# 2200 miles and problems



## Dan (Jun 20, 2013)

I have a 2013 chevy cruze lt sedan (automatic) that I bought in early April. I took it in today for service for 3 problems: 1. It is very sluggish at lower speeds. When I leave a stop sign it almost feels like it is going to stall unless I give it quite a bit of gas and then it surges forward. 2. A warning like comes on every couple of weeks that says A/C OFF DUE TO HIGH ENGINE TEMPS. It will stay on until I shut the car off. Normally, when I restart it it goes off. Not all of the time. 3. After it rains, when I open my trunk, water pours into the trunk from the trunk lid. The water collects in that cheap looking gray plastic part that protects the rear view light on the side of the trunk lid. The service department at the dealers where I bought the car was not able to fix any of these problems. 1. He wasn't able to duplicate the sluggish feeling/almost stalling of the car. 2. He was not able to get the A/C light to come on when he ran my car. Therefore, he can't fix it. 3. There is no fix for the water leaking into the trunk. He agreed that this is a bad design by GM.

Can someone tell me if there are any fixes to the problems I described. What should I do next. I think I made a mistake with buying the cruze.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

Where are you located, and what has the weather been like lately?


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

You indicate a 1LT....meaning you have the 1.4T.
If you are operating in temperatures above 75f and using the A/C, I strongly recommend trying at least two tanks of mid grade fuel.....many members have found (me included) the computer retards the ignition timing a lot in hot weather to control detonation.
The feeling is as you describe....feels like the throttle does nothing and eventually the power kinda comes back.
With mid grade mylow speed performance returned and it picked up a bit of mileage as well.

This A/C business......have you personally verified the coolant surge tank is at least 1/4 full or more?
If it is, then you have no alternative but to drive it to the dealer when the lamp is illuminated.....this concern sets no codes so you will have to demonstrate......DO NOT SHUT THE CAR OFF ONCE AT THE DEALER!......Make sure they see the warning.
If you turn the car off.....you likely wasted a trip because they won't get it to illuminate again.

The water dripping into the trunk when opening......there is no fix, yes, somebody in design obviously never opened a wet trunk lid.....but that is going to be part of the cars 'character'.

Rob


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Sluggish acceleration can be a sign of improperly and inconsistently gapped spark plugs. Have them check that one - you have a drivability issue and that is one thing to check. Also, the 1.4T engine in this car is rated for 91 octane. The ECU spends a lot of time and effort preventing engine knock on lower octane gasoline so going to mid-grade (two tanks) and then to premium (two tanks) to decide which one provides the best performance for the buck is well worth the effort.

Engine overtemp - check your coolant level when the engine is cold. It should be at the top of the arrow on the surge tank (hard to see but the first rib below the tank weld). If it's below that point, take it in, have your dealership fill to the top of the arrow, and also have them put florescent coolant dye in the surge tank to help identify where coolant is leaking, if it is leaking. Also, as Robby said, when this occurs drive immediately to the nearest Chevy dealership and do NOT turn the car off until they see the warning.

The water dripping into the trunk is odd - I don't have this issue but I can see how it could occur. Whenever you open your trunk, make sure the water gutter around the top and outside of the trunk opening is clear and that the rubber lip on this gutter is in place. Also, don't just flip the trunk up, it comes real close to the rear window and you don't want to break the window by flipping the trunk up too fast. When I open my trunk when there's water sitting on it I give it just a moment to drain off and into the gutters.


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## Bohdan (Apr 28, 2012)

Looks like the Electronic thermostat has started to fail. I run 91 octane on my Cruze ltz.


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

obermd,
I believe the OP is referencing the water coming out of the taillight area of the trunk lid.

I have found, if I open and raise the lid immediatly, whatever water was hiding behind or on top of the lamps will pour into the trunk..........but, I have also learned to pop the remote, let the lid rise a few inches, and in doing so most of the water drains onto the rear fascia.

Rob


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Robby said:


> obermd,
> I believe the OP is referencing the water coming out of the taillight area of the trunk lid.
> 
> I have found, if I open and raise the lid immediatly, whatever water was hiding behind or on top of the lamps will pour into the trunk..........but, I have also learned to pop the remote, let the lid rise a few inches, and in doing so most of the water drains onto the rear fascia.
> ...


I haven't experienced water coming out of the tail light area of the trunk lid, but yes, that would dump directly into the trunk.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

Dan,

We are sorry to hear that you have been experiencing this with your new Cruze. Please keep us updated on the status of your vehicle. If there is any assistance we can provide to you please let us know. 

Amber N.
Chevrolet Customer Care


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## Dan (Jun 20, 2013)

Thanks for some of the suggestions, but I think they even made me madder. I'm in Michigan. Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day with a high in the upper 70s. The car was sluggish and the A/C OFF DUE TO HIGH ENGINE TEMP light came on. I bought this car to save money on gas not to pay more for expensive gas. Amber, from Customer Care can you comment on using higher octane gas? Also, I doubt if you would admit that there is no fix for the leaking trunk. I can't believe GM would sell a car with this problem. Get your engineers working on it to come up with a fix. I was shocked today when I asked the GM service people if they could fix it and they said no this is just a poorly designed part of the car. Why didn't they tell me that before I wasted my money on this car.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Dan said:


> I bought this car to save money on gas not to pay more for expensive gas.


 I keep track of my cost per mile, the difference in MPG with premium offsets most of not all the cost(depends on the price spread of 87octane to 91-93octane premium). With regular it was 10.5cents per mile, with premium is usually 11cents. However now that I know the car better an am getting even better MPG even at $4.30 an average for premium this month I am at 10.8cents per mile. 



Dan said:


> Also, I doubt if you would admit that there is no fix for the leaking trunk. I can't believe GM would sell a car with this problem. Get your engineers working on it to come up with a fix. I was shocked today when I asked the GM service people if they could fix it and they said no this is just a poorly designed part of the car. Why didn't they tell me that before I wasted my money on this car.


Find a different dealer or call customer service to light a fire under your service departments butt. My trunk & I would assume most others do not leak at all.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

If your getting the AC disabled due to high engine temp message and not going in for service ASAP this is a mistake. This is an indication of a faulty thermostat, low coolant or bad waterpump. 

If your engine is that hot and you continue to drive you could be causing damage. Call/contact customer service immediately.


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## CruzeTech (Mar 23, 2012)

There is a water pump bulletin out for cars. My friend just had his replaced on his cruze a few weeks ago. Coolant was seeping out of the weep hole.


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## Farmboy (Apr 21, 2013)

I've never had that problem you speak of with the rain in the trunk.

Where in Michigan are you located? I know of a few good dealers.

Since GM or the place you took your vehicle isn't going to do anything about the rain, do you own a screwdriver and a ten mil socket?

If it were me, I'll pull the chrome cover and put a light bead of silicone on the top inside to prevent water from being trapped back there while its raining. I'd let it dry before you install it.

While the chrome cover is off I'd cover the top of the trunk switch with silicone as well. If not, that will be your next complaint.


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

Dan said:


> Thanks for some of the suggestions, but I think they even made me madder. I'm in Michigan. Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day with a high in the upper 70s. The car was sluggish and the A/C OFF DUE TO HIGH ENGINE TEMP light came on. I bought this car to save money on gas not to pay more for expensive gas. Amber, from Customer Care can you comment on using higher octane gas? Also, I doubt if you would admit that there is no fix for the leaking trunk. I can't believe GM would sell a car with this problem. Get your engineers working on it to come up with a fix. I was shocked today when I asked the GM service people if they could fix it and they said no this is just a poorly designed part of the car. Why didn't they tell me that before I wasted my money on this car.


I made a fuel grade recommendation that myself and others have discovered can reduce or eliminate the lack of power or laggy throttle response in hot weather.
I pointed out that you will also note a mileage improvement using a mid grade.
Your response is saying our suggestions and findings make you madder at the car.
Silly me....A suggestion was made that will improve your driveability, decrease your overall cost of operation from a fuel mileage standpoint, and that information was annoying to you.
I suppose I must be the dimwit....I thought a simple fuel grade change with even better mileage potental would be a good thing.
So, keep running regular during the hot months and enjoy feeling the computer protecting the engine I guess.

But, you still must get it to the dealer while it is displaying the 'no a/c' light.....and you missed your opportunity yesterday.
Now the problem is, it's Friday, and even if you succeed in getting it to a dealer with the warning displayed they may not have enouph time before the weekend to resolve the concern.

Too all the other readers, I can duplicate the OP'S trunk pouring water out of the housings and into the trunk by opening the trunk immediatly after I wash/rinse the car...........so, now I just pop the lid and let it float about a two/three inches open for a minute.....this drains the areas retaining water, then finish lifting the lid.
I do agree....poor design......unfortunatly, every carmaker will oversite something.....good news is it doesn't leak while closed.

Rob


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## Dan (Jun 20, 2013)

My owner's manual does not recommend running premium gas in my new cruze. From what I've read online from consumer's report, Car Talk guys and other websites they say it is a myth that running premium in cars will increase gas mileage. As for the A/C problem, I spoke to the mechanic at my dealer yesterday and he said don't worry about the A/C problem. It is not going to hurt your car. He ran the car for quite a while and couldn't see any problems with the coolant. I'm the first to admit, I don't know much about cars. Is my mechanic incompetent? I'm relying on this message board to help me out. Is everyone out there in agreement that the Cruze is designed to run sluggish on regular gas? I'm hoping that this isn't the case. We've had a very cool summer/spring here in Michigan. On most mornings it has been in the 40s and 50s and the car is still sluggish. My A/C came 2 days ago when it was in the low 50s and I had been driving less than a mile.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Dan said:


> My owner's manual does not recommend running premium gas in my new cruze. From what I've read online from consumer's report, Car Talk guys and other websites they say it is a myth that running premium in cars will increase gas mileage. As for the A/C problem, I spoke to the mechanic at my dealer yesterday and he said don't worry about the A/C problem. It is not going to hurt your car. He ran the car for quite a while and couldn't see any problems with the coolant. I'm the first to admit, I don't know much about cars. Is my mechanic incompetent? I'm relying on this message board to help me out. Is everyone out there in agreement that the Cruze is designed to run sluggish on regular gas? I'm hoping that this isn't the case. We've had a very cool summer/spring here in Michigan. On most mornings it has been in the 40s and 50s and the car is still sluggish. My A/C came 2 days ago when it was in the low 50s and I had been driving less than a mile.


It doesn't condone it either. 

CR is a crock of crap. But none of those tests apply to *turbocharged* cars. They benefit heavily from high octane fuel. Even several non-turbo cars these days are starting to benefit from mid-grade or premium fuel. Engines are being run very near their timing limit on Regular fuel. 

There have been problems with both thermostats and water pumps on these Cruzes. When you see that message again, check the coolant expansion tank for antifreeze. If its empty, you have a leak and need to refill it and probably have a leaking water pump. 


Sent from AutoGuide.com App


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

Dan, 

Obermd is correct. Octane ratings measure a gasoline's ability to resist engine knock, a rattling or pinging sound that results from premature ignition of the compressed fuel-air mixture in one or more cylinders. According to your owners manual your recommended Octane level is rated at 87 or higher. 

Erica Tiffany
Chevrolet Customer Service


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