Offical: Porous Block Problem Thread
#176
Senior Member
#180
So I have called several local dealerships and GM/Chevy customer service, and they all basically have told me they have never heard of this and have no idea what I am talking about and no idea what changed during production and when the changes were made.
One dealer guy that says he has been around for 30 years did say they he thought they had this problem with the 2006/7 supercharged engine, but I don't seem to recall those being an issue...
So the bottom line is this--I have no clue what to believe or what is considered 'safe'. I would like to pick up an LNF turbo, but don't know that I trust them enough and I can't afford to buy a car and then have to replace an engine. I have seen some low mileage cars out there where it seems this problem may not have manifested itself yet, but it also seems this didn't effect a huge number of the cars overall either. How do I know if I am 'safe', and do I take the plunge?
One dealer guy that says he has been around for 30 years did say they he thought they had this problem with the 2006/7 supercharged engine, but I don't seem to recall those being an issue...
So the bottom line is this--I have no clue what to believe or what is considered 'safe'. I would like to pick up an LNF turbo, but don't know that I trust them enough and I can't afford to buy a car and then have to replace an engine. I have seen some low mileage cars out there where it seems this problem may not have manifested itself yet, but it also seems this didn't effect a huge number of the cars overall either. How do I know if I am 'safe', and do I take the plunge?
#181
Senior Member
iTrader: (1)
The number of cars affected is low enough that they may be telling the truth. It's also possible that they've even had a car in but didn't know enough to put two-and-two together, or have been directed to ignore it. For example, I took my car in to a dealership but if you call them asking about a porous block they'll say they've never seen anything like that (they told GM Customer Disservice that my car overheated and caused the problems I saw. Lying SOB's.).
As far as percentage affected, it really is impossible to know. GM may have kept track for warranty purposes but those numbers will never be public. There's quite a few here, but still have no idea what kind of sample size that represents. It's likely in the single digit percentage. There's also no mileage where you can say the car's safe. Mine happened at 71k, it's happened north of 100k. It's a fatigue issue so you can't just say that it'll happen within xxx miles. It seems that they got control of the issue midway through the '09MY so if you have a late '09 or '10 you should be clear.
As far as percentage affected, it really is impossible to know. GM may have kept track for warranty purposes but those numbers will never be public. There's quite a few here, but still have no idea what kind of sample size that represents. It's likely in the single digit percentage. There's also no mileage where you can say the car's safe. Mine happened at 71k, it's happened north of 100k. It's a fatigue issue so you can't just say that it'll happen within xxx miles. It seems that they got control of the issue midway through the '09MY so if you have a late '09 or '10 you should be clear.
#182
So I have called several local dealerships and GM/Chevy customer service, and they all basically have told me they have never heard of this and have no idea what I am talking about and no idea what changed during production and when the changes were made.
One dealer guy that says he has been around for 30 years did say they he thought they had this problem with the 2006/7 supercharged engine, but I don't seem to recall those being an issue...
So the bottom line is this--I have no clue what to believe or what is considered 'safe'. I would like to pick up an LNF turbo, but don't know that I trust them enough and I can't afford to buy a car and then have to replace an engine. I have seen some low mileage cars out there where it seems this problem may not have manifested itself yet, but it also seems this didn't effect a huge number of the cars overall either. How do I know if I am 'safe', and do I take the plunge?
One dealer guy that says he has been around for 30 years did say they he thought they had this problem with the 2006/7 supercharged engine, but I don't seem to recall those being an issue...
So the bottom line is this--I have no clue what to believe or what is considered 'safe'. I would like to pick up an LNF turbo, but don't know that I trust them enough and I can't afford to buy a car and then have to replace an engine. I have seen some low mileage cars out there where it seems this problem may not have manifested itself yet, but it also seems this didn't effect a huge number of the cars overall either. How do I know if I am 'safe', and do I take the plunge?
#183
#184
Senior Member
Just from a dealer point of view, the shop I work for has had only a few turbo cobalts come in, and those were for the key recall. You have to take into consideration most ppl that bought these are doing their own work unless something major happens. That and there weren't many made in the first place and of those even less were effected by the issue. Its known but was still
imo considered rare, ive asked technical assistance to look check cases for me and even then there wasn't many that directly said the block was leaking like we know it does. Most dealers that took the issue seemed to assume the block/heat warped and blew the head gasket and repeat repairs concluded with engine replacement. Least that's what majority of cases showed that the guy I was talking to found.
Personally I wouldn't worry too much about it, if someone got a 08 to 09 build just checke history for engine replacement, if there hasn't been. buy a good extended warranty.
imo considered rare, ive asked technical assistance to look check cases for me and even then there wasn't many that directly said the block was leaking like we know it does. Most dealers that took the issue seemed to assume the block/heat warped and blew the head gasket and repeat repairs concluded with engine replacement. Least that's what majority of cases showed that the guy I was talking to found.
Personally I wouldn't worry too much about it, if someone got a 08 to 09 build just checke history for engine replacement, if there hasn't been. buy a good extended warranty.
#189
Senior Member
#191
Senior Member
#192
Senior Member
iTrader: (3)
You have to remember that the 08-10 cars were limited run. If there was a problem with several months of production that means that it's a very small amount of cars verses say a model year of a car that may have sold 300,000. 200 or less cars effected isn't even on their radar. It's a bigger percentage for 09 lnf's due to the number made but small in comparison to overall cobalts sold.
#195
It is like any car.. They all have issues and most forums discuss the common issues so you have to check the car before you buy.
Check out speed 3s and their bent rods from boosting at low rpms, STI's with their shitty tunes from the factory.. All of these turbo 4 cars have issues. At least our cars can be fixed for relatively cheap.
#197
#198
Senior Member
I wouldn't be deterred from buying a 09 lnf, just do research before buying, find out if its in the average failure build dates, or if its already been replaced. then buy with confidence and get a extended warranty that covers those kinds of failures. Considering how many ss's were made compared to how many died from porous block. its still considered rare to happen imo.
#199
I wouldn't be deterred from buying a 09 lnf, just do research before buying, find out if its in the average failure build dates, or if its already been replaced. then buy with confidence and get a extended warranty that covers those kinds of failures. Considering how many ss's were made compared to how many died from porous block. its still considered rare to happen imo.