LOL, I had a 09 Infinity FX35 with low mileage that severely overheated on the highway after the cooling fan stopped working (loose wire) and had the cooling system replaced starting with the thermostat because it was blocked and still overheating but the block compression test came back good.
It was getting air in the new radiator and we figured out the the head gasket was blown on the exhaust side, I had 10k left to pay on the thing so I got the shop to bleed out the radiator and immediately drove it around the corner to the nearest dealership and traded it in before it started overheating again. They didn't have anything used I liked in my price range so I settled for a BRAND NEW Chevy Spark.
I didn't like it at first but it grew on me, after watching your review video and having it Scotty approved I feel better. I did big brain research and learned they changed up a few things under the hood starting with the 2020 model and I'm hoping they put in a better transmission.
My question, they put in a "sealed" CVT transmission that's supposed to never need servicing, I plan on driving this thing until the wheels fall off. I can't change the fluid at home, would it be a justifiable expense to bring it in and have to fluid changed around 50k miles? What would be a fair price?
The Spark has a JATCO CVT, and on those I would change the transmission fluid (drain and fill) every 30,000 miles; don’t take a chance on those (historically problematic) transmissions. Also, be sure to use the OEM fluid and do not drive it hard (take it easy as much as you can). Change engine oil every 5,000 miles (or once a year whichever comes first). The rest you can follow the maintenance in the owner’s manual, but the two big ticket items above I would go more aggressive than what the manual says so they can last longer.
I'm gonna have to look it up and figure out how to do it, see if it's the same tranny that's in the last generation. They started a new generation in 2020 and their so new they're are ZERO tutorials on anything. It's not like my older cars, I kept my F150 running for 300k miles and my old ES300 for 200k. Everything was easy to get to. I need to find out if fiddling with the "sealed" tranny will void the warranty. Really the only thing good about the car IS the bumper to bumper factory warranty. It was a matter of taking what could get at the time. I plan on paying down on principle since the resale is awful and buying a cash car I actually want when used car prices and availability go back down.
I do miss my Infiniti. Lol.
The transmission isn't truly sealed. Servicing every 3 years/30k miles would be a good idea. Just do a drain and fill on it, no machine flush. You can do it yourself for cheap as it isn't difficult.
I'm gonna have to look it up and figure out how to do it, see if it's the same tranny that's in the last generation. They started a new generation in 2020 and their so new they're are ZERO tutorials on anything. It's not like my older cars, I kept my F150 running for 300k miles and my old ES300 for 200k. Everything was easy to get to. I need to find out if fiddling with the "sealed" tranny will void the warranty. Really the only thing good about the car IS the bumper to bumper factory warranty. It was a matter of taking what could get at the time. I plan on paying down on principle since the resale is awful and buying a cash car I actually want when used car prices and availability go back down.
I do miss my Infiniti. Lol.
There are no really “sealed” transmissions and the Chevy Spark has 0 horsepower. And of course, with the current low quality of GM products, I'm sure the Chevy Spark wheels will fall off.
Thank you for the non-answer, I really appreciate the time you took out of your day to basically say absolutely nothing, add nothing to the conversation, or help in anyway. You're a real hero.