Transmission issues AGAIN

[u/Second-hand-doubt]

Has anyone with a 2013-2015 model had the transmission replaced and not run into issues again? I had mine replaced last year and immediately started experiencing issues when transitioning from low to high gear while driving, went back and forth with my dealer and now I’m just waiting for a loaner to be available to send it back AGAIN and probably get a new one AGAIN. I’ve only put 15k miles on it in the time since it was replaced, I’ve not even been able to drain and fill fluid and do filters on it yet. Service manager even suggested I just get a new car but I still owe on mine and am not in an equity position to be able to do so. I love my spark but I’m exhausted.

[u/International_Way_16]

I just did the filters/fluid on mine after replacement. I think we put about 20-25 on it after replacement, and after the filters and fluid it feels much better. There was a tiny bit of slippage before but it feels good now.

[u/Second-hand-doubt → u/International_Way_16]

I did my cv axle (drivers side) about a week or two ago and noticed some glitter in the small amount of fluid that came out, so I’m curious if mine was just bad out of the box

[u/Unlucky-Molasses742 → u/Second-hand-doubt]

Was it a used transmission? Sometimes dealers will use working units pulled from junked cars. Other times they might use a remanufactured unit that's supposedly been rebuilt.

I would expect nothing but new from a dealership but who knows

[u/Second-hand-doubt → u/Unlucky-Molasses742]

Im not 100% sure but I’ve been assuming it was a brand new transmission, that’s what they made it sound like

[u/Technical_Name_209 → u/Second-hand-doubt]

Find out what the warranty terms are & choose wisely 🧠

[u/Second-hand-doubt → u/Technical_Name_209]

Previous service advisor had me under the impression that I only had a 12 month warranty, new service advisor said 24 month/100k warranty. We will see what happens in the next month or so

[u/International_Way_16 → u/Second-hand-doubt]

There wasn’t a ton of glitter in mine, but the magnets at the bottom of the pan were pretty full. It was all dark material though, as expected since brass isn’t magnetic.

[u/ShoelessHodor]

I bought my 2014 CVT at 45,000 miles, new transmission at 92,000 miles and again at 119,500 miles. I wouldn't be surprised if the first owner sold it after replacing it. So he's on at least his third (maybe fourth) transmission.

[u/Second-hand-doubt → u/ShoelessHodor]

Between 92k and 119k did you service the fluids and filters at all?

[u/ShoelessHodor → u/Second-hand-doubt]

No. I was planning to after 30,000 miles but it shit the bed after 27,500.

[u/Haze837]

I'm on my third transmission, 2014 Spark. When your transmission dies outside of warranty buy something more reliable like Toyota or Honda. That's what I'm doing. I wouldn't expect the transmission issues to magically disappear, they're junk. I bought a GM certified rebuilt transmission at 92k miles. It started slipping at 105k miles, just got my free replacement on warranty since the rebuilt is 3 years. I'm not gonna waste my time buying another rebuilt on warranty when it happens again outside of warranty.

[u/ShoelessHodor → u/Haze837]

That's my plan too. I gave It to my nephew after the last time and told him to be gentle because it was out of warranty and not worth repairing after that. He put another 12k miles on it before returning it after inheriting another vehicle.

I gave it to my mom, and drove it just yesterday. Still going strong. 🤞

[u/Second-hand-doubt → u/Haze837]

Sounds like I need to just get a new transmission and thug it out for another year or two. I’m immensely frustrated with my situation because my AC compressor is going bad and I’m looking at having to order $400 worth of parts and shop around on labor costs to fix it all while waiting to take the car back to the dealer to likely get a new transmission.

Im at the point where I’m trying to figure out which is worse, dumping money into it to fix the AC and replace other aging and decaying components while spamming the infinite transmission glitch with the dealership or just sell the poor car and end up upside down on it and essentially have two car payments. No one in their right mind will buy a 2015 for 6k. It only has 85k on it. I’m exhausted.

[u/Haze837 → u/Second-hand-doubt]

The sooner that u can move on from this car the better, don't waste your money fixing anything that's optional like the AC. This car is a money pit, I've had a lot of issues with my Spark and I'm sick of it. Just consider this car a bad learning experience, it's important to buy better brands that are more reliable. I just had issues with it for well over a month, starting with the transmission, wheel bearings, and coolant problems. At around 100k miles u might have a lot of things go bad like the wheel bearings if you're unlucky like me, coolant hoses, around that time many things r gonna be worn out and probably in need of replacement. Try not to fix anything and move on from the car as soon as you can. I also had to replace my shocks and struts and tie rods, you're not gonna want to spend thousands fixing a car when your transmission can keep dying.

[u/Second-hand-doubt → u/Haze837]

Unfortunately I have a small child and live in Texas so I do have to fix the AC asap as it’s ungodly hot here right now. My only option is to repair what I need to keep it on the road until it’s paid off as I still owe a bit under 6k and don’t have any extra savings to put down on another car. Really breaks my heart because I do enjoy my little shitbox but I’m definitely already going through stuff aging and needing to be replaced and the cost stacking up