Had the pistons and rings replaced on my 2010 Equinox last week. I'm wondering if GM has improved the pistons and rings since they found out about this problem with them...and I'm hoping I won't have to bring the vehicle back to the dealership with the same problem in another 20 to 40,000 miles. Does anyone know if GM has improved the pistons and rings? Thanks!

 

Probably not. The cylinder wall is most likely the reason as it has to be "harder" than the ring, you want the wear on the ring.

 

The top compression piston ring has a more durable coating, but the other rings and pistons are unchanged. See the link below.

http://sandyblogs.com/techlink/?p=2204

 

The piston/rings are not the real issue on these engines. These problems were caused by the direct injection pump being released before it was "ready for prime time." The pumps dumped gasoline in the oil which wore/wears out many components inside the engine, including the rings. GM appears to be trying to band-aid the resultant oil consumption issues with a piston/ring swap, but I have doubts as to how effective that is. My 2010 Equinox is at the dealer right now getting the piston/ring replacement. After they finished, they said it's puffing into the crankcase so they are replacing the intake manifold (and charging me $400) to "repair" the PCV system. This is going to get ugly. I'm guessing the PCV system is not the issue, it's just that the rings can't seal on the worn cylinder bores. GM has already issued a service bulletin telling dealers to disregard any "zebra stripes" they see on the cylinder walls. I would expect those stripes indicate an out-of-round bore that new rings will have a tough time sealing against.

And then there's the main and rod bearings that are being ignored, even though they ran with gasoline for lubrication.