# 2011 Cruze LS won't start.. back to dealership again



## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Dead battery would be my first guess.


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## shaggszgn (Jun 25, 2011)

I left the car alone for a while then tried again and the car started right up. I don't get it, still taking it to the dealer.


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

Hmmm. I'm betting bad battery cable or a bad ground somewhere. Wouldn't be the first. Also betting the dealer won't find anything. Wouldn't be the first either.


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## CHEVYCRUZE RS (Mar 29, 2011)

Probably a bad ground make your dealer inspect the wiring who knows


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## MiamiMichael (Mar 12, 2014)

...how old is the battery???

...and, what is the battery voltage, per the DIC???


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## shaggszgn (Jun 25, 2011)

The car is at the dealership. Not sure if it's battery related, since when the car didn't start, I still had power to the radio, head lights, power locks and so on. I just had those two messages on the info screen, the power windows wouldn't work and everything on the info screen such as fuel millage, tire pressure, and even the gear indicator was blank. This morning the car started fine and everything work as normal. It's weird. Will update when I hear from the dealer.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Either your battery isn't holding sufficient charge or you have a bad ground somewhere. My bet is on the former (battery).


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

shaggszgn,

I am deeply sorry to hear of your vehicle concerns and apologize for the inconvenience. If you would like to further discuss your situation and have our involvement while working with your dealership, please send us a private message that includes your full contact information, VIN and dealer name. We are here to assist, so don't hesitate to contact us. 

Laura M. (assisting)
Chevrolet Customer Care


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## shaggszgn (Jun 25, 2011)

Got the car back, dealer said it was a low voltage issue, and there was old codes stored. They checked everything out, everything checked out fine, they cleared the codes. Car drove fine from the dealership to a store, and now the car won't start again. I tried restarting 30 seconds after I turned off the car and got the sane problems as yesterday, waiting on a tow. What sucks is the dealer closes in 15 minutes, so looks like I'm out of a car till at least Monday, I'm going to miss a day of work cause of this car. I'm not a happy camper right now.


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

But did they check the primary battery cables and their attachment points to the chassis/engine? If you get it back and they state they can't find anything wrong, try flexing the battery cables from the battery to as far as you can reach if it won't start again.


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## shaggszgn (Jun 25, 2011)

Jim Frye, I will keep that in mind if the dealer can't fix it. 

Right now the car is sitting at the dealership and will be looked at on Monday. I give the dealer some credit, they were able to hook me up with a loaner car even tho the service department was closed. 

Laura M., I'm gonna let the dealer do there thing, if the problem isn't resolved when I get my car back, I will be in contact with you.

edit: The tow truck driver did try to jump the car, but it still wouldn't start.


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## shaggszgn (Jun 25, 2011)

Here's a video of what the car was doing:


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

shaggszgn said:


> edit: The tow truck driver did try to jump the car, but it still wouldn't start.


Sorta rules out the battery, in my book.


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## BowtieGuy (Jan 4, 2013)

You may also want to take it to a different dealership if they can't fix it this time. Plenty of bad dealerships out there.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

One of the worse characteristics of a microprocessor or in this application, a microcontroller is the power on reset or POR. When powered up it must hold the POR low that is done with a discharged capacitor, the 12 V is down converted to 5V, has filter capacitors that must ramp up to put 5V on the power pin, this 5V has to be there before that capacitor charges up to even 1V.

An erratic power voltage supplied to the BCM, PCM power input can cause this, if it does, the program counter in the controller will not reset to zero, but to some random number. This starts the program somewhere in the center, confusing the heck out of everything, or gets completely lost. So all kinds of false codes can be generated and since practically everything in the Cruze is controlled by 5 different microcontrollers, nothing seems to work, like your windows for example.

An oscilloscope would show this instantly, but the brains that write these service manuals only know of an ohmmeter, completely worthless. That 12V applied must show with a practically O second rise time. Poor connections will show a very ragged voltage. And dealers don't know what the heck they are doing.

What would really help would be to add manual reset button, don't tell this to marketing, they will bite your butt. This way the ignitions switch can be turned on, wait a few seconds, then give a manual POR reset by grounding all the pins to see if this solves all of your problems.

On some PCM's, had to install a larger capacitor to cure these kinds of problems, of course they want to use the cheapest capacitor they thing will work. Another solution is to get the software guys to write a self correcting program, fat chance of this, would take them ten times as long.

It sure sounds like to me you are having POR problems. Another thing you can try is to turn off the key, count to three and try again, turning the key rapidly. But not so rapid to break it off. 

A connector, a fuse, a relay, the battery, a ground, power distribution circuits? Your guess is as good as mine, can be anywhere, or even in the PCM and/or BCM itself.

What the heck, the radio works.


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## shaggszgn (Jun 25, 2011)

Quick update, dealer called me today, they couldn't figure out my problem and they are calling GM tomorrow to see what else they can do.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Both bad and good news. The bad news is your dealership is stumped. The good news is they're willing to admit it and call GM for assistance. I think you found a keeper of a dealership.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Auto manufacturers promised over a 100,000 new electronic technician jobs with the advent of OBD I. Never happened, expect a guy good at replacing mufflers to handle jobs like this. 

Also may need an oscilloscope to find problems like this, and not a shop manual that says, solid state, do not test. Another costly item is a break out box, but get by with stick pins. But have to seal those holes are that bare wire inside will turn green and break apart.

Either this or replace everything and hope for the best. Switching to leadless solder sure didn't help, just way too much throwaway electronics contaminating the ground water with lead.


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## shaggszgn (Jun 25, 2011)

Got a call from the dealer, they are replacing the power distribution fuse. There seems to be some play or loose connection with the fuse or fuse block. Should get my car back tomorrow, just in time for my road trip.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Is this one of the fuses in that underhood relay/fuse block? I had mine apart when installing the fog lamps, yes I was curious. Fuse receptacles are soldered to the lower part of the printed circuit board, did check mine for soldering connections, as well as all those female terminals for the relays.

Willing to bet a poor solder connection for that fuse terminal, either will have to be resoldered or the entire PCB assembly replaced. 

Use to pay five bucks for 60/40 lead tin solder for a five pound roll. Now its 20 bucks a pound.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

Hey Shaggszgn, 

Glad to hear the dealership is resolving your concern. Have fun on your trip. If you have any questions or concerns, we are here to assist. 

Erica Tiffany (Assisting Laura)
Chevrolet Customer Care


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## shaggszgn (Jun 25, 2011)

Sorry for the late update, the fuse box that was replaced this time around is the one located above the battery. The other fuse box, the bigger one under the hood was replaced in Nov. 

Now I have an issue with my A/C not blowing cold air.. So back to the dealership once again... This is getting really annoying, would be nice if GM would throw some accessories or oil changes my way for having to deal with these stupid problems with my Cruze.


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## Cruise11 (May 7, 2014)

I had the A/C not blowing cold air issue in just Feb 2014. It was the A/C condenser. They had to replace the condenser. Thankful it was under warranty for that since they had to drop the dash to replace it.


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## BarelyGlowin (May 9, 2014)

I had the starting issue with my 11 2lt a few months ago.... ended up being a bad cell in the battery, and buying a new battery took care of it.. just one of the myriad issues I've come across on my car...


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

Hey Shaggszgn, 

I am sorry to hear you have to return to the dealership. Please private message me your name, VIN, phone number, and dealership name. I will reach out to your dealership on your behalf. Hope to hear from you soon. 

Erica Tiffany
Chevrolet Customer Care


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## shaggszgn (Jun 25, 2011)

I'm sitting at the dealership waiting for then to fix my A/C problem. I'm not upset with the dealership, they have been good to me, just extremely frustrated with my Cruze itself. It's my first brand new car, but it's turning out to be one of the most problematic cars I've owned. I'm just a very unsatisfied Cruze owner.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

shaggszgn said:


> I'm sitting at the dealership waiting for then to fix my A/C problem. I'm not upset with the dealership, they have been good to me, just extremely frustrated with my Cruze itself. It's my first brand new car, but it's turning out to be one of the most problematic cars I've owned. I'm just a very unsatisfied Cruze owner.


Hello shaggszgn,

I understand and I apologize for these frustrating experiences with your Cruze. We appreciate the updates and feedback so please don't hesitate to share the outcome with us. If you would like any assistance with this, please reach out to us via PM, and we would be happy to assist.

Patsy G
Chevrolet Customer Care


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## shaggszgn (Jun 25, 2011)

Well, the dealer recharged the A/C and checked for leaks.. No leaks were found. Everything is working for now, it's just odd that the A/C system needed recharging when I don't use it that much. Just anther thing to keep an eye on with this car. I'm seriously considering trading it in for something else.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

shaggszgn said:


> Well, the dealer recharged the A/C and checked for leaks.. No leaks were found. Everything is working for now, it's just odd that the A/C system needed recharging when I don't use it that much. Just anther thing to keep an eye on with this car. I'm seriously considering trading it in for something else.


Hey there,

I'm sorry that there is some disappointment with your vehicle, but I'm happy to hear that all is well so far. Let us know if you have any further questions or concerns. Have a good day!

Patsy G
Chevrolet Customer Care


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## cruzeamy (Apr 11, 2020)

shaggszgn said:


> Well, I get in my car about an hour ago to roll up my windows and to move my car over in the drive way and guess what the windows won't roll up, and that's not all, the car won't start what so ever! I get an service air bag message and service power steering message. I just had it in the dealership to replace a fried wiring harness under the hood, now I have this problem.
> 
> Details:
> 2011 Chevy Cruze LS
> ...


We just had the same problem. It was a bolt that had loosened up. My husband is handy and figured it out. He said you can tell if they have loosen because the green paint isn't lined up. It's running fine again! Thank God!


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## Blasirl (Mar 31, 2015)

cruzeamy said:


> We just had the same problem. It was a bolt that had loosened up. My husband is handy and figured it out. He said you can tell if they have loosen because the green paint isn't lined up. It's running fine again! Thank God!


Welcome Aboard!

This is a pretty old post, but since you have a fix, do you have a picture of the bolt in question?

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


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