# Chevrolet Cruze poor reliability rating by Consumer Reports.....What's GM turnaround?



## Green (May 14, 2014)

Its Consumer Reports, I never pay any attention to them.


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## Daryl (Nov 10, 2013)

My Wife's 2012 has not been a very good car through it's 60k miles. My 2014 only has 11k so it's to early to tell, but I really like mine so far.

Sent from my Droid Ultra


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## 30 Ounce (Nov 18, 2012)

I don't think the 1.8 is the mainstream version. They sell way more 1.4 turbo models...


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## iTz SADISTIK (Apr 6, 2014)

Leave it to the noob to post negative crap about the Cruze


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## waltchan (Jul 23, 2014)

Green said:


> Its Consumer Reports, I never pay any attention to them.


They're usually accurate most of the time. I bet there are fewer Corolla complainers than Cruze.


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## phpsteve (Jul 15, 2014)

That's one heck of an Intro on the first post lol... :wink: Consumer reports.. 50% legit.. 50% whining.. True there are defects but lots of new models do. Just like buying on amazon.. reviews I take with a grain of salt.. some people complain because of stupid crap or crap they didn't read but were expecting. While I only have 1500 miles on mine.. I have not run into any issues at this time. There are a few well known things that people do not like and you can read the threads about it.. but I have owned many vehicles in my time and I am sure I could write a book about each of them with things I didn't like. I think they all could do a better job but I also can't say any one is more horrid than the other at this point... Except for when the horrid "*Daewoo" *


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## phpsteve (Jul 15, 2014)

waltchan said:


> They're usually accurate most of the time. I bet there are fewer Corolla complainers than Cruze.



I actually saw a few reviews in comparison for civics, corolla, cruze etc.. cruze had 14% vs corolla 3%. Could be that more people are buying the cruze for mpg and fun vs the corolla's longevity. ccasion14:


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## 30 Ounce (Nov 18, 2012)

waltchan said:


> They're usually accurate most of the time. I bet there are fewer Corolla complainers than Cruze.


I have found the exact opposite is true...I had a 1991 ford F350 (bought brand new) that CR had given decent marks on and had to buy 4 (!) transmissions for the **** thing before it made it to 90k when I traded it in for my 3500 GMC which has over 350K on it and I haven't had to do anything but replace worn out parts like a water pump and distributor shaft. I will never buy another Ford and as far as CR is concerned I think they have something wrong with their methodology.


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## BowtieGuy (Jan 4, 2013)

I wonder what the ratings would be for auto vs manual tranmission Cruzes. There seem to be a fair amount of complaints about the automatic transmissions in these cars.


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## waltchan (Jul 23, 2014)

30 Ounce said:


> I have found the exact opposite is true...I had a 1991 ford F350 (bought brand new) that CR had given decent marks on and had to buy 4 (!) transmissions for the **** thing before it made it to 90k when I traded it in for my 3500 GMC which has over 350K on it and I haven't had to do anything but replace worn out parts like a water pump and distributor shaft. I will never buy another Ford and as far as CR is concerned I think they have something wrong with their methodology.


That 1991 Ford F-350 you drove received a poor reliability score according to 1998 used car guide issue. It was in 1995 that Ford improved to average.


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## iTz SADISTIK (Apr 6, 2014)

A lot of cars have previously earned the title of reliable until they too experienced recalls. Don't forget that recalls are a good thing. It means the company is taking responsibility. When was the last time Apple called to tell you your device may potentially fail d2 a defect? Or Microsoft for that matter....


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## iTz SADISTIK (Apr 6, 2014)

waltchan said:


> They're usually accurate most of the time. I bet there are fewer Corolla complainers than Cruze.


No offense with my noob comment BTW. I assumed you wouldn't respond at all after that


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## brian v (Dec 25, 2011)

That's Nice ! No Comment .


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

My cruze had some initial issues, all before 3,000 miles. I'm at 49,000 miles now with no further problems. Will be three years ownership next april, enjoy driving my cruze enough to blow through the bumper to bumper warranty in 2 years. 


EDIT: forgot my trunk mounted switch went bad, though not really a mark of reliability. To me reliability is more about my car starting every time and getting me where I need to go.


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## Gnfanatic (Oct 2, 2013)

Consumer reports can kiss me ass, the way they rate the reliability in car's is a joke. My 2014 eco has 15k so far and no issues whatsoever. Still tight, quiet and nothing funky.


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## jjducky (Oct 22, 2013)

CR historically doesn't like the domestic manufacturers. They rated the Dodge Chargers poorly and I never had a day of trouble after 5 yrs and 90k miles. I had enough problems with mr 2012 Focus to say never again to a Ford.

Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App


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## Pajoas (Jul 24, 2013)

Gnfanatic said:


> Consumer reports can kiss me ass, the way they rate the reliability in car's is a joke. My 2014 eco has 15k so far and no issues whatsoever. Still tight, quiet and nothing funky.


20k kilometers

airbag recall
brake sensor recall
Bluetooth sensor replaced
front transmission seal replaced
trunk latch replaced


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## iTz SADISTIK (Apr 6, 2014)

Pajoas said:


> 20k kilometers
> 
> airbag recall
> brake sensor recall
> ...


All for free


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## 30 Ounce (Nov 18, 2012)

waltchan said:


> That 1991 Ford F-350 you drove received a poor reliability score according to 1998 used car guide issue. It was in 1995 that Ford improved to average.


In 1990 when I bought it it wasn't rated poor. By 1998 they had the 20/20 hindsight.


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## Samuel (Jun 4, 2014)

76000 miles and not a bit of trouble still have the same tires and brakes on it. I guess when I was in traffic and I had no power brakes that was an issue, but my 2006 Malibu would give out power steering when u put your foot in it and that sh was scary. Cars have problems but mine has been maintenance free minus oil changes

Sent from my cat


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

Pajoas said:


> 20k kilometers
> 
> airbag recall
> brake sensor recall
> ...


22,000km, nothing has gone wrong. Car was built in Australia, now after 2017 GM will cease manufacture here as will Ford and Toyota. Don't worry about building them good, just build em cheap.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

2 things to touch on.

*Who gets these surveys to fill out? I am in soo many online car forums and had 3 brand new cars but never got one. 

*A good deal of people showing up to an online forum are people with issues they went to Google for. How many times have you seen a Cruze with stuff done to it and wondered why they aren't on here. I remember back when I was in Texas where only 2 people would post on the regional thread and about 25 cars would show up from word of mouth.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

waltchan said:


> They're usually accurate most of the time. I bet there are fewer Corolla complainers than Cruze.


Not necessariliy. In the past 30 years my wife and I have owned 10 cars and both the CR best buys were lemons. The CR don't buy at any price have been our best cars.


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## 2013Cruze (Aug 4, 2012)

Who cares what CR has to say.


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

A long time ago, CR was virtually the only source on reliability. Today, you have to look at multiple sources to see what level of complaints, problems, TSBs, recalls for each car in a given class. I think CR has lost its cred. over the years, so I look elsewhere to evaluate new cars.


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## 2013Cruze (Aug 4, 2012)

Who cares what CR has to say when they rate off brand HD TV'S better ratings than Sony and Samsung HD TV'S.


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## iTz SADISTIK (Apr 6, 2014)

Jim Frye said:


> A long time ago, CR was virtually the only source on reliability. Today, you have to look at multiple sources to see what level of complaints, problems, TSBs, recalls for each car in a given class. I think CR has lost its cred. over the years, so I look elsewhere to evaluate new cars.


These are called Amazon reviews


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## S-Fitz (Jul 16, 2012)

I hope the first post isn't trying to say Ford makes good cars! Our 2009 Ford focus has had replaced: rear right side wheel bearing, steering rack, steering pump, front brake calipers, both lower control arms, pretty much every suspension bushing there is, trunk latch mechanism and the front passenger window has been attemped to be fixed by two dealerships multiple times (still have to push it up myself the last couple inches). As for the subjective stuff, it has a cushy ride, but can't corner. Steering is vague. Interior rattles a lot, fix one just to hear another somewhere else. But still, it MUST be a great car! Can't wait to dump this jalopy for a chevy Orlando!

My 2011 Cruze has had exactly one issue: the outside trunk button. (2011's are supposed to be the least reliable btw.)

As for a Corolla, they should all be recalled for being terminally boring. There is an extreme danger of drivers being bored to death and falling asleep at the wheel, possibly causing a serious accident. The only solution to this problem would be to retrofit all Corollas with an alarm clock set to go off every 15 minutes.

People who buy Corollas just don't know any better.


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## jsusanka (Jan 31, 2011)

I had a 1998 Toyota Corrola and it was a piece of junk and getting the dealer to do anything under warranty was like talking to a stone wall they would not do anything. So yeah I guess you have a reliable car if you don't fix your customer's complaint and ignore them lol. My 2011 Cruze has been a lot less trouble than my corolla and my dealer has not squawked about doing any warranty work I requested (in fact they have gone out of their way to do extra items). So I read consumer's digest with a skeptical eye as I am sure some what they say is true but as always your mileage may vary. 

We also had a 1996 honda civic and the dealer's fix to the wind noise at highway speeds was putting a sun blocker in front of the sunroof. They were a lot harder to get things done under warranty too but they would eventually do it and they at least listened to you.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

S-Fitz said:


> I hope the first post isn't trying to say Ford makes good cars! Our 2009 Ford focus has had replaced: rear right side wheel bearing, steering rack, steering pump, front brake calipers, both lower control arms, pretty much every suspension bushing there is, trunk latch mechanism and the front passenger window has been attemped to be fixed by two dealerships multiple times (still have to push it up myself the last couple inches). As for the subjective stuff, it has a cushy ride, but can't corner. Steering is vague. Interior rattles a lot, fix one just to hear another somewhere else. But still, it MUST be a great car! Can't wait to dump this jalopy for a chevy Orlando!
> 
> My 2011 Cruze has had exactly one issue: the outside trunk button. (2011's are supposed to be the least reliable btw.)
> 
> ...


Not sure if this can help you overseas but I'll post it anyways.

PI#0492A and Part #95093127

The 13 Focus rental feels exactly how you described the 09. No way could I have gotten that car after driving every other car in class.


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## S-Fitz (Jul 16, 2012)

Merc6 said:


> Not sure if this can help you overseas but I'll post it anyways.
> 
> PI#0492A and Part #95093127
> 
> The 13 Focus rental feels exactly how you described the 09. No way could I have gotten that car after driving every other car in class.


Thanks, I'll get around to it someday  I'm the guy who wired a push button on my dash to pop the trunk, so I haven't needed that button for a while.

Too bad the new model Focuses (Foci?) haven't changed. I hoped they would have improved. Oh well, we have two kids now, so the Orlando would be a perfect shoe-in. Same chassis as the Cruze and 7 seats, what's not to like?


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## crystal red cruze (Apr 11, 2011)

obermd said:


> Not necessariliy. In the past 30 years my wife and I have owned 10 cars and both the CR best buys were lemons. The CR don't buy at any price have been our best cars.



Yes but look at the cars you listed that you have Had. Not a stretch to get a better one!


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## S-Fitz (Jul 16, 2012)

Merc6 said:


> Not sure if this can help you overseas but I'll post it anyways.


Canada bro


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

S-Fitz said:


> Canada bro


LOL I saw British and stopped reading! I do remember your interior trunk button thread.


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## S-Fitz (Jul 16, 2012)

Merc6 said:


> LOL I saw British and stopped reading! I do remember your interior trunk button thread.


Hah, reminds me of this joke about a guy in Australia from Canada: He's sitting in a bar having a drink, and two aussie's come up and ask "where you from?" The Canadian responds: "Saskatoon, Saskatchewan". One aussie says to the other: "I couldn't understand what he said".

I forgot to mention, our Ford has the extended warranty so most of our repairs were covered. I don't normally advocate for extended warranties, but this one is probably less of an expense than the repairs! It will be gone before these parts wear out again.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

crystal red cruze said:


> Yes but look at the cars you listed that you have Had. Not a stretch to get a better one!


The Transport and Montana were CR don't buys and they were the best and most reliable vehicles I've ever driven. The Fieros were also low on their list but the Fiero GT was also trouble free until I had to trade it for something that had more than two seats.


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## Mick (Dec 31, 2011)

What's the purpose of this thread?

Do need help with something or just wanted to inform us?


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

I think OP just wanted to see how much irritation could be generated. )


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## oilburner (Jun 13, 2013)

waltchan said:


> After three years of production, it looks like this entire first-generation era of the Chevrolet Cruze (2011-2015) won't be receiving any awards for reliability at all. There are way more number of black dots in Cruze's reliability chart published by Consumer Reports than I thought, especially the mainstream 1.8L version, and I personally think GM could have done better in much earlier time.
> 
> With more number of black dots than I thought, you don't want to imagine what the chart looks like in the future 2021 edition, which will by now show Cruze's complete reliability history years since 2011, and it will be nothing but filled with numerous black dots all over when the cars get older. Technically, Cruze's reliability score is identical to the Cobalt and Cavalier we had before (same below-average mark, half white-half black dot), and nothing has changed at all, even today, very disappointedly.
> 
> ...


curious............ what do you drive ? maybe I missed it.


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## 99_XC600 (Feb 24, 2013)

If you want actual long term data from actual owners and not just biased info from CR. Go to TrueDelta -- Real Car Owners Driving Real Car Information


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## Mick (Dec 31, 2011)

oilburner said:


> curious............ what do you drive ? maybe I missed it.


Going out on a limb here but I'm going to say dart or prius.



obermd said:


> I think OP just wanted to see how much irritation could be generated. )


For now, we wait...


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## phpsteve (Jul 15, 2014)

It is now known... Don't discuss politics..religion..or consumer reviews


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## iTz SADISTIK (Apr 6, 2014)

Don't discuss them if your nipples hurt just thinking about it.


Courtesy of Wikipedia


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

phpsteve said:


> It is now known... Don't discuss politics..religion..or consumer reviews


Maybe we should change the "Religion and Politics" forum to "Religion, Politics, and Consumer Reports"


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## Mick (Dec 31, 2011)

phpsteve said:


> It is now known... Don't discuss politics..religion..or consumer reviews


Oh you can, for one you seem to own a Cruze and second your post count don't scream troll at me. 

We've had enough cwerdnas and dart trolls litter the forum.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Mick said:


> Oh you can, for one you seem to own a Cruze and second your post count don't scream troll at me.
> 
> We've had enough cwerdnas and dart trolls litter the forum.


Don't forget the Corolla drivers


Sent from Bill the WonderPhone


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## BowtieGuy (Jan 4, 2013)

99_XC600 said:


> If you want actual long term data from actual owners and not just biased info from CR. Go to TrueDelta -- Real Car Owners Driving Real Car Information


For the Lulz go check out the Dart reliability.:sad010:

I do think the TrueDelta site is a good indicator for true reliability from actual owners though.


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## phpsteve (Jul 15, 2014)

Mick said:


> Oh you can, for one you seem to own a Cruze and second your post count don't scream troll at me.
> 
> We've had enough cwerdnas and dart trolls litter the forum.



I am really a pinto driver just posing as a cruze driver. :idiot:


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## Vetterin (Mar 27, 2011)

Pajoas said:


> 20k kilometers
> 
> airbag recall
> brake sensor recall
> ...





iTz SADISTIK said:


> All for free


..........and probably won't be a problem again! 
If my memory serves me correct I believe in 1995 CR named the Ford Contour the Car of The Year and 4-5 years later it was rated a POS! I would trust reviews from Amazon before CR.


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## crystal red cruze (Apr 11, 2011)

obermd said:


> Maybe we should change the "Religion and Politics" forum to "Religion, Politics, and Consumer Reports"


Yeah senor everything bad about the cruze . I stopped reading CR way back before the internet. They reported the 85 Corvette was the worst car for rust. CR likes everything Japanese or some cars in Europe. Nothing from USA. 

This site seems to jump on anyone that has a bad view of the cruze. Look at all the recalls that GM has had. I have had NO real problems with my cruze just to many recalls that took to long to get the parts or sloppy workmanship
hacking my deflector shield off. 

It's best we solve our own problems by helping with info not jumping on the bearer of bad news.


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## iTz SADISTIK (Apr 6, 2014)

crystal red cruze said:


> Yeah senor everything bad about the cruze . I stopped reading CR way back before the internet. They reported the 85 Corvette was the worst car for rust. CR likes everything Japanese or some cars in Europe. Nothing from USA.
> 
> This site seems to jump on anyone that has a bad view of the cruze. Look at all the recalls that GM has had. I have had NO real problems with my cruze just to many recalls that took to long to get the parts or sloppy workmanship
> hacking my deflector shield off.
> ...


There's nothing to be gained from this article on here. This forum is a community of car lovers, specifically cruze lovers. If my Cruze was that bad I would have taken it back within the 7 day period. 

To me, posting an article trash talking my car from a source that's unreliable and is an opinion based one at that, is rather offensive. Now I have thick skin but you wouldn't walk into my house and start trash talking my stuff. Liable to get a heavy boot out the door.


Courtesy of Wikipedia


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## Vetterin (Mar 27, 2011)

Merc6 said:


> 2 things to touch on.
> 
> *Who gets these surveys to fill out? I am in soo many online car forums and had 3 brand new cars but never got one.


Basically this survey is sent out once a year to subscribers receiving the CR magazine. The worst part is that you have to use your own stamp to even return it back.....(those cheap bastiches....). I would never return mine (when I did get CR) because I had nothing worth complaining about and I'm sure a lot of people did the same. However, those that did have problems will send it in just to air their frustrations. In other words....the customer results are SKEWED.


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## bowtieblue (May 26, 2014)

Consumer Reports hasn't been relevant in quite some time and is struggling in the new digital world. I think their average reader/subscriber is now over 60 years old.

Time will tell if the new blood, including a new President and CEO, new Editor-in-Chief, etc., at the magazine in recent months will change things. Or is it too late?


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## waltchan (Jul 23, 2014)

crystal red cruze said:


> CR likes everything Japanese or some cars in Europe. Nothing from USA.


Well, there's the new 2014 Chevrolet Impala that earns a 95 percentile in the road test rating, highest ever from a domestic maker, and exceeds BMW and Mercedes-Benz. They're definitely not bias at all. There's the Lexus IS, Toyota Yaris, and Nissan Sentra that have performed poorly in road tests. Consumer Reports is always full of surprises and saved me from purchasing the low-rated Lexus IS.

Results may vary, and you can always get a Japanese car that is less-reliable than American. People share their experience based on one person's opinion, not the whole millions of subscribers. But on median average, the Cruze turns to be a disappointment and has been more troublesome than Civic and Corolla. I am asking GM to provide a turnaround plan if they have any for 2016, or we will never jump start the domestic car sales.

GM would need to maintain Cruze's above-average reliability rating for 20 years straight (no exceptions) to prove themselves as a trustworthy car maker. It will be year 2035 that the Cruze will now overtake Civic and Corolla sales.

But this is all fantasy dream for now. Union labors, laziness of the American workers, sloppy quality work, and loose bolts around the car body I see all the time have prevented this dream to come true.


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## iTz SADISTIK (Apr 6, 2014)

waltchan said:


> Well, there's the new 2014 Chevrolet Impala that earns a 95 percentile in the road test rating, highest ever from a domestic maker, and exceeds BMW and Mercedes-Benz. I don't think they're bias. There's the Lexus IS, Toyota Yaris, and Nissan Sentra that have performed poorly in road test.
> 
> Results may vary, and you can always get a Japanese car that is less-reliable than American. People share their experience based on one person opinion, not the whole millions of subscribers. But on median average, the Cruze has been more troublesome than Civic and Corolla, and I am asking GM to provide a turnaround plan if they have any.


Nothing in the Cruze has been a SERIOUS problem. Just because it's recalled doesn't mean there is an issue, only potentially. They're replacing certain parts just to be sure. When is Toyota going to start back tracking and doing the same thing? I know they did with the gas pedal hence why they now have Toyota Care..... just saying.


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## Green (May 14, 2014)

waltchan said:


> I don't think they're bias.


Yo haven't looked close enough. or long enough


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## BowtieGuy (Jan 4, 2013)

iTz SADISTIK said:


> Nothing in the Cruze has been a SERIOUS problem.


Lets not drink the koolaid too heavily here. Don't get me wrong, I love my Cruze and it has far exceeded my expectations. But there have been some obvious problems. Early water pump failures, some early cruze manuals had defective clutches that failed in less than 20k miles, coolant odor issues, axle shaft fractures. Particularly with the early clutch failures, a lot of people with that issue got shafted by GM and dealerships.

I did my due diligence and knew about most of these possible issues beforehand. All automakers can have issues with any given model. The Cruze IMO is one of the top compacts currently, but it hasn't been without a few quirks here and there.


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## iTz SADISTIK (Apr 6, 2014)

BowtieGuy said:


> Lets not drink the koolaid too heavily here. Don't get me wrong, I love my Cruze and it has far exceeded my expectations. But there have been some obvious problems. Early water pump failures, some early cruze manuals had defective clutches that failed in less than 20k miles, coolant odor issues, axle shaft fractures. Particularly with the early clutch failures, a lot of people with that issue got shafted by GM and dealerships.
> 
> I did my due diligence and knew about most of these possible issues beforehand. All automakers can have issues with any given model. The Cruze IMO is one of the top compacts currently, but it hasn't been without a few quirks here and there.


Keep in mind that the car did debut in 2011 therefore issues should be expected. It's normal. If you look at the 2013s and 14s there is very little wrong with them. In fact the newest recall doesn't even include them...


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## BowtieGuy (Jan 4, 2013)

iTz SADISTIK said:


> Keep in mind that the car did debut in 2011 therefore issues should be expected. It's normal.


I agree that all new models usually experience most issues early on regardless of manufacturer. I disagreed with your point that the car hasn't had any "serious" issues.


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## iTz SADISTIK (Apr 6, 2014)

BowtieGuy said:


> I disagreed with your point that the car hasn't had any "serious" issues.


I'm sure we're looking at this differently. I consider serious to be brakes, air bags or fuel tank (fire potential by design)


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## waltchan (Jul 23, 2014)

oilburner said:


> curious............ what do you drive ? maybe I missed it.


I'm driving a 2008 Ford F-150 V6 pickup truck right now that was rated most-reliable domestic car by Consumer Reports, with above-average reliability rating. No problems at all, best decision I've made. The newer 2014 F-150 is rated worse than the 2008 I have now.

If have to cherry-pick which GM car has above-average rating that I want to buy as new, the closest one I found is the 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

When a manufacturer has been using pretty much the same chassis/powertrain since 2006 (Civic) - or 2003 in Corolla's case, I'd sure hope it's reliable.

They're also noisy, gutless, unrefined, and seriously outdated, even the newly "refreshed" models. 

Kinda seems they've switched places - reminds me of the old V6 engines that GM used in the cars of yesteryear. They'd run forever, but their cars were behind the rest of the pack in terms of what they had to offer.

The only really impressive car Honda or Toyota has made in the past 5 years was the 2013 Accord - and the 2015 TLX looks a bit promising, but still behind some of the competition. Everything else - Corolla, RAV4, CRV, Civic, Camry, and anything from Lexus or Nissan - is just a snooze compared to the rest of the competition. 

But hey, it's probably reliable! Unless it's the 2-year-old Camry we own...

I like the approach that Chevy, Mazda, and Ford have been taking lately - building a new car from the ground up. I guess they've all had first-year reliability problems, but the Cruze, Fusion, Escape, CX-5, Mazda 6, Impala, etc. are all excellent vehicles and I'd own any one of them if I hadn't already bought a car.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

waltchan said:


> I'm driving a 2008 Ford F-150 V6 pickup truck right now that was rated most-reliable domestic car by Consumer Reports, with above-average reliability rating. No problems at all, best decision I've made. The newer 2014 F-150 is rated worse than the 2008 I have now.


That same engine has been used, unchanged, since the 1997 F150. It went extinct the next year, and for good reason - it's a dog.


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## bowtieblue (May 26, 2014)

waltchan said:


> Well, there's the new 2014 Chevrolet Impala that earns a 95 percentile in the road test rating, highest ever from a domestic maker, and exceeds BMW and Mercedes-Benz. They're definitely not bias at all.


You cannot definitively conclude no bias "at all" here.



waltchan said:


> I am asking GM to provide a turnaround plan if they have any for 2016, or we will never jump start the domestic car sales.


U.S. Cruze sales are up about 9% so far this year and are running ahead of Civic sedan sales.


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## jpr0204 (Jul 23, 2014)

A couple years back, I leased a 12' new body style Focus S base model with a 5-Speed stick. I chose the stick cause I like a "true" manual and the 6-Speed Power Shift automatic that just came out was JUNK (and still is) prone to harsh shifts, clutches going bad, etc... despite how many software updates. By choosing the stick, I thought "Ah, I'll avoid all the headaches"...WRONG! I bought the car with 3 miles on the clock, not even 24 hours later the A/C compressor locked up solid. (Factory didn't put no PAG oil in it and it was dry.), Needed a head gasket at 2,200 miles cause the head bolts weren't torqued properly to specs from factory. Had about 3 sets of front struts, mounts, and 2 sets of front springs installed to rectify a "knocking" noise in the front end when going over any rough surfaces. Paint blistered and bubbled up on the inside of the trunk lid. At about 10K miles, had a clutch pressure plate issue show up that resulted in a "clack, clack, clack," at an idle. When below 40 degrees out, a cold start was almost impossible (a software update fixed that.) It was in the shop for 57 calendar days (not consecutive) for 31 different problems. I went after Ford for the lemon law and won. Took about a year start to finish. They paid off the rest of my lease and allowed me to keep the car payment free until the end of the lease. Unfortunately, in 12/12, a lady came blowing through a red light and totaled it out. 

So far, the new Cruze is fairing MUCH better than the Focus ever did.


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## iTz SADISTIK (Apr 6, 2014)

jpr0204 said:


> A couple years back, I leased a 12' new body style Focus S base model with a 5-Speed stick. I chose the stick cause I like a "true" manual and the 6-Speed Power Shift automatic that just came out was JUNK (and still is) prone to harsh shifts, clutches going bad, etc... despite how many software updates. By choosing the stick, I thought "Ah, I'll avoid all the headaches"...WRONG! I bought the car with 3 miles on the clock, not even 24 hours later the A/C compressor locked up solid. (Factory didn't put no PAG oil in it and it was dry.), Needed a head gasket at 2,200 miles cause the head bolts weren't torqued properly to specs from factory. Had about 3 sets of front struts, mounts, and 2 sets of front springs installed to rectify a "knocking" noise in the front end when going over any rough surfaces. Paint blistered and bubbled up on the inside of the trunk lid. At about 10K miles, had a clutch pressure plate issue show up that resulted in a "clack, clack, clack," at an idle. When below 40 degrees out, a cold start was almost impossible (a software update fixed that.) It was in the shop for 57 calendar days (not consecutive) for 31 different problems. I went after Ford for the lemon law and won. Took about a year start to finish. They paid off the rest of my lease and allowed me to keep the car payment free until the end of the lease. Unfortunately, in 12/12, a lady came blowing through a red light and totaled it out.
> 
> So far, the new Cruze is fairing MUCH better than the Focus ever did.


And just like your example, there is going to be one or two Cruzes with the same outcome. I think people are forgetting this is a machine and stuff will go wrong regardless if Chevy, Toyota, Tesla or NASA builds it.


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## jpr0204 (Jul 23, 2014)

Exactly... Pop always said "You get one or two that are lemons, the remaining are average, but then you get those one or two that will last a lifetime" and he was right.

They always say to stray away away from "new models" for the first year so they have time to work out the kinks with them, and I agree.

But, no matter what you buy, EVERY manufacturer has it's quirks no matter what.

- Joe


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## GeoHawk (Jan 24, 2014)

Consumer Reports isn't the last place I go to research vehicles I'm interested in buying........because I don't go to them at all. I really couldn't care less what their reviews state. Like Vetterin posted, one is much more likely to respond to their surveys if one has had problems with their vehicle and want to vent, skewing the results just like you'll find on car forums where people come to bitch about their problems. 

Bluebowtie made an comment about their average subscriber age possibly being over 60 that really made me think. In my circle of friends and family, the only people I know that subscribe to CR are friends of my parents or in-laws (all well over 60) and not one of them own a domestic brand vehicle. I think a lot of CR's subscribers (not all, before I get flamed here), like the people I know, owned domestic cars in the 70s, 80s, and early 90s when the Big 3 were putting out tremendous crap and drove a lot of them to foreign brands. 

Of all the cars I researched and drove before settling on the Cruze, the only two other possibilities were the Focus and the Golf. While you can get a manual transmission Focus with leather seats (non-ST model), it's only a 5-speed and really buzzy/noisy on the highway where I spend most of my time. The Golf was great and drove the best of all the vehicles I considered, but their less than stellar reliability and expensive, out-of-warranty repair costs nixed them.

The Civic drove very well, but I couldn't get past the 2 tier dash and finding a manual trans car was almost impossible. The Corolla was a joke - the suspension crashed over bumps and was too floaty going down the road, the steering was disturbingly vague, and the interior was exceedingly cheap feeling. The Sentra was too ugly to even consider. The Dart's 90s-2000s era GM/Rubbermaid interior eliminated them, plus there's just something out of proportion looking from rear doors back on the Darts.

Our Cruze hasn't been perfect (half-shaft recall and a squeaky clutch pedal needing to be replaced), but it was easily the best choice out there (IMHO).


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

iTz SADISTIK said:


> I'm sure we're looking at this differently. I consider serious to be brakes, air bags or fuel tank (fire potential by design)


You forgot the improperly fastened steering wheels and steering shaft to separate w/o warning. I remember talking a lot of mess about how I would never ever own a Cruze...


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## waltchan (Jul 23, 2014)

jblackburn said:


> That same engine has been used, unchanged, since the 1997 F150. It went extinct the next year, and for good reason - it's a dog.


That's correct. A 11 year old engine design would easily rate it top at the reliability chart, and Ford is really famous in doing that. Same goes to the 3.0L Vulcan V6 engine. I still believe in Ford, and their current EcoBoost engines are expected to receive above-average reliability score and better within 10 years, while GM will trail behind, unless they get their act together.

But for GM, they have the 3800 V6, which is their most-reliable engine, but it only gets average reliability maximum for some reason. Ford beats it a little better with their DuraTec I4/V6 and Triton V8 engines.


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## BowtieGuy (Jan 4, 2013)

iTz SADISTIK said:


> I'm sure we're looking at this differently. I consider serious to be brakes, air bags or fuel tank (fire potential by design)


Yes I think so too. I also include being stranded by a new car because of a major component failure. Clutch failures, axle shaft failures. I haven't had any issues that weren't covered by warranty, but I imagine I wouldn't be too happy if my clutch went out within the first 500 miles and I was essentially told "tough ****" by GM and dealerships.


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## BowtieGuy (Jan 4, 2013)

waltchan said:


> But for GM, they have the 3800 V6, which is their most-reliable engine, but it only gets average reliability maximum for some reason.


I have GMs 3.8 in my wife's 04 Grand Prix. Its surprisingly nice all around for being 10 years old. The rest of the car will fall apart before the engine ever gives up the ghost.


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## waltchan (Jul 23, 2014)

BowtieGuy said:


> I have GMs 3.8 in my wife's 04 Grand Prix. Its surprisingly nice all around for being 10 years old. The rest of the car will fall apart before the engine ever gives up the ghost.


Yep, even if it has a run-forever 3800 engine inside, CR still rates below-average in reliability for 04 Grand Prix in used car prediction.


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## S-Fitz (Jul 16, 2012)

waltchan said:


> That's correct. A 11 year old engine design would easily rate it top at the reliability chart, and Ford is really famous in doing that. Same goes to the 3.0L Vulcan V6 engine. I still believe in Ford, and their current EcoBoost engines are expected to receive above-average reliability score and better within 10 years.
> 
> But for GM, they have the 3800 V6, which is their most-reliable engine, but it only gets average reliability maximum for some reason. Ford beats it a little better with their DuraTec I4/V6 and Triton V8 engines.


The duratec I4 is the second worst part, behind the fast wearing suspension, about my girlfriend's 2009 ford focus. It has sharp throttle tip in which makes you think it has power. Then you press further on the gas and nothing happens besides a lot of vibration and noise, so much vibration that the hydraulic engine mount is no longer hydraulic... Just a hollow piece of rubber now. People who complain about the Cruze's automatic would gain a new perspective if they drove the 4 speed auto in the focus. At least the Cruze is firm and direct, the focus is flaccid.

The triton V8 is no better. Back when I had my GMC Envoy, we went camping with the girlfriend's parents in the BC interior. Her parents F150 (an 04-08 gen, cant remember the exact year) pulls a camper. The fan clutch failed. Good thing I had an SUV at the time to tow the trailer for them. That 5.4L never ran right again after overheating. Good thing it was a lease. Their next one was an 11, they replaced it with a 14 because the 11 had gremlins they couldn't figure out so they are going to keep playing the Ford lottery until they get a good one.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

iTz SADISTIK said:


> I'm sure we're looking at this differently. I consider serious to be brakes, air bags or fuel tank (fire potential by design)


Fuel tank? The only modification to the fuel tank is to add support straps to a small number of Cruze. These straps are a tertiary tank restraint system in case of an accident.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

*Chevrolet Cruze poor reliability rating by Consumer Reports.....What's GM tur...*



waltchan said:


> That's correct. A 11 year old engine design would easily rate it top at the reliability chart, and Ford is really famous in doing that. Same goes to the 3.0L Vulcan V6 engine. I still believe in Ford, and their current EcoBoost engines are expected to receive above-average reliability score and better within 10 years, while GM will trail behind, unless they get their act together.
> 
> But for GM, they have the 3800 V6, which is their most-reliable engine, but it only gets average reliability maximum for some reason. Ford beats it a little better with their DuraTec I4/V6 and Triton V8 engines.


That's no way to stay competitive. It won't work in today's marketplace. 

The Ford 2.5L is a noisy boat anchor of a motor that should be axed (there's a reason it's only used in base models), and I very frequently see Tritons running around on half the cylinders. 3.0 was a good motor but was killed off after a long life because it too is underpowered and noisy. 

Their new Ecoboost motors are awesome, as are GMs 2.0t motors.

Sent from Bill the WonderPhone


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

Remember the Cruze has been around in other parts of the world since 2009 and that includes the diesel. When Australian manufacture started the local car was an improvement on the import. I find it odd that GM NA can take an existing design and build it with problems that other countries never had and that includes the Korean built Cruze we used to have. My other car is a 2003 Korean built Hyundai Getz (Pic in garage) and it has given no problems in 53,000km.


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## phpsteve (Jul 15, 2014)

Interesting..


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## phpsteve (Jul 15, 2014)

I think we are beating a dead horse at this point. CR is not accurate..and there are always going to be recalls. As long as they are fixed prior to major incidents I can deal with it. lol


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## Green (May 14, 2014)

phpsteve said:


> I think we are beating a dead horse at this point. CR is not accurate..and there are always going to be recalls. As long as they are fixed prior to major incidents I can deal with it. lol


Pretty much,yep


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## 99_XC600 (Feb 24, 2013)

Here is something to ponder. I want you to really think about this and then consider the garbage spewed from CR.
Tom Mutchler (Chief Reviewer and Editor for the Car Reviews) drives, owns, and recommends a Dodge Durango as one of the better full size SUV's. :question:

Exactly...end of discussion.


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## q2bruiser (Jun 8, 2014)

crystal red cruze said:


> ... CR likes everything Japanese or some cars in Europe. Nothing from USA ...


Sometimes there is a reason. My 09 Subaru Outback XT has been perfect mechanically and near perfect in every other way. First 6 months a trim piece over one of the wheel wells came loose. Subaru replaced it. That is it ... and I have literally beat the living crap out of that thing. Two speeds, on and off.

With that said, I have a good feeling about my new daily driver the Cruze Diesel. It is a nice step up from my old Jetta TDI and hopefully it will be as solid as the Subaru.


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## Diesel Dan (May 18, 2013)

22K+ miles, no recalls.
Only issue is the dreaded waterpump(imo) for slight coolant level drop.


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## Vetterin (Mar 27, 2011)

crystal red cruze said:


> Yeah senor everything bad about the cruze . I stopped reading CR way back before the internet. They reported the 85 Corvette was the worst car for rust. CR likes everything Japanese or some cars in Europe. Nothing from USA.
> 
> This site seems to jump on anyone that has a bad view of the cruze. Look at all the recalls that GM has had. I have had NO real problems with my cruze just to many recalls that took to long to get the parts or sloppy workmanship
> hacking my deflector shield off.
> ...


How appropriate as my other car is an 85 Vette.


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## marinejk1 (Jul 25, 2014)

I can only speak for myself. I have not been overly happy with my 2011 Cruze RS with LT package and the 1.4L turbo. It over heated the first summer we bought it. Delaer had to replace the water pump and other things which was a recall. It struggles to get 30 miles to the gallon even on the highway which is why we bought it in the first place because my fiancee drives for a living. The dealer didn't help much with the problems i know they caused. Sure they got everything covered under warranty, but that is because i told them i would fix it myself if it wasn't. Now i have another check enginge light with a turbo underboost code and a small evap leak code and ithe last work they did was to replace a broken plastic pipe which is part of the thermostat housing and they missed putting something back right (probably a o-ring seal) because it 's leaking antifreeze from that assembly. I just bought a house and was waiting till we moved which was out of state to take it to my local chevy dealer here. This car has been in the shop and had more problems then my 2005 Malibu which I bought used. Also the Malibu with the 2.2L gets better gas mileage.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

Vetterin said:


> How appropriate as my other car is an 85 Vette.


I thought the Corvette was mostly fibreglass> Where does it rust?


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## jalaner (Dec 28, 2013)

Consumer Reports is the only source of long term reliability data that utilizes a large sample of vehicles and is scientifically validated. It is most useful for judging the reliability of used vehicles and can only infer new vehicle reliability. CR clearly states this. Posts by individual car owners are anecdotal evidence that, while entertaining, can't predict reliability. The Asian manufacturers have achieved good reliability by adopting Total Quality Management (TQM) principles developed by an American genius, W. Edward Demming. This lean manufacturing technique uses front line employees to find and solve manufacturing problems and requires very few managers, who act primarily as mediators. Mr. Demmings research indicated that 85% of manufacturing problems are caused by incompetent managers, not "lazy union workers". This allows Asian manufacturers to produce reliable vehicles in the US using US workers. It is unlikely that US auto execs will ever adopt TQM thus eliminating many of their jobs. The CR data reveals that only the 1.8 Cruze has consistently poor reliability. Most other models have average and improving reliability. This is as good as can be expected with the antiquated, top down, US manufacturing techniques.


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## waltchan (Jul 23, 2014)

jalaner said:


> Consumer Reports is the only source of long term reliability data that utilizes a large sample of vehicles and is scientifically validated. It is most useful for judging the reliability of used vehicles and can only infer new vehicle reliability. CR clearly states this. Posts by individual car owners are anecdotal evidence that, while entertaining, can't predict reliability. The Asian manufacturers have achieved good reliability by adopting Total Quality Management (TQM) principles developed by an American genius, W. Edward Demming. This lean manufacturing technique uses front line employees to find and solve manufacturing problems and requires very few managers, who act primarily as mediators. Mr. Demmings research indicated that 85% of manufacturing problems are caused by incompetent managers, not "lazy union workers". This allows Asian manufacturers to produce reliable vehicles in the US using US workers. It is unlikely that US auto execs will ever adopt TQM thus eliminating many of their jobs. The CR data reveals that only the 1.8 Cruze has consistently poor reliability. Most other models have average and improving reliability. This is as good as can be expected with the antiquated, top down, US manufacturing techniques.


Completely agree with you in full. Consumer Reports sends all their subscribers with their new car purchase if they have any problems with it yearly, and they responded to the surveys pretty well. If the Cruze did not score high in reliability, and you're disappointed to hear that, we all have to accept and believe that the Cruze is NOT the most-reliable car you can buy and drive in the real world, despite most of Cruze owners don't have any problems. Not for them, but we still have many reluctant drivers still refuse to buy another American car of course.

Consumer Reports also claims that the Japanese cars built and assembled in Japan directly (not assembled in North America) usually score the highest in reliability. Some Japanese-built cars for example: Honda Fit, Mazda 3, Mitsubishi Lancer, Nissan Cube & Juke, Scion xD, Subaru Impreza & Crosstrek, Suzuki SX4, and Toyota Yaris like to float around the #1 most-reliable status or somewhere near.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

waltchan said:


> Consumer Reports also claims that the Japanese cars built and assembled in Japan directly (not assembled in North America) usually score the highest in reliability. Some Japanese-built cars for example: Honda Fit, Mazda 3, Mitsubishi Lancer, Nissan Cube, Subaru Impreza, Scion xA, Suzuki SX4, and Toyota Yaris like to float around the #1 most-reliable status or somewhere near.


All our Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Subaru etc are imported and have great reliability records here. It is also worth mentioning that Japan drives on the laft side as do we.


PS The Camry and Aurion, (basically a V6 Camry), are still built here, but not for much longer.


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## waltchan (Jul 23, 2014)

Aussie said:


> It is also worth mentioning that Japan drives on the laft side as do we


Actually, the Japanese people in Japan drives on the right side.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

waltchan said:


> Actually, the Japanese people in Japan drives on the right side.


Are you sure?

Also see our guide on renting a car in Japan. 
*Roads and rules* 
Cars drive on the left side of the road and have the driver's seat and steering wheel on their right side. The legal minimum age for driving is 18 years. Road signs and rules follow international standards, and most signs on major roads are in Japanese and English. Drinking and driving is strictly prohibited.


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

bowtieblue said:


> U.S. Cruze sales are up about 9% so far this year and are running ahead of Civic sedan sales.


I'm interested to know where you got this information. Not the Cruze sales % increase, but second half of your statement.


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## jalaner (Dec 28, 2013)

The US built Japanese brands from non-unionized plants have slightly lower reliability than Japan built. This is to be expected since the US unionized plants have pay and employee rights similar to those in Japan. Non union plants pay about 50% less and, if located in right to work states, are free to abuse workers. All Japanese citizens have basic rights such as worker rights and affordable health care. These rights were required by the Allies and were a condition of ending the occupation of Japan at the end of WWII. Unfortunately, the US never took actions to assure that its' citizens have similar rights.


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## waltchan (Jul 23, 2014)

Aussie said:


> Are you sure?
> 
> Also see our guide on renting a car in Japan.
> *Roads and rules*
> Cars drive on the left side of the road and have the driver's seat and steering wheel on their right side. The legal minimum age for driving is 18 years. Road signs and rules follow international standards, and most signs on major roads are in Japanese and English. Drinking and driving is strictly prohibited.


Right-side steering wheel, I mean.


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## waltchan (Jul 23, 2014)

jalaner said:


> The US built Japanese brands from non-unionized plants have slightly lower reliability than Japan built. This is to be expected since the US unionized plants have pay and employee rights similar to those in Japan.


Yep, I bet these monikers here that own or try one of these Japanese-built (all listed below that compete with Cruze or similar in size) have nothing bad to say about them, or they're at the very minimal level of complaints at best.

Honda Fit (before 2014)
Honda Insight (discontinued in 2014)
Mazda 2
Mazda 3 (after 2014, some 25% of production in Mexico)
Mazda 5
Mazda 6 (after 2014)
Mazda CX-5
Mitsubishi Lancer
Mitsubishi Outlander
Mitsubishi Outlander Sport (before 2012)
Nissan Cube (discontinued in 2014)
Nissan Juke
Nissan Rogue (before 2013)
Scion xB
Scion XD
Scion TC
Suzuki Grand Vitara (discontinued in 2013)
Suzuki SX4 (discontinued in 2013)
Suzuki Kizashi discontinued in 2013)
Subaru Forester
Subaru Impreza
Subaru XV Crosstrek
Toyota Prius
Toyota Yaris (before 2014)

Also, some very limited number of Japanese-built along with American-built sold together at the same time. Most were sold in California state and western side of United States, with all (except Toyota RAV4) already ceased imports from Japan already.

Honda Accord (before 2010)
Honda Civic (before 2012)
Honda CR-V (before 2012)
Toyota Corolla (before 2013)
Toyota Camry (before 2011)
Toyota RAV4

If you're looking for Japanese-built, print out this complete list. Mazda currently builds the most-number of cars in Japan for USA market with MSRP less than $25,000, and they're rated #3 most-reliable. Honda Fit is #1 most-reliable in the list, with Scion xA and Toyota Yaris #2 in-line. Least-reliable is Nissan Juke, but its average reliability score is still better than Chevrolet Cruze and Ford Focus.

Honda has the best reputation for building the most-reliable cars in Japan (better than Toyota in some cases) for more than 30 years now.

Nissan, once rated #3 most-reliable in 1980s, is now the least-reliable and builds the worst cars in Japan since 2010. Since the merger with Renault of France in 1999, Nissan Japan's reliability score has been falling down in a freefall.


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## zr1000a1 (Jan 25, 2012)

Don't know about the other Japanese brands, but Toyota's only American unionized plant closed down in 2010. It was the NUMMI plant in Freemont California. Starting in 1984 until it's close in 2010 it produced the Chevrolet Nova, Geo Prism, Chevrolet Prism, Toyota Corolla, Pontiac Vibe and Toyota Tacoma. Now Tesla uses a portion of the plant, for which Toyota has some investment in.

NUMMI was an old GM plant that Toyota and GM started a joint venture together so that GM could learn Toyota's methods, while Toyota could get its manufacturing base started in the U.S.
NUMMI - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Waltchan, Can you explain to me why you feel consumer reports is fair in their assessments and not biased in any way? Everything I have read over the years tells me to not believe the blatant lies they try to feed the uninformed public. 

Best example is the cruze MPG they claim and even more so the half-truths about turbo cars in general. According to them I should only get the city 26 MPG rating as my average since turbo's don't live up to the hype. Guess my almost 36mpg average over 50K miles is a fluke. 

For me to get as low of MPG as they claim it has to be the dead of winter and well below zero Fahrenheit outside, drive 100% city & use remote start daily for 8+ minutes. Even then If I get out on the highway I usually average 30MPG for the month in the winter. BTW 30MPG is the combined rating for my car, 26city/38hwy and 30 combined. My car matches its EPA ratings in the dead of winter. 

Consumer Reports finds small turbo engines don't deliver on fuel economy claims


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## zr1000a1 (Jan 25, 2012)

Spacedout,

Funny, but if you actually did drive 100% city in the conditions you described you would probably only get 17-19 mpg's for that tank. 

Your mileage is very good because you are a good driver whom pays attention to these things. You are acutely aware of your mileage and driving style because you track it. This influences your startup and idling procedures, driving style, acceleration and braking techniques, and the results. CR tests are geared for regular people's driving habits. You are not a regular person. You also drive almost 70% highway. Your city driving is probably nothing like a real city drive. Probably closer to suburban driving instead of block after block of long red lights and idling. Makes a huge difference. 

CR's test for city driving is much tougher than that. That is not picking on the Cruze. It is picking on every car they test. Makes results directly comparable. Like the saying goes, your mileage may vary. In real city driving, a turbo Cruze is not going to shine compared to some other cars. Get it out on the highway and it is excellent.

When you consider that most people speed 5 or more over, accelerate hard, brake late and hard, who's mpg results would be more representative and accurate for people to compare? Your fuelly chart or CR's tests?

You should feel proud of your accomplishment of getting such good fuel mileage out of your vehicles. I bet you could beat EPA and CR fuel mileage estimates in any car you are behind the wheel of, once you learn what works and does not work for that particular car. 

Turbo cars, because of their nature probably takes a little more time to see what works best with them considering throttle inputs, rpm's, and boost levels. If you are on the boost all the time, it means more air going through, which means more fuel to keep the stoichiometric value right. Which means worse fuel economy. The small displacement of the engine will not make up the difference enough to counter that completely.

Lots of starts and stops uses much more energy and gas. Idling and starting from a stop a lot is a killer on gas mileage. That odometer has to be turning when the engine is running or OUCH!

CR's city tests gives explicit acceleration, speed, and distance times that every vehicle has to complete on a closed course track. It also dictates idling times. Two differenet drivers complete the tests for repeatability. If I remember correctly they do 4 16 minutes tests. They plum in an exact fuel consumption measuring device. Somewhere on this site, a close example of their testing procedures were posted.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

waltchan said:


> Right-side steering wheel, I mean.


I guess that you didn't realise that I live in Australia and we drive on the left and the steering wheel is on the right.


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## waltchan (Jul 23, 2014)

Post #96 updated and enhanced.


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## ChevyMgr (Oct 27, 2010)

Consumer Reports opinions are no better than any other organization. I don't really buy anything based on them. And IMHO the OP is just a troll.


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## Burtess (Apr 7, 2011)

From my experience the Consumers Reports seems fairly accurate..... Unfortunately.

My 2011 LS with 185,000km has no AC (107,000km), usual stinks through the air ducts, $1000 to replace the thermostat assembly/coolant temp sensor/radiator fan (175,000km), and now there is a whine in 5th and 6th gear indicating a bearing going in the transmission. 

Dealer service / competence leaves much to be desired.

Asked about trade in value and was told $1500-2000 Canadian...... I would rather burn it on the street in front of the dealership lol.... They don't want them back either, they know how bad they are.

In my opinion the Cruze is a very weak car, disposable, junky.... And I (we) are holding the bag!

Burt


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## weimerrj (Dec 4, 2011)

jalaner said:


> The US built Japanese brands from non-unionized plants have slightly lower reliability than Japan built. This is to be expected since the US unionized plants have pay and employee rights similar to those in Japan. Non union plants pay about 50% less and, if located in right to work states, are free to abuse workers. All Japanese citizens have basic rights such as worker rights and affordable health care. These rights were required by the Allies and were a condition of ending the occupation of Japan at the end of WWII. Unfortunately, the US never took actions to assure that its' citizens have similar rights.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Burtess said:


> From my experience the Consumers Reports seems fairly accurate..... Unfortunately.
> 
> My 2011 LS with 185,000km(*114,995miles*) has no AC 107,000km(*66,486Miles*), usual stinks through the air ducts, $1000 to replace the thermostat assembly/coolant temp sensor/radiator fan 175,000km(*108,740 Miles*), and now there is a whine in 5th and 6th gear indicating a bearing going in the transmission.


I added the miles for the kilometer challenged americans like me. After looking though I'm not sure I would be so upset, as all your issues have been at high mileage. Is that all that you have had happen? Have seen longer lists of complains from people with far fewer miles. 

Trade in on the cheapest model cruze(LS) will never be good, as they sell tons for under $14K new daily. Add in your high mileage you have a car that you should drive into the ground. Lets say you need a transmission, so you got 115,000+ miles out of the first one, could you not expect at least as many on the new one? Seems like a cheap 115,000 miles to me. Much cheaper than buying a new car.


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## waltchan (Jul 23, 2014)

ChevyMgr said:


> Consumer Reports opinions are no better than any other organization. I don't really buy anything based on them. And IMHO the OP is just a troll.


I respect and welcome everyone's opinion here. I am fully aware there are good number of people here, including ChevyMgr user, believe that Americans build the best and most-reliable cars in the world, and the world's finest. More of religious type thinking. Patriotism with the US still exists today of course, although less than 30 years ago, so the individuals buy nothing but only American.


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## Burtess (Apr 7, 2011)

I guess I just expect more out of a vehicle than the norm?

Last two vehicles (2001 Century and 2004 LeSabre) had 300-400,000km on them when I sold them and I did only oil and brakes.

i drive about 70,000km per year but they are easy km's so I expect them to last (and I have never had an AC or MT fail on any vehicle I have ever owned).

Burt


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## 30 Ounce (Nov 18, 2012)

Burtess said:


> I guess I just expect more out of a vehicle than the norm?
> 
> Last two vehicles (2001 Century and 2004 LeSabre) had 300-400,000km on them when I sold them and I did only oil and brakes.
> 
> ...


What maintanance have you done? Have you changed the MT fluid? The cabin filter? Is the AC broken or just need a recharge? Did the thermostat and radiator fan all go out at once or is the dealer padding his pockets? I would get a second opinion on that one. If your car is only worth $1500-2000 then you must have beat the **** out of it...


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## jsusanka (Jan 31, 2011)

waltchan said:


> Completely agree with you in full. Consumer Reports sends all their subscribers with their new car purchase if they have any problems with it yearly, and they responded to the surveys pretty well. If the Cruze did not score high in reliability, and you're disappointed to hear that, we all have to accept and believe that the Cruze is NOT the most-reliable car you can buy and drive in the real world, despite most of Cruze owners don't have any problems. Not for them, but we still have many reluctant drivers still refuse to buy another American car of course.
> 
> Consumer Reports also claims that the Japanese cars built and assembled in Japan directly (not assembled in North America) usually score the highest in reliability. Some Japanese-built cars for example: Honda Fit, Mazda 3, Mitsubishi Lancer, Nissan Cube & Juke, Scion xD, Subaru Impreza & Crosstrek, Suzuki SX4, and Toyota Yaris like to float around the #1 most-reliable status or somewhere near.


I wonder since Fukishima and it's ongoing mess if anybody has taken a geiger counter to these cars that were manufactured in Japan after March 2011. It would be interesting to see the results. I feel sorry for the ongoing mess there in Fukishima.


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## Burtess (Apr 7, 2011)

30 Ounce said:


> What maintanance have you done? Have you changed the MT fluid? The cabin filter? Is the AC broken or just need a recharge? Did the thermostat and radiator fan all go out at once or is the dealer padding his pockets? I would get a second opinion on that one. If your car is only worth $1500-2000 then you must have beat the **** out of it...


All scheduled maintenance performed ahead of time, oil and filter every 8-10,000km (5-6000miles), with full synthetic, MT fluid replaced with Amsoil Synchromesh, no cabin filter, engine air filter every 30,000km or so, AC will work if recharged for about 4 hours so it has a large leak), thermostat threw code and replacement fixed that, but needed other sensor and fan as it didn't work either (and note I did comment about dealer support).

Car has been well maintained, hand washed regularly, vacuumed etc., and is otherwise in great cosmetic condition. Unfortunately it is a piece of crap apparently lol...

Burt


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## bowtieblue (May 26, 2014)

Jim Frye said:


> I'm interested to know where you got this information. Not the Cruze sales % increase, but second half of your statement.


U.S. Civic sales through June are 167,097 and my understanding is that one in five Civic sales are coupes which means sedans account for 80% of those sales or just under 134,000. This is below Cruze year to date.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

zr1000a1 said:


> Spacedout,
> 
> Funny, but if you actually did drive 100% city in the conditions you described you would probably only get 17-19 mpg's for that tank.


Sorry but that's just not the case. Dead of winter I average my cars 30MPG EPA combined rating with more than 80% city driving and using remote start daily for 4-8 minutes. Summer time with at least 30% city driving(my average speed is 40mph) I average 37MPG. The interstate here is 65mph, with my cruise set at 70mph in anything over 50F weather I beat the EPA highway MPG every time, usually getting 39mpg with my car on those trips. I drive 5mph over the posted limit on 100% of my driving. 

How can I not think the CR MPG testing is a joke? I drive my car hard daily & leave every car in my dust at all stoplights yet somehow I'm magically blowing away CR MPG testing?


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## waltchan (Jul 23, 2014)

Burtess said:


> All scheduled maintenance performed ahead of time, oil and filter every 8-10,000km (5-6000miles), with full synthetic, MT fluid replaced with Amsoil Synchromesh, no cabin filter, engine air filter every 30,000km or so, AC will work if recharged for about 4 hours so it has a large leak), thermostat threw code and replacement fixed that, but needed other sensor and fan as it didn't work either (and note I did comment about dealer support).
> 
> Car has been well maintained, hand washed regularly, vacuumed etc., and is otherwise in great cosmetic condition. Unfortunately it is a piece of crap apparently lol...
> 
> Burt


Burt was more than kind enough to share his experience, and what he wrote gave a wake-up call to GM on what needs to be improved (I hope they're reading this so they could build a better 2016 Cruze).

It is completely acceptable to drive 100,000 miles in three years, and it's not his fault. This clearly shows that GM did NOT perform enough long-term, abusive testing, and GM could have done better to improve Cruze's reliability rating.

Now if he go back in time and start over, and this time purchase the Japanese-built Honda Fit or Toyota Yaris instead of the Chevrolet Cruze, and put in the same amount of 100,000 miles in 3 years with same caring and cleaning, his results would be a lot different and better, with a lot less trips to the mechanic.

With continued advanced technology, most Japanese-built cars can now easily run 500,000 miles trouble-free given proper maintenance. Subtract 200,000 miles (or 300,000 miles trouble-free) if the car is American-built, unfortunately.

For that many miles of driving per year, I highly recommend that he sticks only to Japanese-built cars, and avoid all American-built cars at all costs.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

> With continued advanced technology, most Japanese-built cars can now easily run 500,000 miles trouble-free given proper maintenance. Subtract 200,000 miles (or 300,000 miles) if the car is American-built, unfortunately.
> 
> For that many miles of driving per year, I highly recommend that he sticks only to Japanese-built cars, and avoid all American-built cars at all costs.


...and we're done here. This is an idiotic, unfounded statement, and your thread is now locked.

It is obvious that you are nothing more than a troll, with no intention to ever buy or own a Cruze. It appears that you picked up an issue of Consumer Reports and came here to bash the forum, car, and owners.


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