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defective cylinder head casting leaking fluids

15738 Views 22 Replies 15 Participants Last post by  Robby
Hi All, I have a 2011 Cruze LTZ with 72000 miles. Recently out of powertrain warranty. It has a manufacturing defect the dealer just made me aware of. I had a miss at 75 MPH but no codes. Next day my wife said it had a Stabilitrac service indicator on. I took it in to the dealer expecting the well known intake manifold problem. I fell off my chair when the dealer said I need a new cylinder head ! It never overheated and I have a mechanical background. I went there and asked to speak to the mechanic which they allowed (great dealership). He showed me the problem which was unbelievable. The aluminum casting of the head is full of air spaces allowing hot coolant and oil to weep through the metal and slowly accumulate in the bore where the spark plug is housed (on top of the head, not in the combustion chamber). Fluid builds up and eventually floods the spark plug bore and shorts the spark plug center electrode to the cylinder wall (ground) causing the miss fire. The GM mechanic said he has seen four of these himself. Some under warranty and some not. He said one had a leak in the block and the other three were cylinder heads. Unfortunately GM has not issued a (silent) recall for this so I am facing a $3800.00 repair bill to replace a cylinder head that is working perfectly if not for a manufacturing defect. The mechanic told me they have re designed the head but what about my aluminum block? will it be next? I have owned many Chevrolet's and this is really concerning. We love the car but now I don't trust it. Has anyone else had this problem? I am sick about this.
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Another factor that should be considered with warranty is time and the high cost of fuel, sure is not tax deductible for going to school or work and the parking spaces are very tight making a compact vehicle desirable with only one person in the vehicle.

Back then, vehicles were far more versatile, gas was cheap, could pack the family in there, carry eight bikes on it, and even pull a huge 20 foot boat. Couldn't even figure out how to put a kayak on top of this thing, no tow hooks and only weak plastic, so used other vehicles for this.

So instead of averaging for 35K miles a year, with our Cruze dropped down to 9K miles per year, 27K miles is when the 36 month warranty went out, dealer even laughed, 45K is when the 60 month warranty died.

You would think with only 72K miles on yours, way short of that 100K with like the problems you are having, would be at least a little merciful.
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Hi everyone, My name is Cameron and am very new here. Question? My 2012 Cruze 1.4 litre Turbo has had 4 recalls. At least 2 of them was regarding sensors dealing with cooling issues. At 88,000 miles my engine has went dead. The temperature spiked up and down on the city streets and everything just shut down. System by system. Any suggestions on a fix? I still thousands on this vehicle and would hate to do the unthinkable and do a volunteer repo. Does Chevy guarantee these motors? Oil and water is on point. No leaks seen and I've been driving like Ms. Daisy for years now. Thanks for any feedback in advance.
My first thought is the battery signed off (shorted).......every electrical component goes wonky as a result. That or a severely corroded cable end.

Rob
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