[J_Glass]

Driving along at 60mph, I see some steam blast out from under the hood then the low coolant warning comes on. I pull to the side of the road and pop the hood. The connector leading off the manifold to the overflow broke and all of the coolant blew out. I rigged up the overflow hose and filled it back up with water and a little coolant. It wouldn't start for the first 20 tries. It did finally start but was blowing white smoke (my guess is steam) out of the exhaust. I had it towed to one of the better dealers around. They're telling me it's out of warranty (2011 with 62k) and GM won't cover it. This was two days ago. In 45 seconds on google I found 100's of stories of the same type of issues. How is there no recall, notice, nor acceptance of these issues? What sort of appeals does GM's Customer Service have for such problems? Where do I go next? The side of the road sucks. But I don't feel any better about GM's customer service yet either.

Thanks In Advance !

 

[jblackburn]

This would be one of the first I've seen of a blown head gasket here.

That hose didn't just shoot off and you pulled over instantly - that car severely overheated and warped the cylinder head.

 

[obermd]

Why didn't you have it towed as soon as you knew the hose connector failed? I had a cooling system connector fail on my Montana and had it towed. This is the only way to prevent further damage. Also, the specific failure you're reporting has not been a major issue. Yes, there are other issues with the cooling system but this is the first broken connector leading to immediate loss of coolant.

 

[ChevyGuy]

There's a low coolant light???

 

[jblackburn]

There's a low coolant light???

That too. There is not.

 

[chevrasaki]

@J_Glass What trim level and engine do you have in your Cruze?

 

[Robby]

I think there is a light with a pictograph showing a thermometer in water......a final 'it is very hot' warning.

Currently, based on the OP's description of events, the vehicle was allowed to continue to run with the light on for too long a period......shut off should have been immediate with a coast to the side of the road.

The description that follows is clearly a case of coolant in a combustion chamber.....either a failed gasket, severely warped head, cracked head, or a combination........not Chevys problem at this point.

Rob

 

[ChevyGuy]

That's one problem with these small engines. They can't handle overheat like the old iron dukes could.

 

[Robby]

Righto........aluminum engine parts forgive nothing.

Rob

 

[J_Glass]

Why didn't you have it towed as soon as you knew the hose connector failed? I had a cooling system connector fail on my Montana and had it towed. This is the only way to prevent further damage. Also, the specific failure you're reporting has not been a major issue. Yes, there are other issues with the cooling system but this is the first broken connector leading to immediate loss of coolant.

I was less than 4 miles from home. At first I figured it just lost coolant. Coasting from 60 to a stop on the side of the highway, I am still surprised it caused as much damage as it did. When it wouldn't start, it was obvious there was damage due to the loss of coolant. It was then towed.

 

[J_Glass]

There's a low coolant light???

No, a "the low coolant warning" or message to the effect. May have said "high engine temp" I don't recall the exact message.

 

[J_Glass]

@j_glass what trim level and engine do you have in your cruze?

2011 1lt 1.4l

 

[J_Glass]

So the coolant in the intake, the lines blowing off and the subsequent overheating were apparently all due to an internal leak in the turbo. Coolant leaked inside the turbo, feeding coolant directly into the combustion chambers of the cylinders and build back pressure into the coolant system blowing lines.

Over two months later and still no answer on what if any ownership of responsibility will be taken by GM, or if it all falls on the consumer, me. It is a known issue, but doesn't happen frequently enough to warrant a recall. Cost of recall vs cost of clean-up by customer care.

 

[obermd]

Coolant leaking into the turbo would be a powertrain warranty item. Were you under 5 years/100,000 miles? If so it's warranty. All other damage, since you tried only once to restart the engine after it shut off would also be warranty.