Coil Pack Failure 1.4

[Papasonic]

Had to have my LTZ turbo 1.4 towed to the dealer yesterday. I went to start it up in the garage, and it wasn't running on all cylinders; the check engine light came on, then started flashing. A call to Onstar verified the misfire, and suggested not driving the vehicle to prevent damage to the emission system. The car has 1,600 miles on it, and was running fine the night before. The only visual clue I noticed lately was soot in the tailpipe; possibly indicating improper combustion, but it seemed to perform well.

Today the dealer called and said the ignition coil pack failed, causing one cylinder to misfire. Picking it up tomorrow; hope this one lasts longer than 1,600 miles!

Here are a couple of pictures of the Sonic on the flatbed.





Papasonic

 

[Ferdie]

Hmmm

that suck man!

but better now then over a year!

hopfully it will be fixid!

 

[Eric Smit]

At least it looks good on a truck.


-Eric Smit

 

[Sonic]

Sucks, but that's what a warranty is for.

 

[EVOX_SPEED3]

Are u tuned? Hope u get it back soon bro!!

 

[AndrewGS]

Sucks to hear. Good to see OnStar helping though.

 

[Gimpster]

Now thats a sad sight but at least she's fixed now.

 

[Papasonic]

Are u tuned? Hope u get it back soon bro!!

No tune on this one; stock settings. My next concern is the amount of unburned hydrocarbon accumulation (soot) that I notice in the tailpipe. It looks as though I were burning diesel fuel. I'm not sure if all 1.4 turbo engines exhibit this trait, or if mine has some issues. Fuel economy seems acceptable/normal, and performance seemed fine prior to this coil problem. Maybe if the coil pack was not providing sufficient output, this may be the cause. There is no noticable oil consumption that would cause a deposit in the tailpipe.

Are there any other 1.4 owners that have noticed soot in their Sonics tailpipes?

Papasonic

 

[AndrewGS]

Are there any other 1.4 owners that have noticed soot in their Sonics tailpipes?

I've noticed a little bit, but nothing alarming.

 

[EVOX_SPEED3]

No tune on this one; stock settings. My next concern is the amount of unburned hydrocarbon accumulation (soot) that I notice in the tailpipe. It looks as though I were burning diesel fuel. I'm not sure if all 1.4 turbo engines exhibit this trait, or if mine has some issues. Fuel economy seems acceptable/normal, and performance seemed fine prior to this coil problem. Maybe if the coil pack was not providing sufficient output, this may be the cause. There is no noticable oil consumption that would cause a deposit in the tailpipe.

Are there any other 1.4 owners that have noticed soot in their Sonics tailpipes?

Papasonic

From my experience all my STOCK turbos had all kinds of soot on the tailpipe, but once the fuel was leaned out with a tune it stayed a lot cleaner.

Glad ur back up and running!

 

[LS1notFOUND]

I'd imagine some spirited driving and a good long highway run would clean it out

 

[tainopayute]

I have a 2013 Sonic RS with 45,000 miles on it. I noticed about a month ago that my Sonic started to miss fire when I would hit anything over 4,000 RPM's. At first I thought that it was acting up because of a mod that I just had did (bypass the bypass selinoid). But today I pulled out the coil pack out of curiosity and that's when I found out the reason for my misfire, a faulty coil pack. I hope that my dealer replaces this for me because these coil packs are kind of pricey...
:sadbanana:

 

[mitdr774]

Chances are that you are SOL for getting it covered. Rock Auto for about $120 for a new one.

 

[tainopayute]

Chances are that you are SOL for getting it covered. Rock Auto for about $120 for a new one.

You're right. My dealer said that the coil pack would not be covered by the warranty because it's considered a wear and tear item... bummer... luckily I found a new one at http://www.gmpartsgiant.com/ for $90.88.

 

[ChrisJ]

When I did my plugs yesterday I looked inside the boots of the coil and noticed 2 springs didn't return to their full extended positions. By poking them a few times with a screw driver I was able to get them to spring out fully.

Is there any chance the coils failing are from guys who did their plugs or checked the gaps and didn't make sure the springs didn't get stuck? Not sure if it even matters, but, maybe?

 

[whitesmoke]

No tune on this one; stock settings. My next concern is the amount of unburned hydrocarbon accumulation (soot) that I notice in the tailpipe. It looks as though I were burning diesel fuel. I'm not sure if all 1.4 turbo engines exhibit this trait, or if mine has some issues. Fuel economy seems acceptable/normal, and performance seemed fine prior to this coil problem. Maybe if the coil pack was not providing sufficient output, this may be the cause. There is no noticable oil consumption that would cause a deposit in the tailpipe.

Are there any other 1.4 owners that have noticed soot in their Sonics tailpipes?

Papasonic

Man my pipes look like they are off of a diesel tractor from a coal mine, and its always been like that. If their was anything wrong with your afr the o2 sensor would probably throw a code. The way i look at it better rich than lean. But i get outstanding mpg so there cant be a problem.

 

[ChrisRS]

Had similar issue but the car was still running - started with rough idle. Worked it's way into delays 4-5K range and then big delays on the freeway when trying to accelerate. Dealer replaced the coil pack and #4 plug. Waiting for the shuttle now to find out if there is anything out of pocket. 2013 RS with 46,500 miles

 

[mja]

Had similar issue but the car was still running - started with rough idle. Worked it's way into delays 4-5K range and then big delays on the freeway when trying to accelerate. Dealer replaced the coil pack and #4 plug. Waiting for the shuttle now to find out if there is anything out of pocket. 2013 RS with 46,500 miles

The #4 plug/coil inside the boot goes bad cuz oil spews down onto it from the manifold (or cam cover) diaphragm, I think this is a big reason some of these cars are getting misfires and blown pistons on #4. Its not a good design, I want to email/call a few suppliers and ask em if they have a solution.

Update: emailed DDMworks and MPFab about this, hopefully Walker can whip up something s3xy for the car. Will wait and see.

Update again: No reply back from either of those guys, they've got better things to do. I'm ordering DDMWorks coil cover. At least that way any residual oil from the diaphragm sprays into the engine bay and any water which would condense on the hot oiled surface will be around the hood/engine bay, instead of being isolated under that stock plastic coil pack cover corroding the spring at #4.

 

[MaD]

I'm kinda afraid to open my coil pack now... maybe they got it fixed in the 14's?? I don't want to poke the badger with a stick just yet... shes running pretty good after my run down south to AZ and back...

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

 

[ChrisRS]

Got the car back - covered under warranty!