# Transmission cooler leak (a mystery)



## OldWhiteChevy (Mar 5, 2013)

I had my 2012 Cruze LT (1.4 L) in for an oil change and inspection, an the customer service guy commented "I don't want to scare you, but you have signs of a transmission cooler leak that could cause a problem if it isn't corrected at some point". (The problem being that the fluid would leak out and wreck the transmission...duh). There was no big pressure to have it corrected that day, but he did quote me a price of around $300 to replace the oil cooler lines. He also asked me if I had noticed anything on my garage floor, which I haven't. The only thing I find is air conditioning condensate, i.e. water. Not reddish or oily, as I would expect transmission fluid to be.

So my question, for those of you more knowledgeable about Cruze transmissions than I: Could the fluid he mentioned be going someplace else not visible on the ground? Or is this dealer trying to either (a) sell me on a repair that might not be necessary for some time or (b) get me hooked on the idea of buying a new car?

I'm attaching a photo of the engine compartment; I know it's hard to point to something in a picture on a web post, but can some of you mechanically astute folks tell me roughly where the transmission oil cooler and hoses are located? From what I've read in these forums, It should be somewhere near the right side (driver side) near the radiator. What I think is water from the a/c is located more toward the passenger side and farther back. Thanks in advance for any advice!


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## Rivergoer (Mar 30, 2017)

Pretty common issue with both gassers and diesels, these links might help.

Diesels - http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/64-g...3730-transmission-cooler-lines-leaking-2.html

Gassers - http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/25-gen1-service-issues/187058-radiator-cooler-line-issue.html


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## OldWhiteChevy (Mar 5, 2013)

Thanks, that does help. I'm wondering -- shouldn't I see something leaking on the ground, or somewhere in the engine compartment? Everything looks completely normal.


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## MilTownSHO (Oct 9, 2013)

OldWhiteChevy said:


> Thanks, that does help. I'm wondering -- shouldn't I see something leaking on the ground, or somewhere in the engine compartment? Everything looks completely normal.


Not until they get really bad, it tends to collect on the splash shield first. Every Cruze, pretty much every GM product has the transmission cooler lines leak.


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