# Another dead battery



## 2014Oilburner (Feb 1, 2015)

I have a 2014 CTD, build date of 8/14. So I had a dead battery one morning about a month or so ago and the dealer put the battery on a GM approved machine to charge and test the battery...about a hour and a half later the dealer tells me the battery is bad...so they replace the battery under warranty and all is good again. So, I go on vacation, and my car sits in my driveway for 8 days and I come home to a dead battery. I put a battery charger on the battery over night and now the car starts up just like it always has...anyways...what's the deal with the battery going dead...has GM figured out what the problem is and fixed this issue? It's pretty clear that something is draining the battery with this car. I know I've read about the neg battery cable or something being replaced but is there a TBS that the dealer has on this issue ? I can't figure out why the dealer didn't check with GM before they replaced the battery the first time.


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## chevrasaki (May 1, 2015)

If the battery keeps dying, its time to start looking for a short, or looking at the alternator.


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## 2014Oilburner (Feb 1, 2015)

The car is completely stock as it came from the factory....DIC says it's charging the battery and the car is fine everyday....it's just when it sits something is draining the battery. I'm sure my car is not the only one....GM has got to know about this issue....I remember reading something about the neg battery cable. Sure would like to hear from others that have had the battery draining down when the car sits for more than a few days


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## jsusanka (Jan 31, 2011)

I would take it to the best dealer you can find and document everything. Sometimes you can never find electrical gremlins no matter what make or model of the car. I think usually the first place to start is look at the electrical schematics for the car and ensure continuity on all the grounds. But who knows GM may have a new procedure. I have seen Toyotas have ghost electrical gremlins do the same thing and toyota has given up and bought the car back. It was on a camry (2004 I think) a friend of mine had and he was still under the 3yr/36,000 mile warranty. His didn't have to sit 8 days and he was going through batteries like underwear and toyota couldn't find the problem. So since your car is so new and still under the bumper to bumper I would take it to GM and open a case and document everything. If it keeps happening and they can't find the problem they should buy the car back.

Electrical problems suck on any car and can be really hard if not impossible to fix. It happens.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

A parasitic draw test needs to be run on the car in its locked, powered down state.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

2014Oilburner said:


> Sure would like to hear from others that have had the battery draining down when the car sits for more than a few days


A few have reported that in the forum. I think I'm observing a pattern that it tends to happen if the car sits unlocked. Was yours locked or unlocked?

Another user with a diesel reported that his DIC voltages had a wide range until he rebuilt his battery and charging cables. Then everything settled down. So there might be a cable issue that prevents the battery from getting charged properly.


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## 2014Oilburner (Feb 1, 2015)

The car was locked when it sat for 8 days.....battery was drained enough that even the door locks wouldn't open....had to use the key in the door. The electrical system goes crazy when the battery is drained...engine fan kicks on and dash lights go crazy when you turn on the key.


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## skip66 (Jan 29, 2016)

The bottom line is they have no idea why the battery goes dead. My 2014 ctd just came home from 28 days at the dealer and they and chevrolet could not find anything wrong. My case has gone from customer assistance to GM executive office and now to the legal office. All I want is to get my car fixed!


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

skip66 said:


> The bottom line is they have no idea why the battery goes dead. My 2014 ctd just came home from 28 days at the dealer and they and chevrolet could not find anything wrong. My case has gone from customer assistance to GM executive office and now to the legal office. All I want is to get my car fixed!


In your bio you state the following:


Biography:Shop foreman at a Chevy dealership for 13 years. 10 years as diesel truck mechanic. 


Given your experience what do you think it is?


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## smkn600ctd (Dec 16, 2013)

I've had no end of electrical issues my 2014. Ac not blowing cold, the ac fan not blowing at all, a electrical noise through the BT for the person on the other side of a phone call, DIC saying to calibrate the Windows. All that seems to have been fix when then replaced the fuse box and the whole wiring harness. 

Now it sat for 7 days...and the battery is dead. Jumped it and it was charging at 12.8...then through out the day eventually got up to 14 bolts. 

Of course now it at 37k and out of warranty.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

This thread is also relevant. 

http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/64-g...cussion/152305-battery-drain-2014-diesel.html


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## skip66 (Jan 29, 2016)

My problem occurs only when the outside temperature goes below freezing. I think that the problem is in the DEF heater system but I have been unable to prove it. The def tank has a temperature sensor in it which is monitored by the ECM. At some unknown temperature the ECM tells the glow plug module to turn on the heaters. The heaters are only SUPPOSED to be on when the engine is running. I have been retired for over 10 years and out of the loop on most of this stuff. If anyone else has any ideas on what might turn on and drain a battery when the engine is off and below freezing, I would like to hear them. Thanks


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

skip66 said:


> My problem occurs only when the outside temperature goes below freezing. I think that the problem is in the DEF heater system but I have been unable to prove it. The def tank has a temperature sensor in it which is monitored by the ECM. At some unknown temperature the ECM tells the glow plug module to turn on the heaters. The heaters are only SUPPOSED to be on when the engine is running.


Interesting theory. A quick Google says DEF freezes at around 12F. As long as there's room for it to expand, allowing it to freeze doesn't seem to create a big problem. However, I would suspect that the car is likely to start heating it if it's "disturbed" in anyway - perhaps thinking you're are about to climb in and go somewhere. IIRC, on the gassers, things like the fuel pump will start when you open the door so it's ready to go when you turn the key.


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## au201 (May 18, 2013)

ChevyGuy said:


> Interesting theory. A quick Google says DEF freezes at around 12F. As long as there's room for it to expand, allowing it to freeze doesn't seem to create a big problem. However, I would suspect that the car is likely to start heating it if it's "disturbed" in anyway - perhaps thinking you're are about to climb in and go somewhere. IIRC, on the gassers, things like the fuel pump will start when you open the door so it's ready to go when you turn the key.


Not sure about that on the gassers. Only ever heard my fuel pump when the key was "on". However, isn't it true on the diesels that the glow plugs start up when the drivers door is opened? Could it be the same case with the DEF heater?


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

au201 said:


> Not sure about that on the gassers. Only ever heard my fuel pump when the key was "on". However, isn't it true on the diesels that the glow plugs start up when the drivers door is opened? Could it be the same case with the DEF heater?
> 
> 
> Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App


I have a 2012 diesel and in my 4th winter and have never seen the glow plug light on except in the start up check. 8 months ago I was away for 22 days and when I got back the car started right away. We also have a Hyundai petrol car and it started right away as well. Even at 1C the car starts easily without using the glow plugs. Is it possible that a light in the glove box or trunk are not switching off?


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

Aussie said:


> Is it possible that a light in the glove box or trunk are not switching off?


Glove box light? Wuz that? (it disappeared before 2013.) But I think both would be on the "10 minute" bus that shuts down 10 minutes after the last "action".

Question: Does this car have keyless entry? (Don't have to press a button on the remote to enter.) I think there's a option to have the car unlock just by walking into range. No need to press the button on the door handle. That's going to chew up some power over a long period of time.

The other idea is a button that has become flaky and keeps the car "awake". A bad trunk button could do it.


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## 2014Oilburner (Feb 1, 2015)

My battery drained after the car sat in my driveway for a week in 80 degree weather....I've stopped by my dealer and complained about the problem. The dealer set me up a appointment and is giving me a loaner car...pretty happy about that...but not feeling too confident about the dealer finding the problem after reading about this issue on here. I really like this car and really want to keep buying a American car...hopefully another diesel...no doubt that GM knows this problem exists with the diesel model. I just hope GM supports the Cruze diesel and has a fix for this battery drain issue.


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## skip66 (Jan 29, 2016)

Another odd thing about this. The battery only discharges down to 10 volts. It has never gone completely dead, even after sitting for 3 weeks after the "event".


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## 2014Oilburner (Feb 1, 2015)

I don't know how low the volts were when my battery drained, but it was so low that the door locks wouldn't open with the remote. Charged the battery for a day and the car starts and drives just fine for now.
I'll bet this battery drain issue with the diesel model affects a lot more cars than people believe but they don't know it because the car is driven everyday. I think this issue is the cause of all the batteries that have failed early with the diesel model. I've never had a car or motorcycle that had a battery fail within 2 years.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

2014Oilburner said:


> I'll bet this battery drain issue with the diesel model affects a lot more cars than people believe but they don't know it because the car is driven everyday. I think this issue is the cause of all the batteries that have failed early with the diesel model. I've never had a car or motorcycle that had a battery fail within 2 years.


That's a good point. Mine has never sat longer than 4-5 days, but my battery did go bad last winter.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

2014Oilburner said:


> My battery drained after the car sat in my driveway for a week in 80 degree weather....I've stopped by my dealer and complained about the problem. The dealer set me up a appointment and is giving me a loaner car...pretty happy about that...but not feeling too confident about the dealer finding the problem after reading about this issue on here. I really like this car and really want to keep buying a American car...hopefully another diesel...no doubt that GM knows this problem exists with the diesel model. I just hope GM supports the Cruze diesel and has a fix for this battery drain issue.


Hi there 2014Oilburner,


We're sorry to hear about this battery concern with your Cruze, but we are glad to see that your dealership is working with you to resolve this! Our team has also located your private message and has responded to it. 


Sincerely,


Chelsea D.
Chevrolet Customer Care


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

Another thought: Does the car have anything plugged into the ODBII port? The reason I ask is that I think my Bluetooth dongle is powered 24/7. So even if your device appears "dark", it could be drawing power.


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## 2014Oilburner (Feb 1, 2015)

ChevyGuy said:


> Another thought: Does the car have anything plugged into the ODBII port? The reason I ask is that I think my Bluetooth dongle is powered 24/7. So even if your device appears "dark", it could be drawing power.


My car is just like it came from the factory...only thing added was fog lights and they were OEM and installed by the dealer


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## KENSTV123 (Sep 21, 2014)

jblackburn said:


> A parasitic draw test needs to be run on the car in its locked, powered down state.


Yep, battery is either not being charged properly (not likely) or there is a larger than normal standby draw, the computers all go to sleep and only draw a few micro amps at rest, not enough to deaden a new battery in a few days-so something else is pulling a load all the time, can be corrosion causing leakage or virtually
anything, pulling fuses is where I'd start with a current meter on it


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

KENSTV123 said:


> Yep, battery is either not being charged properly (not likely)


I'm not so sure. A number of diesel owners have noted that they see widely fluctuating system voltages - including below 12.0V! This user indicated his system voltage stabilized after he rebuilt all the power cabling.


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## DslGate (Jun 29, 2016)

ChevyGuy said:


> I'm not so sure. A number of diesel owners have noted that they see widely fluctuating system voltages - including below 12.0V! This user indicated his system voltage stabilized after he rebuilt all the power cabling.



When I took my car in for frequent regen issues, they replaced the alternator since I was seeing voltage variations from 11.3 up to 14 on the DIC. OBD 2 download confirmed this and Chevy authorized new alternator. Now that battery issue resolved, I need to get the frequent regens resolved. As I stated in prior past, use of pure ( nest) Phillips diesel with no bio hasn't helped.


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## dougc905 (May 24, 2015)

While this doesn't solve the problem, a brute force cure for dead batteries while sitting is simply to put the car on a trickle charger when you park it for any length of time. Not much use in an airport parking lot but ok for your driveway.


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## plasticplant (Mar 26, 2013)

DslGate said:


> When I took my car in for frequent regen issues, they replaced the alternator since I was seeing voltage variations from 11.3 up to 14 on the DIC. OBD 2 download confirmed this and Chevy authorized new alternator. Now that battery issue resolved, I need to get the frequent regens resolved. As I stated in prior past, use of pure ( nest) Phillips diesel with no bio hasn't helped.


I'm sure you mentioned this before, but how do you drive the car? Are you mostly city? Highway/interstate? Or a good mix of both? The reason I ask is because many people seem to keep complaining about frequent regens only after 100-200 miles. When I first bought this car I was doing much more frequent interstate driving. My regens were usually taking place around 700-1000 miles apart. Now I seem to be doing a lot more city driving and my regens are right around the "complain point" of every 100-200 miles apart. I'm no rocket scientist, but I attribute the frequency to the short tripping, low speed, stop and start driving that makes up city driving. I've actually just recently had a regen go at 69 miles. Anyway, I've also noticed that there is what I like to call a "weak" regen. This is what takes place when your in the city and the car goes into regen. You don't get that constant 2k RPM over a good number of miles, or any real chance to really get on it and get some heat moving past those sensors that are caked with soot. The car completes it cycle, but the soot will build extremely fast (at one point I got to 17 soot on the SG2 in a matter of 10 miles). These seems to be much less of a issue when the regen starts and fully completes on the highway/interstate. Anyway, it seems until we get a software update (looks to be in the works) that allows the car to perform a proper regen within the city limits, this is going to be a continuing occurrence. I honestly feel this whole issue is based on the regen program rather than sensor design/location (IMHO).


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## 2014Oilburner (Feb 1, 2015)

dougc905 said:


> While this doesn't solve the problem, a brute force cure for dead batteries while sitting is simply to put the car on a trickle charger when you park it for any length of time. Not much use in an airport parking lot but ok for your driveway.


Yea, I thought of that too...but does anyone think that is acceptable. I've never had any car in my life that you would have to do such a thing. There is a defect from the factory with this car and hopefully GM will fix it.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

plasticplant said:


> I'm sure you mentioned this before, but how do you drive the car? Are you mostly city? Highway/interstate? Or a good mix of both? The reason I ask is because many people seem to keep complaining about frequent regens only after 100-200 miles. When I first bought this car I was doing much more frequent interstate driving. My regens were usually taking place around 700-1000 miles apart. Now I seem to be doing a lot more city driving and my regens are right around the "complain point" of every 100-200 miles apart. I'm no rocket scientist, but I attribute the frequency to the short tripping, low speed, stop and start driving that makes up city driving. I've actually just recently had a regen go at 69 miles. Anyway, I've also noticed that there is what I like to call a "weak" regen. This is what takes place when your in the city and the car goes into regen. You don't get that constant 2k RPM over a good number of miles, or any real chance to really get on it and get some heat moving past those sensors that are caked with soot. The car completes it cycle, but the soot will build extremely fast (at one point I got to 17 soot on the SG2 in a matter of 10 miles). These seems to be much less of a issue when the regen starts and fully completes on the highway/interstate. Anyway, it seems until we get a software update (looks to be in the works) that allows the car to perform a proper regen within the city limits, this is going to be a continuing occurrence. I honestly feel this whole issue is based on the regen program rather than sensor design/location (IMHO).


Although we are veering way off topic for this thread, I will state that I have observed the same behavior in mine. The soot does build slower after a full highway regen.


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## 2014Oilburner (Feb 1, 2015)

Well I dropped my CTD off at the dealership this morning to test whatever they need to try to fiqure why the battery is draining after being parked. The dealer called me this afternoon and told me that the draw on the battery was normal....and that they are parking the car for 3 or more days to see if the battery will drain dead again...it's already done it two times for me in my driveway and I'm not feeling too good about this...seems to me there should be a more actuate test that a tech could do to find the problem...anyways...they gave me a loner car...2016 LT Malibu...pretty nice car....really surprised how light feeling the new Malibu feels driving it...light year ahead of the 2012 Malibu I owned...seems pretty peppy too...really like the ride so far, but by the cars computer the fuel mileage best number is nowhere near my CTD. I have the rest of the week to drive this 2016 Malibu to see how it really compares, but GM really has done wonders with this new Malibu.


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

I take off the negative cable and I put a meter between the cable and the battery. Then if it's drawing more than .03A I start pulling fuses until the load drops. Now I have the fuse figured out so I'll follow the circuit until the load drops again. 

May be worth a try if the dealership keeps lying, however I did have a radio in a 09ish gmc canyon that would act up now and again and leave the owner with a dead battery. Was drawing .17A all night long.


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## 2014Oilburner (Feb 1, 2015)

Well the dealer called me today and said my car was ready for pick up. They let the car sit for 3 days and said the battery drain was normal...even though I told them the car was parked for 8 days when the battery was so drained that the door locks wouldn't work with the remote.

Anyways they said they couldn't reproduce the problem...I said this is the second time this has happened... the dealer just looked at me with a blank stare. I said well what about the brand new battery you just put in and it went dead....what caused that... again the dealer just looked at me with a blank look on his face. I just can't understand why the dealer couldn't at least let the car sit parked for 8 days like it did when the failure happened the second time.

The bottom line is the dealer and GM did the least amount of effort to solve this problem as they could just to say they did check it out...Nobody at the dealer or GM is concerned that the battery has in fact drained dead while the car has been parked...not once but twice.. and there is in fact a problem with this car.

The paper work says they called the tech line and it says GM has not had this type of problem with the Cruze diesel reported as of date...I know that is a lie.

On the plus side the dealer did give me a loner car....2016 Mailbu...a very nice riding car and I was impressed with it. The car felt light and peppy with more room than my CTD...fuel mileage was very impressive...I put 200 miles on it driving it the same way I do on my ride to work that I do with my CTD and it got 35.5 mpg...my CTD was saying 40mpg...very impressed with the new 2016 Malibu and wouldn't mind having a new Malibu...but the thing is no matter how nice the cars GM is making now, there is no way I would buy another GM product if they can't support and fix this new GM car I'm driving now. I really want to buy American cars...I really do, and I really like this CTD, but if companys like GM, think I'm going to be loyal to them if they can't or won't fix a problem they are simply out of touch with the American buyer...I'll go back to Honda or Hyundai with my next car and the **** with the American car companys.


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

2014Oilburner said:


> Well the dealer called me today and said my car was ready for pick up. They let the car sit for 3 days and said the battery drain was normal...even though I told them the car was parked for 8 days when the battery was so drained that the door locks wouldn't work with the remote.
> 
> Anyways they said they couldn't reproduce the problem...I said this is the second time this has happened... the dealer just looked at me with a blank stare. I said well what about the brand new battery you just put in and it went dead....what caused that... again the dealer just looked at me with a blank look on his face. I just can't understand why the dealer couldn't at least let the car sit parked for 8 days like it did when the failure happened the second time.
> 
> ...


Neither Honda nor Hyundai offer a diesel in America. So you may want to look into VW for your next purchase.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Tomko said:


> Neither Honda nor Hyundai offer a diesel in America. So you may want to look into VW for your next purchase.


LOL.

Not anytime soon...


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## jmlo96 (May 2, 2015)

2014Oilburner said:


> Well the dealer called me today and said my car was ready for pick up. They let the car sit for 3 days and said the battery drain was normal...even though I told them the car was parked for 8 days when the battery was so drained that the door locks wouldn't work with the remote.
> 
> Anyways they said they couldn't reproduce the problem...I said this is the second time this has happened... the dealer just looked at me with a blank stare. I said well what about the brand new battery you just put in and it went dead....what caused that... again the dealer just looked at me with a blank look on his face. I just can't understand why the dealer couldn't at least let the car sit parked for 8 days like it did when the failure happened the second time.
> 
> ...


I think this is more a problem with the dealership. I'd say it's time to try a different dealership. The reason they didn't keep it for 8 days is because they wanted their loaner car back. Unfortunately problems like this are hard to detect and require a lot of skill. It could happen to any car company. Heck, I've seen my fair shair of Honda electrical problems at our Honda side of the dealer. They all have their problems.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

Tomko said:


> Neither Honda nor Hyundai offer a diesel in America. So you may want to look into VW for your next purchase.


You don't have this? 

Hyundai i30 Premium 1.6-litre turbodiesel review | CarsGuide


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Aussie said:


> You don't have this?
> 
> Hyundai i30 Premium 1.6-litre turbodiesel review | CarsGuide


Nope. Hyundai has lots of GDI engines, but the only diesels we have are BMW, Mercedes, VW/Audi (no longer), the Cruze (next year anyway), and mostly large pickups (Ram 1500 and Colorado/Canyon being the exception). 

Last I heard Mazda was the one closest to bringing another passenger diesel in, the 2.2L Skyactiv.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

jblackburn said:


> Nope. Hyundai has lots of GDI engines, but the only diesels we have are BMW, Mercedes, VW/Audi (no longer), the Cruze (next year anyway), and mostly large pickups (Ram 1500 and Colorado/Canyon being the exception).
> 
> Last I heard Mazda was the one closest to bringing another passenger diesel in, the 2.2L Skyactiv.


Here is a preview.

2016 Mazda 6 GT Diesel Review | CarAdvice


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

I got a low battery in my CTD 2 days ago, it wouldn't even give me instrument lights with 11.5 volts in it. The problem was self inflicted and not a car problem though. I got the road service to give me a jump start and all is good again. Lesson, don't park for 3.5 hours leaving radio and dash cam on. Car will be four in August and battery is original.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

2014Oilburner said:


> On the plus side the dealer did give me a loner car....2016 Mailbu...a very nice riding car and I was impressed with it. The car felt light and peppy with more room than my CTD...fuel mileage was very impressive...I put 200 miles on it driving it the same way I do on my ride to work that I do with my CTD and it got 35.5 mpg...my CTD was saying 40mpg...very impressed with the new 2016 Malibu and wouldn't mind having a new Malibu...but the thing is no matter how nice the cars GM is making now, there is no way I would buy another GM product if they can't support and fix this new GM car I'm driving now. I really want to buy American cars...I really do, and I really like this CTD, but if companys like GM, think I'm going to be loyal to them if they can't or won't fix a problem they are simply out of touch with the American buyer...I'll go back to Honda or Hyundai with my next car and the **** with the American car companys.


The problem with the Cruze diesel is low production numbers which effects how timely any issues get addressed as well as mechanics unfamiliarity with the car. Isn't it something like only 5000 diesel cruze a year? At those numbers are you even going to be able to get parts 10 years from now? That might seem like a silly question but if you ever looked at a 10+ year old Lincoln vs a ford you will see how low production effects aftermarket company's from making spare parts since there is no profit in it. 

Malibu with a gas engine(or cruze for that matter) sells 100,000+ cars a year, so you can guess how this will effect reliability and mechanic familiarity.


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

spacedout said:


> The problem with the Cruze diesel is low production numbers which effects how timely any issues get addressed as well as mechanics unfamiliarity with the car. Isn't it something like only 5000 diesel cruze a year? At those numbers are you even going to be able to get parts 10 years from now? That might seem like a silly question but if you ever looked at a 10+ year old Lincoln vs a ford you will see how low production effects aftermarket company's from making spare parts since there is no profit in it.
> 
> Malibu with a gas engine(or cruze for that matter) sells 100,000+ cars a year, so you can guess how this will effect reliability and mechanic familiarity.


There was an estimated total of 16-17,000 CTD produced. 

http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/64-g.../136178-production-numbers-2.html#post2324497

Notwithstanding the commonality with other Cruze, CTD specific parts were used in large quantities in Europe or shared in North America with Duramax engines. Some parts were even shared with ATS (brakes, hubs and rotors) and SRX (transmission). 

However, some parts, such as those related to the DEF, are so far unique to the CTD. It is hoped that they will reappear in updated form in the next CTD and in that way be backwards compatible with our cars. 

But because of the low production number, it is unreasonable to expect that technicians will be familiar with CTDs in any way. They are rare. And I suspect that most technicians will spend their careers without ever working on one.


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## 2014Oilburner (Feb 1, 2015)

Tomko said:


> Neither Honda nor Hyundai offer a diesel in America. So you may want to look into VW for your next purchase.


I really love this CTD.....but truthfully I'm really starting to think buying a diesel car was a mistake and diesel cars are going to die out in the US. 
The truth is GM came out with this diesel and didn't even promote it...GM couldn't had done less to promote the diesel car....hardly anybody in America even knows GM made a Cruze diesel.
Then GM only offered the diesel in the highest most expensive trim so most people wouldn't even look at it in the showroom. GM sold so few diesels cars that I doubt GM will ever offer another diesel car in America dispite what we all have read about the 2017 Cruze simply because GM won't make money selling diesel cars in America.. Americans simply don't want a diesel car... mostly because most Americans don't know what they are missing IMO.


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## Cruzen Vegas (Aug 27, 2015)

The car going dead is actually just a battery problem, its the crappy Gm Batteries, even a new one can have an internal drain on it, I know, I had the same problem as you in my gasser


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## 2014Oilburner (Feb 1, 2015)

Cruzen Vegas said:


> The car going dead is actually just a battery problem, its the crappy Gm Batteries, even a new one can have an internal drain on it, I know, I had the same problem as you in my gasser


I don't know...can a brand new battery just one day drain dead and then after it's charged with a battery charger stay charged and be normal the next day...I would think if a battery is defective it will keep on draining. In my experience a battery is either good or bad...good batterys give no problems and bad batterys always have to be jump started and you replace them.

I just don't buy that the OEM batterys are made crappy...for one thing how could any company stay in business with too many warranty claims against their product and it's not like these batterys are new technology...just hard to believe a battery company would make a crappy battery and expect to stay in business for very long.


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## Cruzen Vegas (Aug 27, 2015)

I'm telling you, just get another brand battery and start with that, at least you can eliminate the battery as the problem


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

spacedout said:


> The problem with the Cruze diesel is low production numbers which effects how timely any issues get addressed as well as mechanics unfamiliarity with the car. Isn't it something like only 5000 diesel cruze a year? At those numbers are you even going to be able to get parts 10 years from now? That might seem like a silly question but if you ever looked at a 10+ year old Lincoln vs a ford you will see how low production effects aftermarket company's from making spare parts since there is no profit in it.
> 
> Malibu with a gas engine(or cruze for that matter) sells 100,000+ cars a year, so you can guess how this will effect reliability and mechanic familiarity.


Fast forward 32 years from 1984.... I have a 1984 Ford Tempo diesel as a hobby car and I can still get parts for it. That's a a car I would imagine was originally sold in lower numbers than the CTD and there are probably only a handful left in the country. Some of the parts require a little bit of digging, but they are out there. our Cruze diesels will be the same way. Someone will always have a way to keep them on the road. 

but I digress, this topic is about batteries....


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## skip66 (Jan 29, 2016)

I am now on battery # 3 . The last two being Interstate batteries. The car still kills the battery.


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