[Leviathan]

Hey Guys,

I have a few problems with my Cruze and I'm curious if any of you have gone through the same. Cruze is a 13 LTZ @ 67k Miles. I've run Dexos through it until 60k miles and switched to Mobil 1 full synthetic and changed regularly. Problems reported are as follows.

Ticking/Tapping sound engine: Reported around 50k Miles. Brought in multiple times and dealer found no problems. Engine taps loud, I can hear it walking up to the car from 50 yards out and it taps loud even while sitting in the car. It's loud and this is really concerning me.

Idle Dipping: Reported around 50k Miles Idle dips to about 500-600 range intermittently and shakes the car. Dealer drove car 50 miles(25/25) with a scanner connected and didn't pickup the problem. I notice this problem everyday just pulling up to stoplights.

Burning Oil: Noticed around 30k Miles & Reported around 60K miles: Dealer took note and did due diligence and determined previous oil changes were dropping oil on intake(as I assumed and reported but never heard anything back at report of problem). They cleaned the intake and the smell dissipated after the first 100 miles however it's back again. They tested the intake and said it was good. Not sure what else to do here.

Any help is appreciated and I love my Cruze for the record.

 

[iggy]

One of the things I might suggest you do is to get yourself a bluetooth OBD2 adapter and Android app called 'Torque'. This will let you see information in real time , and also read OBD2 diagnostic codes.

You haven't mentioned any check engine lights, so there may not be any codes to read. However , I know from recent experience with a similar problem, that you can actually get codes that are 'pending' and don't actually set the check engine light. Not to mention being able to see real time data from your car's ECU can be a big help in understanding what's really going on.

My 2012 Cruze recently started running really bad , but unlike yours I'm not burning any oil and not smelling any oil, nor is the idle dipping.

My issue is major loss of power and gas millage , later to realize that I have a intermittent loud ticking noise coming from under my valve cover. My noise is so loud that it is triggering the car's knock sensor system , which is causing a major retardation of timing... and mine is throwing these 'fault pending' codes P0324, and occasionally a P0325. I've seen the codes with my Torque app on multiple times where they are listed as 'fault pending', and only a few times to the point where they actually triggered the check engine light and a more permanent fault code ( again P0324 and/or P0325 ).

Many people report ticking noises, usually they are written off as coming from the fuel injectors and/or the purge valve in the fuel line. There seems to be almost no information out there on the internet about ticking noises that can be attributed to other things besides the injectors. If you should find any , let me know cause I am interested in learning more about what other Cruze owners have found out about loud ticking that isn't attributed to fuel injectors and related components.

Back to your troubles... Given all the talk of oil smell and/or consumption, you may very well have issues that go way beyond even what I personally am having. I think you should be concerned about it... I'm sorry I can't be of more help with your specific issue at this time, but I am personally curious about what you ultimately find with your situation.

Good news for you is that your car is still under warranty, mine is not... mine with just over 108,000 miles, also with regular oil changes of Mobil 1 ( Dextos approved )

 

[iggy]

I should have added... with the help of jblackburn, I have become more or less convinced my problems are related to hydraulic lash adjusters. Now I'm no super mechanic, but I don't think it's to far out there to believe that problems with valve train could cause oil consumption and ticking noises. Weather or not such valve train problems are related to hydraulic lash adjusters or something else is not something I would speculate on though.

FYI, you may want to look near the tail end of this discussion , where I talked about my problems....

http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/25-g...uze-loud-ticking-noise-after-warmed-up-5.html

 

[XtremeRevolution]

Hey Guys,

I have a few problems with my Cruze and I'm curious if any of you have gone through the same. Cruze is a 13 LTZ @ 67k Miles. I've run Dexos through it until 60k miles and switched to Mobil 1 full synthetic and changed regularly. Problems reported are as follows.

Ticking/Tapping sound engine: Reported around 50k Miles. Brought in multiple times and dealer found no problems. Engine taps loud, I can hear it walking up to the car from 50 yards out and it taps loud even while sitting in the car. It's loud and this is really concerning me.

Idle Dipping: Reported around 50k Miles Idle dips to about 500-600 range intermittently and shakes the car. Dealer drove car 50 miles(25/25) with a scanner connected and didn't pickup the problem. I notice this problem everyday just pulling up to stoplights.

Burning Oil: Noticed around 30k Miles & Reported around 60K miles: Dealer took note and did due diligence and determined previous oil changes were dropping oil on intake(as I assumed and reported but never heard anything back at report of problem). They cleaned the intake and the smell dissipated after the first 100 miles however it's back again. They tested the intake and said it was good. Not sure what else to do here.

Any help is appreciated and I love my Cruze for the record.

The ticking you are hearing is the EVAP purge solenoid/valve. You can find it right above your intake manifold. The injectors also tick somewhat loudly. Our valvetrain is very quiet.

Pull the corrugated hose off of the intake manifold (slide the clip outward but don't lose it), and check inside to see if the check valve is still there. I'll bet you it isn't. You most likely need a new intake manifold. All of these problems can be attributed to that, or your burst disk failing, or both.

http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/34-gen1-1-4l-turbo/175793-cruze-1-4l-gen1-pcv-system-explained.html

 

[Leviathan]

Thanks for all the info guys. The car doesn't have any check engine lights but you may be onto something with the pending codes. I'm not an expert automotive technician but I swear it sounds like the lifters are tapping. I'll definitely give that valve a check and see what I find this weekend. I'm going to be a little upset if it's needing replacement after they told me it checked out.

 

[iggy]

I just got a peek under the valve cover on my cruze, definitely a bad hydraulic lash adjuster on mine. It's intermittent on mine but I got it in while it was happening and I know the mechanic. $7 part, a few hundred dollars in labor. I'm having all 16 replaced since the labor is the same and I don't want to take a chance that others might fail too.

 

[Leviathan]

I just got a peek under the valve cover on my cruze, definitely a bad hydraulic lash adjuster on mine. It's intermittent on mine but I got it in while it was happening and I know the mechanic. $7 part, a few hundred dollars in labor. I'm having all 16 replaced since the labor is the same and I don't want to take a chance that others might fail too.

That's not really great news Iggy, I'm sorry. At 108,000 miles and having valve train components failing that worries me. An update on the Cruze however. Took it into the dealer yesterday for an oil change and I did check the oil before and determined it's not consuming oil. I did notice after the change however the smell of burnt oil again. They keep spilling oil, IDK how since they use a funnel to help them. I'm seriously considering making the switch to Amsoil to better protect the engine but I have to figure out the cost first since I do about 130 miles a day mostly highway. Would you Iggy or anyone likely recommend a good bluetooth ODB2 scanner to pickup?

 

[iggy]

That's not really great news Iggy, I'm sorry. At 108,000 miles and having valve train components failing that worries me. An update on the Cruze however. Took it into the dealer yesterday for an oil change and I did check the oil before and determined it's not consuming oil. I did notice after the change however the smell of burnt oil again. They keep spilling oil, IDK how since they use a funnel to help them. I'm seriously considering making the switch to Amsoil to better protect the engine but I have to figure out the cost first since I do about 130 miles a day mostly highway. Would you Iggy or anyone likely recommend a good bluetooth ODB2 scanner to pickup?

I agree it's not great news, but because mine was so intermittent , I was just happy that the problem was pin pointed. When pushing down on the lash adjuster, it clearly just dropped, then the rocker arm was kinda half loose sitting under the cam shaft.

I told my mechanic that I would probably now start changing my oil every 5000 miles, rather then every 7500 miles, his comments effectively were... ' it doesn't look like a oil problem, there is no build up, your engine is very clean, not even any tarnish on the cam shaft '.

I personally drive about 75 miles each work day, I'd say 85% or more of my driving is on the highway.

Honestly I do not know exactly what to think about this failure of mine, I'm obviously NOT HAPPY about having to have this $7 part cost me $300+ to fix. Especially , just 8,000 miles after it went off warranty. I have two cruze vehicles now, the 2012 I drive, and a 2013 that my wife is driving. I use Mobil 1, AC Delco filters, and have never exceeded the oil monitor's recommendations or 7500 miles on oil change. ( my wife's newer car with the newer Oil monitor software gives me the same oil change interval when driving the same way ( I drove the 2013 for about a year ).

My instinct tells me this was probably just a fluke part failure, however the main reason I think that, is because you don't hear much about this type of failure on these cars. Do some searches , and you will find almost NO information out there about hydraulic lash adjuster failures associated with the 1.4L Turbo motor on the Cruze ( or even on the 1.8L ). There may be some out there that didn't get fully acknowledged, or just what the root cause of the 'ticking' is, but as far as I know, I may be the first person to publicly confirm a failure of this part. So, I have to believe it's not a wide spread problem. The only reason i have any doubt that it might actually be more wide spread, is you do hear a lot about ticking noises, but pretty much 99.999% of the time they are written off as fuel injector noises.

Anyway... OBD2 , blue tooth device...

Mine looks like this one...

https://www.amazon.com/Professional...3_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=01X14DGE80HA3AENP8D5

However one like this should work too , and is a bit smaller...

https://www.amazon.com/Version-Blue...&qid=1472329154&sr=8-7&keywords=elm327+obd-ii

The OBD2 and Torque app, are just a really handy thing to own, even if your not having problems right now... very easy to get a lot of interesting data out of your car's ECU...

 

[iHateJack]

I have the same issue as Iggy. I think it may be more widespread than acknowledged.

Unfortunately, my car is out of warranty and has an oil leak. Would you fellow cruzers reccommend fixing the engine or replacing it? A mechanic told me to just get a new engine instead of fixing the one I have. I have a 2012 with 115 thousand kilometers. I am the second owner.

 

[klojean]

I agree it's not great news, but because mine was so intermittent , I was just happy that the problem was pin pointed. When pushing down on the lash adjuster, it clearly just dropped, then the rocker arm was kinda half loose sitting under the cam shaft.

I told my mechanic that I would probably now start changing my oil every 5000 miles, rather then every 7500 miles, his comments effectively were... ' it doesn't look like a oil problem, there is no build up, your engine is very clean, not even any tarnish on the cam shaft '.

I personally drive about 75 miles each work day, I'd say 85% or more of my driving is on the highway.

Honestly I do not know exactly what to think about this failure of mine, I'm obviously NOT HAPPY about having to have this $7 part cost me $300+ to fix. Especially , just 8,000 miles after it went off warranty. I have two cruze vehicles now, the 2012 I drive, and a 2013 that my wife is driving. I use Mobil 1, AC Delco filters, and have never exceeded the oil monitor's recommendations or 7500 miles on oil change. ( my wife's newer car with the newer Oil monitor software gives me the same oil change interval when driving the same way ( I drove the 2013 for about a year ).

My instinct tells me this was probably just a fluke part failure, however the main reason I think that, is because you don't hear much about this type of failure on these cars. Do some searches , and you will find almost NO information out there about hydraulic lash adjuster failures associated with the 1.4L Turbo motor on the Cruze ( or even on the 1.8L ). There may be some out there that didn't get fully acknowledged, or just what the root cause of the 'ticking' is, but as far as I know, I may be the first person to publicly confirm a failure of this part. So, I have to believe it's not a wide spread problem. The only reason i have any doubt that it might actually be more wide spread, is you do hear a lot about ticking noises, but pretty much 99.999% of the time they are written off as fuel injector noises.

Anyway... OBD2 , blue tooth device...

Mine looks like this one...

https://www.amazon.com/Professional...3_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=01X14DGE80HA3AENP8D5

However one like this should work too , and is a bit smaller...

https://www.amazon.com/Version-Blue...&qid=1472329154&sr=8-7&keywords=elm327+obd-ii

The OBD2 and Torque app, are just a really handy thing to own, even if your not having problems right now... very easy to get a lot of interesting data out of your car's ECU...

So I am not knowledgeable what-so-ever in auto mechanics - However I have an interest in learning about my car. (Knowlege is Power) For someone that has no knowledge of codes and how to read Torque App (i saw it on my friends and well it was like reading another language) Would this be beneficial to me? How does one learn?