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Just bought 2011 Cruze Eco. regret it already

6040 Views 36 Replies 16 Participants Last post by  MRO1791
Hey guys, just bought a used 2011 Cruze Eco with 6spd manual this past weekend. Car has 130k miles on it. Wasn't worried about it since I read on here it has a timing chain. Test drove it and it drove great so we bought it. Wife needed a car with better fuel mileage and I wanted a car that was fun to drive. Car seemed perfect. On the drive home check engine light came on, wasnt worried about it as our other car has a light on for a gas cap. Thought I'll just get it checked out soon. Went to autoparts store yesterday and they checked the code, P0299. I need a new turbo apparently. What a great welcome to the life of Cruze ownership.

Anyways, I'm sure I'll be on here posting more when it comes time to swap the turbo assembly. Just saying hi!
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Thank you! I found a thread on it with links to replacement parts from amazon, $40 total I think.
Any idea on the P0299? Probably should get a boost gauge to see if it is loosing pressure? could a solenoid go bad? bypass valve cause a p0299?

Thanks again
One more thing, why is insurance so freaking expensive on this car? Its a 4 door 1.4L engine. I'm 39 years old with nothing on my record and pay $117 a month with my 30% off for bundling with our other car and RV.
Same here. Mine is $900/yr but I'm in the Detroit area which has the highest insurance rates in the country.

My insurance agent said the Cruze insurance is high because the car has a "higher number of claims" apparently due to the age of the people who drive them!

To quote my father, "You kids are killing me!"
Interesting. My insurance on both Cruzes was ~$60-70/mo in the accident-prone Washington DC/Northern VA area. 25-30 age bracket.
Thank you! I found a thread on it with links to replacement parts from amazon, $40 total I think.
Any idea on the P0299? Probably should get a boost gauge to see if it is loosing pressure? could a solenoid go bad? bypass valve cause a p0299?

Thanks again
Don't really need a boost gauge; get a Bluetooth OBDII Scan tool and put the Torque App on your phone. Gives you real-time boost pressures, etc.. A Bluetooth scan tool is ~$25 on Amazon and the Torque app is free. Works as well as a gauge IMO.

Boost pressures should run in the 9 to 12 psi range depending on the temperature an humidity. I haven't seen mine max out at less than 9 psi with stock tune.
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OK, ordered one yesterday. $7 on ebay. I'm guessing its the wastegate. Reving and lifting off make a metallic clanking sound. Not super loud but you can hear something almost rattling. Doesn't sound the same as turbo surge. I'm driving it now just not getting into boost.
Don't really need a boost gauge; get a Bluetooth OBDII Scan tool and put the Torque App on your phone. Gives you real-time boost pressures, etc.. A Bluetooth scan tool is ~$25 on Amazon and the Torque app is free. Works as well as a gauge IMO.

Boost pressures should run in the 9 to 12 psi range depending on the temperature an humidity. I haven't seen mine max out at less than 9 psi with stock tune.
Borrowed my bosses bluetooth OBDII tool and installed the free torque app, it's an inexpensive tool that's great to have and can be swapped to other cars. Thought it was fun to just look at the data out of curiosity more than anything else. I used it to check for a bad O2 sensor on wife's Rav4.
Borrowed my bosses bluetooth OBDII tool and installed the free torque app, it's an inexpensive tool that's great to have and can be swapped to other cars. Thought it was fun to just look at the data out of curiosity more than anything else. I used it to check for a bad O2 sensor on wife's Rav4.

Great call on the OBDII and Torque. That will absolutely tell you what's going on. My 14 Cruze was throwing the 299 after long highway drives, 25+ miles. City it will perform well, and the CEL will eventually go off on it's own. I need to take it to the dealer because I believe this would be covered under the powertrain warranty. Disappointing at 42k miles. Using my OBDII and the Torque app I could see the boost. When I'm having the problem boost will not go above 2 pounds. When it's working well and not getting stuck boost will jump up as normal. On the highway I first noticed before the CEL came on. It felt like a 2 cylinder with absolutely no power at high rpms.
Unbolt the vband clamp on the downpipe and pull it back a little, take a flashlight and shine it where the wastegate “flapper” is that covers the bypass hole. There most likely will be a hairline crack somewhere along the edge of that hole which is allowing air to bypass the turbo when it should not be. The GT14 turbo that comes on the 1.4 ecotec engines are known for this problem. If the crack is present then you will be purchasing a new turbo. Save yourself the hassle down the road and go with a larger turbo.
Ok, I got the OB2 adapter and Torque running, only getting 4lbs out of the turbo. I'm guessing thats bad. Battery also died so replaced that as well ($199). Front tires were bald so replaced those (Bridgestone $350). Ordered coolant replacement parts ($40). Looking at replacement turbos. I would go with an upgrade option, but I dont see one. Not looking for more power so I don't need to BNR kit. Just wanted a more reliable turbo.

On the plus side, I filled up the tank when I bought the car and as of today, it's still at half a tank. So glad I bought this car to save money... :rolleyes:
I'd just try to find a turbo from a low-mileage wrecked car. Not something I'd pay for new.

Order the updated oil feed line to go along with it.
Also check the oil cap seeing it has already been replaced at least once. Check your insurance setup. Since I am a new car/lease warranty I took off tow for this car. Also deductible set for like $300 I still pay $96 for the Accord and Legacy GT(granted GT is in storage) My rates went up with my Accord since the 10 airbag and OnStar discounts fell off when deleting the Cruze.
I'd just try to find a turbo from a low-mileage wrecked car. Not something I'd pay for new.

Order the updated oil feed line to go along with it.
Used they look to be around $400, New $500. Wouldn't it better to just go new? ANy link to the part number for the new oil line?

Just took the car on a 1000 mile trip this week for the holiday. 40mpg avg. Only problem was no power to pass anyone on the interstate. Otherwise it ran fine.
Used they look to be around $400, New $500. Wouldn't it better to just go new? ANy link to the part number for the new oil line?

Just took the car on a 1000 mile trip this week for the holiday. 40mpg avg. Only problem was no power to pass anyone on the interstate. Otherwise it ran fine.
Really? I've seen them for $150-200 at LKQ. At that price, yes, it would be better to go new.
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Ok, bought a new Garrett Turbo, bought new Oil feed tube, manifold gasket on the way. Only having trouble finding new bolts/nuts for the manifold. Dont see them listed on GM parts. I notice they are included with the Dorman turbo kit so i know they are available somewhere. Also, anything else I should be replacing while I'm there? I'm doing the Coolant reservoir hose and water pump outlet also.
Happy Holidays everyone. I'm new to the forum - thanks to all of you for your help.

I have a 2011 Cruze ECO 6sp manual - 188,000 miles. Bought it new in 2012. Mostly highway miles I haven't even had to replace the brakes yet.

It went through one turbo under warranty at about 60,000 and now its showing a P0299 code again. When starting there is a grinding type noise and the cabin fills with light smoke then disappears. Power is down.

I took it to a mechanic and he verified the P0299 code that autozone told me, but said it could be the turbo, a cracked exhaust manifold or cracked catalytic converter. He said he took the flame arrester cover off and put something on it to try to find an exhaust leak. He is pretty sure there is one...? That wasn't much help and he charged me $50...

Question is - what do you guys think? How hard is it to change out turbo, and do you have any recommendations on doing this to a car with 188,000 miles....

I appreciate your time
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Welcome Aboard!:welcome:

Did they reset the code prior to you taking delivery - could be a case of deception...
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View attachment 247145 View attachment 247153 First photo shows the coolant leak. I don't see any vacuum line issues. I reset the CEL yesterday and it came back on again today.
Were you able to read the miles since last code clear before you cleared it the first time? I hope so.. if not it's hard to tell if the seller was trying to hide this issue or not. When I bought my now prior used 2015 Cruze Diesel, I almost got burned.. the car threw a code a couple of days after I got it.. and when I read the miles since clear, it did not line up well with the available service records, and the selling dealership acted ignorant, saying the last service was just LOF (lube, oil, filter).. turns out that was a LIE. I managed to get the servicing dealership (not the selling dealership) to tell me what really happened.. they had an idiot fill the Diesel car with gasoline, and the servicing dealership had to purge all the fuel lines, replace filter.. and the codes were the normal codes for the engine crying for help trying to run on gasoline.. thankfully it appeared to have done no long term damage, and the code I got was not related and was spurious and did not return (it was low boost pressure).

The next used car I considered buying, I was smart enough to plug in my OBD 2 adapter and read all the data, and demand a full service history to verify the last code clear lined up with the records.. that dealership eventually complied (a bit reluctantly), and I almost bought that car, but when the new 2018 was not that much more.. I decided to go with a new one instead.. the lesson I learned is you really can not trust car salespeople, not at all, it is sad.. but it seems they operate by withholding information and hoping you buy based on emotions only.
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