# My Cruze is leaking oil ugg



## bluefirestarter (Jan 15, 2013)

My car has been running like crap the past few weeks (rough idle especially after driving around some) figured it was the spark plugs. Went to change them today noticed puddles of oil sitting on transmission casing and all over the area there (noticed it on the ground too) My observations below.. What's going on here? 1.4t 50k miles


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

If you have an oil leak bad enough to show on the ground I'd take it in for a check. Most likely this will be covered under the power train warranty.


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## bluefirestarter (Jan 15, 2013)

The dealership just LOVES me. I had a ton of issues with it running bad at idle (at least 4 trips) Finally at 36k they had to replace the clutch plates in the transmission to make it run decent. Then had to take it back when I came around a corner and accelerated car jumped from 5th to 1st and about got me killed (and sounded like it was gonna blow the engine) they forgot to change some solenoids or something... they had my car another week.. Uggg frustrating!


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## cruzinred92 (Dec 4, 2013)

Almost looks as if the pcv valve in the intake manifold is bad and hanging open. The one on the valve cover isn't actually a pcv valve it's actually a vent. (Just to clarify) leaking around the throttle body area. Take it into your local dealer and have them take a look at it.


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## CruzeEcoBlueTopaz (Jan 5, 2012)

I experienced this same leak at the throttle body starting at about 90 to 100k miles. The leak slowly increased over time and at about 265k miles I decided to attempt to have it repaired. My air intake manifold was replaced and its possible your valve cover will also need to be replaced. There is a bulletin out for this. The repair certainly caused the leak to stop for a while and eventually it started to leak again but only a small amount. I lose about 4-5oz oil per 6k miles but I dont know for certain if the oil loss is caused by this leak only.
　
I suggest taking it to the dealer and having them take a look at it. If I can find the bulletin number I will post it. If you decide not to take it to the dealer if its the same leak from the throttle body I experienced.... it didnt seem to have any major impacts on the vehicle over hundreds of thousands of miles. I did however eventually notice a slight decrease in performance closer to the 225k+ mile mark.


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## peligro911 (Apr 8, 2015)

CruzeEcoBlueTopaz said:


> I experienced this same leak at the throttle body starting at about 90 to 100k miles. The leak slowly increased over time and at about 265k miles I decided to attempt to have it repaired. My air intake manifold was replaced and its possible your valve cover will also need to be replaced. There is a bulletin out for this. The repair certainly caused the leak to stop for a while and eventually it started to leak again but only a small amount. I lose about 4-5oz oil per 6k miles but I dont know for certain if the oil loss is caused by this leak only.
> 
> I suggest taking it to the dealer and having them take a look at it. If I can find the bulletin number I will post it. If you decide not to take it to the dealer if its the same leak from the throttle body I experienced.... it didnt seem to have any major impacts on the vehicle over hundreds of thousands of miles. I did however eventually notice a slight decrease in performance closer to the 225k+ mile mark.


I hope my Cruze makes it to 265k that's awesome 


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App


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## CruzeEcoBlueTopaz (Jan 5, 2012)

peligro911 said:


> I hope my Cruze makes it to 265k that's awesome
> 
> 
> Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App


Im glad you are able to take away some information from my previous post. After reading my own post even im having a difficult time comprending my own words.


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## bluefirestarter (Jan 15, 2013)

Took it to the dealership this morning they said I was using the wrong type of oil (Mobile 1 Synth) and it sludged up the PCV valve amongst other things which made it leak.. They are replacing the pcv, cleaning a bunch of stuff and putting in dexos synth blend. I used Mobile 1 in my heavily modded Trans Am and my V6 Camry never had any issues.. Seems a bit sketchy but whatever.. Long as it gets fixed and it's covered under powertrain warranty


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

bluefirestarter said:


> Took it to the dealership this morning they said I was using the wrong type of oil (Mobile 1 Synth) and it sludged up the PCV valve amongst other things which made it leak.. They are replacing the pcv, cleaning a bunch of stuff and putting in dexos synth blend. I used Mobile 1 in my heavily modded Trans Am and my V6 Camry never had any issues.. Seems a bit sketchy but whatever.. Long as it gets fixed and it's covered under powertrain warranty


Dexos is more prone to sludge up than Mobil 1 - it's a synthetic blend. Especially considering the Toyota 3.0/3.3 is known to be a sludge pump (on conventional oil) and is just fine if you use a synthetic oil in it. 

Whoever talked to you is an idiot. 

What intervals are you changing oil at? Keep it to ~6000 on M1, but the PCV disc is known to go out on these cars often.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

bluefirestarter said:


> Took it to the dealership this morning they said I was using the wrong type of oil (Mobile 1 Synth) and it sludged up the PCV valve amongst other things which made it leak.. They are replacing the pcv, cleaning a bunch of stuff and putting in dexos synth blend. I used Mobile 1 in my heavily modded Trans Am and my V6 Camry never had any issues.. Seems a bit sketchy but whatever.. Long as it gets fixed and it's covered under powertrain warranty


Call GM and file a case with them. Demand that a case manager call your dealer and educate them on the use of oils that meet dexos1 specifications. Mobil 1 is leaps and bound better than the semi-synthetic oil they put in there from the factory, which will in fact sludge up even faster as jblackburn pointed out above. I recommend finding another dealer.


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## roadrunnerA12 (Jan 21, 2015)

Do Chevy dealers offer the option of a full synthetic Dexos 1 oil such as Pennzoil Ultra Platinum? Or just the AC Delco synthetic blend? If they don't offer an "in stock" full synthetic Dexos 1 oil, will they put yours in for a fee?


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

roadrunnerA12 said:


> Do Chevy dealers offer the option of a full synthetic Dexos 1 oil such as Pennzoil Ultra Platinum? Or just the AC Delco synthetic blend? If they don't offer an "in stock" full synthetic Dexos 1 oil, will they put yours in for a fee?


They usually use Mobil 1 as the "full synthetic" choice at GM dealers (it's what Corvettes use). 

The PUP is a good choice for oil - it's what I run. I'm sending off an analysis in the next month or two, but so far, most I've seen are pretty good.


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## bluefirestarter (Jan 15, 2013)

I get the oil changed with Mobil 1 every 5-6k miles and I do a lot of highway miles. The service guy said it’s not a GM recommended oil and shouldn’t be used. He also said I’m lucky they are going to cover the repair because GM could have turned it away for improper equipment. Not Happy at all at this point.. I loath this dealership but went there because I wasn’t sure how bad the damage was. How can I file a case with GM about this? This is the same dealership that told me it’s okay when my car idles all over the place because that’s how these cars are.. turns out it needed a transmission rebuild.. the worst! I was so excited about the new wheels I bought for my Cruze but this turned into a buzz kill


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

...the manual says that you can use any Dexos-1 approved oil in the car. Mobil-1 is Dexos approved and like I said, is used in many dealerships across the nation. 

Contact Chevy Customer Service on the forum (just send them a Private message) and they will help walk you through what you need to do.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

bluefirestarter said:


> I get the oil changed with Mobil 1 every 5-6k miles and I do a lot of highway miles. The service guy said it’s not a GM recommended oil and shouldn’t be used. He also said I’m lucky they are going to cover the repair because GM could have turned it away for improper equipment. Not Happy at all at this point.. I loath this dealership but went there because I wasn’t sure how bad the damage was. How can I file a case with GM about this? This is the same dealership that told me it’s okay when my car idles all over the place because that’s how these cars are.. turns out it needed a transmission rebuild.. the worst! I was so excited about the new wheels I bought for my Cruze but this turned into a buzz kill


Hey Bluefirestarter, 

We can certainly start a case for you regarding these concerns you seem to be experiencing. I can confirm that Dexos1 oil is our recommended oil for our vehicles, but I would be happy to look into anything else further for you. Just shoot me over a private message along with your VIN, current mileage, contact information and preferred dealership. 

Patsy G
Chevrolet Customer Care


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## bluefirestarter (Jan 15, 2013)

I received my car back today and everything seems A-OK running buttery smooth again. I'm starting to wonder if the place that's been changing my oil actually changed it the past few times. I told them to save me a quart of the oil I may find some place to analyze it and see how old it is.


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