# 2011 Cruze LS manual--Steaming pile of problems. Clutch, A/c Compressor,no codes...



## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

First, contact the local BBB and file a complaint against your dealership. File with your state consumer protection agency as well. If you have a military base nearby, let the Jag office know as well. Military commanders take these type of complaints seriously, even if the complaint is coming from a military contractor. They don't want their service members getting screwed over by unscrupulous car dealerships. I can almost guarantee these steps will get the dealership to do something - they have no choice but to answer a state regulatory agency inquiry. Whether or not they will take care of you is debatable, and based on the comment you relayed from 

Next, get a ODBII adapter and read the codes yourself. There is no way the DIC will display error messages without a code being stored - it's the code storage that triggers the error message. You may have to wait for the next time the error is displayed if the dealership cleared the codes. Record the code and call GM TAC directly with the code. 

At 24K miles, unless you have documentation in for form of customer complaints printed on the dealership service orders you will have a very hard time getting GM to replace the clutch. We know there was a batch of bad clutches delivered to GM by the clutch manufacturer. Specifically, the faulty clutch plates aren't flat so the clutch pad doesn't make proper contact with the plate, leading to premature wear. TravisCruze posted a picture of his faulty clutch plate and the pad was shot but the plate didn't look like it had been touched by the pad. It sounds to me like you may have one of them. The clutch plate should be covered under the powertrain warranty - clutch pads aren't unless it's a faulty plate.

Finally, if GM Corporate won't help you, go to your Secretary of State's web-site and find all the dealerships owned by the same person who owns the two Chevy dealerships. You'll be surprised how many dealerships some of these people own. Avoid these dealerships when shopping for a replacement for your Cruze or you will end up with the same type of problems with whatever car you purchase. The quality of dealership service starts at the very top and a "crook" at the top will result in shoddy service departments working for them. Once you're in a new car, I would fully expect you to badmouth those two dealerships and GM for failing to take care of a problem car - it's human nature. My personal recommendation is that you look at Ford again, simply because you mention you have a 2002 Ford Escape that you really like.

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Stacy (or any other GM rep here) - one story like this on the internet can cost GM more money than a hundred people saying how good their cars are can earn GM. In reality it would be cheaper for GM to replace this Cruze with a new vehicle, even a 2013 Cruze since we know the clutch issues were corrected in the early part of the 2012 model year production run. Normally I would question a story like this except for the fact that OP posted the VIN and GM TAC issue number.


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## Jellybean22 (Dec 19, 2012)

Thank u for the reply. As I am the Jessie in the OP I appreciate the feedback on what we should do. And I also agree that they should replace the car..... 
JB


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Welcome Jessie. I'm really sorry you have what I consider to be a crooked dealership. There are a couple of them here in Denver and I avoid them like the plague. I don't know what your budget is, but given your track record with Fords and the sheer distance you periodically have to drive, I would look at the Ford Fusion or C-Max Hybrids. Both are rated EPA 47/47/47.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

Agreed, local dealers will make or break ownership of a car with an issue. As long as it gets fixed correctly the first or second try and the experience is good, even a major problem can turn into a selling point for that dealer. Likewise, a crummy dealer can make even a small problem a turnoff for an entire make. 

Given the abysmal track record of your local Chevy dealers, I'd steer clear of Chevy too, at least while living in Gainesville. 

If the local Mazda dealer has a good reputation, I'd look hard at a Mazda3 with the Skyactiv engine. My brother really likes his, goofy smiley face and all.


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## wieldymouse (Dec 20, 2012)

We just wanted to update everyone on the issues with the car. Over the last several months, the issues with the shifting problem continued sporadically. Electrical issues began cropping up whenever it was raining or had been; issues like the trunk opening when try to open the door with the key fob, the trunk opening on its own while driving down the road, and the gauges reading all over the place. A few weeks ago, the brakes wouldn't stop the car. My partner said she tried several times to get the car to stop and only after turning the car off and back on did the brakes actually respond. About two weeks ago, the car would not shift into fourth gear at all. There wasn't any hard shift into it or shifting into it and then it popping back out, it simply wouldn't shift; so we began bypassing fourth gear. Oh, and the a/c compressor that was replaced previously has been making loud noises.

We made an appointment with the dealership that we got the car from. The service department wanted us to drive it with a technician after the paperwork was processed. One of the maintenance crew drove the car around the back of the shop and when they came back the technician drove instead; he just took my partner along for the ride since she's the one who drives it most. The technician also couldn't get the car into fourth gear. He drove into it to the maintenance bay and a few hours later we get a call that the transmission is bad and it's being replaced; they had to overnight one. The transmission has now been replaced, but they could not pull any codes or replicate any of the other issues. We were told the a/c compressor noise is normal. Because the dealership's three hours away from us, we won't be able to pick it up until tomorrow. 

Our concerns are elevated over this transmission. Is it going to fix the issue? Are we going to end up with a transmission that does the same thing, as we've read many posts concerning this particular year's transmission that have not been good? How can we trust the integrity of the car now? 

We purchased this vehicle so that we wouldn't have to worry about all of these issues right out of the gate. It had stellar reviews on its European counterpart and on its initial reviews here. I can't see this car driving us all over the country like we need it to; so now we're back to where we started with needing a car that _will _go the distance. 

Something that really bothers me about this experience is the craptastic customer service of these dealerships and Chevy's inability to not only make this a quality car, but to be able to maintain it, as well. I really don't appreciate paying for a piece of crap and then have my family crapped on by Chevy and their dealerships.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Unfortunately the transmission for the 2011 ATs is a hard shifter. They aren't failing, just hard shifting. It sounds like your transmission went beyond hard shifting and actually failed. 

Trunk: PI0924. It replaces the trunk release receiver with one that requires two presses of the remote's trunk release button to open the trunk. (GM Techlink April 2013 - Search Results PI0924) With the problems you've had maybe you can get this done as a warranty repair if you're out of your B2B warranty.

The Cruze has really improved since the 2011 model year, which doesn't help you, but it does reflect that GM took the issues seriously and improved their product as a result.

You say this dealership is 3 hours away. PM Chevy Customer Care here with your address and maybe they can find you a closer dealership.


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## wieldymouse (Dec 20, 2012)

Thank you for the info on the trunk. We'll check into the suggestion. 

As for the closer dealers, there are plenty of Chevy dealers between here and where we purchased it, but we've been to the two closest and the issues weren't resolved. I shouldn't have to keeping picking a new dealership to service and maintain the car properly until I just happen to find one who knows what their doing and understands customer service.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

wieldymouse said:


> Thank you for the info on the trunk. We'll check into the suggestion.
> 
> As for the closer dealers, there are plenty of Chevy dealers between here and where we purchased it, but we've been to the two closest and the issues weren't resolved. I shouldn't have to keeping picking a new dealership to service and maintain the car properly until I just happen to find one who knows what their doing and understands customer service.


Contact GM and file a case with them if you're having no luck with the dealers. 

Sent from mobile.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

wieldmouse, 

We are certainly here to assist you with this concern. Please private message us your name, VIN, phone number, and the names of the dealerships you have worked with so we can address the issue. 

Erica Tiffany
Chevrolet Customer Care


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## wieldymouse (Dec 20, 2012)

Picked up the car and it only had 5 miles driven on it, some of which were with my partner on the test drive. More miles were driven just for troubleshooting elsewhere. The service department could not replicate any of the other issues, but the transmission was replaced. Still awaiting contact from customer service. I'll post more about the driving experience of the car in a little while.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

wieldymouse, 

I truly apologize, I came back to check this thread, I must have over looked your private message. I will respond shortly. 

Erica Tiffany
Chevrolet Customer Care


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

wieldymouse, did you have them replace the trunk receiver with the double click receiver?


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