# Cruze leaked coolant inside car



## TEERONI (Mar 8, 2012)

I really did like this car but.....I purchased my Cruz 8 months ago and only had 6,800mi when last week while I was driving with my child in tow..this really hot coolant started shooting out from under the dashboard onto my leg which caused 2nd degree burns. I was told a clip on a pipe located under the dash had broke and the pipe burst and when asked why Chevy was unable to give a reason. Has this happen to anyone else?


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## Dale_K (Jul 16, 2011)

I do not recall reading about anybody being burned by leaking coolant but there have been some people who had trouble with leaking heater cores/lines. Generally these people say they could smell coolant or experienced fogging and condensation on the windows.


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## TEERONI (Mar 8, 2012)

Thank You for the response. I read those as well which troubles me because mine actually burst and I had no problems or smells before hand.


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## cruzeman (Mar 13, 2011)

the entire hvac system in the cruze is pretty shoddy. there have been numerous issues of a/c problems along with coolant and or burning smells coming from the heater. I read about the same thing happening to someone else on another site awhile back. I am really not a fan of the location of the heater core as it throws off so much heat near the gas pedal and like with what happened to you getting sprayed with coolant from a clamp failure.


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## lilmrsyeti (Mar 3, 2012)

Did you contact GM about this?? If not, I would do so NOW! The more aware they are of people having certain problems, the better they can look into it.

I'm soo sorry to read that you got those kinds of burns! OUCH! That really stinks on a car so new.


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## Xlr8machineshop (Jul 17, 2011)

I woul file a law suit thats ridiculous. I know it's a pain but something like this should never happen what if it caused you to crash with your child in the car


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## Mick (Dec 31, 2011)

^this


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

Gee, I wonder what part of the far east that hose and clamp came from?


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## cwerdna (Mar 10, 2011)

I'd consider the OP's problem to be safety defect. Assuming his report is legitimate, I'd file a safety complaint at Home | Safercar -- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).


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## ChevyCruzeLTZ (Apr 7, 2011)

Very interesting, I just had my oil changed and was informed the coolant level was low. Tech added coolant, dye and pressure tested, no leaks found. GM has a PI saying if no visible leaks wait for the engineers to come out with a fix. I have no odor or fogging of thw windows so I'm leaning away from an interior leak. Hope I don't get sprayed!


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## thaicruze (Jul 21, 2011)

I had the same thing happen to me in a 1990-1991 Maxima. But it had well over 100,000 miles on it. 

It was the Heater core. It started dripping on my foot.

Don't think it's a Cruze issue it's just an issue with your car.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Here are some excerpts from the Dex-Cool safety informations sheet:

"EMERGENCY OVERVIEW
Orange liquid. Mild odor.
- HARMFUL OR FATAL IF SWALLOWED
- CAUSES EYE IRRITATION
- MAY CAUSE ADVERSE REPRODUCTIVE EFFECTS BASED ON ANIMAL DATA
- POSSIBLE BIRTH DEFECT HAZARD - CONTAINS MATERIAL THAT MAY CAUSE BIRTH DEFECTS
BASED ON ANIMAL DATA
- MAY CAUSE DAMAGE TO:
- KIDNEY
************************************************************************************************************************
IMMEDIATE HEALTH EFFECTS
Eye: Contact with the eyes causes irritation. Symptoms may include pain, tearing, reddening, swelling
and impaired vision.
Skin: Contact with the skin is not expected to cause prolonged or significant irritation. Not expected to be
harmful to internal organs if absorbed through the skin.
Ingestion: Toxic; may be harmful or fatal if swallowed.
Inhalation: The vapor or fumes from this material may cause respiratory irritation."

"DELAYED OR OTHER HEALTH EFFECTS:
Reproduction and Birth Defects: May cause adverse reproductive effects based on animal data.
Contains material that may be harmful to the developing fetus based on animal data."

Not very comforting to learn other Cruze's are having this problem. Just went as far to check under the hood, wonder if they did long term test on plastic and quick couplers. Just made sure mine were on tight and keep a close look at the coolant level. 

So far as I can determine, no recalls on this subject. Heater core is always hot, blend door determines the amount of heat you get. No way to cut coolant flow to the heater core, also a part of the engine cooling system.


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## cruzeman (Mar 13, 2011)

one thing i have discovered is that if I turn the temp knob all the way to cool the heater duct will blow cool air but all around it will blow blazing hot air which is why I always felt heat in the summer unless i turned ac on.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

TEERONI said:


> I really did like this car but.....I purchased my Cruz 8 months ago and only had 6,800mi when last week while I was driving with my child in tow..this really hot coolant started shooting out from under the dashboard onto my leg which caused 2nd degree burns. I was told a clip on a pipe located under the dash had broke and the pipe burst and when asked why Chevy was unable to give a reason. Has this happen to anyone else?




TEERONI,
I would like to apologize for the issue that you have experienced with your Cruze. I would like to look into this for you. Can you please send me a PM with your personal information (full name, address and phone number), VIN number, current mileage and the name of your dealership? I look forward to hearing back from you. 
Thank you,
Stacy Chevrolet Customer Service


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## TEERONI (Mar 8, 2012)

Thank you and yes GM was definitely notified. Im just thankful I wasnt in heavy traffic..could have caused a really serious accident!


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## TEERONI (Mar 8, 2012)

Filed claim with GM and got a lawyer just in case...Thanks!


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## rbtec (Feb 3, 2012)

TEERONI said:


> Filed claim with GM and got a lawyer just in case...Thanks!


How did you file a claim with GM?


Sent from my Autoguide iPhone app


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## TEERONI (Mar 8, 2012)

Thank everyone for their input. I have contacted GM and currently driving a rental. Someone posted its probably just my car...I really hope so even though it seems as if some people are having heater core problems which prior to this incident my car didnt have ANY issues.

Thanks again!


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## Aeroscout977 (Nov 25, 2010)

Thanks for posting this OP. Keep us updated!


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## TEERONI (Mar 8, 2012)

Called 800-CHEVUSA...


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Certainly reason for concern, not only for you, but for the rest of us in this make everything the same production world. Wasn't even aware plastic quick couplers were used on this vehicle until this subject came up. And not even sure how the heater core is made. Traditionally, was the last component or least it still be so to be made out of brass. Plastic tanks on aluminum radiator cores was the first component to introduce new problems. Its cheap.

Our last radiator repair shop died about ten years ago, brass could be cleaned like new with acid, and soldered. Can't do that with aluminum, will boil up and nothing will be left with it. Solder was replaced with a neoprene gasket that dries up and decays into dust and is crimped on, can only crimp once. Old fashion guys that thought stainless steel screw hose clamps were better to replace those spring clamps. Not true, those spring clamps can expand as plastic has a very high coefficient of expansion, that plastic because becoming brittle with age will crack. Radiators as well as condensers became throwaway items. 

In particular condensers, if your compressor leaks out some oil and with R-134a mandated by the government, compressor will seize and load that parallel flow condenser with debris that is positively impossible to get out. Another throwaway item. With tube and fin condensers used with R-12, can be easily flushed out.

Think back to the 60's when Chicago was the electronics leader of the world, had plenty of work to do, in one months paycheck could afford to pay cash for a new 65 Buick fully loaded Electra. Loaded with chrome inside and out, even had a bumper jack where the bumper could lift the entire car. Sure can't do that with a cheap plastic bumper and your safety comes with the same kind of polystyrene that you get in throwaway packaging. 

If Chevy cheapened that all important heater core that can kill you, that is going way overboard. Certainly reason for concern of all of us. Not kidding on this subject, know people that died with kidney failure caused by breathing anti-freeze.


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## mcg75 (Mar 5, 2012)

Had to chime in on this one after checking Alldata here at work. 

The heater core clamps do appear to be plastic in the photo, I have not verified this by looking at my car. 

The location of the core means easy access to replace these clamps and the entire core if necessary in less than an hour. For comparison, a Cobalt would take approx 8 hours. 

The bad news is a leaking core under pressure has a good chance of spraying someone's feet with hot coolant is it does actually leak.


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## TEERONI (Mar 8, 2012)

Just wanted to keep you guys in the loop. After 2 weeks picked up car from the dealer...they had replaced the heater core, pipes and claimp. By the next evening the car was stifling hot which was strange since the heat wasnt on! Heat was coming from the vents however nothing was blowing out..even my driving foot was hot. Well I took it right back to the dealer! They put heater pads on the pipes and yesterday I picked it up. Im not a mechanical savvy person but it seems to me as if they put a bandaid on the problem and it wont be long before it happens again or am I just being paranoid!?


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

I've gotten the impression here that coolant flows through the heater core all the time and not just when you have the system set for heat. Couple that with the fact that the core is right in the middle at the base of the dash, and you get heat on your feet all the time when the car is running. Someone please tell me they didn't design it like that.


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## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

ChevyCruzeLTZ said:


> Very interesting, I just had my oil changed and was informed the coolant level was low. Tech added coolant, dye and pressure tested, no leaks found. GM has a PI saying if no visible leaks wait for the engineers to come out with a fix. I have no odor or fogging of thw windows so I'm leaning away from an interior leak. Hope I don't get sprayed!


...just be sure to wear LONG-pants, not shorts, whenever you're driving your Cruze (sounds like something GM would say, doesn't it).


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Hate reading about these problems, ha, makes me walk out to the garage and check my cooling system, again. At one time, GM was building everything inhouse to assure quality. Now outsourcing to everyone. Could be lucky, or unlucky, just hope my luck on this issue is better than buying a lottery ticket.


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## Dale_K (Jul 16, 2011)

I think most cars run their coolant through the core all the time and control temps with air dampers. The control system on my 2011 LS (manual temp controls) is kind of erratic and other owners have reported similar issues where the heat doesn't go back to zero right away after turning the knob back to pure cold (A/C off). I think that's a characteristic of the car and the dealer probably won't be able to do much for it. It shouldn't blow out heat all the time but it doesn't respond very well to turning down the heat once it's been turned up.

The leaking should be fixable and you should expect and demand a totally leak free car.


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## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

...and, make GM _totally_ replace ALL the *coolant-wetted *carpet, or you'll be smelling *Dexcool* till hades-freezes-over.


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## Ajax37 (Oct 18, 2012)

Teeroni,
Did you ever receive a resolution to your problem? This just happened to me, and I actually did crash my car along with the burns. It's a 2012 with 3600 miles on it. 

No one seems too concerned either. I get the "oh we'll have your car fixed and back to you in a few days" answer from the dealership. I'm sorry, but I don't want a car that is going to burn me while I'm driving it. I also don't want to continue paying for a new car that is no longer new due to something completely out of my control! I was lucky I wasn't going 70MPH at the time for sure. 

I would sure like to know how your case was handled.

John


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