Gen 4 Glock 17 problems *UPDATE*

I have a gen 4 G17, i bought it in April of this year(of course.) I have had alot of issues with mine. Mainly stovepipes and failures to go in to battery and it had one of each of these in the first 100 rounds. I done a simple trigger job on it, polished up the parts and replaced the trigger spring, striker spring and safety block plunger spring, and a ghost connector. All the work was done by a glock armorer. I got the gun back and still about every 100 rounds i got a one stovepipe and one failure to go into battery. This contined the first 500 rounds and then i had about 300 failure free rounds. Then it just started happening again same as before, about one of each every 100 rounds. So i had about 1200 rounds through it and i bought a Jager single recoil spring for it, and still im getting the same stovepipe issue but the failure to go into battery seems to have gone away. Now im at 1800 rounds and today the round barely made it out of the chamber(see pic below.) Now almost every round out of it has been walmart Federal 9mm($9.47 a box stuff, well now $10.47 a box), so maybe its a weak ammo problem? Maybe im limp wristing it? I dont think these are the problems guys, I also have a gen3 G19 and G26 which also have many rounds throught them and i have never had a failure of any kind in either weapon. The G19 has only seen cheap federal ammo and the G26 has had alot of good ammo through it but its my carry gun. And the G19 almost has as many rounds as my G17. So what do yall fellas think? Should i call Glock? Is glock just gonna tell me to shoot better ammo? Thanks

Does it happen with any of your magazines or do you number them and it happens with the same one everytime? Something to consider though it may not be a mag issue. If it is a mag issue, send just that back and from what I’ve read about Glock CS, they’ll probably just send you a new one or a tested re-built one.

ya know…im a retard. My mags are numbered but i seem to always forget to look and see if in fact it is the same mag. I will look over the next few weeks. And i also need to add too, that when i fire the G17, half the brass ejects properly and half hits me in the head. Never had this problem with my G19 or G26 either. :confused:

Nevermind missed the part about you replacing the recoil spring.

We all forget the simple stuff sometimes. Not sure about the brass to the head problem, extractor tension, (maybe, if it’s adjustable on a Glock) or a ding or burr on it? Keep us updated

I tried to remember to put everything in the first post i forgot about this. Mine came with the unmarked recoil spring that the first gen4s came with, and i just checked and it has no countersink or bevel in the front recoil spring hole. I also went ahead and looked and the gun was test fired on 2/17/2010…so if that helps.

i dont really know if you can adjust the tension on a glock extractor. Maybe a softer spring? But i will keep everyone informed, i will probably call Glock sometime next week.

That is the dreaded NYPD malfunction and it’s a bear to get fixed. Keep photos and send that gun back to Glock. No amount of parts replacing will fix it in my experience and I’ve been a Glock armorer, advanced armorer and have LOTS of rounds downrange through the guns. It’s not recoil spring related.

It will happen just often enough to keep you from ever trusting the gun…

This may be apples and oranges but I had the same problem several times with my M&P40. I had Smith put a new extractor but that did not work. What I found was that when I stiffened up my grip the problem went away. Up to that time, I never had a malfunction like that. I think some pistols are just very sensitive where the one made right before or after in the same production lot will never have that problem.

I would call Glock and ask for the 02 marked spring, this seems to be the fix for the issues you are having with you’re 17. Whats funny is they still shipped the 19’s out with same recoil spring as the 23’s. Though I see on other forums that there will be a revised spring for the 19’s sometime in Nov. Good luck!!!

My department recently purchased Gen 4 Glock 17’s and 19’s. While I test fired them and had no problems, I had two males and one female experience multiple malfunctions - failures to return to battery - to the extent of once every three or four rounds.

I think Glock made a mistake with the dual recoil spring system in the 9mm’s. I’m going to have to investigate this further.

I loaned my new Gen 4 G17 to an M p at my last Ft. Huachuca class and in three days he put in excess of 900 rounds of military issue 9mm through it with no cleaning and not a hint of a malf. I’d send yours back to Gaston and get it cleared up.
I will buy as many Gen 4’s as I can afford.

Remember, military NATO spec 9mm ammo would fall between +P and +P+ on the scale. This stuff ain’t limp-wristed Winny white box value pack ammo.

Yes and I mean in excess of 900 rounds. My course takes 900 rounds and one of the company commanders said to me when the class was over,“Hey Sarge, we have 5 boxes left and I can’t turn live ammo in.” I went over and used it up. :big_boss:

Could you please look at the metal base of your recoil spring guide and post whether it has anything stamped on it? The G17’s have nothing stamped on theirs while the G19’s have “0 3” stamped on theirs.

Thanks

The original unit in G17’s and 22’s was unmarked as you describe. Both of the early Gen 4 G17s here have unmarked spring units. I have heard, but not seen, that newer G22 springs may have 01 on them.

I have an 02 marked spring unit which is the lighter unit which some find necessary to cycle lighter ammo more reliably. [Our original springs have run over 10K rds of the lightest 9mm ammo I can buy from Win, Rem, Federal and Speer, apparently YMMV].

The 03 is the G19 and G23 spring. Word on the net is that there is a 04 spring on the way for those G19 users who request a lighter spring.

Mine has the unstamped spring but it has been wearing a Jager 13# single recoil spring for awhile now and it still has problems:confused:

In my experience as a dept armorer Glocks run the best when they are left in their stock configuration. When one starts adding after market gadgets is when many people screw up a good gun. That being said their have been many issues with the Gen4 9mm guns and their “upgrades” from the Gen3. For me the ONLY benefit to having a Gen4 would be the smaller grip.

They only true tested bomb proof Glocks out there are the Gen3 9mm guns. To me everything else is suspect. Several members here have had zero issues with the Gen4 guns while other will not run without some sort of issue. The Gen4 will need to evlove a little more before one ends up in my safe.

I would contact Glock and see what they have to say. Fisrt thing they will tell you is to replace all of the after market parts with the stock configuration. I would also try NATO spec ammo as the Gen4’s are more ammo sensetive than their Gen3 counterparts.

TBH, every good combat weapon design has teething problems.

I’m going to wait a few years before I relegate to all Gen4s.*

However, the Glockmeister spring seems to be a real fix for the recoil assembly issues people are having.

*Again.

I didnt always have the aftermarket parts on it and when it was in its stock configuration it done the same stuff. And if the gun cant shoot walmart federal 9mm then it is useless to me, NATO spec ammo is expensive and this is not a self defense gun. And i do agree with you about the Gen3 guns as my 19 and 26 have zero issues.