# Burning smell NOT brand new... 2011 LS with 30,000miles



## xitappers2bx (Mar 27, 2013)

Hi everyone... 

I've searched and searched and I'm hoping that someone here can help me... I am at my wits end on what to do with my car.

I have a 2011 LS model that I got with 80 miles on it, and I LOOOVE it. Except I'm having some trouble and the Chevy dealerships have NO clue what is wrong, and I'm pretty sure they think I am nuts. 

This started about a year ago, I was driving on a highway (about 50mph) and black smoke started billowing out from under the hood... it was pouring rain, I pulled over and got my daughter out of the car, thinking this was going to be one of those fires that caused the recall. I had the car towed to the dealership where I bought it (they've been dealing with my family forever, and have always taken care of us) and they said nothing was wrong, they also had no clue what I was talking about when I asked if the smoke had anything to do with the recall Chevy was getting ready to announce. So my mom told me to trust my gut and take it to another dealership, which I did, and there was some damage to the oil drip pan (I'm not a car person, so if that isn't the right term, don't crucify me!!) they did the recall work, and replaced the pan thing. 

I didn't notice for maybe two or three weeks, but then I realized my car had this burning smell that would appear after driving for 20 minutes or so, and wouldn't fade away until a half hour or so after I turned the car off. I also noticed a drop in my MPG. So I took it to the second dealership, and they said everything looked fine. So I didn't stress too much, at this point, I wasn't driving too much so I wasn't too worried about it. 

Then this past fall I started grad school about an hour away from my house, and I started driving the car much more often. For about a month I noticed the burning smell getting worse, and my MPG's declining, so I brought the car to the dealership and they said it was fine. About a month after that my check engine light popped on, I brought it right over, and my temperature gauge and a gasket needed to be replaced. They ordered the parts, and a week later the car was back in "working order." They said that the gauge and gasket would stop the burning smell. It didn't.

After finals, I really wasn't driving much (to and from my daughter's school a few minutes from home, so the car was never really on for more than 5-10 minutes at a time) so I stopped smelling the burning and stopped thinking about it. Fast forward to January and I'm driving to and front school again. I immediately noticed the smell, and then I noticed that when it rains, (I sit in traffic on my way into class) and every time the windshield wipers would go up, it would bring white smoke with them. Every time. Thinking maybe it was steam from driving through puddles (although I wasn't driving through puddles, but just incase) I started doing this randomly while sitting in traffic and would notice the smoke on the windshield as well. Finally, about a month ago I was sitting in traffic in wet weather, and white smoke was billowing out form under the hood. 

I immediately called the dealership, and they said (again) to bring it over whenever and they'd take care of it (as usual). So the employee said that it looked like the hose that drains the defroster and AC was clogged and he'd try and clear it up, and they replaced the air filter but otherwise there was nothing "wrong." Immediately after getting the car back the smell started again and it's smoking.

My mom and my sister both have Cruzes' as well, and neither of them are having any of the issues that I am having. And I love this car, but I'm at my wits end. Every time I get into it I'm grateful for OnStar because I know heaven forbid something finally fails, at least they'll be able to rescue me or find me. It doesn't qualify under the lemon law because it was past one year, past 12,000 miles (although still under the warranty, so not 100% sure that it is totally disqualified or not, but as I'm a single mom in law school, I don't have a ton of extra cash to pay a lawyer to figure it out). I really love love love this car, it's so perfect for me and my daughter, but I don't know what this issue, is, and I can't find anyone else who has had it. I'm frustrated with the dealerships, and really just want this car that I'm paying for to work the way it's supposed to, without worrying about my deteriorating MPG's and the car randomly igniting. 

Has anyone else heard of this, or know what this might be? I would really appreciate the held.


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## Tkchumly (Jan 21, 2013)

I'm pretty sure you can talk to a lawyer for free and talk about a breach of warranty claim, if it is in fact covered under warranty (which almost everything is covered under the 3/36000). The lawyer can tell you where his fees come from, and it might even be free for you to pursue your case.

As for smoke with wipers, if you can demonstrate it for a dealership instead of just telling them what you are having problems with it may help them understand. Ask if you can take someone on a 5 minute ride to show them what you are talking about. I am at that point with my dealership and they have been very helpful!


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

You have a serious leak somewhere. I can't believe your dealership can't duplicate this issue. Contact GM directly and get them involved.


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## 1990tsi (Apr 29, 2011)

from my experiences with owning a cruze with several 'intermittant' issues, and also working at another american dealership. if the problem doesn't happen with a normal test drive a 'no fault found' will most likely be called. Any good dealership will have a shop foreman who will go for a drive with you. unfortunately you will need to re-create the problem for the dealer before they can do anything about it.

so i'd go to the dealer you like or trust, and recreate the problem for a tech or shop foreman, not a service advisor, i've found the hard way that doesn't count for anything. 

it sounds like you have a real problem that needs addressing, but until you can recreate the problem for the dealer, they are going to stuggle with fixing it, and you will keep getting 'no fault found'


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

Contact GM immediately and file a case, and RUN to a new dealership. The current dealership is clearly incompetent and doesn't care. 

Please report back.


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## iKermit (Dec 13, 2010)

Contact all Gm contacts you can, get your name out there... Go to ANOTHER dealership, obviously this one doesn't want to try hard enough to find it. But please get a lot of GM Contacts involved, There is one around here that will probably post, her name is Stacy

EDIT: Just contacted her, lets see if she posts in here or sends you a private message.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

xitappers2bx said:


> Hi everyone...
> 
> I've searched and searched and I'm hoping that someone here can help me... I am at my wits end on what to do with my car.
> 
> ...





xitappers2bx,
I would like to apologize for the issues that you are experiencing with your Cruze. I do understand your concerns as well as frustrations with this. I would like to get a service request set up for you with GM in regards to this. In order for me to do this I will need to gather some more information from you. Can you please send me a PM with your name, address, phone number, VIN, current mileage and the name of your dealer? I look forward to hearing back from you. 
Thank you,
Stacy Chevrolet Customer Service


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## xitappers2bx (Mar 27, 2013)

iKermit... THANK YOU!! i'm going to send her a message now...

to everyone else, thank you. this has been a maddening/frustrating/head spinning situation that doesn't feel like it's ever going to get better. i've been to two dealerships already, and the third one I called today kinda seemed like they really did not want to deal with it, so I put out a call to my car friends to give me an idea of which of the Chevy dealerships I should try in my area.

-harmony


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