Hey, scotty. I bought last year a 2011 chevrolet cruze 1.4L turbo cvt transmission. it has 29 000km right now on the motor which is the orginal and has a coolant leak, which i have to fill the reservoir up completely every week. Theres no external leaks, no white smoke or milky oil yet present which might indicate a broken head gasket, the chevrolet dealer said there nothing visible. What could be the problem? Thanks and i regret buying this junk lemon.
Chevy has a recall for the water pumps on the 2011-2014 Chevy Cruze. It indicates that if there is coolant around the water pumps, they’ll replace it for free - no matter who owns it.
@aboy336
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Change the radiator cap too.
The radiator cap is the same on the cruze as the reservoir tank cap. I searched online for that and found out it is the same cap.
The dealer you went to is trying to cover it up. They've been told by GM to shut up and top up the coolant.
GM has known about this problem, and issued a bunch of bulletins:
(it's always a good idea to research bulletins & recalls from the moment you buy a car)
- https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2013/MC-10139051-9999.pdf
- https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2014/CSC-10056372-5376.pdf
- https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2014/SB-10056372-4506.pdf
- https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2013/SB-10071592-5448.pdf
- https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2014/SB-10070104-9133.pdf
Of course, they fall short of admitting fault, or even suggesting what might be causing the issue on the Chevy Cruze (2011 seems to be the worst). GM's "solution" is to keep topping it up.
Turns out, people decided to sue.
Feliciano claims in the lawsuit that General Motors tried to hide a defect with the radiator that allows antifreeze to leak. Further, the lawsuit says GM issued two technical service bulletins to dealers in the past, informing them of the problems with the Chevy Cruze, but GM failed to inform the buying public.
The NY judge partially dismissed the class action, Sheilah Feliciano v. General Motors Company.
Some say the problem can be traced to a failed heater-core which are leaking antifreeze. The problem doesn't always result in a flooded carpet, but it does release enough to give off a noxious vapor through the heater.
Removing the heat core involves removing the dashboard and gutting a good portion of the inside of the vehicle. A very big and expensive job.
The 2011 Cruze has had 7 recalls. Some of them very serious (bad engine, fire risk etc.)
https://www.carcomplaints.com/Chevrolet/Cruze/2011/recalls/
The Cruze does have a reputation for one the worst cars GM has made in recent time.
Sorry to say, but it looks like you got very sour lemon. Might be best to just cut your losses and get rid of it.
Thanks for this info on GM, I didn't know about it. I will for sure look into the articles you sent me. Oh, and I now it's a lemon, I call it The Premium Lemon. Lol
I just went and bought a used Honda civic the other day and made sure before I got it, that there is a full coolant and engine coverage for any fault and damaged, cause I don't want to go through this again and my dad will keep the cruze and try to figure out the issue. I am even having a hard time selling it at any price, since no one wants them.
Have you tried testing it with a block test kit to see if the exhaust is coming in to the coolant? Scotty has a video on this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0U8Iyf0kk4
The cruze doesn't have a cap like that, to do the test. The radiator cap on the cruze is considered the same as the coolant reservoir cap, ontop of the plastic tank. The dealer said they did everything and found nothing. But didn't day what they exactly did in testing wise.
If the reservoir fluid is going down, it's either leaking coolant or burning coolant. Those are the only two choices. Perhaps the reservoir itself has a slow leak that won't show up on a pressure test or the garage floor.
If it's a slow leak, then how come the reservoir is empty within a week of filling it completely back up?
How can you test the reservoir for a leak?
i have to fill the reservoir up completely every week.
And by completely, you mean fill it up to the hot line when it's hot, or the cold line when it's cold, right?
I always fill it up to the line when it is cold. I was told never to do it hot and do it when it's cold.
so when it's cold, did you fill it to the BOTTOM line?
No matter if I fill it to the top or bottom line, it's empty with nothing left and when that happens the fan goes on and the heat gauge increases.
It seems that many people have experienced what you are describing.
Check out this link:
https://www.carcomplaints.com/Chevrolet/Cruze/2011/cooling_system/coolant_loss.shtml
Use UV dye to find where the leak is. If you couldn't find it, your engine burns it. One possible reason you do not see the white smoke could be that the CAT does its job.
You do know where I can buy a the UV dye? Here at Canadian tire where I live, doesn't sell it online.
Any auto part store should have it.
The Mastercool 53351-B professional leak dye kit is available on Amazon for $53.89 USD. It comes with everything you'll need.
You should get a pressure test to find the source of the leak.
Mechanic did the pressure test, there is no leak
I had the same problem with my 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. I can pretty much guarantee that it is the coolant reservoir. You don't see any leak because the coolant escapes when it is hot while driving thru a tiny crack that you can't see. The Cruze and the Malibu share the same coolant reservoir. Where the hose connects at the bottom, the plastic cracks easily. After doing research, i found that it was recommended to buy a Dorman replacement and not a GM replacement because Dorman puts aluminum at that spot so it doesn't crack. The Dorman one is better built and it is actually cheaper. This problem drove me nuts for months and in the end it was a cheap fix that you can do yourself in under 10 minutes.
