AtomicZ_Eric

Hello Forum Members! This post brings good... no... GREAT news!

Quick Recap:
Many of you will recall my post on Sunday 8/11/2013 - My engine was exhibiting a ticking / pinging and I was concerned it was suffering from one of a couple well publicized mechanical failures. Loud ticking / pinging noises were present and trouble code P0304 (Cylinder #4 misfire) was thrown. Making matters worse was the fact I purchased the vehicle CPO and later discovered a tune. Tunes typically invalidate powertrain warranties and there's no way to show the date it was applied.

My Z was towed Wednesday 8/14/2013 by the lead Vette mechanic to forum vendor Bud's Chevrolet in St. Mary's Ohio. They are a good distance from my house, but I chose Bud's because of their positive reputation.

Here's the link to my original post:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...10k-miles.html

Resolution: (I'll try to keep it somewhat short)
The failure I experienced was electrical, NOT mechanical. PHEW! The contacts where the ignition coil and spark plug wire meet corroded and had come loose. Bud's Vette tech mentioned the wire had nearly come off the ignition coil and the ticking / pinging noise the engine was making was likely the system arcing. See the photos below. I picked up my Z on Friday 8/16/2013.

To my surprise I found out my car is NO LONGER under warranty. The powertrain warranty had expired June 21, 2013 (about 8 weeks ago). So if the engine had experienced some catastrophic failure GM would not have been obligated to help in any way. So the "warrantied tune" question will go unanswered as the point is therefore moot.

Cylinder #4 ignition coil



Plug wire end connected to the ignition coil



Ignition coil connection point to plug wire. This photo does not show the extent to which this part was corroded. It looks as though it had been sitting at the bottom of the ocean for a couple decades.



I'm no chemist, but I *think* electrical arcing in a silicone rich environment can cause silicone dioxide which is corrosive to some metals (any chemists want to back this up or correct me?). Maybe the connection became loose over time which caused the arcing, which caused the connection to become looser, and then more arcing, and then more corrosion... Maybe it was just a bad part and corroded for some environmental reason... Maybe there are many other factors I just don't have the experience to conceive.

The bottom line - I'm so incredibly happy that this engine malfunction was corrected with minimal effort & expense, and no major engine damage.

+ Big thanks to the Vette tech at Bud's in St. Mary's, Ohio. I truly appreciate his honesty and the care he took with my vehicle. To me it appeared he treated it as his own. That quality is hard to find, especially for us quirky Vette owners. I know many dealers receive plenty of complaints on CF, so I think it's fair to give some praise when a good dealer does a great job.

+ Big thanks to Chevy Customer Service. I was in contact with them every step of the way and their reps seemed to genuinely care that my issue was resolved. Even though my car was no longer in warranty it was nice to see they took an interest in my case.

I cruised home nice & slow and enjoyed every single second of the ride.


I considered myself lucky to have escaped the possibility of replacing the engine at a cost ~$18k. However, the ride home was pretty humbling because I found out a dear family friend was told by Dr.'s their kidneys were going to fail completely in about eight months and must go on a donor list. I understand our friend spends about $18k every single year on medical supplies to stay alive. Suddenly one Z06 engine didn't seem all that bad. Driving home was one of those humbling life moments I will never forget.

Thanks again to Bud's, Chevy Cust. Service, and to all the forum members who took an interest in my posts. I hope to post some great photos of car shows and cruise-ins soon.




EDIT: 8/20/2013 7:44pm EST
Hello again forum members! I was perusing through my many car photos and found this gem... I took this photo approx. February 2012 when I purchased the car. You can clearly see the cylinder #4 wire coming loose from the ignition coil. WOW. It was exactly as Bud's Vette tech had stated.

Had I taken just a couple minutes to check all my connections once the past 1.5 years all this could have been avoided. I hope everyone is able to learn from my mistake.

slickstick

Great news indeed... How much was the repair in the end? IIRC the dealer came and personally picked it up with a flatbed.

LFZ

I told you to pull the fuel rail covers off and check! . Glad it worked out for you man.

RekaRoyal

Everyone loves a happy ending.

OnPoint

That's excellent news.

Now drive that baby and enjoy it.

Bendog

Normally you have to pay extra for that...

AtomicZ_Eric

Hey LFZ - I have an awesome post coming tomorrow regarding this. I was scrolling through my thousands of vette photos, and found a photo of the engine with the plastic garnish removed just after my purchase (1.75 years ago). The plug wire from cylinder #4's is CLEARLY coming loose from the ignition coil! Bear with me till tomorrow she I can post it.

need-for-speed

Happy ending cost extra

01VETTECOP

how much ??????????????????????????????????

Top_Fuel

I'm confused. This was a GM CPO car, right? I thought CPO cars came with a 5 year/100K powertrain warranty that starts on the day you buy the car? Unless you've owned the car for 5 years, I guess that's not how it works.

Sorry to hear about your friend. That certainly does put things in perspective.

C6Whatever

So happy that your car is well and running. Always good to hear.

I am so sorry to hear of your friend's health problems. Hopefully he won't have to wait long

Good thoughts to all

Lisa

brettbolt

It is a confusing and unfortunate situation. If my understanding is correct, the OP said that he discovered the engine was 'tuned', which voids the powertrain warranty. Since he can't prove that it was tuned before he bought it, he lost the warranty. This situation really sucks!

Seems to me that the dealer should have checked for the tune BEFORE they sold it.

WICKEDFRC

Interesting in that, the dealership which certified the vehicle would have overlooked that "small detail" prior to certifying and selling, yet another delership is quick to indentify an aftermarket tune (which invalidates warranty) at the first sign of trouble.

Is it possible that the selling dealership did know the car was tuned and did not disclose this at the sale?

Are there any CPO experts here that could take a stab at this? I find it hard to believe that a dealership would give a stamp of approval as Certified Pre-Owned vehicle and not consider throwing on a diagnostic reader of some sorts to verify OEM authenticity in the program.

Glad it all worked out though!!

BearZ06

The tune was never an issue as far as his repairs. "The powertrain warranty had expired June 21, 2013 (about 8 weeks ago)."

AtomicZ_Eric

Repair bill was about $250 for parts / labor.

If you look closely at the 5 year / 100k mile statement there is always a superscript referencing some fine print. The 5y/100k is from the original in service date, not the date I purchased.

Thank you Lisa.

Check above - warranty simply expired. The car when traded in was immaculate and didn't have any obvious aftermarket parts. I don't know if it's normal to check for a tune for every CPO car.

1 - The dealership performing the work did not inform me of the tune. I was informed of its presence after speaking with the previous owner (who is a stand-up gentleman!). I informed the "fixing" dealership of the tune prior to taking it in. Check out the original thread. Lots of interesting thoughts and opinions.

2 - I don't think the selling dealership knew the tune was there. I understand the previous owner kept it in such immaculate condition the selling dealership basically rolled it straight onto the showroom floor. And it appeared stock - not even an aftermarket air filter.

Right on.

IrishSpuds

Glad it worked out for you but; this is an ongoing DESIGN fault by GM and with so many recurring issues with coil packs they need to get it together. Lousy quality control. My 2013 had the same issue TWICE!!!!

Top_Fuel

Interesting. So if you see a 2008-2009 CPO at a dealer today, chances are it's been in service for at least 4+ years already...so the actual powertrain coverage is probably minimal.

jimmie jam

Yes, CPO adds 2 years and XXXXX miles to the original BTB warranty. Does not have anything to do with the powertrain warranty from my knowledge.

OP, glad this was an easy fix!!

vet55

Congrats!

boraxman

Good news/