# Scotty kilmer says cruze one of top worst cars ever made



## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Take a look around the site on a desktop browser and you'll see our answer. We created a badge system starting at 100,000 miles and going up from there - many of us have these badges.


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## Thebigzeus (Dec 2, 2018)

I personally think he's a tool and IIRC he's paid by Ford I believe it was. https://jalopnik.com/this-emmy-award-winning-youtube-mechanic-is-full-of-shi-1696524549


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## Ma v e n (Oct 8, 2018)

Will most Gen1 Cruzes make it to 100k miles without something "major" like a water pump, camshaft cover or intake manifold?.....No probably not. Doesn't make it a notoriously "bad" car though.

Scotty Kilmer is a tool. He's a sensationalist douchebag of the highest order who is so out of touch with current tech that his videos are cringe worthy and difficult to watch. I only check out ones referred to me by people who are confused by the **** he spews and the proper procedures I try to get people to espouse.

Here's a particular post of mine where I also mention how I feel about his videos and breakdown some of the crap he's spewing.



Ma v e n said:


> neonguy528 said:
> 
> 
> > Scotty Kilmer on YouTube is a 40+ year mechanic. Here's what he says about auto stop: https://youtu.be/L7524u5w4ZE
> ...


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## Ravenkeeper (Sep 10, 2017)

I think all of 100K+ Cruzers, especially 1st Gen, need to go comment on his BS video, and post a mileage/km photo.


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## Rivergoer (Mar 30, 2017)

100K is just getting broke in.. @*CruzeEcoBlueTopaz* achieved a 400,000 mile badge, quite awhile ago too.

See Post #172: https://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/27-fuel-economy/13400-monthly-avg-mpg-log-18.html


@*diesel* put 200K on his ‘14 diesel Cruze in 3 years.

Documented here:

https://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/64-...91746-200k-miles-2014-chevy-cruze-diesel.html


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

He claims the weak point is the transmission and cites ONE customer that's gone though several. I think that one guy went though more transmissions than the entire forum - three automatic transmissions in 70K miles.


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## Jondaytona (Apr 26, 2018)

So because he worked on one Cruze that had multiple transmission issues at 70k miles means ALL of the Cruzes are junk. Got it. Furthermore, is there really a manufacturer out there producing a single line of cars where every one produced made it through 100k miles with only fluid/filter changes and withOUT a single repair? I find that impossible. And lastly, in one of his videos he suggests a cheap and quick fix to a broken brake line is to simply use a compression fitting and then holds up the package the fitting came in to show his viewers, but on that package states in bold print "DO NOT USE ON BRAKE LINES".

Lol, yeah like everyone is saying....what a tool


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## winks79 (Dec 20, 2013)

I don't consider an intake manifold, or valve cover gasket to be major. Do regular maintenance as you should and the car will last a long time. A water pump isn't major either, plus GM extended that warranty to 10yr/150k miles. All that being said, I guess for someone that is not mechanically inclined, and has to pay someone for every little thing, any car is a piece of junk. I bought my daughter a new 2013 LTZ/RS, it now has 113k miles on it. No major issues. 

No tranny issues, I've drained and filled it 4 times now, no big deal. One valve cover gasket, one set of plugs, one coil pack, 2 sets of cam actuator seals, drive belt, belt tensioner, turbo oil feed line, and a battery. The battery being the most expensive. A couple of the items I listed were not really needed, just preventative maintenance, drive belt, turbo oil feed line, etc. Still on original water pump, intake manifold, and valve cover. These are the items that most seem to have to replace. This is truly all I've done to this car, besides always changing oil and filter every 5k miles with synthetic oil. Brake pads are still original and I'm sure will not have to be replaced before 150-175k.

I've spent around $200 in parts over 6 1/2 years, plus $150 for a battery that any car would have needed. I'd say that is darn good myself. Been one of the better cars I've owned, and very easy to work on, and parts are fairly inexpensive for this little car. It only went to the dealer one time for the recall on flashing the ECM for the updated emissions crap. Never had a warranty claim for anything. If I needed another, I would not hesitate to buy another Gen 1 Cruze.


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## Lazer (Feb 14, 2016)

I like our cruze, do the proper services as needed, and have not had any major issues, it feels like a solid car. I think Scotty is wrong on this one.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

His Youtube account should be deleted. He spews so much bullshit it isn't even funny.

Cruzes aren't known for reliability, but I doubt anything he is whining about with them in that video is even an issue (like the auto transmissions above).


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

Scotty is annoying as ****. I don't even watch his videos. If someone sends me one, I'm like NOPE, stop wasting my time. I couldn't even make it through a whole minute of that one.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

He looks like if Geddy Lee didn't have talent and instead chose to make Youtube videos about cars, without having any actual knowledge about that, either.

Complete toolbox.


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## waynefoutz (May 23, 2018)

Anything not made by Toyota is an "endless money pit," according to him. Then, he continually endorses various forms of stop leak and additives that I would NEVER put in any car I own, not unless it was to just get me home so I could junk the vehicle when I got there. I think the guy is getting paid by these companies. That's my two cents. I do subscribe to and watch his videos, but I don't take them seriously. He gets things right once in a while, but then so does a stopped clock.


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## bign3230 (Apr 29, 2019)

I have a 2011 Cruze with 117k on it. A month after buying it, it started using a lot of oil and was down on power. After tearing the engine down I've found that 2 of my pistons have broken ring lands. Luckily I'm doing the work myself or I'd be out some big money. I don't know if this is a problem with any Cruze after the 2011 model, but at the least it's a somewhat common problem for that year.


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## plano-doug (Jul 1, 2015)

bign3230 said:


> I have a 2011 Cruze with 117k on it. A month after buying it, it started using a lot of oil and was down on power. After tearing the engine down I've found that 2 of my pistons have broken ring lands. Luckily I'm doing the work myself or I'd be out some big money. I don't know if this is a problem with any Cruze after the 2011 model, but at the least it's a somewhat common problem for that year.


Which motor do you have? TIA.

Doug

.


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## bign3230 (Apr 29, 2019)

It's the LUJ.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

bign3230 said:


> I have a 2011 Cruze with 117k on it. A month after buying it, it started using a lot of oil and was down on power. After tearing the engine down I've found that 2 of my pistons have broken ring lands. Luckily I'm doing the work myself or I'd be out some big money. I don't know if this is a problem with any Cruze after the 2011 model, but at the least it's a somewhat common problem for that year.


The 2011's had a few issues but what you're seeing is more likely lack of maintenance by the previous owner.


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## bign3230 (Apr 29, 2019)

obermd said:


> bign3230 said:
> 
> 
> > I have a 2011 Cruze with 117k on it. A month after buying it, it started using a lot of oil and was down on power. After tearing the engine down I've found that 2 of my pistons have broken ring lands. Luckily I'm doing the work myself or I'd be out some big money. I don't know if this is a problem with any Cruze after the 2011 model, but at the least it's a somewhat common problem for that year.
> ...


I really doubt it being that it's a known problem. (check link below)

If it were rings or bearing failure I would assume it was caused by lack of maintenance.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cr...mitting-there-problem-1-4l-pistons.html?amp=1


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## plano-doug (Jul 1, 2015)

obermd said:


> The 2011's had a few issues but what you're seeing is more likely lack of maintenance by the previous owner.


So this is not related to the other piston issues cited here?

Doug

.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

plano-doug said:


> So this is not related to the other piston issues cited here?
> 
> Doug
> 
> .


It was pretty common for 11's. It happened to other years as well, but 2011 is the outlier.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

jblackburn said:


> It was pretty common for 11's. It happened to other years as well, but 2011 is the outlier.


I don't think we've seen any other reports of the pistons failing after 100,000+ miles in the 2011s. Other than this report, I believe all the piston failures were well within the power train warranty and most were within the bumper to bumper warranty.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

obermd said:


> I don't think we've seen any other reports of the pistons failing after 100,000+ miles in the 2011s. Other than this report, I believe all the piston failures were well within the power train warranty and most were within the bumper to bumper warranty.


Dave Passe and Erin? blew up their 2011's fairly recently well after the 100k powertrain.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

jblackburn said:


> Dave Passe and Erin? blew up their 2011's fairly recently well after the 100k powertrain.


Crap - then the piston issue may not have fully been fixed. Knowing there's an existing bulletin I would recommend anyone who has to replace pistons after the powertrain warranty report this to the NHTSA, and reference the existing bulletin. It sounds like the 2011s may actually need to be recalled to fix this for everyone.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

obermd said:


> Crap - then the piston issue may not have fully been fixed. Knowing there's an existing bulletin I would recommend anyone who has to replace pistons after the powertrain warranty report this to the NHTSA, and reference the existing bulletin. It sounds like the 2011s may actually need to be recalled to fix this for everyone.


If GM cared, they'd extend powertrain coverage for cracked pistons on the Gen 2's as well, but I don't see that happening.

If mine's going to do it, there's 20k of warranty left.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

jblackburn said:


> If GM cared, they'd extend powertrain coverage for cracked pistons on the Gen 2's as well, but I don't see that happening.


Looks like they solved the issue simply by discontinuing the engine entirely (at least the LE2, that is). I mean, obviously, if it no longer exists, the problem no longer exists, right?


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

MP81 said:


> Looks like they solved the issue simply by discontinuing the engine entirely (at least the LE2, that is). I mean, obviously, if it no longer exists, the problem no longer exists, right?


Still used in the Buick Encore. But I think they mostly solved the LSPI issues with the 2018 revision to pistons and oil spec.

The 1.5T's have it worse than the 1.4T.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

jblackburn said:


> Still used in the Buick Encore. But I think they mostly solved the LSPI issues with the 2018 revision to pistons and oil spec.


Nope - the LE2 has been discontinued for 2020! It's now stuck with only the LUV again.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

MP81 said:


> Nope - the LE2 has been discontinued for 2020! It's now stuck with only the LUV again.


Awesome. Make an engine tons better than the old one, with better reliability to boot, and then discontinue it in favor of the old lump that has 2349823978423987x more problems.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

jblackburn said:


> Awesome. Make an engine tons better than the old one, with better reliability to boot, and then discontinue it in favor of the old lump that has 2349823978423987x more problems.


Don't forget "makes much less torque".

I wonder if it's going to be making its way into the new one...but it still was an odd decision considering its already in the plant and is a major improvement to the vehicle, so let's get rid of that, yeah?


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

MP81 said:


> Nope - the LE2 has been discontinued for 2020! It's now stuck with only the LUV again.


As part of their North American plant closings, GM closed one of their powertrain production facilities. I wouldn't be surpised to find the LE2 engine was made at that facility.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

I believe they make the LE2 at the Flint Engine Plant, which isn't closing. I'm not sure if it makes the LE2 that is put into the Encore, though, since that is built in South Korea. It did supply the LE2 used in the Cruze.


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## grs1961 (Oct 23, 2012)

Just remember that what engine survives is related to just whose precious little baby it is - it has nothing to do with any concepts such as merit, reliability, ease of production, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera...


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## StormShepherd (Jan 29, 2017)

Jondaytona said:


> So because he worked on one Cruze that had multiple transmission issues at 70k miles means ALL of the Cruzes are junk. Got it. Furthermore, is there really a manufacturer out there producing a single line of cars where every one produced made it through 100k miles with only fluid/filter changes and withOUT a single repair? I find that impossible. And lastly, in one of his videos he suggests a cheap and quick fix to a broken brake line is to simply use a compression fitting and then holds up the package the fitting came in to show his viewers, but on that package states in bold print "DO NOT USE ON BRAKE LINES".
> 
> Lol, yeah like everyone is saying....what a tool


In Wisconsin it's actually ILLEGAL to use Compression fittings to repair brake lines. It is UNSAFE.


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## CHEVYCRUZE RS (Mar 29, 2011)

I’ve had my car since 2011 bought it brand new from the only dealership I buy my vehicles from. #ChevyGang . I do baby this car ( just hit 40,000 Km ) only had a recall for my dashboard and water pump everything else has been running amazing knock on wood! I take very good care of my cars , trucks and bikes but man it’s hard to let her go , love the Cruze ! Had zero major problems with her . Screw Scotty lol !


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## Ma v e n (Oct 8, 2018)

The GM Service manual for the 2020 Encore/Trax shows the LE2 for the North American market. So possible that it's just dead in USA, but still available in Mex or CA but seems odd.


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## Blazeman (Sep 14, 2018)

Some problems but none major


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## ScottNatte (Jan 22, 2019)

*GM Junk Keeps On!*

Well, I would believe him because I owe one of these cheaply made GM products - my big mistake - and another lesson learnt. My crappy Cruze got 86K and already had multiple issues due to the poor quality of components put into the manufacture of these cars. I would rank GM just around the same level as Korean makes these days. And if you buy a GM made in China...hahaha. Run! Like Scotty says!


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## ScottNatte (Jan 22, 2019)

good luck, the problems are brewing....


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## gannman2000 (Jan 28, 2019)

I have a 2014 ECO Cruze, 1.4L with turbo.
It has 126k miles, and I put 150 miles per workday on this car.
Aside from a few minor issues, and a 'covered under warranty' problem at 99k (just squeaked in under the 100k cutoff !),
my Cruze has been extremely reliable......never needed a tow. 
When it does need repair, I have always been able to drive it to the shop, or do it myself.
It is not a perfect car, but I like it enough that I would seriously consider a newer Cruze for my next car.


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## Pete in Penacook (May 1, 2019)

Hello. I just joined today. Nice to be here.

I have a 2011 Cruze Eco-Turbo I bought brand new with 6 miles on it.

It currently has 199,802 miles on it and is running like new. I drive it 88 miles a day back and forth to work, so I'm expecting it to hit 200,000 on Friday. I'll try to take a photo and a video of it when it happens, and I'll post it on YouTube so you can share the moment. (I'll post a link to it on the forum after it happens).

Of course I've had to have it repaired a few times over the years, but nothing catastrophic. I've always had scheduled maintenance completed (oil changes, tire rotations, fluid flushes, etc) and had repairs done as quickly as possible so as to not drive it in a damaged condition.

Shortly before hitting 100,000 miles the water pump died. The timing was fortunate because at the time I bought the car Chevy had a 100,000 mile warranty which covered the water pump, so I got that replaced at no cost to me.

Somewhere around 120,000-125,000 an O2 sensor tripped and the cause was the value-cover/PCV springing a small leak. Kinda sucks that you have to replace the entire valve cover instead of just the PCV value because it's all one piece. Cost of repair, $182.50. Another O2 sensor tripped around 180,000 miles for the same reason. Didn't get as long a life out of the replacement. Another $182.50.

Starting around 160,000 miles two cooling system hoses cracked (not at the same time, so this counts as two repairs). The factory hoses in the car are very cheap, clear plastic hoses which resemble liquid medicine syringes. I had both of these replaced with steel-lined rubber (non-factory) hoses. When a third hose sprung a leak at around 180,000 I told the technician to replace every last cheap hose with better-quality steel-lined rubber hoses. These repairs were around $350 each plus the cost of flushing the cooling system. Yes, they look a little unnatural under the hood. But they will last forever.

I do mostly highway driving with it, so the cost of tires has been relatively inexpensive. The factory tires were rated 40,000 miles. I got 70,000 miles out of them. Right now I'm running a set of 70,000 mile-rated Continental tires. I'll probably get at least 100,000 miles out of them.

I also get amazing MPG with it. My overall average is currently 37.1 MPG and I regularly achieve 50-70 MPG on the highway in 6th gear on level payment.

I realize very few people will be as lucky as I've been with the reliability of the Cruze. For each one of us that have had very few problems and great reliability with our Cruzes there are those less fortunate that have had lots of problems.

But I've been super lucky with mine. I've owned it for quite some time now, and the lack of a car payment for it and the lack of frequent, costly repairs for it allowed me to buy my other car, a 425 HP 2SS Camaro.

I do need to invest in a new set of floor mats, however. And it's filthy.

Cheers,


Pete in Penacook


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## lounds (Jul 7, 2017)

I currently have just over 75,000 miles on my 2013 and no serious issues. Biggest problem I had was the coolant thermostat housing cracked.(At least it was under warranty) Haha I view scotty as a YouTube car entertainment. I don't believe he would ever recommend a Chevy.


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## jsusanka (Jan 31, 2011)

jblackburn said:


> If GM cared, they'd extend powertrain coverage for cracked pistons on the Gen 2's as well, but I don't see that happening.
> 
> If mine's going to do it, there's 20k of warranty left.


They will never do a recall for the pistons.


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## Hazlitt777 (Nov 2, 2013)

ChevyGuy said:


> He claims the weak point is the transmission and cites ONE customer that's gone though several. I think that one guy went though more transmissions than the entire forum - three automatic transmissions in 70K miles.


In that same video, he said that if you are going to buy a Cruze, then buy it with the manual. I smiled because that is what I did 6 years ago long before watching his video.


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## WillL84 (Aug 5, 2019)

Scotty is a knob. If it's not a 90's Celica it's a pile of crap. Guy looks like he did a pile of coke before every video. All bouncy and jittery. Can't stand him


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## snowwy66 (Nov 5, 2017)

And I still have no idea who you all talking about.


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## Hazlitt777 (Nov 2, 2013)

Lazer said:


> I like our cruze, do the proper services as needed, and have not had any major issues, it feels like a solid car. I think Scotty is wrong on this one.


For what it is worth, Scotty did say if you buy a Cruze, get the manual. Which I have.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

snowwy66 said:


> And I still have no idea who you all talking about.


Consider yourself lucky. He's a tool.

And, for whatever reason (at least to me), he looks like a knock off Geddy Lee. You know, just much less successful or talented.


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