CarComplaints.com Notes: What’s that smell – it’s a tad sweet with a tinge of chemical toxicity? If you own a 2011 Cruze it’s probably a coolant leak. It’s a widespread and notorious problem for the car and is the subject of a class-action lawsuit filed in the state of New York. And that’s not the only problem 2011 owners face…
Many say the 2011 model year suffers from a throttle lag that is probably due to a fauly electronic throttle control. The problem is signifigant enough that some owners say they are too scared to drive their cars. Those that do get behind the wheel often say their transmission isn’t shifting properly and problems start occuring as early as 15,000 miles.
All of this leads us to say you’re probably better off without this car’s headaches (they’re probably chemically-induced anyway).
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
13 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
10 / 0
Average Mileage:
35,376 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
In Sept of 2013 after just a few months of owning the car I was rear-ended at a speed of 25-30 mph. The airbag didn't deploy and my head bounced from the steering wheel to the headrest where I suffered a severe concussion leaving me out of work for a month. Also my radio console lights flash on at random times, I experience the turbo lag crap the dealership gives as and excuse (especially after telling me during a service test drive that my car didn't have a turbo!) and after owning it for 1 month a part of the engine fan sheered off and destroyed my A/C unit leaving me with a $2500 bill to redo that. I can't wait for my settlement from the accident to get the hell out of this car. This is my first and last Chevy ever!
The passenger sensor in the airbag system is defective and GM is refusing to cover the cost saying it is not covered under the powertrain warranty. This will cause the airbag system on the passenger side to not deploy in the event of a crash. GM is saying it will cost $400 to fix which I think is ridiculous. The car has never had an accident and an airbag has never been deployed. I think safety systems such as airbags that have no means of wear and tear other than deployment should be mandated by the federal government to be covered under an extended warranty period of 10 years or 100,000 miles. Airbags are a safety measure required by the federal government and therefore should be required to be of good workmanship and in good working order for a period much longer than 3 years. To charge the consumer $400 to fix something that should not fail is a disgrace. Thank you for your time in reading my concern. I would appreciate a follow up to this inquiry.
We rear ended another vehicle and neither the driver's air bag or passenger air bag deployed. The driver's side was pushed up in the front end and the bumper, fender, grill, hood, headlight and turning light were all destroyed. These were pushed up into the grill area of the car.
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that while traveling 55 mph, the passenger air bag off warning lamp illuminated although the passenger seat was occupied. The failure has occurred on several occasions. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the weight sensor mat needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, however the failure has recurred. The failure mileage was 36,000 and the current mileage was 39,000. Updated 8/19/14
I was involved in a front end (mostly drivers side of car) collision where a person ran a red light. Both of our vehicles where going between 40 to 50 mph. On impact of my car no airbags deployed. My head hit the steering wheel and side window. After having it towed to the dealership where I bought it for repairs I mentioned this to the mechanics. I was told that the car had to be hit in certain spots before the airbags deploy! seriously? I do not feel safe in this car knowing that if I am involved in a serious accident the airbags may not be there to save my life! and to think that is one reason why I purchased the car was the fact it had high safety standards! absurd.
- Ennis, TX, USA
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When driving with an adult female in the passenger seat, the airbag indicator indicates that the airbag is off. Adjusting the seat height sometimes remedies this problem, resulting in the indicator light indicating that the airbag is on. However, most of the time, the airbag remains off. We notified the Chevrolet dealer about this problem. They claimed it was normal. We purchased this car, in part, because of its excellent crash rating. It is most disturbing to realize that if we ever did get into a crash, the passenger-side airbag would likely not deploy. I have a hard time believing that this is "normal". I feel less than safe in this car. Please help in remedying this problem.
Consumer stated Chevrolet Cruze caused an accident, could not stop. It crashed into a Ford Expedition. The consumer also stated the air bag did not deploy.
The first safety issue was noticed within the first week of ownership. The air bag indicator light indicated "off" with an adult passenger in the passenger seat. This car has been to the dealership 4 times for this issue and it remains unsolved. The second safety issue was noticed in October or November 2012. The car fills with an odor of anti-freeze when the heater is in use. The car has been to dealership 4 times for this issue and it remains unsolved. I feel these are both extreme safety issues that should be investigated as it appears to be a problem in many of the 2011 Cruze.
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated the vehicle was parked with the engine in operation and she noticed the speedometer displayed a reading of 100 mph. The similar failure occurred sporadically and would fluctuate in the miles per hour. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer three times and they were unable to detect the malfunction. The failure continued to occur and the vehicle was taken back to the dealer where the computerized system was reprogrammed. In addition, the air bag warning indicator would not illuminate whenever the front seat occupant weight was 120 pounds. The approximate failure mileage was 16,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that the air bag indictor light did not always function properly when someone was sitting in the front passenger seat. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was informed that there was nothing wrong with the air bag. The failure mileage was 15,000 and the current mileage was 20,000.
The sensor to turn on the passenger side airbag does not turn on the airbag when my wife sits down. She weighs 115 lbs.. this is the second time this has happened. I first reported it to the Chevrolet dealer about six months ago.the first time the dealer called Chevrolet and changed the seat sensor. This fixed the problem until just this date, July 24, 2012. I just returned the car to the dealer with my wife in the seat and the airbag light indicating the bag was off and no one was in the seat. This is a serious defect and I think Chevrolet or the NHTSA should order a recall. They said it was a weight problem. I was told they would look into it and let me know what will be done. They also indicated it was not a new problem and was occurring in other products. I need your help to get this dangerous problem fixed. Thank you for your consideration.
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that the air bag warning light consistently illuminated, showing that the air bags were disengaged when a person was sitting in the passenger seat. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who advised that was the design of the vehicle. There was no recalls for the failure. There was a technical service bulletin available for the failure under NHTSA item number: 10042288 (electrical system: Instrument panel). The manufacturer was not notified of the issue and the vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 12,700.
The contact wanted owns a 2011 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that the front passenger side air bag sensor malfunctioned. The front passenger side air bag would not identify a passenger sitting in the passenger seat and the air bag would not activate. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the front passenger seat cover was removed and the sensor was replaced. The failure continued. The manufacturer was notified and stated that there were no other remedies for the failure. The failure mileage was 2,600. Updated 02/15/12 update 03/16/12
Just a few day's after buying our new car we noticed on occasion the passenger air bag lite would not indicate on.. took it back to the dealer and they tried it out and it worked for them.the second time we took it to the dealer they did see the Chevy said that they could reset something and it would help. The third time we took it back to they put a new sensor in the seat.. now it is up there a 4th time for them to see what is going on... they dealer has been wonderful on trying to take care of the issue... I have looked on the internet and there is several complaints on this... can we just request that Chevy let us buy another model?
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that the front air bag light would intermittently illuminate while driving 30 mph and above and when a passenger was seated in the front passenger seat. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, but they were unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
The initial problem was the airbag indicator light did not come on when my wife sat down in the passenger seat. It was an intermittent problem with the light not coming on to show the airbags were active. We took it back to the dealer and they could not duplicate it. I waited about a week and it happened again. I took it to the dealer with the airbag light off with my wife in the seat. They replaced the sensor in the seat. For about a week all was ok. Then we were coming home from a shopping trip and my wife sat down and the light indicating the airbags were active did not come on. I drove directly to the dealer, about thirty minutes, and with my wife in the seat showed him. The service manager called GM and was on the phone for about 45 minutes. They connected the vehicle to the GM computer with my wife in the seat and ran a number of tests. The GM people indicated to the service manager that they were aware of the problem and told him not to touch anything that the vehicle meets all government specifications. They said they would call back in 24-48 hours. They did and claimed there was nothing wrong with the airbags and said all of the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze were the same as mine. They said there was nothing more to be done. The problem has not reoccurred yet, but we are skeptical about the outcome and notified you folks. I just hope if we have a headon and the light indicates the airbag is off we will have a problem and GM will have a problem.
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact was involved in a crash where the vehicle rear ended another vehicle and went into a ditch. The contact stated that they could smell the powder from the air bags although they did not deploy. An onstar representative called and stated that they received a message stating that the air bags deployed. The vehicle was towed to a repair shop where it would be inspected by the manufacturer to determine why the air bags did not deploy. The current and failure mileages were 7,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Boise, ID, USA