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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
28,806 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.

2016 Chevrolet Cruze drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2016 Chevrolet Cruze Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #27

Aug 102023

Cruze

  • miles

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

My vehicle gives the message "shift to park" even when it placed in park, making it impossible to lock and possibly causing the battery to run down. Continuing to restart the vehicle and placing in park until the message goes away has been my only resolution. The issue has been reproduced by an independent service center. They were unable to ascertain what was causing the issue. I am aware a recall was issued for this problem in earlier model Chevy Cruzes. It seems my vehicle should have also been included in this recall. It is evident this has been a huge problems in GM vehicles and when it continues to affect later vehicles it should be addressed and corrected by the company.

- Powell, TN, USA

problem #26

Jan 172022

Cruze

  • miles
My daughter was driving the car and she said that he check engine light came on and she pulled over and turned it off. She immediately called her dad and while on the phone with him the car started shaking and it over heated and all the fluids were underneath the car. I arrived about 15 mins later and saw all the over spill on the side of the road. Called a tow truck and had it towed to a dealership, which told us that GM is aware of the problem with the Chevy Cruze engine doing this. They said that there is no way for you to tell that the part is going bad til it happens and once it does the car gets so hot it crack the head gasket. It is a $3500 fix and it is all because of the thermostat at the bottom of the engine. We had it fixed at 93.000 miles and it now has 110,000 and we are now having the turbo replaced and the dealership said it is a known problem but GM isnt willing to do a recall because it cost so much to fix but they are aware of the problem with then engines in the 2014 to 2016 cruze and since they arent made to fix it they pass the cost on to the customer.

- Odessa, MO, USA

problem #25

Oct 172022

Cruze

  • miles
Catalytic Converter, it is a 2016, it absolutely should not be faulty/defective AT ALL. I checked with Dick Wolstrom Chevy Dealer, if this would be included in the Powertrain Warranty and they said it expired in December. I checked with the other Yearly Recalls for this problem, and it did show this exact same recall for the all the previous years of this make and model of car. It should be fixed, I never heard of a Catalytic Converter be defective like this especially in a newer year car. Can you please help me ? Also, I am having problem with the Fuel pressure Sensor, Air flow intake sensor, Knock sensor, all (3) this is crazy. This is the 2nd time the knock sensor has been replaced. My main concern is the Catalytic Converter, please advise, it should be covered in the powertrain warranty on this car, regardless. It is very expensive to be replaced.

- Lombard, IL, USA

problem #24

Jul 032022

Cruze

  • miles

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

My car was brought to the dealership around December of 2021because every time I stop at a red light or stop sign the auto stop would cut the car completely off. The dealership said it was because the throttle body needed cleaning out. That is not the case because I can be driving and the car will cut off out of nowhere while driving. Also at times the car seems as if it doesn-€™t want to crank.

- Oakdale , LA, USA

problem #23

Oct 012018

Cruze

  • miles
PCM failure Almost had numerous accidents. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or service center. It has been reproduced by other people after explaining the issue. Also has been reproduced on another Gm product around the same year. Vehicle has been inspected by an independent shop, the only thing that was found was excessive brake wear in rear. Problem appeared when I first started driving the car. It is definitely a software issue. Software should be polling the wheel speed sensor while in engine off. There were no idiot lights. Recently, on a private road that had an inclination, I reproduce the problem. The vehicle obtained at least two miles an hour rolling backwards for about a minute. The speedometer did not register any speed. I did not want to test this any longer for fear of engine starting back up and damaging the transmission. Approaching a stop softly applying the brakes with an incline, whether at a controlled intersection or in traffic, when the auto engine shutdown activates, the vehicle rolls backwards.

- Franklinville , NJ, USA

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problem #22

Apr 132021

Cruze

  • miles
My 2016 Chevrolet Cruze is only 4 years old. I had to replace the thermostat and after a inspection. The (vvt) variable valve timing when trying to start my car, it would click but wouldn't turn over all lights and power was on but car would not start. Also, my engine light was on and and the metal wire ring inside of the starter was completely broken in half.and had to be replaced

- Arlington, TX, USA

problem #21

Dec 272020

Cruze

  • 2 miles

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

The veh started with a small water leak, then a very large leak. Found out that the water pump was bad and the thermostat was bad. The windshield wiper fluid holder has a large crack in it. The vehicle still needs maintenance on it and can't afford it. No photos to share but receipts of my bill to replace

- Bacliff, TX, USA

problem #20

Jun 152020

Cruze

  • miles
My check engine light had come on I got it checked at my mechanic but can't seem to figure out the problem. When you first start the ignition it feels like the car is bobbing back and fourth. Also after the auto stop goes on and you take your foot off the brake and put it on the gas pedal the car stutters. I also had a problem when I was coming out of my driveway it stalled and lost all power steering I had to turn the car off and back on again.

- New Hampton, NY, USA

problem #19

Dec 152020

Cruze

  • 98,000 miles
Vehicle was shaking profusely on local street, did not accelerate beyond 5 mph, and had a 'stabilitrak' error code. Barely made it back to the driveway. Had it towed to a dealership and confirmed piston/cylinder problem, which will require a completely new engine. Bought it used in 2018 (with 54K miles) from a dealer, but was not made aware of service bulletin pip5421; and the mfg'ers warranty is no longer valid as there is over 90K miles (but still within 5 years). Dealer indicates it will cost $9500 to put new engine in, and we still owe on it....worthless car!

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #18

Nov 222020

Cruze

  • 40,000 miles
My cars cam shaft was replaced six months ago, and it was still under warranty. Now I'm having a bunch of other issues some of the problems are because the Chevy dealership, that replaced it my cam shaft wheel they had to to take parts off and back on to fix it now those parts they took off and now bad plus other bottoms up. It won't keep coolant. And keeps over heating, and the dealership, is trying to over price me on parts that I can get, for a fraction of the price there charging me, and now I'm with out a vehicle un less I come up with over $1400, I feel like they purposely didn't put everything back together right, cuz they new they could get and make more money out of it because some of the parts are still under warranty. Pluse when they fixed it the first time. They charge for a new belt on the car and I already hade one which wasn't mine to start with, it belong to a friend of mine, and the stole it and put it on my car then charge me for it. Be cause it was in the back seat, my vehicle is sitting at the shop now. It's at leach-wilson Chevrolet-Buick in shelbyville Illinois, there going to start working on it on January 11th, that's what they said anyways and I don't feel safe with them doing that but I have no other option right now. And I'm being forced to pay over $1400. Plus they stole parts out of my car I was holding for a friend and I had in the car and they use them and charged the warranty for those parts and it wasn't theirs to sell like that

- Shelbyville, IL, USA

problem #17

Dec 012020

Cruze

  • 0 miles

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

My car is parked looks like a rainbow color is coming out from under the engine. It looks like water from a distance until you get closer. I have notified the dealership where I bought it and he tells me there is nothing they can

- Bacliff, TX, USA

problem #16

Oct 212020

Cruze

  • 72,000 miles
New 2016 Cruze limited, 2 years after the purchase of the car, water pump and thermostat housing replacement(covered by the drive-train warranty),2 years later, car overheats again, I am apparently losing water but not evident in the engine compartment, I take it back to the dealer, told them what I thought was happening again and they conducted an analysis for which I had to pay $96, (car has 72,000 miles, out of warranty) telling me the same thing I had already figured out, that I need a new water pump and thermostat housing. They tell me it will cost me about $870. To replace the water pump and thermostat. Now understand, my wife and I bought this car on good faith that it was going to be something that we could rely on. I am retired and she is disabled. I needed a dependable mode of transportation. When we first bought it, it was great. But back to our dilemma, after I was given the estimate, I told them I did not have that kind of money for the repair, and they made sure the coolant was full and I limped it back to my house. I purchased a new water pump, thermostat housing, and a water outlet assembly and replaced it myself. I am an experienced mechanic. After replacement, while on our way to an appointment the next day, the car over heated again. Got it back to the house, found no leaks, bled the system to make sure there was no air in the lines. Drove it the next day and the engine stopped on me on the road while I was driving, it would not re-start. Checked the oil dipstick and found water in engine! some analysis I was given. Had it towed to my house. Here we are with a 4 year old car, 72,000 mile engine and it is done. We live on social security and I still owe payments. Why weren't these cars recalled if they knew so many people were having this cooling problem on the cars" now what do we do" I don't want to make payments on a broken car!

- Melbourne, FL, USA

problem #15

Oct 052020

Cruze

  • miles
Coolant hose leakage, cracked coolant hose connector, thermostat broken

- Killeen, TX, USA

problem #14

Mar 022020

Cruze

  • 65,000 miles
After repairing the coolant system car, I drove it around the block to ensure it was working properly. Upon doing so, all gauges stopped working. I also put the car in reverse to park it in the driveway and the transmission would not go into the selected gear. We had to put the car into neutral and push it into the driveway. Also, all notification lights were also lit at the time. When it finally shifted into drive the car jerked very hard.

- Glendale, AZ, USA

problem #13

Dec 192019

Cruze

  • 65,229 miles
During diagnostic found excessive oil mixed in with the coolant all through the engine. Removed spark plugs and found cylinder #4 had coolant on top of the piston and the spark plug was saturated in coolant as well. Removed cylinder head and cleaned head gasket sealing surface. Inspected for any signs of cracks and found none. Using a straight edge could not find any areas of the cylinder head that were warped or damaged indicating a head gasket failure. However only found oil in cooling'system but no coolant in the engine oil. Removed oil drain plug and found no signs of coolant. Removed transmission drain plug and found no coolant in the transmission fluid either. After inspecting oil cooler found it had internally failed causing the oil to leak in to the coolant. Recommend replacing head gasket, radiator inlet hose, oil cooler inlet hose, heater core inlet hose, heater core outlet hose, both turbo charger cooler hoses, the turbo charger oil inlet pipe and the turbo charger oil return pipe. After completing repairs cleaned cooling system and flushed with warm water 4 times before filling cooling system with coolant. Test drove vehicle and no problems were found after test drive. Recommend customer have coolant flushed during. Next.. oil. Change to remove any oil that may have been left in the cooling system after repairs were made

- Rancho Cordova, CA, USA

problem #12

Aug 012019

Cruze

  • miles
My 2016 Chevrolet Cruze with less than 90K miles at the time was running hot in 2018, car was fixed by local Chevy dealership (_coolant jug leak/ water housing made of plastic cracked at clamp connection area) was diagnostic. After few months it started running hot again 2019, dealership said diagnosis was thermostat, waterpump, hoses leaking.. after all parts was replaced and driven for couple days car dashboard notification said A/C off/ idle engine overheating. Paid for another diagnostic from dealership and now they are saying maybe a blown headgasket or cracked engine block due to overheating.seems as though the defected/ cheap parts caused this from the beginning and should be recalled before someone engine blow up from overheating

- Tallahassee, FL, USA

problem #11

Sep 172019

Cruze

  • 32,400 miles
Car would not go into park while stationary in a parking lot. The shifter would move between reverse, neutral, and drive but stopped at park. I had to push very hard on it to force it into park. Dangerous because it could roll. Plus you can't remove the key from the ignition so your car could get stolen. The entire shifter assembly had to be replaced.

- Omaha, NE, USA

problem #10

Sep 012019

Cruze

  • 101,300 miles
Clutch pedal did not return to proper position. This did not allow the ability to shift. If this had happend while driving could have been dangerous. Vehicle was stationary in parking lot. This is a known issue, tsb is pip5558C.

- Springfield, VA, USA

problem #9

Jun 082019

Cruze

  • miles
Overheating, speed drop when I driving, engine make weird noise dealer can't fix it this is safety issue

- Long Beach, CA, USA

problem #8

Mar 312019

Cruze

  • 53,825 miles
When leaving a grocery store, roughly 2 miles, my husband said the gas peddle clicked. Moments later, the car started shifting weird. Would not get past first gear. Second gear made the car super shaky and then it shut off. When restarting, car would drive normal for a minute then act up again. We would put it in neural and coast it with no problems until it died again. When we got home about 30 minutes later, I pulled the code and it was pulling O2 bank 1 sensor 2. car is at the dealership now. Waiting for a call on the diagnosis.

- College Station, TX, USA

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