My Family Has Two 2017 Cruzes with Two Engine Failures...thoughts?

51844 Views 132 Replies 52 Participants Last post by aircom, May 31, 2019

New Englander

Discussion Starter · Jun 6, 2017

I've had some Cruze issues that just don't seem right and I wanted to see if anyone else had similar issues.

My better half and I both leased brand new 2017 Cruze base models starting back in November. Both are set up as high mileage leases and both cars are driven quite a bit. On one, most of the mileage is city driving and on the other the mix is closer to 50/50 city and highway driving. Generally, different gas stations are used. Both cars have been maintained by quick lube places, but at different locations, different times, etc.

Right around 28k on each of the cars, a bad misfire developed. It got worse very quickly and in both cases, the dealer diagnosed the issue as piston failure. Different dealerships in different states worked with each car. In both cases, the dealer attempted to replace one piston and in both cases, there was further internal damage and the engines needed to be replaced. Car #1 had the work done and runs fine now. Car #2 is in the shop now and hopefully will be finished by the end of the week. Both are being covered under warranty, but both cars are used for work and without our cars, we cannot work. Between the two of us, this has cost about $3,500-$4,000 in lost income. Needless to say, I am very disappointed. We invested in new cars to be used as a tool. I don't expect engine failures after less than 30k. I am very nervous that we will be dancing this dance again at 60k,90k, etc. when the cars are out of warranty. We both really like our Cruzes, but this could be a big problem.

Has anyone else had piston issues on a Gen 2 Cruze?

I am also a writer and journalist, so I reached out to GM's public relations department to inquire about possible issues. They have not commented.

I also have not been able to find out for sure which cylinder had the piston failure. Both dealerships haven't been able to give me much information and the service writers seem very detached from the actual technicians.

Any thoughts or experience would be appreciated.

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Heliarc

· #121 · May 22, 2018

I just did a intake valve clean treatment from Seafoam. The spray. My car idles WAYY SMOOTHER after. Like how it should. Dealer kept saying the slight miss was normal. But i bet anything a intake valve was nasty.
It helps alot. I would totally say to do it. But don't lose the 2 plastic things on the side of the intake horn clip.
I lost both of mine ?
Ill have to order new ones.

Luckily i took a pic when i lost ONE and lost both trying to ask a Tech if i could buy them. And pic has part number.
(HSR23393) lol

I don't think they are critical but it keeps pin centered that holds the horn on.

Anyway.. Yes!!! Do the intake cleaning every 20k. I KNOW the engine will sound better. I ran mine for 15 mins at idle and noticed BIG TIME how much smoother ot purred.

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Heliarc

· #122 · May 22, 2018

For me.. Premium (91) gas WITHOUT ethanol is little over 3$.
87 WITH is like 2.40
I never put anything but real gas in any of my gasoline motors. Designed to handle it or not. The MPG difference of 1 or 2 mpg makes up for at least half the loss.

Ill eat the other 25cents anyday.

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Pegasus

· #123 · May 23, 2018

Heliarc said:
For me.. Premium (91) gas WITHOUT ethanol is little over 3$.
87 WITH is like 2.40
I never put anything but real gas in any of my gasoline motors. Designed to handle it or not. The MPG difference of 1 or 2 mpg makes up for at least half the loss.

Ill eat the other 25cents anyday.

In the area where I live, none of the regular stations sell 100% gas, not even the 93. To get 100 % gas around here you have to go to a marina. I don't know the price, but just for example, the 87 that is 10% ethanol today is 3.159, 93 octane is 3.999, and not 100% gas. I shutter to think what the price is for 100% gasoline at the marina.

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JunkieXL

· #124 · May 17, 2019

17Hatch6MT said:
It may be important to use 'Top Tier' fuels also. These have more detergents.

Not unfamiliar with Top Tier, but the local Shell station where I always get gas, I've noticed does not have the green 'top tier' sticker on any of the pumps. I know Shell sells top tier and I've seen them on other Shell station pumps. The gas station in question also doubles as a Spinx store and I know Spinx does NOT offer top tier. Also, one night on way home from work (work 2nd) there was a tanker refilling gas at the Shell station I go to, it was unmarked. Just has me curious if the station, despite being a "shell" station, is not actually selling Shell gas and instead selling whatever gas Spinx sources which is not top tier. Or maybe the Owner(s) just didn't put the top tier stickers on the pump and it was just coincidence the tanker was unmarked?

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Taxman

· #125 · May 17, 2019 (Edited)

Last I knew, they all used the same gas from the same pipeline around here, the vast majority of it hauled by independent trucking companies.

The delivery truck has everybody's additives on board, and mixes it to spec as its dispensed into the underground tank at the gas station.

IIRC, a Speedway might get about 150ppm of the Marathon detergent to meet federal regulations, while a Marathon station (Top Tier) might get 400ppm of the same detergent, while Shell would get an entirely different detergent package.

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SONICJIM

· #126 · May 18, 2019

BTW, after reading recent posts about LSPI in the GEN2 Cruze ( I have a 2016 GEN2 ), I have started using 89 octane and my mileage has noticeable dropped about 3 mpg. But I think I will continue to use it. I have 44K miles on it and I don't want any piston problems after 50K miles.

I wonder if the piston failures was really due to LSPI or just a bad batch of pistons. But if piston #1 was usually the piston at fault, I guess a bad batch of pistons wouldn't account for that.

Does anyone know if an ECM re-flash has been issued to help prevent piston failures ? Maybe I should bring my car in before it hits 50K miles to have that done.

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SONICJIM

· #127 · May 18, 2019 (Edited)

Taxman said:
Last I knew, they all used the same gas from the same pipeline around here, the vast majority of it hauled by independent trucking companies.

The delivery truck has everybody's additives on board, and mixes it to spec as its dispensed into the underground tank at the gas station.

IIRC, a Speedway might get about 150ppm of the Marathon detergent to meet federal regulations, while a Marathon station (Top Tier) might get 400ppm of the same detergent, while Shell would get an entirely different detergent package.

That's what a retired gas hauler told me too. I'm also in Michigan.

BTW, last year we took a trip to Minnesota and when getting gas at a station in Iowa, I noticed the pump said ALL grades of gas contained NO ethanol. I don't remember the name of the chain. I thought that was really weird being in Iowa with all the cornfields.

But at other stations in Iowa , the pump had the standard warning " Contains up to XX% ethanol".

BTW ( again) , around here in West Michigan more and more stations are selling 91 octane ethanol free "Recreational " gas. It's about a buck and a half more than 87 octane regular. It's sold out of a stand alone above ground tank.

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Taxman

· #128 · May 18, 2019 (Edited)

SONICJIM said:
BTW, last year we took a trip to Minnesota and when getting gas at a station in Iowa, I noticed the pump said ALL grades of gas contained NO ethanol. I don't remember the name of the chain. I thought that was really weird being in Iowa with all the cornfields.

Unfortunately for us, the last time I saw a table of statewide pump labeling requirements, it was pretty much illegal in MI, IN, and OH to label the regular island pumps with the actual ethanol content. Somehow the 'rec fuel' pumps get around that, but the usual car pumps all say "up to 10%", because our untruth in labeling laws prohibit them from telling you exactly what you're buying.

BTW ( again) , around here in West Michigan more and more stations are selling 91 octane ethanol free "Recreational " gas. It's about a buck and a half more than 87 octane regular. It's sold out of a stand alone above ground tank.

In the last ten years, E0 availability has gone from 'go to the marina and pay $2 extra for regular or go to the airport and pay $2 extra for 100 octane with lead', to "you're probably within 25 miles of a 89-90-91 octane rec fuel pump right now". (the one in Nashville sells 89)

If it weren't for the fact that LL stand for Low Lead, 100LL aviation gas would be great stuff. It stores forever, it has great detonation resistance, and it has more BTU per gallon than any other gasoline I can think of. But there lies the problem with using 100LL in outdoor power equipment. If you can't tune the carburetor, it runs rich and makes less power. If you can tune the carb (chainsaw or string trimmer with uncapped carb adjusting screws) and you tune it for 100LL, you can run lean and seize if you put E10 in it without retuning.

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aircom

· #129 · May 29, 2019

Hello everyone. Using 87 octane I can not avoid engine problems with cruze 2017?

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JunkieXL

· #130 · May 30, 2019

aircom said:
Hello everyone. Using 87 octane I can not avoid engine problems with cruze 2017?

There is no official word on the fact. The LE2 can run just fine on 87, it's just not widely recommended outside 'official' sources. Octane is the measurement of resistance to detonation, higher octane, more resistance. The caveat to small turbo engines, is pre-det susceptibility. Right off the bat a higher octane fuel will help here. On top of that, higher grade fuel will burn cleaner and more efficient. You spend a little more at the pump, but you gain back more down the road if you plan on keeping the car for any length of time outside the warranty.

But to answer your question more directly, There just isn't enough data if running just 87 will directly lead to issues with the LE2.

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Iamantman

· #131 · May 30, 2019

There are also about a million variables that could lead to engine failure besides simply what gas you use. It's just a "best practice" kind of thing. Or cheap insurance. However you want to look at it.

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Iamantman

· #132 · May 30, 2019

SONICJIM said:
BTW, after reading recent posts about LSPI in the GEN2 Cruze ( I have a 2016 GEN2 ), I have started using 89 octane and my mileage has noticeable dropped about 3 mpg. But I think I will continue to use it. I have 44K miles on it and I don't want any piston problems after 50K miles.

I wonder if the piston failures was really due to LSPI or just a bad batch of pistons. But if piston #1 was usually the piston at fault, I guess a bad batch of pistons wouldn't account for that.

Does anyone know if an ECM re-flash has been issued to help prevent piston failures ? Maybe I should bring my car in before it hits 50K miles to have that done.

It wasn't that it was a bad batch of pistons like a manufacturing fault or something. GM changed the design of the piston itself to limit failures. Pre-ignition is bad news bears for any engine. The early LE2s were just more susceptible to it due to their piston design.

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aircom

· #133 · May 31, 2019

my cruze 7/2017. Am I still at risk?

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