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:
4 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
52,803 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.
Was driving up hill on interstate and lost power. Made it to a parking lot and did not have any reverse and only 1st and 2nd gear when driving forward. Did a diagnostic report with onstar. They gave me codes P0776 and P0700. I had to have it towed.
While driving my 2011 Chevrolet Cruze lt when it gets T0 between 30-40 mph the rpms will go extremely high the check engine light will come on and the car will slow down as it is slowing down it will jerk into the lower gears if I don't put the car in neutral. Since I don't have a reader for the check engine light I have to pull over and disconnect my battery to get that to shut off. I have to let my car engine/transmission cool down before driving again otherwise I will only make it eighth of a mile down the road and the same thing happens. I want this problem fixed. I officially hate my car because of this problem. Makes me never want to buy a Chevrolet again. I have seen may complaints of this happening to this year of car. This should be recalled and fixed free of charge.
Engine light comes on and car will slow down and barely take off. Engine is responding to gas pedal but no power in low gear so takes off very slow nearly resulting in wreck. Two shops, including transmission shop, state its electronic problem including 'lack of communication'. it happens from being stationary or in process of driving when it loses power suddenly. When engine light goes off it runs ok. Dangerous to drive as never know when it'll act up. Started about six months ago, and is intermittent.
Transmission issues in these cars and General Motors only made them for one your knowingly there was an issue and don't want to recall the issue. These transmissions are super expensive due to only being made for one year.
- Clinton, OH, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
Car seems to stall while driving (recurrent/ constant problem for 4 months: Car has < 65K miles). Engine/ loss of stabilitrack lights come on and engine revs high without speed. Lights on radio blink and engine/oil/ coolant leaks. Despite attempts to fix problems, car continues to stall out, leaving driver stranded in roadway. Engine reboots are temporary fix, but the computer seems to be taking out systems 1 by 1. GM specialist had car for 2 weeks in January & could not solve.
I went and got this vehicle from Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of rome ga and I was driving and out of nowhere the car acted like it didn't want to go forward in traffic and the speed stayed on 0 and idled out on me. When I tried to turn right my car wouldn't go and somebody had to push my vehicle. When I tried to drive it, it was in drive and wouldn't go 20 mph. I got the vehicle March 13 and haven't had it for a month and experienced this.it was a very scary situation and I felt like I could have lost my life. I was trying to turn and put of nowhere it wouldn't go over 20 mph.most scariest sirtiation evrer..
I drove my 2011 Chevrolet Cruze to work without issue. Upon leaving I started my my vehicle, put it in reverse and backed out of my parking spot but it would not drive forward. I had the vehicle towed to my home. The next day it would not start up entirely.
In may of this year, as I tried to back out of my driveway, my car would not move in reverse. The car was rattling, the rpms were going up, but the car would not go in gear. My family pushed my car out of the driveway in neutral and I drove it 2 miles to my mechanic. During that 2 minute drive, the car continually slipped gears. Fast forward to having the Cruze towed to a transmission shop (after not having heard from Chevrolet after multiple attempts contacting them) and I find out the transmission is completely broke. The car is out of warranty, and of course Chevrolet lent no assistance, so I paid $3,674 to have a remanufactured transmission put in with a 500,000 mile warranty. The transmission in the Cruze never acted completely right (a common complaint among many Cruze owners)- not shifting properly when going up hills, jerking when shifting on flat pavement. It's mind-blowing that there have been so many reported issues of transmission failures in this model, but Chevrolet has yet to make any recalls. It's not only a financial issue, it's a safety concern. I will not be buying a Chevy again, as they were unwilling to provide any assistance when this major component failed. Not even 90K miles, seven years old, this shouldn't even be an issue yet.
2016 ECM reprogramming recall ever since I brought my car in for the recall in 2016 to have the ECM reprogrammed, I have had severe issues with very rough idling, slow acceleration, and inconsistent fuel usage. Check engine light comes on and lists several sensors that need to be replaced. We replaced all of them and the problem still comes back. Now the codes indicate there is a catastrophic issue with the ECM and Chevy will not cover it even though this issue started from their own recall.
On my way to the beach I approached a stop sign near the entrance of a busy highway. After stopping I proceeded to press the gas pedal and all I got was engine revving the car didn't move at all. I tried shifting the gear from park back to drive and I tried again. The car still didn't move and I got revving again. Something was wrong with the transmission causing the car to slip into neutral while being in drive. I returned the vehicle to park and turned it off, after waiting a few seconds I started the car up again put it in drive and I accelerated forward, I pulled into a nearby parking lot and eased my way into a space, before making it all the way into the space I lost gear again. I put the car in reverse and backed out of the space. Put in back in drive and again didn't go forward, just revving. I ultimately parked the car and had it towed to a mechanic. 2011 Chevrolet Cruze are most commonly known to have transmission problems but there is no open recal. My Cruze could have slipped into neutral while I was on the middle of the highway. There was no warning it was gonna fail. No light indications, no strange sounds coming from the car. I had the car towed to a nearby Chevrolet dealer to see if they could tell me what happened. The transmission guy drove it around the lot and then told me his best educated guess on what happened is that the 3,5, R plate brokedown and clogged the filter. They told me I need a new transmission. I contacted Chevrolet and GM to see if they would help at all and they said they could not. I had the car towed somewhere else to get the transmission rebuilt for cheaper. I tired to encourage the GM representative I spoke to, to look into opening a recal on the transmissions of 2011 Chevrolet Cruze being that is the most common complaint. However they could not provide any information on if they would open a recal.
Tamara recall: I am a former GM employee. I purchased a 2011 Chevy Cruze right after having it a few months I had a issue with the transmission. I've also have had trouble with the oil getting into the coolant reservoir. Which has now happened thee times. The cost is ridiculous!!!! I just spent $1050 on that and a new water pump just to find out I'm still without a car because the transmission is right back doing the same thing again. The transmission is slipping and jerking. I feel like GM should be paying me back my money for this crap piece of car. I try hard to take care of my car but this is horrible!!!! I want my car fixed and I don't want to have to pay another dime. I loss my job because my car went out on me. I has to borrow the money to get the gasket job done again. I'm calling the dealership in the morning and if they don't do something about that transmission I am going to put General Motors on blast!!!!
On several occasions I have almost had collisions because my car would not accelerate going up a hill the RPM would rev up high but it seemed my transmission slowed down/slipping. I took the car to a local garage to be checked was told nothing was wrong "wasted $80 for nothing" with my car but I am still having the same issues. When I go to climb any hill now the car still acts like it has no power to go but engine rpms run high and feels like transmission is slipping and not working right. I can't even attempt to pass on highway/road because I know this car does not have the power. The way this car operates is concerning to me and is unsafe in my eyes.
1. each time I get an oil change, the car smells like it's burning oil and it's really strong. 2. had to replace the gas cap as it became stripped causing engine light to come on. Replaced with correct cap, light went out. Filled call with fuel, light came back on, now showing codes.
The transmission is slipping, lagging and not engaging. When putting the car in drive it may lag before finally going into gear. When shifting gears automatically, in motion, the car will lag between gears and will abruptly go into gear after a lag causing the car to jump.
My 2011 Chevy cruz the turbo went out on it replace the turbo replace the manifold replaced the line that goes into the oil pan I have a vacuum leak somewhere I can't find a vacuum leak there sounds like something is burning underneath the seats and sometimes it is hard to shift it doesn't shift right.also the lights on the front they flicker and blank the seatbelts don't like to come out when you clicki was driving down the road one day I was trying to get out on the expressway coming off of the ramp trying to get spayed and there was no power and didn't want to go any faster by the time I got home it sounded like it was whistling and no power at all the turbos fix brand new the manifold brand new it's all brand new white next to his car is giving me a problem after problem
On December 30, 2017 my son was driving home, we live in the country. So he stopped at a stop sign and when he went to take off the car would not shift out of 1st gear. Thank goodness he wasn't far from home so was able to very slowly get here. The car had 111144 miles on it. The car had been inoperable since that day. We have replaced the valve body but that did not help. Took it to a transmission shop where we were told the transmission only had reverse and 3rd gear and that the transmission needed to be replaced. After doing some online searching I discovered many other people with the same issue on this car.
Car does not properly accelerate, so much so that I need to use the hazard lights to avoid being hit by the car behind me when accelerating after stopping at a stop sign or red light. This is not safe. I have small children. I drove 40+ miles (city miles) and had no issues getting there, but then when I attempted to turn the car on again to return home, the temperature gauge showed the engine go from cold to hot very quickly, displayed the message "engine hot A/C off" and it started making a loud squealing noise. At this point I swerved the car off the road because my daughter and I feared for our safety and thought it was going to explode. I put the car in park, we both opened our doors and took off running from the car until we reached a safe distance. I had to have it towed 40+ miles to my home. The mechanic checked the vehicle again and found that the radiator had cracked and that the water pump needed to be replaced. He replaced the radiator and also the water pump, and ensured the proper amounts of all fluids. Also, whenever I attempt to drive on the highway, the front end of the car gets very hot and the "transmission hot idle engine" message comes on and the ac, which was working fine, does not work now. Still, the mechanic could find nothing wrong with the transmission! the heat from the engine and transmission come straight through the front of the vehicle, which with no ac gets super hot in addition to the 80+ degree weather in central Florida (and it's not even summer yet!). every time I have to have tried to refuel the car within the past 2 weeks of me having purchased it, the engine stalls and stalls and stalls. It takes 10-15 tries to turn the car back on every time I refuel. In addition to this, once you actually get the car back on the car jerks when put in drive. I have to keep my foot on the gas or the car will shut back off.
Driving along at approximately 35mph out and suddenly the car lost all acceleration. It would go in reverse, but not forward. No check engine light. Added some automatic trans. Fluid and that did not help. Removed the negative terminal from the battery for a few minutes to "reset". the car was then able to move forward, but very slow acceleration in 1st and 2nd gear. Check engine light came on, but I was unable to get the code checked because it was too late in the evening. Limped the car 20 minutes home. Once in 3rd gear and above, it ran fine. But when going from a dead stop, it would take forever to get out of 1st and 2nd gear. Additionally, the dash display no longer would show the drive shift control display. Only showed "D" and not M1, etc. Got vehicle home and it now shifts very hard when put in reverse.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Wheeling, WV, USA