# Coming back with Coolant Loss Still 2 years later.



## Blasirl (Mar 31, 2015)

gabessdsp said:


> Hey there! I was here a couple years ago asking about the 2013 Cruze coolant loss issues. But anyway for the past year or so it's been going back and forth. We replaced the expansion tank, the cap and all of that at first and still experienced loss. My mechanic pressure tested it and we had the dye in it for 3 months and could find nothing at all. Finally we got in to the dealer and they started fixing things under warranty after we paid $500 to fix something else. Since then they have redone the thermostat and thermostat housing, and replaced every single seal in the engine (apparently) plus my head gasket and even got the heads resurfaced.\
> 
> Now a month later my coolant is low again, we are going to top it off hoping it is just air in the system but I would think the dealer handled that as they took it for a test drive.
> 
> It's kind of crippling to us for the dealer to take it back in and not offer a rental car because it adds an extra hour onto my commute. Does anybody have any ideas about what should come next? or do you think there is a way for us to get a rental car from the dealer so I can just take it back in and make them deal with it again? We have about 1 month and 2k miles left on the powertrain warranty.


Try these:

[h=1]Mysterious coolant loss[/h]
[h=1]FIX: Coolant Odors/Coolant Loss From Reservoir[/h]
[h=1]How-To: Replace 2011-2016 Cruze 1.4L Coolant/Water Outlet[/h]


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## Scott205 (Aug 11, 2016)

There is a service bulletin out their for both a water pump issue (2011-2014). It has a 10 year 150,000 mile warranty. If you are experiencing coolant loss and your light comes on, that may be it. My car went from a coolant loss to total failure of the seal in about a month, my local Chevy dealer just replaced mine, although which ever mechanic that work on my car, just sucked. Took him 4 days to replace it and left a clip on one of the air diverters which promptly hit a wheel that week. 

There is something to the water outlets failing about the same time the hose fails on the turbo cars. I believe Blasirl above posted the links.


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## Blasirl (Mar 31, 2015)

TSB


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## coopersmokeypiper (Oct 17, 2017)

There are simply unresolvable issues with the coolant system as shown by GM’s decision to leave a weep hole on top of the expansion tank.


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## gabessdsp (May 2, 2016)

So is there a way to tell if it's the water pump for sure? We really don't have the extra money to go to a dealership, and they "assess it" for like $350 and then find out it's something else that's no longer covered under warranty. Sorry for all the very delayed responses.

But if it is the water pump, and it's indeed covered for 10-years or 150k miles then I'm more than willing to put it right back into their hands to take care of that.


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## gabessdsp (May 2, 2016)

I feel like the answer to my above question is "well it's obvious there'd be a pile of coolant", but that's the thing. Even after filling it back up and letting cardboard sit under it, and running it for a little while there's no drips on the cardboard. And yet after driving for a couple of days of driving the tank is empty, over and over and over again.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

gabessdsp said:


> I feel like the answer to my above question is "well it's obvious there'd be a pile of coolant", but that's the thing. Even after filling it back up and letting cardboard sit under it, and running it for a little while there's no drips on the cardboard. And yet after driving for a couple of days of driving the tank is empty, over and over and over again.


High pressure, internal coolant leak. This is most likely the water pump since everything else has been replaced.


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## gabessdsp (May 2, 2016)

obermd said:


> High pressure, internal coolant leak. This is most likely the water pump since everything else has been replaced.


Where's the coolant going though?


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## CRUISE-CRUZE (Nov 8, 2010)

I did a lot of tests about the cooling, you are boiling the coolant without even knowing since the gauges are not indicating anything wrong to you! See my post below, I ended up changing the thermostat with one tat opens way lower. Did it of a few friends and never had issues since:
http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/34-gen1-1-4l-turbo/225041-1-4-eco-thermostat-swap-221-f-176-f.html
During the hot weather the coolant temperature stays around 184F most of the time. Never lost coolant after the swap!


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## gabessdsp (May 2, 2016)

obermd said:


> High pressure, internal coolant leak. This is most likely the water pump since everything else has been replaced.


Just heard back form the dealer on 2 things, my VIN isn't even under the water pump TSB. And they pulled my water pump, there's no signs of it leaking there.



CRUISE-CRUZE said:


> I did a lot of tests about the cooling, you are boiling the coolant without even knowing since the gauges are not indicating anything wrong to you! See my post below, I ended up changing the thermostat with one tat opens way lower. Did it of a few friends and never had issues since:
> http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/34-gen1-1-4l-turbo/225041-1-4-eco-thermostat-swap-221-f-176-f.html
> During the hot weather the coolant temperature stays around 184F most of the time. Never lost coolant after the swap!



Honestly, I'm going to read your post. But this just seems like something way too easy to be the issue....like why would it only start doing this after 60k miles, and then gradually get worse etc. etc. There would have to also be something else wrong with it. If it was simply just boiling the coolant away that issue should've been apparent from the get-go.


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## gabessdsp (May 2, 2016)

Also not sure if I ever mentioned, this is the 1.8L and pretty much as base model as it gets, and most of the stuff I see is about the 1.4L Turbo or the Eco. Not sure how similar the engines are.

EDIT: Also, fun fact. Been through 3 Gallons of coolant since we last had it looked at at the end of March.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

gabessdsp said:


> Also not sure if I ever mentioned, this is the 1.8L and pretty much as base model as it gets, and most of the stuff I see is about the 1.4L Turbo or the Eco. Not sure how similar the engines are.
> 
> EDIT: Also, fun fact. Been through 3 Gallons of coolant since we last had it looked at at the end of March.


This makes a difference. The water pump warranty extension is only for the 1.4T (LT, Eco, LTZ) trims. Has the thermostat been checked for leaks? My son's 2012 LS had a leak in the thermostat.


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## gabessdsp (May 2, 2016)

obermd said:


> This makes a difference. The water pump warranty extension is only for the 1.4T (LT, Eco, LTZ) trims. Has the thermostat been checked for leaks? My son's 2012 LS had a leak in the thermostat.


Yup they re-checked that today, and they also replaced that when it was last in.

There's still no sign of external leaks either for months. Dye has been put into the system multiple times and I've even tediously gone around every nook and cranny with a UV light and have spotted nothing.


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## alexhatcher (Dec 22, 2016)

Water cooled turbo. any chance its drinking a little coolant?


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

alexhatcher said:


> Water cooled turbo. any chance its drinking a little coolant?


OP's Cruze doesn't have a turbo.


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## blackbird (Nov 6, 2017)

Also for anyone reading the thread who does have a turbocharged engine, it's _extremely_ rare for a water cooled center section to develop an internal crack that causes coolant to leak into the internal oil passages. Depending on the fittings used on the specific turbo, such as common banjo bolt fittings with crush washers on a lot of newer stock turbos, it's not unconceivable for one to leak externally at the fitting which may burn off on the the hot turbo and/or exhaust.


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## gabessdsp (May 2, 2016)

So at this point I'm looking for advice. I have no idea if any dealer will ever even find out the issue for the coolant leak.

I'm not sure where to turn I guess. But I would think anything they do find, should be covered under part & maintenance labor for anything they've already done. Or if it's something they didn't replace yet, since I was bringing it in for 6+ months with the same exact issue during the powertrain warranty, I would think it should still be covered under that same warranty even though it technically expired. Does that seem valid?

I'm still fishing around for ideas but most of the knowledge seems to be about the 1.4L engine not the 1.8L we have. It's probably something really stupid that everybody involved is just overlooking...


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

gabessdsp said:


> So at this point I'm looking for advice. I have no idea if any dealer will ever even find out the issue for the coolant leak.
> 
> I'm not sure where to turn I guess. But I would think anything they do find, should be covered under part & maintenance labor for anything they've already done. Or if it's something they didn't replace yet, since I was bringing it in for 6+ months with the same exact issue during the powertrain warranty, I would think it should still be covered under that same warranty even though it technically expired. Does that seem valid?
> 
> I'm still fishing around for ideas but most of the knowledge seems to be about the 1.4L engine not the 1.8L we have. It's probably something really stupid that everybody involved is just overlooking...


Keep all your receipts so you can help your dealership get GM to cover this under warranty.

One final thought from me - has anyone put your car on a lift and checked all the coolant connections near the bottom of the engine. There are some plastic parts in the GM cooling system and one of them may have developed a hairline crack that's leaking under pressure.


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## gabessdsp (May 2, 2016)

obermd said:


> Keep all your receipts so you can help your dealership get GM to cover this under warranty.
> 
> One final thought from me - has anyone put your car on a lift and checked all the coolant connections near the bottom of the engine. There are some plastic parts in the GM cooling system and one of them may have developed a hairline crack that's leaking under pressure.


Yeah we have everything from them still, we consulted with a lawyer today as well just in case.


I'll mention that when I call them today. Would that be something that might only show up under pressure, in a moving vehicle under certain flex? I know they've run pressure tests on the system.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

gabessdsp said:


> Would that be something that might only show up under pressure, in a moving vehicle under certain flex? I know they've run pressure tests on the system.


In my limited experience in tracing leaks on prior rides, it tends to show when it wants to. Your best odds - go for a ride, get the car fully warmed up. Park it, pop the hood, open a cool drink, wait and watch. I've found the combination of hot engine and rising pressure due to shutdown is the most likely time to find leaks. And when you find it, follow it. I've traced what I thought was an engine problem only to find it was the radiator tank "piddling" on the engine. Once it closed, the pinhole leak was completely invisible.

I've also seen where it only leaks when cold and depressurized. Pop the coolant cap when it's cold and see if anything starts leaking. I'd focus on the water pump bearings for this test.


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## gabessdsp (May 2, 2016)

I want to keep updating this thread until it's fixed, just in case somebody has this issue they can offer suggestions to their mechanic/dealer as well.

GM is covering the repairs, and they ordered brand new heads. Before they just sent the heads out to get re-machined and I have no idea how they would've missed it, but the service manager said their was a hairline fracture on the head itself.


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## alexhatcher (Dec 22, 2016)

ChevyGuy said:


> In my limited experience in tracing leaks on prior rides, it tends to show when it wants to. Your best odds - go for a ride, get the car fully warmed up. Park it, pop the hood, open a cool drink, wait and watch. I've found the combination of hot engine and rising pressure due to shutdown is the most likely time to find leaks. And when you find it, follow it. I've traced what I thought was an engine problem only to find it was the radiator tank "piddling" on the engine. Once it closed, the pinhole leak was completely invisible.
> 
> I've also seen where it only leaks when cold and depressurized. Pop the coolant cap when it's cold and see if anything starts leaking. I'd focus on the water pump bearings for this test.


This.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

gabessdsp said:


> I want to keep updating this thread until it's fixed, just in case somebody has this issue they can offer suggestions to their mechanic/dealer as well.
> 
> GM is covering the repairs, and they ordered brand new heads. Before they just sent the heads out to get re-machined and I have no idea how they would've missed it, but the service manager said their was a hairline fracture on the head itself.


That will do it. I'm surprised your car didn't throw and codes. Kudos to the dealership for tracking this down.


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## gabessdsp (May 2, 2016)

Indeed, and so far...not noticing any coolant loss. I think it might've actually been fixed this time which is really exciting. They has been a very long & overdrawn process.


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