long for even the most basic attempt to deal with the higher load on the PCV system...

 

Hi all, I purchased my ATS 2.0t manual in January (before reading all this obviously). At some point, I will post some pics and introduce myself in a new thread, but I had a quick question on this matter. My car went into the shop at mile 175 or so a week after delivery when I got the CEL/Stabilitrak/Reduced Power light combo. The service guy said they had to deal with "throttle settings" and some other stuff; he was pretty vague. Would it be a fair assumption that I got the reflash etc that was mentioned earlier and that I'm in the clear (more or less)?

 

I think the plugs/reflash is only for 2013 models...is that what you bought? If not then they are talking about something else.

 

^^^^ Hard to say... the "service guy" may be blowing smoke and again he may be right on. If it were my car I would pull/check/re-gap the plugs, run a compression test, leak down test and bore scope each cylinder.

 

Thanks. I've put only about 600 miles on it since the repair with no issues, so I'd have to hope the problem wouldn't have popped up again this soon regardless of what they did or didn't do. I did mention the piston issue back in January after some digging, but he still was vague about what exactly they did. I'll be sure to try to get more info next time I'm in for service.

 

Add me to the list, car was rough idling for about 6 months and always had a funky oil smell. Car is only 1.5 years old with 20,000 KM. Brought into the shop after the check engine light came with service stabilitrak message. Turns out piston(s) need to be replaced. What a lemon!!

 

Has there been a documented case of piston failure after the re-flash/new plugs?

Thanks,

Anthony

 

Hey guys just wondering. I took my Ats in and they mentioned something about a injector or plug recall...they were not real detailed. I am a bit lost if this actually
solves the piston issues?

Right after they did that however a day later my CEL came on and they took it in and could not figure out the issue, turns out they said it was a vacuum pump making the noise.

I stiil hear a faint dinging noise at idle but it seems to have gotten better. I won't call it a rough idle it sounded more like bad gas knocking sound. I always run 93 octane.

If anyone can clear up if this issue has been resolved by Cadillac and via recall or something would be nice for my simple brain to digest.

Thanks

 

2014 models have the plugs and ecm update, but there are still a couple that have had the piston issue. So to answer your question, it hasn't been resolved.

 

My 14 had the upgraded plugs and I would venture to say that the ECM calibration is different than the 13. I do 8.1L Chevy ECM updates for RVs. You have to go by the vin # to get the correct calibration codes. It should be noted that changes from one year are not always included in the next years updates. Maybe some, maybe all or maybe none.

If you want to see what the CVN (Calibration Verification Number) go to GM CVN link and enter your vin #. Here is what you will see...

 

That's odd

My updated Engine Control CVN for my 2013 vin is 0000536D

then I entered the VIN for a 2015 manual premium and it was the same 0000536D.



Never mind, the engine operation CVN is different.

 

You need to expand each code to see the updates for each function.

 

I'm new to the forum, and waiting for my car to sell before I buy an ATS 2.0T. I have a friend who can access the warranty, recall and service bulletin information, and every 2013 ATS we've checked out has the bulletin for the re flash and new plugs. Before I was set on the ATS, I checked out some 2014 Regals with the LTG, and most had the same bulletin for the plugs and re flash. I'm just trying to decide if I should get the ATS 2.0T and as soon as I take it home, take the front fascia off, drain the "gunk" out of the intercooler, add an RX catch can with the oil cap addition and cross my fingers!

 

I am going to have throw in my part here. I kind of feel like the majority of bad pistons were mainly caused by bad tunes. I am sure nobody is going to admit it but I have had a diablo intune and my car ran crappy. I gave Diablo a chance to adjust the tune and it still would never run right. Eventually, I gave up... sold my intune and moved over to a different brand. The car now runs perfect and I have not done anything different or added a catch can like diablo suggested. This is just my .02, so take it as it is.

 

What didn't you like about the tune? What do you mean by "ran crappy?" (I'm thinking about buying in the near future and I don't want to get it wrong).

 

Sorry myATS but I disagree. Not saying that a canned tune can't be part of the problem. But, there were a number of non-tuned stockers the bit the dust.

 

and that's the problem, nobody will ever admit it... Maybe I should've of said "accelerated the issue," instead. I see Diablo made a recent revision.

 

You mean GM won't admit it. When was the last time you seen ANY large corporation fess up to a problem without being kicked in the ass by the Feds or some other means. I have been part of 2 issues and potentially this one as I have a 2.0T.

1 issue took 6 years from start to finish.... The other took about 3 years. In both case there was no FEDERAL MANDATED recall.

The first issue was a brake caliper problem on 20,000 and 22,000 GVW RV's. It took a threat by NHTSA before the volunteered to recall the calipers. It cost the 250,000 calipers plus install. I ID'd the problem very early on as it was the same issue I had with a Dodge van back in the 60's.

The second issue was broken timing chains in Dodge Hemi's with auto trans and MDS. The tensioner would fail and you would suck a valve thru the piston.

 

Again... a canned is a one size fits all. Wrong... one size fits most of them. There are always going to be exceptions. Mass production is not an exact science, add in a few other variables and you have car that runs like crap. Now toss on a wideband O2 sensor, some data logging, create a custom tune and bingo it runs like STINK.

 

If you are going to play you have to be willing to pay. I have found very reasonably priced forged rods and pistons. All things considered this is an exceptionally cheap platform to play with. I am used to spending 3-4k on a set of cylinder heads, or 2500 on a ported intake. $1000 for rods and pistons is super cheap.

 

My personal opinion is.
1) Questionable factory tune
2) Poor PCV design that allows oil and condensation to get into the intercooler and into the engine.
3) Questionable pistons in a limited run of engines.
4) Owners using 87 octane gas

 

5) The factory pistons are cast Hypereutectic, which offers some structural weaknesses. Some pistons of the batch may have had a defect (#3) where it didn't meet design spec, but the pistons as a whole aren't good. This is evidenced by GM's acceptible specs for compression and leak down testing - the engine has been designed with a massive amount of blow-by and that's normal. The dealer can't do squat about it because GM tells them it's totally acceptable.

The problem is a lot of people feel like the LTG is an improved LNF. The reality is they took the LNF and re-designed it to be cheaper to manufacture.

 

I just purchased an 2014 ATS 2.0T AWD Automatic, incredibly happy with it so far, just figured I would ask where I can find the build date? I saw the pictures around page 5-6 of the stickers inside the driver side door, but I have three stickers there which all look completely different compared to the ones shown here, and none of them show the build date!

FYI car has been running fine so far.

 

Open driver's side door, towards the bottom of the door jamb between front and rear doors, sticker faces out (towards you).