[Jim Frye]

Before it was a whiff here and there, today not only did my fiance notice, but so did the guy next to us in the parking lot. This is bs I've had nothing but problems with this car since i bought it. I've tried to remain calm about this, but it's ridiculous.

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Just curious, how many dealershiip service departments have you had this car to? Is it just the one where you purchased it?

 

[Jim Frye]

2nd dealership

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Wow! Thanks. I continue to question the ability of Chevy service departments to handle the Cruze. Perhaps Chevy Corporate needs to put some focus on how well trained they are, and perhaps cough up some more warranty support ($$$$$$) for the car. Of course, by the time that happens, the '11s and '12s will be out of warranty. Guess the best thing to do is wait for the 2013s.

 

[Jim Frye]

Hello I have a 2011 1.4 LTZ auto same issue 24150 Miles so far had to fill up over flow 2 nd time, am loosing 1.5 inch of coolant per 10 to 12 thousand miles due to ether boiling off or evaporation or the antifreeze fairy, asked dealer twice they say nothing is wrong. OK but why do I have to add coolant every 10000 they had no answer. I guess will have to live with it will treat it like routine maintenance change oil, add coolant. Should just add it to the owners manual.

The coolant loss may be due to a leaky turbo. The Turbo is both oil and liquid cooled. Did they check the exhaust for coolant? There is a notice on GM's TechLink (all dealer service folks are supposed to read it) that talks about replacing the turbo if they can't find any other coolant leaks. It's reference bulletin PI0675. You should never have to add coolant unless there is a leak or the car has been overheating and boiling off coolant through the tank overflow.

 

[Jim Frye]

I have a 2011 LT and am having the same antifreeze smell when using the heater and the coolant level is the exact same as your pics. I have mine at the dealership being diagnosed and I have provided them with the turbo issue TSB and hope they will have it all fixed soon. I will post my results as I hear from the dealership.

I find it a bit unnerving that the customer has to tell the dealer service department where to look for service information. Please let us know what transpires.

 

[Jim Frye]

Can someone kindly describe the antifreeze smell? I think I might be smelling it. I only get this weird smell if the fan is on or if the car hasn't been driven for a long period of time.

When the engine is cold, raise the hood, open the overflow tank cap, and take a whiff.

 

[Jim Frye]

I left my car at my GM dealer this morning for an oil change. I asked for Mobil 1 Synthetic and they told me that is not the best oil and ACDelco Dexos syn blend oil is better and 40$ cheaper. I found this really strange... What do you guys think?

Other than the price difference, I think this is pure unadulterated horse manure. "They" are either stupid beyond comprehension, or "they" are bald faced liars. I really doubt you'll find anyone who knows about motor oil will tell you that full synthetic is inferior to a blend. When you get your car back from this dealership, check, and double check it over for things that are not done correctly. Check the engine room for oil that has been left over from the oil change. The next day, roll it away from its parking spot and look on the pavement for anything that has leaked from your car overnight. Also check the engine again for oil that may have leaked during your drive home from the dealership. Good Luck

 

[Jim Frye]

Took my car back to dealer- they had it overnight. It has had dye in it since last Friday. They said they found no leaks. Advisor also told my that the service bulletin that was just released was for the 1.8L engine not the 1.4. I am not sure how to respond to this- the dealer has been great, very nice and accommodating, but what am I supposed to think now? Thay said the coolant was definately low and he could immediately smell the collant when they looked under the hood last Friday, but they can't find a leak? They said to keep an eye on it and when the level drops to bring it in. Not very reassuring.

Did they check the oil or the exhaust for traces of coolant? It could be the turbo leaking at one of its coolant chambers. The turbo on the 1.4L Cruze is cooled by both oil and antifreeze, so a leak could be bleeding into the oil or into the exhaust. Just a thought.

 

[Jim Frye]

If it was in the oil, the oil would start to look milky. If it was in the exhaust, you'd have excessive white smoke upon cold starts. In either case, there would be no smell.

Yes, the oil will look like a chocolate frappe. I've never seen water or antifreeze in the exhaust on a catalytic equipped car, so I don't know how you would test for it. I would think it would hose up the O2 sensor back there, but maybe not. On a cold start, the cat is not hot, so the excess moisture might just condense on the paladium and then burn off later. I don't know if that would ruin the cat. The question is: did anyone at the dealership check?

My take is, if the level of the overflow tank is dropping and there are no telltale leak spots visible, it is either overflowing and draining onto the pavetment, OR it is disappearing inside the engine.

 

[Jim Frye]

But, if coolant gets into the engine that is bad news... the engine might need repairs.

I don't know about newer technology engines, but I had a '62 Impala SS that bled coolant into the oil. The engine ran fine and I never did anything about it except keep filling the radiator and changing the oil every 3K miles. The car was four years old and with both rear quarter panels completely rusted through, I wasn't about to put the effort into pulling the heads and putting new gaskets in to see if that fixed it.

 

[Jim Frye]

Jim Frye, there could very well be an external leak, and it not be noticeable. For example, the leak is more of an ooze (small enough leak where it does not cause a drip) and the heat of the engine burns off the liquid. This is the most likely explanation. It could be in a spot that is out of view (rear of the cylinder head for example). This would also explain the antifreeze smell. As the antifreeze burns off it enters the cabin of the vehicle, either through small unsealed openings in the firewall or it is sucked in through the cowl area when the ventilation is on "fresh air" mode. Just my 2 cents.

I agree, but the service guys are telling him that they put dye in the coolant and don't see any leaks. Either they missed an external leak, or its disappearing inside the engine. I saw on GM Techlink that GM has a spray powder leak detector for leaks that disappear after drying out.

 

[Jim Frye]

I wonder why GM has not bought back a few of these cars with this Coolant leak problem and had them sent back to there R/D department and had a good going over to find this problem.

I remember when Saturn had a problem with contaminated coolant at the factory in the '91 production run. They bought back all 1,100+ cars and replaced them with new cars, even working with the loan companies to keep the customers whole. Guess those days are long gone. Folks with this smell problem in the Cruzen need to keep after Chevy to fix the issue, quickly.

 

[Jim Frye]

I have had the ticket open with GM for a couple weeks. And they continue to put me off. And now the dealer is doing it too.

Are they not saying anything to you, or are they telling you to be patient? I think 25 days is way out of line. They should be communicating with you better. I don't blame you for being upset. I would be also. To me, this is another example of an incompetent dealer service department, and I look forward to seeing what the resolution is for you. Let's see, 25 days is nearly a month. Perhaps, they are building you a new car. Sorry, I realize that's probably not funny. Hang in there, we're all pullin' for you.

 

[Jim Frye]

Maybe his car will lead to the repair of the root cause of the whole smell issue.

One can only hope, but isn't it sad that the customer has to raise the flags with the manufacturer? How many stories have we seen here where the dealer doesn't go the extra step in trying to solve a problem? OK, maybe the dealer doesn't get reimbursed by Chevy for going the extra mile, and if that's the case, they should be telling the customer how to go about raising the flags with Corporate, not forcing folks to stumble along on their own to get frustrated and unsatisfied with the product. It seems that the dealerships just blow the customer off if they can't fix an issue in the "standard" time alloted for warranty work. The Social Media Representatives are a good first step, but the word needs to get out on how to raise a stink properly (sorry, couldn't resist the pun in this thread) to get results. Hmm, sounds like a sticky thread to be authored by someone who has been through the process to fruition.

 

[Jim Frye]

I have had this issue for a long time, it's been to the shop 5 times for this problem and it still exists. I suggest that everyone that has this issue to research your states lemon law rights and to post your issue on as many car sites as you can. Gm needs to own up to this problem instead of playing dumb and trying to pacify us.

Do you have an open complaint number with GM for this? Have you created a complaint on NHTSA about this problem? Have you PM'd the GM Social Media Representative on it? Not picking on you, but if you haven't done these three things, you should. and so should everyone else with this problem.

 

[Jim Frye]

GM should have been on top of this problem a long time ago. Now with the Sonic new model coming out with the 1.8 and 1.4 turbo it will kill there sales if this problem has not been taken care of as it should have been. In time perhaps even on the Sonic talk forum the Antifreeze Smell thread will continue unless they have corrected this problem and have informed there dealers of this fix.

I think this problem is more complex than it appears, and Chevy is struggling to pinpoint the actual scenario that is causing it. It may well take time, but they should also be looking at the customer cars that are having the problem. They need to authorize the dealer service tech. time and work with them directly to trouble shoot the problem.

 

[Jim Frye]

Jaycruze, the waterpump and the thermostat housing are completely different on the 1.4L vs. the 1.8L. Hmmmm...I wonder if this problem is caused by multiple unrelated issues.

Yes, I believe it is. A weeping frost plug on the water pump housing won't lower the level in the header tank by nearly an inch as some have reported. As I said earlier, it's a complex system with many points of possible failure. The service techs will be needing a comprehensive check list of things to check when the smell issue is brought to them. At least we now know of one place to look on the engine, as well as the heater core and its connecting hoses.

 

[Jim Frye]

The heater core on my 2011 LT has been replaced and i still have the smell.

Well, I guess it's time for you to open a claim with GM Customer Service and get a number to track. While you are at it, file a complaint with NHTSA. If enough folks do this, the media will find out about it and as the song says "The Heat Is On".

 

[Jim Frye]

SuCraM: Glad to hear that you are a happy camper now. According to your first post on this thread, it took exactly one month for GM to get you a resolution for your coolant smell problem. It's too bad they couldn't fix your Cruze. I hope it gets shipped back to engineering for analysis and doesn't get auctioned off to some poor soul to live with.

 

[Jim Frye]

Oh and your superior transmission? That's right, the same hydramatic 6t40 the Cruze uses.

Well, not exactly, The Buick uses a 6T45. Same basic design, but with a wider drive chain and completely different software. That was one of the issues with the 2011 Cruze in that it shifted so badly compared to the Regal.