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:
6 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
6 / 0
Average Mileage:
47,325 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.
A squeak has developed in the steering column. Although GM has received complaints about this, they have done nothing to issue any recalls. There are tso's on this since other owners have complained but they do nothing. No car with 23,000 miles should have bad bushings or other problems with steering unless there are defects.
As I was driving down the street my car did a shift as I was approaching the light.me and my husband look at each other and stated what was that I processed to make a left turn and park my car. The moment I pulled in the parking spot I needed to reverse the car well needles to say the car didn't move you heard a click and it did nothing so my husband says turn the car off and see what happens, I did that nothing happened the car still wouldn't reverse so I can park my car, then he stated put the car in neutral to see what happens out it in neutral it goes forward, I just purchased this car black Friday from Kia on the blvd in philadelphia, pa. I'm truly upset missing. Please help. Thanks
The steering is "notchy" after driving straight for a short period of time. This requires additional effort to do minor course corrections causing over-steer. This is particularly dangerous on snow and ice. I have the letter from GM #14232 dated November 2014. I called immediately and was told "the parts are on order for you" it is now 01/31/2015 and contact with the dealer today stated " still waiting for parts from GM." :( I have a 55 mile commute (one way) that takes me on not so well maintained roads. This is not a satisfactory response from major corporate player. Please help all of us who have this issue.
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that while driving at 65 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact had to apply excessive force to the steering wheel in order to turn the vehicle. In addition, the contact stated that the brake pedal failed to respond making it difficult to stop the vehicle. The service stability track warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The technician diagnosed that the yaw rate sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 40,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Leaving a parking lot the instrument panel began to blink on and off every check engine light started to come on and off. Power steering was lost for a short period. Still in the parking lot at a stop sign turn the engine off. The car was completely dead, no lights no clicking noise when you attempt to re start. Opened hood checked the new battery wiggled the cables interior lights came on and car started up. Since then it has happened numerous times each event getting worse. Eventually it died and was towed to the dealership and is being looked at. This seems to be common with Chevrolet Cruze.
- Bluemont, VA, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
I was driving on a residential road at around 1030pm. I had a blow out on my car earlier on the passenger front tire so I had put a donut on the front passenger side. The road curved left and as I was trying to turn my vehicle to go around the curve of the road my steering wheel would not turn. It was locked in a straight position. I applied my brakes but it was to late and I hit the rear end of a parked SUV on the road. I was very confused and I had to take a field sobriety test in which I did and I passed. I was issued a citation for failure to provide proper look out. What the heck is that? I told everyone at the time of the incident that I could not turn the steering it would not turn for me, I have had 2 lower back surgeries, I need another one, I have a serious problem with my neck which is going to require surgery, at least one surgery if not more. I need to have my left knee re done also. I have been having major headaches and more pain than usual since the accident. My left wrist got screwed up also. I could of easily killed myself. Well then I get this letter saying that the steering wheel could have friction and actually stick in the straight position. The reason being is that the cause of the problem is workers not correctly installing critical parts on the car. So engineers have changed the installation processes for the steering wheels and transmissions to make sure parts are installed correctly. Well it is a little to late for that for me. My vehicle was totaled. I received the letter on December 5, 2014.
The electronic stability control lights keep flashing on and off while driving. I will be driving my car then the light warning light will flash, and all lights in the dashboard will blink on and off. The blinker noise will turn off then on again. However, the elec. Stability control light does not stay on permanently. It's like my car does it when it feels like it. I have to turn my car off for a few min and start it again to get it back to normal. This happens at any location and speed. Yesterday 11/27/14 this occurred and steering became difficult. I have taken my Cruze in before regarding this and was told it could not be duplicated, therefore there was no problem. I do not want to be driving my car in fear of safety. I have made another appt at another dealership and was already told they would have the car all day and do not provide any type of courtesy car...that I would have to rent a car. This service also "may or may not be covered under warranty" because my Cruze is from 2011 and currently have over 50K miles on it. I love my Cruze, but the service regarding this issue is terrible and needs to be addressed. Vehicle safety is on the line.
Vehicle shutdown while driving on highway, several times. The car electric turns off and or flashes, stabiltrak lights come on and flashes, check engine flashing, car completely shuts down, steering is electronic or motor powered and is hard to use, transmission jerks before shutdown and breaks don't work very well. Ran over curb and off the road to avoid colliding with other vehicles. Picture, im driving on a highway at night doing 65 or so, all power goes out, its dark, other cars can not see me well, they are swerving and im swerving. This happened first around 20K and has happened on several occasions after. No corrections offered by GM under warranty, complaints were completely ignored, until murdock Chevy in manhattan ks. They are currently trying to get it fixed and gave me a loner car, all other servicing dealers refused a loaner car, and told me its fixed each time. Car still has the problems listed and no solution is given from GM or Chevy to fix this deadly situation. Also damage to the car from an engine overheat or dashboard overheat at the same time damaging electric, windshield, radio, gauges and dash compartment lever. Extreme heat, burning smell inside. Floorboard by the feet melts carpet and burns feet, all at the same time, on drives of 30 minutes or more.
The vehicle would not shift out of park nor remove the key. The wheel was locked as well as the shift lever. The car would turn on however would not move. There was no lights in the vehicle.
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Cruze. While driving approximately 73 mph, the vehicle decelerated and the traction control, power steering, and transmission hot warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 1,000.
Hello, my name is [xxx] and I am an israeli citizen. I own a Chevrolet Cruze 2011, israeli VIN: [xxx]. I read the articles regarding issues found in the vehicle's ignition switch for some Chevrolet models but I haven?T read about cruse as a suspect to such an issue. I wanted to pay your attention to an issue I had with my car around 1.5 years ago which is similar behavior to what you found out with the other models. After starting the engine while in parking, I switched the gear to reverse and started to drive back to get out of the parking space when suddenly I lost the steering of the wheel (like there was no oil pressure) and lost the brakes (the paddle was stiff and did not control the wheels). During the incident my family, including my wife, was with me in the car. My wife immediately understood that something was wrong and started to ask me what is the matter (she was an eye witness to the scenario). I had to shut down the engine (turned the key to off) and started the engine back again in order for the car to start reacting properly again. Needless to say my wife and I were shocked by this and I took the car on the morning of the next day to the formal Chevrolet garage to report the incident and request them to check what went wrong here (as the formal garage ? they hold an historical record of my complaint). After I was told by the garage that they couldn't find any problem, I had no choice but to accept the car but it bugged me until present time. In order to make sure your investigation will not skip a possible fatal issue with the cruse model (if the issues are the same), I simply wanted to point your attention to my small "adventure". please feel free to contact me and I will be happy to assist you further (if needed) ? email: [xxx] cellular:[xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Cruze. While driving approximately 70 mph, the vehicle veered sharply to the right and the power steering failed. The service stabilitrack and brake warning indicators illuminated. The instrument panel gauges and radio were blinking erratically. The failures occurred multiple times and usually during or after rainy weather. The dealer stated that the battery cable needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 59,000.
On April 30 2014, around 11:00 am the car was taken for service to a Chevrolet dealer for a wheel alignment, steering and suspension system inspection and air pressure condition check, the Chevy Cruze was at the service dealer for aprox four hours, we then came home, around 5:30 we went to a shopping center to buy something and on the way back home, aprox six blocks from our home we stop on a stop sign on a curb/angle street divider by a small curb with trees, we then try to proceed and bare right but the car made some kind of a noise and went left going over small curb and hitting a tree, we where going aprox 15 to 20 mph at the time of impact the police came and made a report, no summons where issue because the police officer look at the scene and comment that it looks like the car loss power/ control of the steering, brakes and could not be control. The car was a total loss since it was damages in front/engine/air bags/etc. We know for facts that this 2011 Chevrolet Cruze have many recalls including steering shaft separations/brakes/steering problems.etc.
Was parked in front of an establishment and was unable to remove ignition key or move the gear shift up and down. I was able to remove the overdrive box in front of the gear shift so I could shift the car into gear and drive home, however, because the car was not recognizing the gear shift was in park I was still unable to remove the ignition key when I got home so the car's battery died. I contacted one of Chevy's tow services in order to get the car towed but due to the car being in the garage, the tow driver suggested that he try to jump the car to avoid having to push the car manually out of the garage. The car started and I was able to drive it to the dealership. After 3 days of working on the car, the service manager told me that the jump may have fried the computer so it needed to reconfigured which cost me over $1000 (due to it not being under warranty). I was only made aware of the many recalls that Chevy has had on the Cruze due to having to take the car into the dealership again (water pump needed to be replaced) and talking to another customer about my distaste & frustration that I've been experiencing with this car. I was never mailed any of the recalls which I can't understand why as I'm always receiving mailings from the dealership where I purchased my car. I feel as though the initial problem was due to two of Chevy's recalls (campaign #11V273000 & 11V270000) so Chevy should have paid for the repairs. This issue is one of the many issues I've had since I purchased the car brand new in June 2011.
Steering sticks just left of center, typically at freeway speeds, but also as low as 40 mph. Stick is intermittent and weak enough that it does not currently present a danger to operating the vehicle safely. Steering must be held stationary for in excess of 2-3 seconds just left of center for the steering to stick. Weaving or swaying the car left to provide provides smooth and direct steering input. The issue has become more intermittent with colder weather, typically requiring longer drives for the issue to reappear.
I would like to put in a complaint on my Chevy Cruze 2011. Since purchasing it, there have been 3 recalls due to steering and engine. I have had to bring the car into the dealership 3 separate times for the recalls beginning one month after purchase. Now, the car has had 2 separate major problems (engine & currently back at the dealership for problem related to transmission), this vehicle has broken down once while in heavy traffic, but luckily I was able to pull to the side of the road, and the second time it broke down was on a street less heavily traveled, however, I was almost rear ended. If this would've occurred while on a heavily traveled or faster speed zone, I feel that a terrible crash would have happened. Both times may have resulted in serious injury or even death. I do not feel safe in the vehicle and would rather it sit in the driveway than to risk driving it. I lease the vehicle, but I would like to know any options for getting out of this lease & getting into a safe car. Thank you!
The contact owns 2011 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that the vehicle would stall without warning. The failure was recurring. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The dealer advised that there were no failures within the vehicle. The failure recurred with the illumination of the power steering warning light. The contact took the vehicle back to the dealer and was told that the steering gear box needed to be replaced. The dealer contacted the manufacturer for the part and was told not to perform the repair. The failure mileage was 3,000 and the current mileage was 18,700.
While driving straight down the road the steering sticks in the center position. It's like it gets into a notch and when the steering wheel is turned to make normal driving adjustments it feels like it sticks. It occurs at all speeds but is most noticeable around 60 - 65 mph. This problem could cause oversteering on slippery roads and it is very distracting.
While driving 60-65 mph there is a slight binding that occurs during the normal corrections of the steering wheel. Reported to dealer and they " do not see a problem". it is very hard to notice, but it is there.
2011 Chevy Cruze manual transmission 6 spd. Random occurrence of speedometer spikes digital and needle (anywhere from 20-120 mph), volume on radio will also spike with this issue. When speedometer spiking the steering wheel will also unwontedly move 1/2 - 2 inches left or right every time which could distract/startle driver leading to a possible accident. Chevy refuses to look for a problem that "isn't there". as stated by dealership without code or a tech witnessing it. Occurrence happens when rolling at slow speeds (0-7 mph) or stopped with clutch engaged or slowly being released. Happens, 10-15 times+ a month. Has startled me several times once including me letting off the clutch and stalling the vehicle from being startled. Vehicle assembled: Lordstown, Ohio mileage when first noticing this issue: 78.0 current mileage, issue still occurring: 18,749. Seen dealership :3 times about current issue.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Willowick, OH, USA