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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.

2011 Chevrolet Cruze steering problems

steering problem

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2011 Chevrolet Cruze Owner Comments (Page 1 of 3)

problem #47

Sep 062022

Cruze

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I purchased a Car on 8-11& I didn-??t pick it up until 8/13 of this year. On 8/14 The electrical went out of my middle Consol starting with the radio and then down to the heating and air-conditioning buttons along with the fact that the windows would not roll down or up. When you use the Bluetooth in the car the AC shuts down and I hear a roaring sound coming from the engine as well as whenever I stop the car just jumps. There is also a sound in the steering wheel whatever it-??s turned right to left

- Columbus , OH, USA

problem #46

Nov 302020

Cruze

  • 95,000 miles
I leased a 2011 Chevy Cruze and had it less than 1 month. Deer were in the rd, so I slowed down, then brakes locked, I went over an embankment into a lightpole. Total loss, transported via ems to mmmhc hospital, unconscious for half hour my memory is now horrible, I have bad headaches, my back is horrible and im without a vehicle. I wasnt driving above speed limit. No collision warning and I've been to er and my dr many times

- Stuart, VA, USA

problem #45

May 132020

Cruze 4-cyl

  • 160,000 miles
The 'ac off due to high engine temp' warning keeps coming on, the ac won't work and the temp gauge goes back to zero. We have had the engine coolant temp sensor replaced and the radiator temp sensor replaced also and we are still having this issue! along with the dash and power steering goes out randomly while driving.

- Gainesville, GA, USA

problem #44

May 012020

Cruze

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Steering wheel is loose and moves side to side

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #43

Aug 202019

Cruze

  • 135,000 miles
It leaks motor oil everytime it gets changed, theres always a huge pile of oil on the ground, I can also move the gear shift without needing to press the brake pedal. Overall its been a hassel to deal with it.

- West Sacramento, CA, USA

problem #42

Dec 202019

Cruze

  • 153,000 miles
The transmission of the car is not working properly. It jumps every time I press the gas pedal and jumps when the car is on the road.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #41

Sep 102019

Cruze 4-cyl

  • 55,430 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Failure to be notified of severe safety defect affecting 2.2 Chevrolet vehicles 6 other recalls all specifying exact condition (NHTSA special coverage bulletin 14232 power steering stick slip lock up ) began experiencing intermittent lock up of steering on highway one month ago still confused under terms of special coverage warranty 10 years 150K miles GM Chevrolet sr vp alicia S boler davis and CEO mary barra ca license xxxxxxx rev tax xxxxx xxxxxx parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Lakeside, CA, USA

problem #40

Sep 092019

Cruze

  • 130,000 miles
Went to turn left. Steering wouldn't turn. My son hit a fence. Back streets, hit a fence and came to a stop going about 20mph

- Choctaw, OK, USA

problem #39

Apr 092019

Cruze

  • 114,500 miles
Takata recall. Recently while driving, my car will randomly say service stabilitrak or service traction control whenever I turn the wheel backing up but wasn't affecting the car in any way as far as I could tell. My headlights would also flicker at the same time so I figured it had to be something electrical. Yesterday while turning onto a different street and today while driving straight down a street I lost power steering.

- Prospect, KY, USA

problem #38

Jun 142018

Cruze

  • miles
I was made aware of the multiple recalls my vehicle had through my pepboys dashboard which is where I get my car serviced. I was told that this recall was active when I was sold the car last February 2017 in which I am currently paying

- Florence, NJ, USA

problem #37

Mar 252018

Cruze

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I own a 2011 Chevy Cruze. It has 67,000 miles. About a month ago, I started to notice a feeling of my steering taking on a mind of its own. So just last week, I went and got new brakes, rotors, tires, front end alignment, balance. Cost a pretty penny, but needed for safety. I had them check for front end issues that might be related to steering problems. They said the front end was tight. Tyrods, ball joints, axle, etc. This confirmed to me, that the steering issue was from the steering column. There is also a crunching sound in the steering, when turning wheel from a parked position. Well the still has steering issues. On the straight away, it feels like the tires are independently turning. I then have to turn the steering wheel to compensate and correct. This in turn causes, over turning. The tires and the steering wheel are not working together. This makes me so scared to drive this car. I have a small passanger, daily. I also drive on a 50 mile trip once or twice a week. Please help

- Rochester, NH, USA

problem #36

Sep 142017

Cruze

  • 110,000 miles
After starting the vehicle and driving forward the dash screen started to show different "check" warnings. Check stability control, check power steering. The check engine light came on as so did most of the dash indicator lights. The power steering stopped and the engine temporarily quit. The engine responded again and while driving the dash went dark and the car died. I had to turn the ignition off and restart the car. This is the third time this has occurred. The last event was while driving through a parking lot.

- San Tan Valley, AZ, USA

problem #35

Jun 062017

Cruze

  • 171,000 miles
I have had numerous issues with this vehicle, with today ending in loss of power while doing 70mph on interstate 95N. Prior to this issue, my dashboard and radio would flicker on and off, then the message "service stabilitrak" would pop up and go away. This morning while driving on 95N my vehicle lost all its power causing me to pull off onto the shoulder. My car cut off and would not cut back on for about two minutes. When I cut it back on, my car began to shake and code P0723 (speed sensor) popped up. This nearly scared me as I could have ended up in a major accident. Now, my car is at the shop and the transmission has died. I see numerous complaints on the same issue but no recall released. I will be without a vehicle and upside down on my car now. I have complained to Chevrolet before about my vehicle randomly shutting off, but I guess this will not go noticed until the worst happens.

- Triangle, VA, USA

problem #34

Apr 272017

Cruze

  • 82,000 miles
Steering rod issue, steering wheel feels loose while driving especially when on the highway over 50 mph. Several issues with coolant/ car overheating/ overheated and gauge flew rapidly to hot, driving about 40 mph and had to pull over and turn off car - call tow truck. This happened twice, supposedly fixed but still smells of burning oil. Drive side windshield stopped working while driving about 65 mph on busy highway -possible problem with the motor because the other one works fine. All very dangerous issues.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

problem #33

Jan 032017

Cruze 4-cyl

  • miles
While driving, my steering locks up and then begins to make steering difficult as if one is sliding on ice. I am not driving on ice, it is 50 degrees on a straight hwy.

- Keller, TX, USA

problem #32

May 022016

Cruze

  • 115,000 miles
Possible electrical problems. Dash board randomly lights up; radio has gone completely off; steering wheel difficult to turn; security lock out engaged once; traction control came on and hard to steer and several occasions. This incidents are happening randomly and had near miss on highway not expecting the steering to lock up or become extremely difficult. This has happened over last several months. Independent car repair shop could not find anything, but still happens.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #31

May 032016

Cruze

  • 97,000 miles
Loss of power steering during driving, radio flickers on and off while driving, while pressing brake while stopped the car continues to jump forward - city driving on highway and streets. Began happening one month after I purchased car on 4/3/2016.

- Miami, FM, USA

problem #30

Mar 112016

Cruze

  • 85,000 miles
The radio/HVAC display turns off and on; the antilock brake system, service traction system, service stabilitrac and steering vehicle messages comes on and off; the turn signal sound may not be heard; 'battery saver active' and 'service steering' displays in the driver information center (dic); and the interior and exterior lighting may flicker. Power steering assist is also lost, and greater effort may be needed to turn the steering wheel at low speeds or while the vehicle is stopped. This only happens in the summer. Doing speeds of 65mph. The car loses power and then the dash board and radion flickers on and off. The cars sometimes shuts off and I will have to put my hazards marker on the let the car pull over to the side of the road. And im not able to take the key out the ignition. The key will get stuck and about 3 minutes later I trying again and the key will come out. I try to start it up again and the car will start up. The steering will lock up while im trying to turn or is turning the it will go back to regular state. It only does this in the summer or when the car gets hot. So I took I to the dealership and they said it was my negative battery cable. This is unsafe. This has been going on for almost a 1 year it starts and stops when it wants too. Also when im stopped or sitting at a stop light the matters are even worser

- Colorado Springs, CO, USA

problem #29

May 012014

Cruze

  • miles
It said service esp.

- Glenpool , OK, USA

problem #28

May 282015

Cruze

  • 66,000 miles
While driving the radio shuts off and a warning pops up in the center between the speedometer and RPM gauge that says service stabiltrac or service traction control. While that happens the power steering shuts off. That's a normal occurrence that happens randomly once or twice during my 20 mile drive to work, and on short drives for errands. Today the vehicle completely shut off twice while driving down the road. I almost wrecked 3 times going around corners when the power steering shut off along with the radio.

- Uniontown, PA, USA

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