# Blown pioneer rear deck speaker, cool story gm



## ls3c6 (Oct 15, 2011)

I won't get into all the other random failures this respectfully driven and maintained vehicle has experienced in the past 12 mos (2012 ltz 6at rs) but yesterday the misses comes home and tells me the car is making two strange sounds as of this morning.

One she mentions the hvac blower seems louder, this I've heard before, I grumbled yea it's a piece we'll have to replace it at some point and I disregarded.

Next she says the radio is making a rattling noise, I looked at her confused because I know she listens to primarily talk radio at low volume and never turns it up to even approaching loud so I instantly thought great... probably an amp issue.

I went outside to investigate and sure enough, the rear right 6x9 "subwoofer" sounds like a broken clock radio. I disconnected it to verify then removed the rear deck, removed the speaker and plugged it into the other speaker jack to verify it was the speaker and not the source. Also pushed on the cone and felt a really nice trashed scraping voice coil.

So anyway ordered 2 new rear deck speaks for good measure, baffled at the failure... one more nail in the coffin of never buying another GM.

(And I thought that dented wastegate pin last week was the end of failures that have no excuse!)


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## hificruzer226 (Mar 27, 2013)

Sooooooo. You are mad at a car company for a blown speaker....???


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## ls3c6 (Oct 15, 2011)

hificruzer226 said:


> Sooooooo. You are mad at a car company for a blown speaker....???


this is just one failure amongst a sea of many that should have never occurred and didn't occur due to neglect or abuse. pos car.


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## Daisy81 (Jun 17, 2012)

It's a 2012 and you bought it last year? No offense but how do you know it was never abused?


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## hificruzer226 (Mar 27, 2013)

ls3c6 said:


> this is just one failure amongst a sea of many that should have never occurred and didn't occur due to neglect or abuse. pos car.


I get it that it sucks but I have had zero issues with my Cruze. I treat it well. A subwoofer is usually the first thing to go on most systems because they generally take the most power and are generally the first things to get abused. Most people thing a good stereo has an astronomical amount of bass so they tend to push it hard. It could have been blown before you got it and worsened as time went on until it became so apparent especially since she listens to talk radio and would never get the drivers to move more than 10%. Just out of curiosity how much did you spend on the pair?


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Everyone is assuming the 12 months is how long OP has owned the car. OP joined CruzeTalk in Oct 2011 so I suspect the car itself started having issues 12 months ago and that he is the first owner.


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## hificruzer226 (Mar 27, 2013)

Yea my front pass, door driver has coil rub but Its expected on a factory stereo. I cant tell you how many factory speakers have a life span of about 2-3 years.


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## Daisy81 (Jun 17, 2012)

obermd said:


> Everyone is assuming the 12 months is how long OP has owned the car. OP joined CruzeTalk in Oct 2011 so I suspect the car itself started having issues 12 months ago and that he is the first owner.


I went back and reread his post and you're right.

I'm sorry OP. At first it sounded like you had just bought the vehicle a year ago. Maybe you got a Friday car. I know it sucks having a car note or spending a tone on a vehicle and having it turn out to be junk. It happens to us all eventually but it doesn't lessen the blow when it's our turn. Good luck.


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## ls3c6 (Oct 15, 2011)

New pair of speaks was 70 bucks and an hour of my time. It's not the speakers making me upset, it's that everything that can go wrong does go wrong with these cars and I'm not the only one. She never ever listens to the stereo at loud levels so this one dumbfounded me.... meanwhile I abuse the **** out of the harmon/Karman logic7 in the bimmer and it keeps on working albeit 4 yrs older with twice the mileage 3x the horsepower 4x the features and complexity... you see where I'm going with this


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## Daisy81 (Jun 17, 2012)

ls3c6 said:


> New pair of speaks was 70 bucks and an hour of my time. It's not the speakers making me upset, it's that everything that can go wrong does go wrong with these cars and I'm not the only one. She never ever listens to the stereo at loud levels so this one dumbfounded me.... meanwhile I abuse the **** out of the harmon/Karman logic7 in the bimmer and it keeps on working albeit 4 yrs older with twice the mileage 3x the horsepower 4x the features and complexity... you see where I'm going with this


What else went wrong with your 2012 Cruze LTZ?

So far mine has been stellar.


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## ls3c6 (Oct 15, 2011)

Waterpump 4x, usb/SD reader for nav, recalls, speakers, turbo, programming issues for auto hvac... no valve cover or coil pack yet... waiting on those


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## Daisy81 (Jun 17, 2012)

ls3c6 said:


> Waterpump 4x, usb/SD reader for nav, recalls, speakers, turbo, programming issues for auto hvac... no valve cover or coil pack yet... waiting on those


I don't know. Maybe but I have to call BS. I'll give you the automatic climate control is a little wonky but it is not that big of a deal. I have no idea what the coil pack is but what ever it is I haven't had a issue in 71,200 miles.

You don't mention the miles, service history, if your car has been wrecked or not. You just rattle off a few buzz words and saw your BMW has been better. I've seen three year old BMWs and they are money pits. There is a reason why people lease those things.

I call troll.


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## cruze2011white (Feb 2, 2011)

Heres the thing the items he mention the speakers, the waste gate pin sounds more like employees at the factory causing this. I hate to say it some don't care and could care less if they damaged a car. I had a 2002 grandprix that was missing 2 bolts for the exhaust and the bumper had a gap because the bolt was not tighten. This is not Gm's fault but the employee.

No way did pin bend on its own, and with it you having the Pioneer system I doubt the speakers blown probably bad originally but got worse over time. The pioneer probably can't blow those speakers anyway.


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## Daisy81 (Jun 17, 2012)

cruze2011white said:


> Heres the thing the items he mention the speakers, the waste gate pin sounds more like employees at the factory causing this. I hate to say it some don't care and could care less if they damaged a car. I had a 2002 grandprix that was missing 2 bolts for the exhaust and the bumper had a gap because the bolt was not tighten. This is not Gm's fault but the employee.
> 
> No way did pin bend on its own, and with it you having the Pioneer system I doubt the speakers blown probably bad originally but got worse over time. The pioneer probably can't blow those speakers anyway.


The only thing I can think of blowing the speakers with the pioneer package is using a square audio wave for an extended period of time. This doesn't just happen.


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## S-Fitz (Jul 16, 2012)

Are we an enthusiast forum or a support group? Sometimes I forget.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

S-Fitz said:


> View attachment 139610
> 
> Are we an enthusiast forum or a support group? Sometimes I forget.


Both.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

ls3c6 said:


> Waterpump 4x, usb/SD reader for nav, recalls, speakers, turbo, programming issues for auto hvac... no valve cover or coil pack yet... waiting on those


How long since your last water pump? GM has redesigned it twice now and hopefully the current design won't develop leaks as it ages.

Recalls - other than the engine shield recall all the other recalls against the 2012 Cruze have impacted multiple car companies. Our media has a real case of apathy and ignorance when it comes to non-GM recalls. So it wouldn't matter which manufacturer you had.

USB/SD reader and speakers - very unusual to have problems with these.

We have had a few turbos replaced but more waste gates replaced.

Several people have reported having their automatic hvac reprogrammed. 

Valve covers - known issue with an extended warranty on them. These seem to be related to miles and not vehicle age however.

Coil packs do fail, but the vast majority either fail right off the line or when someone tears a boot when removing the pack. The other issue with these is putting them back on without checking to ensure the coils aren't binding to the side of the rubber boot.


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## ls3c6 (Oct 15, 2011)

most recent water pump was 2mos ago, 51k miles.

well I put the new speakers in they seem to work ok, all FM radio stations have a degree of "static" to them, yes I've checked the mast antenna... whatever

if you think I'm trolling or unreasonable, you can go pack sand. This is my gf's car, I told her to buy it because I thought with it's lack of innovation and "old" technology how could it be anything BUT reliable? I'm the one in the dog house over this pile, not you.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

I definitely don't think you're trolling. Nor are you being unreasonable. You have had a couple of odd problems that are relatively rare however and most of the other problems we have all experienced or have been supply chain issues that have impacted multiple manufacturers. The fact that they all seem to have popped up after the B2B warranty (mileage) would piss me off as well.


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## ls3c6 (Oct 15, 2011)

I guess I'm just illustrating that I have a propensity to buy notoriously unreliable, problematic vehicles for myself to drive because the payoff is the innovation / features / power output / materials... whatever it is they offer that attracts my lust. I'm a long time enthusiast, hobbyist mechanic and "tuner".

This car has completely taken me by surprise in it being all the things I thought it wouldn't be, we got rid of a MKIV Jetta because I have enough of my own cars to sort 

I did experience some growing pains with the 08 Corvette when I bought it new, I should have learned "my lesson" then... would I ever consider another GM product under any circumstances? Absolutely not.

I guess I view the cruze now as "even when its working it's not that great, might as well have her get a CPO 328i and it'll have the same or LESS problems... but it'll be a far superior machine in the end"


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

ls3c6 said:


> most recent water pump was 2mos ago, 51k miles.


If you keep having waterpump issues is it possible the dealer isn't installing them correctly causing them to leak in short order? 68K on my cruze, still on the original waterpump.


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## ls3c6 (Oct 15, 2011)

spacedout said:


> If you keep having waterpump issues is it possible the dealer isn't installing them correctly causing them to leak in short order? 68K on my cruze, still on the original waterpump.


I've had 2 different dealers do them, apparently they're all incompetent then? Even if they were and I don't think they are, how does that change the end result anyway?

I noticed this current one has a bunch of chicken scratch written on the pulley so they know if/when it fails again what batch / revision it is.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

ls3c6 said:


> I've had 2 different dealers do them, apparently they're all incompetent then? Even if they were and I don't think they are, how does that change the end result anyway?


Still seems really strange to have so many pump failures with so few miles, especially if you had service at multiple dealers for the issue. Did your water pumps quit cooling properly or where they just leaking? Lets say the dealer was in a hurry and didn't clean the surface well enough before re-installing the new pump and gasket, over time the new pump will starting leaking even though mechanically there is nothing wrong with it. That's what I was getting at, wondering if during the install something is being overlooked causing future issues. 

Sure there has been reports of water pump failures, but not to the extent anyone should ever had 4+ bad ones.


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## ls3c6 (Oct 15, 2011)

spacedout said:


> Still seems really strange to have so many pump failures with so few miles, especially if you had service at multiple dealers for the issue. Did your water pumps quit cooling properly or where they just leaking? Lets say the dealer was in a hurry and didn't clean the surface well enough before re-installing the new pump and gasket, over time the new pump will starting leaking even though mechanically there is nothing wrong with it. That's what I was getting at, wondering if during the install something is being overlooked causing future issues.
> 
> Sure there has been reports of water pump failures, but not to the extent anyone should ever had 4+ bad ones.


well the car always has a underhood coolant oder if it's driven to operating temperature, that happens regardless of what water pump is on it... but when I see it dripping out of the weephole onto the block I take er' back in for another pump.

You have to consider I'm very anal and notice problems long before they're a huge problem... I expect my vehicles to look and perform as new at all times.


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## Daisy81 (Jun 17, 2012)

ls3c6 said:


> well the car always has a underhood coolant oder if it's driven to operating temperature, that happens regardless of what water pump is on it... but when I see it dripping out of the weephole onto the block I take er' back in for another pump.
> 
> You have to consider I'm very anal and notice problems long before they're a huge problem... I expect my vehicles to look and perform as new at all times.


Maybe a mass market economy car isn't for you.

Where you honestly as hard on Audi/Volkswagen?

Edit:

You went to the same place to replace the water pump each time?


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## ls3c6 (Oct 15, 2011)

Daisy81 said:


> Maybe a mass market economy car isn't for you.
> 
> Where you honestly as hard on Audi/Volkswagen?


oh so maybe you should suggest GM change their marketing campaign to say "GOT LOW STANDARDS? HAVE WE GOT THE CAR FOR YOU!"

dude do you read, 3 different dealerships have worked on the car through it's life... it's not the dealership/tech, obviously GM knows the part sucks or they wouldn't chicken scratch batch #s on the pulley.

Hard on audi/vw/Subaru/BMW? No... do you know why? Because when you walk in you're greeted with fresh coffee, a brand new loaner of SIMILAR value or more to what you brought in and updated parts THAT DO NOT FAIL AGAIN.

When I bring the corvette or loaded cruze in for warranty I get a cloth seats poverty cruze and I'm just another car to be worked on in a sea of failures.


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## Daisy81 (Jun 17, 2012)

ls3c6 said:


> oh so maybe you should suggest GM change their marketing campaign to say "GOT LOW STANDARDS? HAVE WE GOT THE CAR FOR YOU!"
> 
> dude do you read, 3 different dealerships have worked on the car through it's life... it's not the dealership/tech, obviously GM knows the part sucks or they wouldn't chicken scratch batch #s on the pulley.


Don't call me dude. If I missed the fact that you went to three different dealerships it's because I had a number of red flags going off in my head from the things you have said and not said that make me think you're not on the level. 

Edit: I read up on the top of page three. Funny you said two dealers there not three.



ls3c6 said:


> Hard on audi/vw/Subaru/BMW? No... do you know why? Because when you walk in you're greeted with fresh coffee, a brand new loaner of SIMILAR value or more to what you brought in and updated parts THAT DO NOT FAIL AGAIN.


So Coffee is what it takes to make you turn a blind eye to the fact that German vehicles are not reliable? Throw a fit and go back to your beloved German cars. I've had an A3 turbo burn out just outside of warranty and cost a crap tun to have fixed. That same A3 lost all the gears at less then a month old and I had to push it out of the road to have it towed. Brand new less then a month old! Don't talk to me about how German cars are the end all be all and that Chevy is Crap. My Lexus was a thousand times better then the A3 but I was worried about all the radiation in Japan and was feeling sick so I traded it in after a year but that said even it was better then the Audi A3 I had before it. The Cruze I have right now is from the same time frame you claim to have purchased one and it's still running like new with no issues.



ls3c6 said:


> When I bring the corvette or loaded cruze in for warranty I get a cloth seats poverty cruze and I'm just another car to be worked on in a sea of failures.


It's a Chevy dealership. What you think they have a Corvette sitting around for you to drive as a loner? Get real. No one buys a Corvette from a dealership new that has been driven and a dealer isn't going to have a $55,000+ Corvette sitting around for someone having it serviced."

You have a BMW and a Cruze why even bother with a loaner for your Corvette? That is your weekend fun car right? I'm calling you out for a fraud. If you're such a big German fanatic why would you buy a GM sports car? Why not a BMW M3? Pictures or it didn't happen.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

This section was created to help with audio and electronic related questions, not to complain about the perceived quality of the car or to compare it to cars costing twice as much. Keep this on topic or I'll start giving warnings and infractions. If you need help resolving an issue, we can assist, but we really don't care for how much you think German cars are superior to American cars.


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## ls3c6 (Oct 15, 2011)

Well whatever it's fixed now and I didn't buy an m3 when I bought the corvette because the v8 m3s are slow.


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## Daisy81 (Jun 17, 2012)

XtremeRevolution said:


> This section was created to help with audio and electronic related questions, not to complain about the perceived quality of the car or to compare it to cars costing twice as much. Keep this on topic or I'll start giving warnings and infractions. If you need help resolving an issue, we can assist, but we really don't care for how much you think German cars are superior to American cars.


My apologies it's just GM gets a unfair bad rap at times and the tone and insinuations set me off. The Cruze is a overall quality product. I shouldn't have allowed myself to be drawn in.


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## KOBALT (Nov 19, 2013)

No matter what make/model of any car, there's always someone who's had nothing but trouble with said vehicle elsewhere. There's folks with nothing but problems with their Cruze and then there are people who have over 100k on theirs with no issues ever. It'll happen with any car.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

Every car I buy breaks so I'm pretty much used to it if it happens.


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## KOBALT (Nov 19, 2013)

Anything made by man breaks. Pretty sure NASA and Boeing have a track record, as well.


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