[MYcruzeISgarbage]

Bought brand new in '12, currently has 48/49k miles. Went in for the ECM recall and after that went and got the oil changed at a buddys garage.
IMMEDIATELY after it all started slowly..

Started hesitating during acceleration, trunk wont open, license plate light is out, usb charger works 10% of the time, cigarette lighter doesn't work.

Took it back to chevy, they said the update on the ECM took, and it had to get used to my driving style again.. that my battery was shot so they insisted I buy a new battery from them and that would stop the engine from being weird.. PROBLEM PERCISTED

Moved 1000 miles away for a job I had to take and my car got shipped on a truck. So now I'm in a new town that I know nothing about, with a car I cannot drive because since I picked it up it has gotten 100x worse to the point I refuse to drive it because I don't want to make it worse, and I don't want it to explode and leave me on the side of the road with no one else around..

MOST RECENT PROBLEMS:

same as before as far as electrical problems..
Now the engine stuttering has become way worse.. when I accel the RPMs lunge around, it jerks back and forth nearly giving me whiplash, no clinking or metal sounds though
Smells like burning plastic slightly, or if an engine had a smell, it smells like that just extremely strong, if that makes sense.
Engine light came on just a few mins ago.
I can hear something rolling around by near my catalytic converter..

So because I'm in a new town and I'm terrified of my cruze blowing up, I have been taking my other car to work, so today I went by the local chevy and told them everything.. they said it sounds like coolant is leaking which makes the car think Its overheating and when that happens the car does weird things. and to call chevy and they will send a tow truck and pick up my car and look at it for 125$.

I do not want to just waste my money because I know how these dealers work, take the 125$ and not even find anything.

Possible things that come to mind:
BAD CATALYTIC CONVERTER
BAD ENGINE
BAD TRANNY
COIL PACK

Can anyone offer me advice before I start giving out money to chevy? I have a mortgage to pay for 1 more month and rent where I am at now so I don't have a lot of cash right now. SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME! I'm terrified of my CRUZE

If need me be, I suppose I could record a video with my cell and text it to you if that would help?!

THANKS FELLAS

 

[obermd]

How about a bad Negative Battery Cable: http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/25-s...al-coverage-14311-negative-battery-cable.html

Your previous dealership didn't do their diagnostics properly nor did they check GM's service system for recalls and notifications. Contact the Chevy Customer Care account here (find a post from them, click their user name, and select Private Message). Give them your contact info, VIN, and where you're located now. Ask them to find you the nearest Chevy dealership and if they will make the initial contact for you.

 

[UpstateNYBill]

What obermd said!

 

[ChevyGuy]

The battery cable is the starting point for electrical issues. I don't know as it's all of them, but it's a good start.

But you've got an interesting set of problems that really don't fall into a typical pattern for the Cruze. I think at some point you're going to have to trust someone who can see the car in person and have the diagnostic tools to examine it. As a internet forum, there's only so much we can do. And that's mostly limited to pointing out common problems. Throwing parts based on guesswork at it is ultimately going to be more expensive than the dealer.

But if you've got a solid, reproducible problem, you shouldn't have an issue with the dealer taking care of it. It's those intermittent things that drive everyone - tech and owner - batty. If the tech can't reproduce it, there's nothing to fix.

 

[MYcruzeISgarbage]

Does it sound to be a cylinder misfire? I got the engine light to turn on tonight, so Friday I am going to arrange a tow truck to take it to the dealer and they can run a scanner on it and get a code. Does a cylinder misfire sound like what I have described? It started slowly and got worse pretty fast.. A slight jerking while accel, then turned into a lot of jerking with a reduction of power?

 

[ChevyGuy]

How many miles and when's the last time you changed the sparkplugs? They might have widened too much and causing misfile. Depending on the age, that might be a good idea to throw parts at. If old enough, if they're not bad now, they will be soon.

 

[jsusanka]

So many weird items I wonder if the ECU is toast.

 

[MYcruzeISgarbage]

I have 48,5xx miles and I have not replaced the spark plugs. I plan on checking them visually tomorrow in the light. like I said, I just moved and most of my stuff, and all of my tools are in a storage unit so I couldn't do it tonight. I will let you know what I see tomorrow. I am so exhausted with this car.. its so draining. but thanks for showing concern fellas, since the dealers don't ya know. I love the cruze, just not mine :/

 

[ChevyGuy]

Visual may not tell much. You need to check the gap. Too wide a gap will cause problems.

 

[brian v]

So like when this newbie gets his cruzelsgarbage fixed by an authorized and skillfull Tech can this guy or gal change the handle he or she has chosen to complain ?

Good Luck with yer Cruzen and Best Wishes !

 

[MYcruzeISgarbage]

UPDATE

Since my original post, at idle, my cruze would almost die. It didn't have any out of the ordinary sounds other than a sound I took for a spark plug firing. It was a clicking sound that I could pinpoint to being under the coil pack in the 4th plug area. So it sat unmoved since I was posting on here a few weeks ago. Today I got Chevy Roadside Assistance to come pick it up for free and take it to the Local Dealer. When the wrecker got there he started it and said to him it sounds and feels like a bad coil, coil pack, or plug without me mentioning it to him that that was what I was assuming was wrong with it. He said he had the same problem in one of his cars, to the tee, so I am very hopeful that chevy will be able to properly diagnose my car this time. I will keep this thread posted as to what cheyv tells me and what I need to replace in hopes that it might help some other random guy along the road such as myself. I'm sure the majority of you this means nothing but to someone experiencing the same problems it might help. Thanks fellas.

 

[Chevy Customer Care]

UPDATE

Since my original post, at idle, my cruze would almost die. It didn't have any out of the ordinary sounds other than a sound I took for a spark plug firing. It was a clicking sound that I could pinpoint to being under the coil pack in the 4th plug area. So it sat unmoved since I was posting on here a few weeks ago. Today I got Chevy Roadside Assistance to come pick it up for free and take it to the Local Dealer. When the wrecker got there he started it and said to him it sounds and feels like a bad coil, coil pack, or plug without me mentioning it to him that that was what I was assuming was wrong with it. He said he had the same problem in one of his cars, to the tee, so I am very hopeful that chevy will be able to properly diagnose my car this time. I will keep this thread posted as to what cheyv tells me and what I need to replace in hopes that it might help some other random guy along the road such as myself. I'm sure the majority of you this means nothing but to someone experiencing the same problems it might help. Thanks fellas.

Hi there,

I am happy to hear that you were able to get your car into the dealer. I do apologize for the continuing concern with your Cruze, this is not the impression we want customers to have of our vehicles. I see that you mention your dealer is taking care of things, but if you have any additional questions please feel free to send us a private message. We would be happy to get in touch with them on your behalf as well.

Corey K.
Chevrolet Customer Care

 

[MYcruzeISgarbage]

Thank you, it means a lot that somebody is noticing the problem. The dealer where I bought the car just blew me off so I am very happy to try a new dealership. I have a god feeling about this dealership. Again, thanks a lot.

 

[MYcruzeISgarbage]

Ok so I got the news.. They want to replace all "coil modules" the 4 spark plugs, and do an induction cleaning for 900$ ontop of the 120 to diagnose it so I am looking at 1000$ for something I had no control over. I am not going to do it because I feel like that is an insane amount of money for what it is. So my question is couldn't I just buy a whole new coil pack instead of replacing all 4 modules?

 

[_MerF_]

Ok so I got the news.. They want to replace all "coil modules" the 4 spark plugs, and do an induction cleaning for 900$ ontop of the 120 to diagnose it so I am looking at 1000$ for something I had no control over. I am not going to do it because I feel like that is an insane amount of money for what it is. So my question is couldn't I just buy a whole new coil pack instead of replacing all 4 modules?

I believe the module that controls the 4 coils is integrated into the ECM (basing that solely on what I think I've seen said around here...someone please correct me if I'm wrong). I think you can skip the induction cleaning, for the time being. That sounds like textbook mark-up to me. I would insist they check the recalls and dealer notices that have been documented many times over around here. Most notably the negative battery cable. Maybe it's a bit over the top, but wasn't there a couple of years that had defective pistons as well?

 

[obermd]

OK - what is an induction cleaning? Sounds like BS to me. We've had some coil packs fail, but even at retail they're $130 and you can change it yourself for free, along with the spark plugs.

 

[MYcruzeISgarbage]

OK - what is an induction cleaning? Sounds like BS to me. We've had some coil packs fail, but even at retail they're $130 and you can change it yourself for free, along with the spark plugs.

When the dealer told me he needs to change the "coil module", to you, does that sound like a coil pack, or like an ignition control module? I am heading to the dealer in about 40 mins and I have no intention on replacing it all from them for 1000$, so I am going to ask for an inventory price sheet on what they plan on replacing. From there, I can order the parts myself. Does this sound like a cheaper bet? And I'm sure a big chunk of the 1000$ they want is labor. Its not expensive or hard to do an induction cleaning, just time consuming.

 

[obermd]

If it's an ignition control module that would scream computer to me - definitely let the dealership do that. If it's the coil pack rail you can do this yourself at the same time you replace your spark plugs.

 

[RIXSTER]

Coil pack should do it.

 

[MYcruzeISgarbage]

HERE IT IS

opcode J4345 Ignition coil 400.11$
opcode MSPR4P Spark Plugs, r&r 176.57
opcode Fuel Induction Flush 189.12


So roughly 780 in parts and they want 790.64 in labor so a total of 15/1600$ for a coil replacement.
I have found matching coil packs online for 120ish and spark plugs for 45ish and a fuel induction cleaning kit for 30$.Should I do this myself for about 200$?