# Electrical Problem???



## cbroyland (Nov 14, 2011)

I was driving my 2011 Chevy Cruze (9k miles 7 months old) on the highway and it bucked at me and all of my dash lights lit up and my car started "dinging" at me. The gas tank shot to empty and then gradually went back to the actual level (after about 20 minutes). I had the car looked and and no problem was uncovered. Friday (less than 1 month later) I was driving home from work and the same thing happened-except instead of bucking at me, the car completely died for about 15 mintues. I was stranded on the side of the road (I was able to coast over to the shoulder) and my hazards wouldn't work. The car has been in the shop since Friday night, but I don't know if they'll be able to find anything. Anyone have something similar???


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

Windows 98 used to do that all the time. :tongue4:
Perhaps its time for Chevy to do a Service Pack update?


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## kkilburn (Mar 1, 2011)

I had some really strange electrical things happen to me to. I took it to the dealer and they reprogrammed a new BCM.


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## CHUV (Jun 25, 2011)

That sounds pretty serious....


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

cbroyland said:


> I was driving my 2011 Chevy Cruze (9k miles 7 months old) on the highway and it bucked at me and all of my dash lights lit up and my car started "dinging" at me. The gas tank shot to empty and then gradually went back to the actual level (after about 20 minutes). I had the car looked and and no problem was uncovered. Friday (less than 1 month later) I was driving home from work and the same thing happened-except instead of bucking at me, the car completely died for about 15 mintues. I was stranded on the side of the road (I was able to coast over to the shoulder) and my hazards wouldn't work. The car has been in the shop since Friday night, but I don't know if they'll be able to find anything. Anyone have something similar???


cbroyland,
I am very sorry to hear about the issues that you have experienced with your vehicle. I would like you to keep me posted on the outcome of your visit with the dealership. Also you may message me with any other questions comments or concerns that you may have; I am always here to help! 
Thank you,
Stacy Chevrolet Customer Service


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## Aeroscout977 (Nov 25, 2010)

cruzeman said:


> what? chevy is monitoring this site?


I've seen it before but it could always be Herbert from Family Guy. 


Edit: Seems legit!


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## mreese (Dec 7, 2011)

Wife had te same issue with our 2012, >2000 miles 1 month. Friday would not start, jump start worked OK till Saturday , bucked, Dash lights, Trunk popped open, she said the hood popped open?????, then would not start or jump at first, then started, she wasnear the dealer, took it them, they put the Battery Conditioner on it called later said the battery was bad, replaced it and returned to us.
So far working great.


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## Macki (Jan 20, 2012)

Very similar problem just happen ,twice the truck lid open message alerted us just after we left the store. Had to stop and close it. Yesterday the car was dead ,wouldn't start ,jumped started it fine. Dead again 6 hours later when I tried starting it. All kinds of alerts were seen on the screen and when opening door to exit ,the panic alarm and lights came on. Towed in today ,early results ,bad battery and starter shows bad also, more when its returned. 2012 Cruze Eco / 1010 klm ,owned for a month.


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## Hulk (May 23, 2012)

Hello my 2012 Chevy Cruze also shut down on my wife twice this past Monday also the smell where getting thru the vents are horrible. It a stale musty smell and when were in city traffic and the engine downshifts the air shifts to warm. It's like a swamp cooler. All this happining and the dealer says they can't find anything wrong. I ask for some type of rebate to help me trade for a new car they say they can't help me because I have a bumper to bumper warranty but they wont change the condenser or heater coil because if that doesn't work they would have wasted a lotta money and man power. So what good is the warranty then. There gonna look at it one more time this coming Tuesday if that doesn't work I'll seek legal concil unless you have any suggestion to these problems.


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## Khrista88 (Dec 11, 2012)

I have had the same problem, in the reverse order. I had 2 modulse replaces one was the TCM I don't know what the other was. It is back in the shop since Thursday 12/6. My car was bought brand new 5/12 and has 17K miles on it now. I have never had a problem until about 6 weeks ago.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

Hello all, 
Just wanted to make sure to extend our offer of assistance to any on the thread experiencing electrical concerns. We're available to answer any warranty questions you may have and to assist in the process of working with a dealership if you like. If you're writing from Canada, we will have to direct you instead to GM of Canada and they can be reached at 800-263-3777 (Hours: M-F 7:30am - 11:30pm, Sat 7:30am - 6:00 EST). 

Sarah (Assisting Stacy), GM Customer Service


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## redvsblonde (Apr 12, 2013)

Same problem. Traction control, stabilitrack, parking assist, air bag, etc. Lights come on then lose all power. Flashers will not work to warn other cars that my vehicle is stopped. Going down the interstate my doors started locking and unlocking. Jump starting vehicle did not work. Replaced battery. Fine for three days. Now stranded three hours from home. Hopefully the dealership will find the problem soon so I can get home.


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## ingrambr (Apr 25, 2013)

This thread sounds like the problem that I have with my Cruze. It's a 2010 Cruze. I went to start the engine and there was just a click under the hood and the trunk popped open. This was repeatable. I thought it was a dead battery so got someone to jump start me and this time there was a little cranking noise when I try to start the car and then the hazard warning lights turned on instead of the boot opening this time. We spent about half a hour trying the jump start and charging the battery, but it didn't seem to work. The windows work intermittently when not connected to another car, when connected to another car they seem to work fine. 

Based on what I've read on this thread, would you agree that maybe I've just got a battery problem? If I replace the battery, does something else need to happen with the computer? Or can I just change the battery without problem?


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## abhasselback (Feb 28, 2014)

This post is a little late, but I have had electrical issues near 7 times now with my 2012 Chevy Cruze and the dealership claims to find nothing wrong every time I take it back. They do always find something to fix and tell me the problem has been diagnosed. My car has came to a complete stop in the middle of an intersection once because it lost complete power once. I feel UNSAFE when driving my car, but I'm stuck with it, and have now contacted local news media. My next step is to contact the BBB about the dealership, from whom I bought my car.


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## AVCruze12 (Feb 27, 2013)

abhasselback said:


> This post is a little late, but I have had electrical issues near 7 times now with my 2012 Chevy Cruze and the dealership claims to find nothing wrong every time I take it back. They do always find something to fix and tell me the problem has been diagnosed. My car has came to a complete stop in the middle of an intersection once because it lost complete power once. I feel UNSAFE when driving my car, but I'm stuck with it, and have now contacted local news media. My next step is to contact the BBB about the dealership, from whom I bought my car.



'Depending on your state laws , if you have had it fixed more than a few times by them and gave them the opportunity to repair it you can start lemon law arbitration. Also i assume you purchased it new.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

abhasselback said:


> This post is a little late, but I have had electrical issues near 7 times now with my 2012 Chevy Cruze and the dealership claims to find nothing wrong every time I take it back. They do always find something to fix and tell me the problem has been diagnosed. My car has came to a complete stop in the middle of an intersection once because it lost complete power once. I feel UNSAFE when driving my car, but I'm stuck with it, and have now contacted local news media. My next step is to contact the BBB about the dealership, from whom I bought my car.


We're sorry to hear of the concerns that you have been experiencing with your Cruze. I understand that you have taken your vehicle to the dealership numerous times for this concern. Please let us know if you would like for us to to take an extra look into this. If our assistance is needed, please send an email with your full contact information, VIN, current mileage, and the involved dealership. We look forward to your reply!

Kristen A.
Chevrolet Customer Care


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## wyominggirl (May 12, 2014)

My car is doing all of the above including the musty smell. The dealership wont find anything, and the car keeps acting up. How can a car that is less than two years old have so many issues? I am so frustrated by this car! 
I have bought Chevy's all my life,I will no buy another.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

wyominggirl said:


> My car is doing all of the above including the musty smell. The dealership wont find anything, and the car keeps acting up. How can a car that is less than two years old have so many issues? I am so frustrated by this car!
> I have bought Chevy's all my life,I will no buy another.


Hello wyominggirl,

I apologize for these concerns that you are experiencing with your vehicle. If you would like any assistance with the dealership, I would be happy to do so. Send me a PM with your VIN, current mileage, contact info and a preferred dealership so I can further assist .

Patsy G
Chevrolet Customer Care


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## mackeyjab (Nov 14, 2014)

I have had the same issue with my former 2012 Cruze. I was stranded on two occasions where my car was working fine until I turned it off to go somewhere and when I returned it wouldn't crank. Between incidents one and two the dealership told me it was the battery, though I didn't believe them, and then after the second incident they told me it was an over-active alternator. They replaced the alternator and everything was good for two weeks and then it started again. I returned the car for other reasons that they had to legally agree to, but sadly I don't believe that electrical issue can be fixed. I love the way it drove but I don't think I'll be buying a replacement Cruze anytime soon.


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## s2000guy (Jan 26, 2014)

For those of you experiencing the electrical problems, try replacing the negative battery cables and clean the grounding connections at the connection to the body panels. This is an inexpensive fix to a known problem that corrected my issues on a 2012 ECO with 60k.


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## Blackhawksr71 (Dec 23, 2014)

I have A 2014 Cruze LTZ RS and today it dropped out of gear, the door locks locked and unlocked going down the road, the dash lights flashed and the transmission down shifted at 70 miles an hour and slid the wheels almost made me hit the car next to me on the interstate, it was raining at the time. Any Ideas? The car only has 11,800 miles on it QUOTE=Chevy Customer Care;61325]cbroyland,
I am very sorry to hear about the issues that you have experienced with your vehicle. I would like you to keep me posted on the outcome of your visit with the dealership. Also you may message me with any other questions comments or concerns that you may have; I am always here to help! 
Thank you,
Stacy Chevrolet Customer Service[/QUOTE]


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## Blackhawksr71 (Dec 23, 2014)

thank you, So I guess you have not heard of this problem before and don't have any ideas about what might cause this.


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## davejilly (Oct 22, 2017)

*2013 Chevy Cruz*

My key will not turn to start my 2013 Chevy Cruz ???


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## jcamp1 (Dec 5, 2017)

I have a possible long term fix. I have held off posting this waiting to see if the issue came back. Like a lot of others the problem comes and goes, and the symptoms are sporadic. What I found is that often all it took for the issue to clear up, for a while, was to give the auxiliary ground cable (attached to the ground post of the battery) a little jiggle. Then all would be happy for a week, or two, or three, or maybe just a day.... At any rate, I suspected a bad solder joint on that connector. So I removed the insulation to find that the connector was not even soldered at all. I cleaned it up, soldered the connector onto the wire, and then wrapped it up in insulating tape. I have not seen it re-occur now since I did that on August-14, 2017.... Its December 5, 2017 so I have been without the issue for 16 weeks.


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

jcamp1 said:


> I have a possible long term fix. I have held off posting this waiting to see if the issue came back. Like a lot of others the problem comes and goes, and the symptoms are sporadic. What I found is that often all it took for the issue to clear up, for a while, was to give the auxiliary ground cable (attached to the ground post of the battery) a little jiggle. Then all would be happy for a week, or two, or three, or maybe just a day.... At any rate, I suspected a bad solder joint on that connector. So I removed the insulation to find that the connector was not even soldered at all. I cleaned it up, soldered the connector onto the wire, and then wrapped it up in insulating tape. I have not seen it re-occur now since I did that on August-14, 2017.... Its December 5, 2017 so I have been without the issue for 16 weeks.



Good you repaired it.......BTW, Chevy extended the warranty to 10 years/120,000 miles for this cable problem......you likely (by soldering) made a better cable than the replacement.

Rob


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## smiley (Jun 12, 2016)

Interesting. ...


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