# 2014 Cruze Diesel ride quality is terrible even after shocks/struts replaced



## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

Have you checked your front swaybar end links - or the ends? 

That last statement, I'm not really sure where it came from - there are plenty of front suspension problems that clearly comes from the front.


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## jmlo96 (May 2, 2015)

Make sure the first shop did not put on quick struts. The parts are generally far inferior to the OEM parts. If the Chevrolet dealer used springs from a former quickstrut, that could certainly be an issue. I've worked with quickstruts before and the spring rate never seems to be right. 

Also, have you changed tires recently? Cheap tires/tires with hard sidewalls could certainly cause this problem. Air pressure in the tires could also be a factor; however, unless you are significantly over inflated that should be a big issue.


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## TheDog (Mar 27, 2014)

Thanks for the ideas. It goes back in Tuesday to our favorite and very trusted dealer. As I look up the part numbers I am very surprised to see that the strut assemblies they used don't appear to have springs in them, that is a separate part. Sigh. What a waste of money.

More to follow after Tuesday's visit.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

What tires do you have on it?


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## TheDog (Mar 27, 2014)

jblackburn said:


> What tires do you have on it?


The tires are the non Chevrolet specific Fuel Max tires from Goodyear. This is a seriously nasty slamming noise far beyond the range of adjustment from tires or tire pressures.

At this point I actually think I may have bad motor mounts. Dealer will investigate tomorrow.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

TheDog said:


> The tires are the non Chevrolet specific Fuel Max tires from Goodyear. This is a seriously nasty slamming noise far beyond the range of adjustment from tires or tire pressures.
> 
> At this point I actually think I may have bad motor mounts. Dealer will investigate tomorrow.


Maybe; I was thinking subframe mounts or some kinda bushing somewhere but they usually take far longer to degrade.

Some tires are seriously rock-hard pieces of crap though (looking at you, Bridgestone EL400).


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## TheDog (Mar 27, 2014)

Dealer says confidently that it is a transmission mount. It will be replaced over the weekend. Will report back on results.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

Let us know if it ends up being that - see if they'll let you snap a couple pictures of it, that way the rest of us can keep an eye out for the same thing. That's the first I've heard of mounts going bad on the CTDs.


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## TheDog (Mar 27, 2014)

The transmission mount was replaced (not sure which part # but it's a large plastic thing that looks a little bit like a squirrel cage blower motor oddly... And unfortunately, there are still some non extreme bumps that result in a very loud thud that seems out of proportion to the bump. Maybe not as often but still not resolved.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

I would forget about the dealer and take it to a suspension specialist. Another thing you could try is if you know someone with a CTD like yours, swap wheels for a day and see if it is different?


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## lonewolf04 (May 6, 2016)

Just as an FYI, if you are experiencing noise from the front struts there was a TSB to address a noise issue. The bellow falls out of the top spring seat and they slam into each other. The fix was to glue them together.


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## TheDog (Mar 27, 2014)

I gave up. Another dealer looked at it and said that one of the (just replaced last month) strut mounts was damaged. They also expressed no confidence that replacing the coil springs would restore the ride height and suspension compliance. Getting the strut mount fixed (which probably died prematurely because the car slammed into so many bumps) would require some inter dealer co-operation and having the spring replaced was probably going to be close to 500 dollars. Even if I fixed all that AND it worked to fix the ride I still would have had a 122K mile old car that also needed a new NOx sensor replacement before I could even register in our new home state of New York. So our lovely green friend had to go away.

I traded it in and now have a 2019 Cruze Hatchback (gas) LT w/sun and sound and convenience package. Not as many doodads as the Diesel had but I like the way it drives and thought the pricing (about 21K?) was very reasonable. Plus I like hatchbacks and when our Focus departed earlier this year it left us with two sedans.

Overall I feel like our Cruze diesel was a worthy vehicle. The power and quietness of the drivetrain (from inside the car) were impressive and while it did have some diesel related service issues, they never effected the driving or the dependability of the car and for us, all but the last sensor (which we didn't repair) were issues that were covered by the warranties and extended coverages provided by GM.


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