# 2011 Cruze Eco 1.4L Turbo overheating and stall



## 0rang3 (Feb 10, 2014)

Hello all,

My girlfriend has a 2011 Cruze eco with about 55K miles on it. Today she calls me and says the A/C cut off because the car was hot (the lcd screen said so). She gets to a gas station, lets it cool and adds coolant/water to reservoir. She cranks it and lets it run with A/C on to test it. After ten minutes of idle everything appears to be fine. Hours later she tells me her car stalled while backing out of a lot. I tell her to start it and observe. Everything was A-OK, gauges reading normal temps and RPMs. The issues could be unrelated, but I want to paint the whole picture here. I have heard about the water pump issues, but I'm almost certain it was replaced previously. Anyone have any insight on these issues?


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## WhiteAndBright (Mar 4, 2013)

Her water pump is about to go out.. Tell her to get to the dealer and they will replace it and the Tstat under the 5year/100k warranty.. Its a common problem on the 11's and 12's.. I had mine replaced at 51k.. Oh by the way welcome to the forum.. Post some pics of the Cruze!!


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

We've had a few members have to have multiple water pump replacements. GM/Chevy is on the third known design for the water pump.


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

Curious. Does anyone know when the 3rd design hit the supply chain? How can you tell a 3rd gen. pump from the previous ones? Have any of the 3rd gen. pumps failed yet?


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## 0rang3 (Feb 10, 2014)

WhiteAndBright said:


> Her water pump is about to go out.. Tell her to get to the dealer and they will replace it and the Tstat under the 5year/100k warranty.. Its a common problem on the 11's and 12's.. I had mine replaced at 51k.. Oh by the way welcome to the forum.. Post some pics of the Cruze!!


Hey thanks for the quick response! It's going in the shop tomorrow morning. I confirmed that the water pump had been replaced about 5 months ago. I'll get some pics up soon.


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## 0rang3 (Feb 10, 2014)

Here is a quick update. We take the car in this morning and Autonation Chevrolet insists that I pay a $95 inspection charge. I did, but he said if the problem was under warranty it would be covered. Loaner vehicle acquired! I'll update again once I hear from Chevy dealer.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Did they make you pay it up front? If so make sure you get it back when they replace the water pump.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

Orang3, 

Look forward to your update. Let us know if you need assistance while at the dealership. 

Erica Tiffany
Chevrolet Customer Care


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## 0rang3 (Feb 10, 2014)

Hey guys and girls,

We did not have to pay the $95 up front. Turns out it was a radiator hose that was leaking. He said it was going to be $189 parts and labor plus recall repaired. We get up there and he only charged $102.xx and we were not charged the $95 inspection! Needless to say I am a happy camper. Harold at Autonation Chevrolet Galleria is the man! Thank you for all the input Cruzetalk!


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

Glad to hear that update Orang3! Thanks for keeping us posted!

Jackie
Chevrolet Customer Care


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## 0rang3 (Feb 10, 2014)

Guess who's back unfortunately! After being repaired her car worked fine, we even put 500 miles on it in a single weekend for a trip. Today her car overheated again! Same thing as last time, the A/C cuts off because the motor is hot. When she checks under the hood there is still a small visible amount of coolant in the reservoir. She also noted that there was oil on top of the engine!?! A man helped her check the oil and he says it is about 25% full (3/4 depleted). I am having to have it towed to the dealership now. Will advise when I get an update.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

Hi Orang3,

I'm sorry to hear that you are having repeat vehicle concerns. I understand that you were able to get your vehicle towed to the dealership. Please feel free to follow up with us regarding your dealership visit and the status of your vehicle. Also, if you have any questions or other concerns, don't hesitate to let us know.

Best Regards,

Kristen A.
Chevrolet Customer Care


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## cruze0611 (Jul 15, 2014)

0rang3 said:


> Guess who's back unfortunately! After being repaired her car worked fine, we even put 500 miles on it in a single weekend for a trip. Today her car overheated again! Same thing as last time, the A/C cuts off because the motor is hot. When she checks under the hood there is still a small visible amount of coolant in the reservoir. She also noted that there was oil on top of the engine!?! A man helped her check the oil and he says it is about 25% full (3/4 depleted). I am having to have it towed to the dealership now. Will advise when I get an update.


Orang3,

Can you update us with the status of this issue? We're having the EXACT same issues now, car is out of warranty (of course). Not the first time we've taken the car in for unexcusable issues for a car of it's tenure. 

The dealership we originally took it to for the issue wanted almost $400 to fix the car. We declined, because radiator hoses are not that expensive, and shouldn't require this expense. Now it's back in for the same issue because the previous tech put a hose clamp on it to repair it last time (against GMs "recommendations") and now two hoses need to be replaced.

Along with many other issues, they won't "diagnose" the vehicle because the "tires are bald" which is not true.

I feel like we were duped with this vehicle. It's been nothing but issues for my family with our time constraints and the dealership does nothing but protect and save themselves money...nevermind the money that I'm paying every month for a car that has had so many issues with it, I would rather go back to my 94 Saturn that had 230,000 on it. Shame on GM for entering the market with such a piece of junk car.


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

cruze0611 said:


> Orang3,
> 
> Can you update us with the status of this issue? We're having the EXACT same issues now, car is out of warranty (of course). Not the first time we've taken the car in for unexcusable issues for a car of it's tenure.
> 
> ...


I think you should direct your ire at the dealer, not the manufacturer....don't see much that is Chevys fault here.

Rob


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

I'm with Robby, your best bet is to PM Chevy Customer Care your Vin, your dealer info and your info to get your situation fixed hopefully by another dealer.


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## CHEVYCRUZE RS (Mar 29, 2011)

I'm rolling on a brand new water pump with no problems yet , ever since I got the intercooler installed my engine has been reasonabaly cooler = giving it a healthier idle . Happy all around.


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## Blue Angel (Feb 18, 2011)

Orang3 stated there was a small, visible amount of coolant in the reservoir. This sounds to me like it got too low and allowed air to be I nested into the engine. Once this happens the water pump can easily cavitate and fail to push coolant through the engine.

The fix for this is to top up the coolant and purge all air from the engine by driving and holding revs above 3000 RPM for several periods of 30 seconds or more. Then you also have to bleed the air out of the radiator by loosening the small white bleeder at the top of the rad on the passenger side. During this process, make sure you keep plenty of coolant in the reservoir so no air gets back into the engine.

That should get the car back on the road, but you need to find out why the car is losing coolant. Most likely cause is the water pump, second most likely cause would be the coolant tank to cap seal failing. Check the vent on the coolant reservoir and see if there are white or orange deposits forming or if there's any moisture in the vent after driving for a while with the coolant topped up.

that assumes you don't have a more serious leak somewhere like a radiator hose or something similar.


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