NHTSA Complaint #11522522 — 2019 CHEVROLET TRAX

The issues with the car happen when attempting to go over 40mph. After maybe 10-15min of driving, if attempting to go over 40mph, the car starts making a clinking sound, a lot of exhaust smoke comes out the back and there is a general inability to accelerate without the engine sputtering which even happened at lower speeds once it has already started to happen. The check engine light come on when this occurs. Our safety does seem to be at risk as we cannot seem to keep up with traffic speeds and would likely cause an accident if we remain on the road while the car is exhibiting these conditions. After I told the dealership about how long in driving it takes to recreate the problem, the dealership that currently holds the car(Jennings Chevrolet in Glenview, IL) were able to reproduce the problem. My parents and I went on Feb 16th, 2023 to Napleton Hyundai in Glenview and bought the car used and after 2 days of driving, my parents were having issues with the car and being able to accelerate. At the time it was diagnosed as a catalytic converter and flex pipe problem. Those items were backordered and were not able to be replaced until 2 months after our original complaint. During those 2 months of waiting, my parents were instructed not to take the highway and not to exceed 40mph. Upon getting the car back on April 26th, it took merely 4-5 more days for the problems to come back again. We also found that on Dec 17th, 2022, the previous owner took the car in with the same problems and after getting an estimate, declined service and took the car back Dec 28th, 2022. The vehicle has been looked at by Napleton Hyundai in Glenview, Jennings Chevy in Glenview and prior to our ownership, Anderson Chevy in Chicago. Anytime the vehicle exhibits the above mentioned problems, the check engine light does come on and usually in addition to the issues listed above, the car seems to be low/out of oil. At this time, we are told the cars issue is the turbo.