# Shuddering on acceleration



## Blasirl (Mar 31, 2015)

Av8er1555 said:


> Hi, new to the group but not cars. Recently picked up a '17 premier and it's been a great car. 76k miles on it now.


Welcome Aboard!:welcome:

Don't forget to introduce yourself and your Cruze here.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

What plugs are in it? The Gen1 was extremely sensitive to correct gaps.

If you switch it over to manual mode (L) and go up/down a gear while holding throttle constant, does it still happen?

On a cold start, does it sounds like it's missing a bit at idle?


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## Av8er1555 (May 5, 2019)

Whichever the stock replacement plugs are. Forgot the part number. They are acdelco though. 

I havent tried that yet. I'll try it and report back. 

Doesnt miss that I've noticed on cold start.


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## Av8er1555 (May 5, 2019)

So I checked my plug gaps again and they are .028. Just for fun I disconnected the battery for 25 mins to see if anything changed and it didnt. And I cleaned the maf sensor. 

Seems like it does it in either L mode or drive. Mostly in gears 2-4 under moderate load. Trying to think of what else it could be? Surely not the VVT solenoids right? Maybe a fuel pressure sensor that's not throwing a code? Idk just throwing ideas out there. 

Oh and it does slightly miss sometimes at cold idle. Not always though.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Av8er1555 said:


> So I checked my plug gaps again and they are .028. Just for fun I disconnected the battery for 25 mins to see if anything changed and it didnt. And I cleaned the maf sensor.
> 
> Seems like it does it in either L mode or drive. Mostly in gears 2-4 under moderate load. Trying to think of what else it could be? Surely not the VVT solenoids right? Maybe a fuel pressure sensor that's not throwing a code? Idk just throwing ideas out there.
> 
> Oh and it does slightly miss sometimes at cold idle. Not always though.


I am wondering if this is one with built up crud on intake valves in need of a cleaning. We haven't seen one yet, but with direct injection, it's bound to happen sooner or later. 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


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## Av8er1555 (May 5, 2019)

It's possible! I have owned a Focus ST before this with less mileage and the intake valves were nasty. I cleaned them and it ran way better afterwards. I'm pretty determined to get to the bottom of this. 

Just kind of weird that no one else seems to have this issue though. At very low load and at full throttle it feels great. Just that sort of brisk acceleration that feels like its pulsing/shuddering.


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## snowwy66 (Nov 5, 2017)

I've had the slight misfire on cold start since day one of buying my 17. Only happens occasionally. Not enough to worry about it.

Car had 117 miles when I got it. 

I've been thinking of running seafoam every 10k miles. Haven't done it yet. I'm up to 14k now.


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## JunkieXL (Nov 24, 2017)

I've been dealing with this issue since I rolled it off the lot brand new in 2017. Being my first force induction car, I thought it had something to do with that, or a shoddy transmission. I thought I was the only one lol. I even asked a co-worker who owns a 2016 LS Cruze and he was confused at the questions, so I assumed he wasn't experiencing them otherwise he would have known what I meant. 

Its popped out of gear a few times on me shifting from 2-3 and in one rare instance I was on the highway finishing the final leg of my 10 hour drive home and got on it to pass a truck and it downshifted to 2nd at 60-65, scared the **** out of me. But yea, 1-2 and 2-3 are generally 'rough' shifts that jerk the car under moderate acceleration. I just rolled 27k miles and it thankfully hasnt seemed to worsen since the day I bought it, just annoying.

Cant find a transmission dipstick anywhere as I wanted to check the fluid level and looking under the car, doesnt seem straightforward to drop the pan to replace the filter (if it has one). I heard something about a 'sealed' transmission.


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## JunkieXL (Nov 24, 2017)

snowwy66 said:


> I've had the slight misfire on cold start since day one of buying my 17. Only happens occasionally. Not enough to worry about it.
> 
> Car had 117 miles when I got it.
> 
> I've been thinking of running seafoam every 10k miles. Haven't done it yet. I'm up to 14k now.


Since the first oil change on my 2017 Cruze LT I've ran Amsoil Signature Series synthetic oil and only Shell 93 Octane with a can of multi-system tune up every oil change for the additional PEA to help keep the DI injectors as clean as possible and keep the upper cylinders lubed to try to eliminate the shuddering on mine. I doubt its doing much but I can say she still has the same pep at 27k miles as she did when I drove her off the lot brand new lol. Just not sure how to combat the shuddering I am experiencing as the OP stated in his.


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## Ma v e n (Oct 8, 2018)

The cold idle stutter/misfire is normal, it has to do with the multiple injection strategy used to hear up the catalyst quickly.

Misfiring under load is a different story. It's typically a weak/compromised ignition system component, or a fuel injector.

It can be other things, and I'm not suggesting replacing anything. You need to perform some diagnosis, and get some data when it's occurring. 

Does it register misfires when it occurs?
Does it pull timing when it occurs?
Does the injection pulse change?
Does any parameter(ECT, IAT, MAF, Fuel Pressure) get erratic before or during issue? 
What's the ECT at when this happens?

The LE2 is a pretty damned reliable engine, I do very minimal work on them related to actual failures.

Some of them get hot and warp the head in between #2 and #3 cylinder on the exhaust and then lose power on the highway, or overheat on the highway.

I've had a couple chain tensioner springs break, but those are noisy engines at start up.

A few catalytic converter, a couple injectors, nothing truly widespread or "pattern failure"


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## mr_b3ntley2010 (Jul 4, 2020)

My 2017 LT HTBK does the same thing @ 40K mi with Shell 93 V-Power Nitro, but mainly when the outside temps are in the mid to upper 90s. 

Also during hot days, the turbo builds boost very slowly and kind of releases it as a burst of power between 2k - 3k rpm.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

mr_b3ntley2010 said:


> My 2017 LT HTBK does the same thing @ 40K mi with Shell 93 V-Power Nitro, but mainly when the outside temps are in the mid to upper 90s.
> 
> Also during hot days, the turbo builds boost very slowly and kind of releases it as a burst of power between 2k - 3k rpm.


Peak torque hits at 2000 - unless the car is tripping over the knock sensor the whole time as it does in hot weather.


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## mr_b3ntley2010 (Jul 4, 2020)

jblackburn said:


> Peak torque hits at 2000 - unless the car is tripping over the knock sensor the whole time as it does in hot weather.


Yes, but the difference I feel is the abrupt change in acceleration. On a cool day, boost is felt gradually from idle to 3k.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

mr_b3ntley2010 said:


> Yes, but the difference I feel is the abrupt change in acceleration. On a cool day, boost is felt gradually from idle to 3k.


My Gen 1 acted like this in the summer, stopped pulling timing from knock around 2500-3k and power ramped up. I can't say that it has been nearly as noticeable in my Gen 2. It is definitely missing power in summertime temps, but no sudden surge of power. It's gradual, with way less low end torque and the automatic stretches out the shift points a bit longer.


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## mr_b3ntley2010 (Jul 4, 2020)

jblackburn said:


> My Gen 1 acted like this in the summer, stopped pulling timing from knock around 2500-3k and power ramped up. I can't say that it has been nearly as noticeable in my Gen 2. It is definitely missing power in summertime temps, but no sudden surge of power. It's gradual, with way less low end torque and the automatic stretches out the shift points a bit longer.


I think it's the AC. If it has 153hp at ideal conditions with boost, without boost it may have 110hp? If it's hot and the AC is on, the low end rpm range may only 90-100 HP available. I turned the AC off and it drove better.


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