Don't quote me because I'm probably wrong but I believe so. My 09 has a build date of 04/09 and a lot of people have said that's when the problem builds ended.

 

Where do you check the build date again. Is it at the door?
I wonder what's the highest mileage the porous block has happened at

 

I think your ok but yea its on the door jamb sticker

 

I'm sure I'm fine just curious lol

 

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?

 

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.

 

I wouldn't recommend it. But then again, I wouldn't recommend them to anybody.

 

Why is that? Do you not have one? Have you had problems with it? What else would you recommend instead? Looking for something fast/fun to drive and still get good gas mileage...

 

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.

 

Did you go to Dartmouth Regional Vocational School?

 

Mine happened this year at 120K

 

Ahhh good info so it can just happen at any time pretty much thanks man

 

That's reassuring.

Oh wait. I just hit 100k. Dang it.

 

I went to Cole harbour high when I was in highschool. I think it used to be called what you said. Then Saint Mary's university.


Why do you ask?

 

Lol its from trailer park boys. I just saw you were from Dartmouth haha

 

Yeah! That's the same school then. I see Julian and Ricky probably once a week randomly. Bubbles just bought a 4dr Maserati he's always out whipping lol.

 

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.

 

This thread should be enough of a deterrent to anybody considering buying one

 

If it is that's a shame

 

If it is then thats a shame.. I bought my 09 LNF about 4 months ago and I read this thread prior to buying.

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.

 

That ^ I love my LNF EVEN if it got a porous block yeah it would suck and would of rather used that money on something else but either way I've had alot of fun with it

 

This is true, but we are not here because we would consider a 'regular' cobalt.

 

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.

 

I have done about all the research I can think of and there is not really any info out there. You can buy one that has already had the engine replaced, but I am looking for a lower mileage example and most of them I am seeing are the original engine. The lack of credible info is what worries me. Seems buying one is just taking a chance...

 

It is a chance. Plus there's a thread on here about someone that knew a car had a bad block and traded it in at a dealer. So yeah screwed is whoever bought it.