# 2012 LT Litany of Problems, Started Stalling, Now Dead/Won't Start



## ORDDFW (Sep 15, 2014)

We have a 2012 LT, purchased from Hertz in June with about 53k miles on it, now has about 62k. Long story short, we’ve had various warning lights, etc. go off, had a bit of fluctuation at idle, then lately started to stall when sometimes in idle, and finally the battery was dead when going to start it a couple mornings ago. As for the long version:

A couple months ago, the check engine light went on. Noticed some very slight RPM fluctuations at idle. Took it to AutoZone to have the code read, came up with something similar to my truck related to the MAF sensor…bought some cleaner, but didn’t really do much more checking into it. A couple days later, we had the coolant light go off. It stopped blowing hot air, and eventually started to overheat. We put some DexCool in, brought it to a shop who basically guessed that it had a bad thermostat. They also said that about eight codes came up. Ordered the part, and while waiting, started driving it a little and it never overheated again, so the part went back.

Started noticing that the fluctuations at idle were getting a little more pronounced…nothing as severe as what I’ve seen in some YouTube videos, but enough where we were just a tad concerned that it would stall after one of them. Then had the TPMS light go off…but after checking, nothing was wrong with the air pressure. Went along like this for a couple weeks, then other random notifications would come on, like the power steering and StabiliTrak lights. Then the radio would start cutting out and the headlights would flicker at the same time while driving on a few occasions.

Then about a week ago, went on a couple-hour cruise at night, with the fluctuations at idle getting a little wilder. Radio cut out a couple times on this drive. When we pulled up at home and put it in park, the car died. Happened again when parking after a normal half-hour or so drive. A couple days later, died at idle while waiting at a red light. And finally, it was completely dead when going to start it a couple days ago.

Do these symptoms sound the same or similar for anyone? Thanks!


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

There is a service bulletin & extended warranty coverage (special coverage 14311) out for a faulty negative battery cable until 120,000 miles.

I believe this is what's going on with your car. Ask the dealer to look up the extended warranty coverage & evaluate your car. It sounds unsafe to drive in this condition.


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## brian v (Dec 25, 2011)

Hey j this is his first Post since Sep. 2014 ..WOW .. 

OP do you live in ORD and DFW Just curious ? 

Yeah reads like an electrical connection and faulty cables ..


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## ORDDFW (Sep 15, 2014)

jblackburn, thanks so much. If it might not be a matter of the battery being drained (or is it?), is it no use trying to jump it? Would I just have to have it towed there?

brian, born and raised in Oak Brook, lived in Downers Grove for a while, then in Logan Square the last couple years until this summer...now down in Dallas and walking around in a t-shirt today lol (but would rather be driving the Cruze with the AC on!).


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## UlyssesSG (Apr 5, 2011)

brian v said:


> OP do you live in ORD and DFW Just curious ?


OP might be a pilot flying heavy iron who lives in one location and is based at the other.


cliquez l'image pour agrandir​


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

> jblackburn, thanks so much. If it might not be a matter of the battery being drained (or is it?), is it no use trying to jump it? Would I just have to have it towed there?


What's the battery voltage on the dash say? 

You could try jumping it if low, but it might be better just to take it into the dealer as-is and let them have a look at it in its current state so they don't give you any kind of run-around.


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## brian v (Dec 25, 2011)

ORDDFW said:


> jblackburn, thanks so much. If it might not be a matter of the battery being drained (or is it?), is it no use trying to jump it? Would I just have to have it towed there?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Must be Nice to walk around in a T shirt , Me I have to freeze for a little while longer and then I am definately headed south . Looking at properties in Arkansas and Duck Hunting .. Currently reside in Elmhurst via PhPa and Ft.Bragg ,CA.
Now for your
View attachment 131266
we here at Cruze Talk Hope that the course of action that you undertake works out well for you !


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## ORDDFW (Sep 15, 2014)

Ok, so the car was completely dead, wouldn't crank/click/anything. I had a guy come to tow it to the dealer...he said it was likely just a bad battery, even though I explained to him the symptoms that pretty much matched up with the special coverage (this one: http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/25-s...al-coverage-14311-negative-battery-cable.html).

Ended up hooking up the jumper cables, and lo and behold, it started. That said, would you still bring it into the dealer? I was going to just take it to AutoZone to have the battery tested and probably buy another...but at that point, would I just be delaying the inevitable if it indeed is the terminal that needs to be replaced?


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Jump it and have the battery tested as a first step. Entirely possible it's a bad battery, but you may have both issues.

Every time I go to the dealer it's at least a several hour wait, so this will at least save you some time if it is indeed just a bad battery. I have had terrible luck with the AC Delco batteries in my Cruze.


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## brian v (Dec 25, 2011)

Take your time first of all .. we know you have a bad battery up to this point so it would be advisable to have that checked out .. 

A trip to the Dealer should be in your plans also to have those cables checked out .


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## ORDDFW (Sep 15, 2014)

Will do, thanks again.

brian, hope you're liking Elmhurst, I've spent quite a bit of time there (also hope you're not often stuck in that traffic on 83 going south around North Ave. or so). I definitely love the weather, but have a fiancee who's nuts and misses the snow, so who knows where we'll end up.

Hopefully this will be resolved soon and I can start diving into the board for pleasure and start reaffirming again that this car has been the best auto decision we've made!


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## brian v (Dec 25, 2011)

Take yer fiancee to Visit the snow ! It is more enjoyable to just Visit IT ... then ya get to go home ...


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

Here's my take: It sure sounds like you have a bad battery to me. But I'd have it tested since a bad cable can imitate a bad battery. 

And it wouldn't surprise me but what a bad battery can imitate a bad cable. Take care of that "dead" problem and the others just might go away.


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## ORDDFW (Sep 15, 2014)

ChevyGuy said:


> Here's my take: It sure sounds like you have a bad battery to me. But I'd have it tested since a bad cable can imitate a bad battery.
> 
> And it wouldn't surprise me but what a bad battery can imitate a bad cable. Take care of that "dead" problem and the others just might go away.


Makes sense...appointment scheduled for tomorrow morning at the dealer...free battery test, and if they find something wrong with the cable, no diagnostic fee, so nothing lost but a couple hours.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

jblackburn said:


> Jump it and have the battery tested as a first step. Entirely possible it's a bad battery, but you may have both issues.
> 
> Every time I go to the dealer it's at least a several hour wait, so this will at least save you some time if it is indeed just a bad battery. I have had terrible luck with the AC Delco batteries in my Cruze.


If they find a bad battery, he gets to buy a real battery with warranty at Autozone PepBoys or wherever. 

You are in VA, you are conditioned from waiting in traffic to get to the dealership. I remember having 300 miles on a car and the a/c failed. No loaners no taxi home just 6 hours of trying to find someone with the part. That's when I found out you have better sales in Alexandria but better service in Arlington.



ORDDFW said:


> Makes sense...appointment scheduled for tomorrow morning at the dealer...free battery test, and if they find something wrong with the cable, no diagnostic fee, so nothing lost but a couple hours.


Hopefully it's just the cable. Does Hertz give you a maintenance history of the cars when you buy them or did you get this from a dealership and on inspection you found the Hertz oil change sticker on the door or under the hood?


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## ORDDFW (Sep 15, 2014)

Merc6 said:


> Hopefully it's just the cable. Does Hertz give you a maintenance history of the cars when you buy them or did you get this from a dealership and on inspection you found the Hertz oil change sticker on the door or under the hood?


Bought it right off the Hertz lot...unfortunately, no maintenance history was provided.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Big difference between a no start and a no crank. Had a no crank condition in my 2012 around three months ago, but due to a battery with a high self discharge rate. Still had a couple of months of bumper to bumper warranty left, but took me three dealers to replace it under warranty.

But someone moved the clock forward without my permission, so now I am struck with it, if this one goes, will have to buy a new one with my own money. When I first purchased this thing, noted that from the factory that all the battery terminals were dry. Used a battery terminal cleaner and silicone grease on everything to prevent what they call oxidation. So was good for the first 34 months.

This last time, noted the batter clamp bolts were crap, cheap cold rolled bolts and the terminal nuts couldn't even thighten them. So I replaced those with grade 8 1/4"-20 one inch long bolts that fit perfectly. Ha, to make it look stock, tapped the nuts also to the same thread size, nice and tight now. 

04 Cavalier battery with a Delco name on it was still good after 8 years, but did a capacity test on it, and replaced it before giving this car to my daughter. Cruze battery also has a Delco name on it, but only God knows who made it. Delco is just a name now. 

This new Delco battery replaced by the dealer only had a two month warranty left on it. Those two months went by awfully quick.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

ORDDFW said:


> Makes sense...appointment scheduled for tomorrow morning at the dealer...free battery test, and if they find something wrong with the cable, no diagnostic fee, so nothing lost but a couple hours.


Hey there,

Glad to see that everything is going to be taken care of. I look forward to any updates from your appt. today. Let us know if you need any additional assistance. 

Patsy G
Chevrolet Customer Care


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

With a fully charged battery, as told by a maintenance type charger that tapers off to zero amps, the rest is a no brainer.

Just switch the headlamps on, blower motor and place the positive lead of a voltmeter on the terminal of the battery. Not the cable, but the actual battery terminal.

The negative lead on the engine block. If you read greater than 0.1 volts, you have battery connection problems. Same with the positive battery terminal, but have to go to one of the hot fuses in the underhood fuse box.


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## ORDDFW (Sep 15, 2014)

Well, the Cruze is at the dealer as of yesterday morning - got a call back from the service advisor saying that it WAS the negative battery cable and they had to order the part, so they'd need it overnight until today. The nice thing is that they also said that if the battery was bad, that special coverage would cover that as well. Just in case, I had bought one from AutoZone and stuck it in the trunk before I dropped it off, so that'll be nice to return.

The only disappointing thing to hear from the advisor was that she said that, even though I called and initially brought up the symptoms and the special coverage, she didn't want to put any of that on the initial filing and instead just start with saying I brought it in for a battery check. She said that even though the special coverages are able to be seen by the public, GM more often than not denies the claim if it's mentioned from the outset. Wasn't too pleased to hear that...but glad she was honest with me.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Glad to hear they're takin care of you. 

I wonder if that was why my car kept eating batteries...though I have never had any other electrical problems.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

ORDDFW said:


> The only disappointing thing to hear from the advisor was that she said that, even though I called and initially brought up the symptoms and the special coverage, she didn't want to put any of that on the initial filing and instead just start with saying I brought it in for a battery check. She said that even though the special coverages are able to be seen by the public, GM more often than not denies the claim if it's mentioned from the outset. Wasn't too pleased to hear that...but glad she was honest with me.


Things that make you go "hmmmm". I think I can understand not referencing the coverage (as someone will say "free work!" and bring it in.) But I'd think they'd be OK with putting some symptoms on the initial filing to show that it was to fix an issue. They'd just leave off the stuff that showed you knew about the bulletin. At least that's what I'd think..... (That and $5 will get you coffee.)


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## ORDDFW (Sep 15, 2014)

Well, this is a bit disappointing so far. Picked up the car today...the advisor I'd been working with went home sick, so someone else who had no clue about my car signed me off and sent me on my merry way. The receipt says that they replaced the negative battery cable per the special policy (they said the battery was good, so they recharged it), completed a multi-point vehicle inspection, and per the recall, inspected my coolant level and refilled. As for the last part, doesn't seem like that's recall work, but I'm open to being corrected.

So I get in the car, start it, and what do we have...the check engine light still on. Great. So I get to a stop light...minor fluctuation at idle. Even better. So I go to AutoZone to return the battery I bought in case it was needed and have them run the codes...they came back with P1101, P0171, and P0106. Does this mean that my initial problem might not have been related to the cable? And even if so, how can they write that they completed an inspection and not mention anything about codes coming up?

Hoping this doesn't become a nightmare...


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

MAP, MAF, and a lean code. Sounds like they didn't fully connect an air hose. Or there's a leak somewhere. 

I went to pick up a car once with the CEL on. The service advisor didn't like me very much after that.


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

ORDDFW said:


> Hoping this doesn't become a nightmare...


It might if you don't find a competent service department.


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## ORDDFW (Sep 15, 2014)

Well...third time starting it, and what greets me? Service StabiliTrak and service traction control...here we go...


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## iedgar10 (Sep 25, 2014)

Maybe they never replaced the cable...or got confused and put the old one back on instead of the new one.
The p0171 code also comes up when you have a bad pcv valve (covered under powertrain). I have 13 1.4t and my negative battery cable went bad at 50,0xx miles and within 100 miles my pcv valve went bad. I'm not sure if in any way these are related or if it happens like that for most other people too. It might be worth looking into. 



ALSO, when my PCV valve was replaced the dealer broke a coil boot. I got very similar issues like what you're experiencing. Stabilitrak, CEL, and traction control lights came on. However, i also experienced engine stutter.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Both of those usually come on in conjunction with the Check Engine light.


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

ORDDFW said:


> Well, this is a bit disappointing so far. Picked up the car today...the advisor I'd been working with went home sick, so someone else who had no clue about my car signed me off and sent me on my merry way. The receipt says that they replaced the negative battery cable per the special policy (they said the battery was good, so they recharged it), completed a multi-point vehicle inspection, and per the recall, inspected my coolant level and refilled. As for the last part, doesn't seem like that's recall work, but I'm open to being corrected.
> 
> So I get in the car, start it, and what do we have...the check engine light still on. Great. So I get to a stop light...minor fluctuation at idle. Even better. So I go to AutoZone to return the battery I bought in case it was needed and have them run the codes...they came back with P1101, P0171, and P0106. Does this mean that my initial problem might not have been related to the cable? And even if so, how can they write that they completed an inspection and not mention anything about codes coming up?
> 
> Hoping this doesn't become a nightmare...


Should you ever have this lamp come on after picking your car again, turn around and give them the car back for repair (again)
Right now, all they know is you are gone and your car is repaired.

You should be at the door, when they open Monday morning, with the full expectation of a loaner.......be annoyed....you have the right.

Rob


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

What's wrong with the negative battery cable anyway? On mine, only about a foot long, terminal bolt is crap, replaced that. Now just looked at the other end that goes to a junction point, bare copper wire in a ring terminal. That copper is turning brown, copper oxide that is a great insulator.

Another chore, remove both cables, wire brush those terminals and dip in a hot soldering pot.

This how we used to do this, saving another couple of cents to lay out a lot more for warranty repairs. Mine lasted through warranty.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

NickD said:


> What's wrong with the negative battery cable anyway? On mine, only about a foot long, terminal bolt is crap, replaced that. Now just looked at the other end that goes to a junction point, bare copper wire in a ring terminal. That copper is turning brown, copper oxide that is a great insulator.
> 
> Another chore, remove both cables, wire brush those terminals and dip in a hot soldering pot.
> 
> This how we used to do this, saving another couple of cents to lay out a lot more for warranty repairs. Mine lasted through warranty.


Supposed to be a bad crimp causing the issues.


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## ORDDFW (Sep 15, 2014)

Robby said:


> Should you ever have this lamp come on after picking your car again, turn around and give them the car back for repair (again)
> Right now, all they know is you are gone and your car is repaired.
> 
> You should be at the door, when they open Monday morning, with the full expectation of a loaner.......be annoyed....you have the right.
> ...


Well, I brought it in yesterday morning, spoke to the advisor about what had happened, and she basically told me that she could have the guys recheck the work, but the special coverage does not cover the CEL, so that's not something they would have even looked at when it was taken in (unless I paid the diagnostic fee). So even though the service StabiliTrak/traction control notifications came up (only once over the weekend), unless they came up while they looked at it, they couldn't do anything further about it.

I guess that makes some sense to me, even though some acknowledgement of the CEL and my options from that point on upon pickup would have been nice. So I guess I just have to decide whether I want to use that dealer again for the diagnostic, or look elsewhere...


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

For whatever reason and don't ask me why, when many codes are set, they stay set, regardless of the cause that set them in the first place.

My friendly Chevy dealer that made a couple bucks off of me wanted 30 bucks to just reset the codes. Agreed to it with my just out of warranty 04 Cavalier, but the only guy that knew how to plug the scanner in just left. So I drove up a block to Advanced Auto and the reset the code for free.

This darn thing has the carbon canister mounted low and behind the fuel tank. With slush on the road, gets wet and freezes up the purge valve so a code is set. After it thaws out, its okay again, but that stupid CEL is still on. Cruze is the same way. Try Advanced, Autozone, O'Reilly's. They will tell you the code and reset it for free. 

But if it comes back, then you have problems.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

NickD said:


> For whatever reason and don't ask me why, when many codes are set, they stay set, regardless of the cause that set them in the first place.


For awhile. But if it never re-occurs, it will clear itself after so many cycles.


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