Module? what is that? and where is it?

i have not noticed any coolant missing.....or havent needed to add coolant....

taking it to the mechanic tomorrow to see if he can figure it out
he's going to check for low compression or sticking or clogged valves....

 

The spark module is what the coil pack bolts to.

 

I had the same issue back when I bought mine brand new. Happened right outside the warrenty. GM said see ya!! So I checked all the injectors, plugs, wires, cam sensor, crank sensor and PCM. It ended up being a faulty injector in cylinder 4. So I just said forget this, I immediately began upgrading the fuel system. I replaced the injectors with bigger psi and a high volume fuel pump, which led to me doing a host of upgrades. What I know for a fact because I did a serious research paper on it is, that, GM definitely 100% designs ALL their parts to fail within a specific amount of time. I believe that's why on this forum, everyone has the same exact problems on every single car, sooner, rather than later. Anyway, I never replace anything with Original GM or...any OEM replacement because the replacement stuff us made to the same crappy specs as GM parts. So far, any part that I've replaced with a performance aftermarket part, has not failed on me yet, proving again, how GM designs parts to fail at specific timed intervals. Shame in them and that's why they were going bankrupt. People are tired if this crap. Hondas theory is the opposite and correct...build it so it never fails/breaks, then you'll tell everyone how it never fails or leaves you stranded and hopefully that person will wind up purchasing a Honda. Maybe that's why the Japs have a better reputation in the auto industry. GM continues to ride the coat tails of thinking they are the largest auto company in the world. That is just SO NOT TRUE anymore, unfortunately. If it wasn't for China lending our irresponsible government enough money to buy our country, and the introduction of the new imitation Camaro,( I say that simply because the new Camaro is built on the Zeta platform and isn't an F Body), GM would be where Packard is right now. Food for thought.....I towed vehicles for years p/t and full time for years and myself and I can honestly say, I towed more GMs then any other manufacturer. I'm sure lots of tow drivers will agree. Coincidence? Hmmm....you decide.

 

Let's try to keep this thread on subject to help the OP.
And for the record, it's not only GM you should have your rant about. Car manufacturers in general look at what parts on their cars last an unusually long time, and then see where they can cut costs, which sometimes cuts the longevity. A penny less on one part can mean millions of dollars saved. You can pretty much blame all car manufacturers for this practice, not just GM.

 

Go play with your Altima, and stop inventing facts. All manufacturers specify a minimum life expectancy for their parts. No one specifies that a part should fail at of before a certain amount of time.

 

I guess you never had a new vehicle.

 

Many more than you probably ever had. But if you want to continue this conversation, start a new thread in the Lounge section, where you can and rave as much as you like This section if for helping with technical problems and not for political BS.

 

I just want Mezzyshreder to know his theory is wrong. I am speaking from firsthand knowledge. I am a manufacturing engineer and I have worked for tier one automotive vendors (people that supply parts to the big 3 here in the US.)

Here is the short on how it works. GM writes a spec for a part. Let’s look your injector example. The part must work at a certain PSI rang at a certain flow level, most likely it’s a good 10-15 pages. The spec will list a min life and testing requirement. This spec will be sent to a half a dozen tier one suppliers approved to supply injectors. (Companies like Bosch, Kelsey Hase, Ac Delco) Those companies will see if they have an already developed product or they will modify an existing product or even design from new a part that will meet the spec. Since GM only sends quotes to trusted vendors they will most likely go with the cheapest quote. Remember this could be 50,000 Pc per day so pennies count. Once a vendor is chosen he will submit drawings for the design and GM will approve the drawing and update their drawings to meet the new part. At that point the manufacture must come up with a test and control plan to prove they will consistence meet the spec.

Quality is based on how good the spec was and how good the manufacture meets the spec. There is no part “must fail” at any point only part must function a min of this many hours. You can design a part that will last 10 times longer than the spec requires but chances are you will not get the work because your costs will be too high(remember pennies count). But with any high volume “mass produced” part there are risks. Parts are not 100 percent inspected. There is a statistical acceptable failure rate. It is assumed based on controls that are put in place the parts meets spec. Part life can be greatly affected by variation in manufacturing but more variation you allow the cheaper the parts. It really is a balancing act. Some parts do not make it out of warranty some last 200,000 miles.

Could a manufacture make a Car with zero or near zero defects? Yes they could we already do that in the Aerospace industry but there is a cost. Are you willing to pay a ¼ of a million dollars for a car?

Example: A good front wheel bearing cost about $11.00 to manufacture. In an automated system 2000 bearings can made in a shift. Some parts are inspected at the beginning of every shift if a defect is found then the issue is fixed and the previous shifts worth of parts is inspected for the defect or scraped. The process for the “almost the same part” that goes into a jet engine is completely different. Raw materials are certified aerospace and tested by an independent lab. The blank parts going to the grinder are checked for imperfections using an eddy current system (magnetic image) every part is measure as it is manufacture and every step is documented. Once the part is complete the bearing is spun tested for vibration levels. This just shows everything worked. Low vibration equals long life. (This test is also done on the automotive parts but only 1 in a 1000 pcs are tested) The test results are added to the growing paper trail that follows the bearings. Once the bearing hits Quality for shipping to the customer all the documents are inspected and verified that no test was missed then QA will still randomly retest parts and compare that to the tests done by manufacturing. If the tests do not match the parts are rejected even if they are acceptable. The fact the test results do not match is enough to show something is not right. The cost to manufacture a very similar bearing using aero space guide lines will cost $120 compared to $11. That is the price of being 100% sure there is no defects.

In many case aero space will not accept a casting or forging because there is no way to be 100% there is not small internal defects. Many things that are made at high volume and are cheap in cars are very expensive in a plane because it needs to be machined from a certified billet. Could you imagine building a car without castings or forgings?

GM engineers are just not that good to plan a failure on a mass produced part. GM encourages higher than required CPKs. I won’t bore with this description but let’s say GM encourages parts that are better than the spec requires. If your life testing shows 3 to 4 times greater life than the spec requires GM will not nit pic your control plans.

Now if you really want something to think about, US nuclear certified parts make the aero space requirements look like crap. In the aerospace material cert you need to list the country of origin for the raw material. In Nuclear we know what mine it came out on what shift and who was there when it was pulled. All signed and with your raw material when it shows up. If they need one valve they will order 5 and destroy 4 in testing and if any of the 4 does not meet spec you’re not getting paid and you certification can be pulled if you made a mistake. A standard 4” on/off water valve will cost more than new Chevy