Is anyone else experiencing brake issues [failure]?

[twinsemi]

To Illinois,
Ouch. That $$$ after warranty is gone must hurt. My BtB has 4K miles or 6 months left. Has everyone here seen the Grand Tour video of Richard Hammond crashing the electric supercar? So when you have this problem and your car is out of warranty, and you are near a cliff, open the door, jump out and let it (literally) crash and burn. And if any of you think that is out of order or serious or it makes you ill, or whatever, you should just stay in the car maybe?

The dealer is still waiting on the BPMV, which is what they have determined is the problem. I will update as I have more news. Keep the shiny side up.

 

[twinsemi]

And don't get me wrong based on the above CaB comment, I LOVE driving my Spark EV, as I am sure we all do. I just want them to do it right. But we do have to realize that given the following:
1. Spark EV was one of the lowest volume cars ever produced by GM
2. It is out of production now
3. Bolt EV probably has different components considering that it can do much more throttle-off braking
4. Major manufacturers have very little history of admitting failures
5. Major manufacturers have very little history of correcting failures

And I wish that I had had the presence of mind to try a POR while still moving. Maybe there is some way to do a Ctrl-Alt-Del?

 

[Chris101]

Update:
Two components have failed and need to be replaced that affected the braking system.

Parts and numbers:
Brake Pressure Modulator Valve #23283683
Electronic Brake Control Module #23154359

Thank you very much for sharing this info. Please do update on us if this really fixes the problem now (fingers crossed).

 

[Chris101]

BTW:

I did some quick research on those 2 part numbers listed and learning something interesting.

BOTH of those parts are ALSO on the Chevy VOLT (through 2015) AND Caddy CLR (the fancy Volt) so it makes me wonder if this funky brake issue is also happening on some of the CLR or VOLTs through 2015?

So is anyone here also a Volt owner on Volt forums or groups who remembers seeing braking issues reported there? GM certainly has a lot more VOLTS out there from 2011 through 2015 than Chevy Sparks and if this is the same exact setup/system, it's gotta make one wonder!

 

[IllinoisSpark15]

I haven't yet gotten the car back from the dealership. Hopefully this is actually what is wrong with the car. I'll try to keep this thread updated with anything I learn about this issue.

 

[NORTON]

And this being such a safety sensitive part, I'm surprised GM corporate is not getting behind this repair.
Aren't things like seat belts a lifetime warranty?

Have you called GM EV Support , or whatever they are called. (in the early days they were 'Volt Advisors'.)
Get them to contact your dealership. Do not write that check just yet...
Just keep saying "This is unexceptable". Don't get mad, just impress upon them that you are not letting this go and will shout it from the mountains.

Good Luck. Keep us informed.

 

[IllinoisSpark15]

Norton,

I will call GM EV support. Thank you for the idea. I really do believe this issue could get someone hurt badly. If me calling GM could help prevent a potential injury for someone else, then I'm happy to spend the time to make a phone call.

I really have never heard of power brakes failing while a car is in motion. It boggles my mind that it could happen, as there should be redundant systems in place in case of failure. Exactly as you suggested with the seat belt restraints.

 

[JMenacker]

We have had no notable braking issues with Volts or Spark EVs (so far). Worst case is first braking event after a full charge where regen appears to be locked out until x% of SOC is depleted. Event experienced is more brake pedal pressure is required than expected. This was same for both gen 1 Volts and Spark EVs.

1. 2013 Volt
2. 2014 Volt
3. 2015 Spark
4. 2015 Spark

Info on this particular issue is very much appreciated though. Good luck with the repair.

Joe M in WV

 

[Chris101]

Anxiously awaiting IlliniosSpark's update!

 

[IllinoisSpark15]

Update
I picked up my vehicle on Thursday, and waited until today to see if any issues would return post-repair. The Chevrolet dealership replaced the Brake Pressure Modulator Valve. The Electronic Brake Control Module wasn't replaced due to the issue abating after the BPMV was replaced.

I've driven the vehicle approximated 50 miles since receiving the it back, and have had no further issues. One difference I have noticed is that while applying brake pressure at low speed, (i.e. backing out of a parking space and applying brakes before placing vehicle into Drive) I have noticed the brakes are less aggressive in it's grabbing power. The pedal feel hasn't changed, just the way the vehicle's brakes react when applying similar pressure at crawl speeds. But interestingly, I haven't noticed this during faster speeds.

On an even better note, my car is covered under the Certified Pre-owned GM program, good for bumper-to-bumper. So the repair was free of charge! All-in-all a good couple of days.

If I experience any further issues with the braking system, I'll be sure to update this thread. Thanks for reading...

 

[Chris101]

oh good.. I was wondering how you got a CPO without a bumper to bumper so glad to hear it didn't cost you anything.

 

[IllinoisSpark15]

oh good.. I was wondering how you got a CPO without a bumper to bumper so glad to hear it didn't cost you anything.

Yes, I caught a break with that. They totally mistook my warranty period when I first brought the car in for service. Then corrected their error after some discussions with me about how the vehicle was bought at a dealership. So I get a 12 month/12K miles BtoB warranty.

 

[NORTON]

...I've driven the vehicle approximated 50 miles since receiving the it back, and have had no further issues. One difference I have noticed is that while applying brake pressure at low speed, (i.e. backing out of a parking space and applying brakes before placing vehicle into Drive) I have noticed the brakes are less aggressive in it's grabbing power. The pedal feel hasn't changed, just the way the vehicle's brakes react ....

Something to consider is doing one semi-hard stop from ~60mph in N. This would be a Friction Brake Only Stop (no regen) and it would warm up the disc and knock off any 'crud/glaze'...(the racers call it 'Bedding In the pads'.)

This is just a wildazz theory. Who knows if you could feel any difference in normal brake functions, but it does assure the brake pads and discs get to do their job at least once (the way a gasser car treats the brakes all the time.) :lol:

OH, and Congratulation on not getting hit with a Gigantic Repair Bill !!!!!!!!

 

[Chris101]

^ He might also need to bleed the brake fluid.. who knows if bubbles got into the system with swapping out parts.. so that would be the dealer's responsibility to address if they caused a new issue.

 

[IllinoisSpark15]

The dealer explained that the brake fluid was also changed after the part was replaced. Which, I was told by the service tech, is part of the regularly scheduled maintenance anyway at every 2 years/30K miles, whichever is first.

 

[Chris101]

The dealer explained that the brake fluid was also changed after the part was replaced. Which, I was told by the service tech, is part of the regularly scheduled maintenance anyway at every 2 years/30K miles, whichever is first.

that's good to know because I have a CPO car too with free maintenance I believe and wonder if I can get a free brake fluid change as well? I'll have to call and ask now

 

[NORTON]

The dealer explained that the brake fluid was also changed after the part was replaced. Which, I was told by the service tech, is part of the regularly scheduled maintenance anyway at every 2 years/30K miles, whichever is first.

that's good to know because I have a CPO car too with free maintenance I believe and wonder if I can get a free brake fluid change as well? I'll have to call and ask now

I tried to get this done before the warranty period, but was given some story....
I hope you can get it done on your service plan. Let us know!

The interesting thing is no other GM vehicles have this service item listed so soon. I suspect it's a left over from the Daewoo days.

 

[IllinoisSpark15]

Found this

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Oz...t yet been changed. I had better get on that.

 

[Chris101]

My guess is I'll be told it should have already been changed by the PO and my 'free maintenance' is only 1 year I think (I need to double check on that though).

My cabin air filter did look brand new though.

Either way I'm going to call and see if I get a free brake fluid flush as part of the maintenance CPO or not. I have my doubts since its a 1 year thing IIRC. ...and its supposed to be for tire rotations and 'oil changes' I was told haha

 

[twinsemi]

I got my Spark back from the dealer on Thursday. It took the dealer 31 days to fix it. They first determined that the BPMV was at fault. That was out of stock locally and it took about two weeks to get it. When they test drove the car after replacing it, the same problem recurred. (ESC failure followed by pwr brakes being disabled) They did some additional testing and told me that the pressure from the master cylinder was too low. So they ordered a new master cyl. That took almost two more weeks to get.

While I was waiting for them to fix the car, I had the time to look up the problem with other GM vehicles. Chevy Tahoe and Chevy Volts both use the same type of module made by TRW. First used in the 2009 Tahoe, and yes there are reports of the same type of problem going way back. One owner said the dealer had fixed the problem by replacing the wheel sensors and cleaning the chopper disk. I suggested this to the service writer, and he was non-comittal.

So they told me the car was going to be ready last Monday with the new master cylinder, but it took another three days. Maybe the mechanic was out sick. Maybe some other delay. I have my suspicions that they found the same problem after replacing the master cylinder and then decided to replace the wheel sensors as I had suggested. Of course, if they did that, they could not do that under warranty because it wouldn't be by the book. The SW was very polite and apologized for the long delay. As a backup plan, I bought front wheel sensors off eBay for $10 each. So I am prepared when this happens after my warranty expires in another 4100 miles.

And it seems I have the same reaction as Illinois. My braking effort seems higher at final stop now, but that may be just an adjustment after driving a loaner Cruze for 1400 miles.