PVC and Intake Manifold Failure x2

36843 Views 13 Replies 10 Participants Last post by Hckyguy77, Apr 15, 2022

R3DSh1ft_Cruze

Discussion Starter · Aug 8, 2017 (Edited)

way back around 65,000 miles the pcv system failed on my Cruze (2012 LT- 1.4L/manual shift). I didn't think too much about it as it was repaired under powertrain warranty. Last Thursday, I was driving the car and it just felt wrong. Idle was off, no power, laggy input on the throttle, jerkiness under acceleration. As no CEL had lit, I assumed maybe because of the humidity or poor quality gas. The next day, the CEL lit and I scanned the codes... P015B and P1101. I called my Chevrolet dealer, appraised them of the codes, made an appointment for Monday. Ok. Cleared them just so I could drive the car. That Friday, I headed out for a movie-dinner engagement, got five miles from my home and this time, I lost throttle input in a flurry of CEL and "Service Stabilitrack" warnings. I've experienced this before. I shut the car off, refired it and managed to get pedal authority back and drove the car home, where it sat all weekend. Yesterday, I went to my appointment and they had to replace, once again, the top of the engine rocker/cover pcv system AND the intake manifold... AGAIN. I am going to keep having to spend $744.22 every 50,000 miles or is GM going to acknowledge they have a problem with the design of this engine? I have already replaced the turbo assembly last summer (July 2016). This has me very considered as I am a long term owner that otherwise loves my car. Has anyone else had this type of problem or am I especially lucky? As usual, any information this forum can throw my way will be greatly appreciated. *edit- currently, my car has 119,543 miles on the odometer. The components were replaced yesterday at 119,522 miles. I have receipts for everything done to the car, including every oil change. One last thing and this was a supreme hiney chap... they tell me that it was my Injen Cyborg cold air intake that caused this failure. Funny, the first time it failed, there was nothing done to the car. Not even a K&N drop-in air filter. This car has always been serviced at the same dealer, even oil changes. So what gives? Am I getting the stinky weenie or what?

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XtremeRevolution

· #2 · Aug 8, 2017

R3DSh1ft_Cruze said:
way back around 65,000 miles the pcv system failed on my Cruze (2012 LT- 1.4L/manual shift). I didn't think too much about it as it was repaired under powertrain warranty. Last Thursday, I was driving the car and it just felt wrong. Idle was off, no power, laggy input on the throttle, jerkiness under acceleration. As no CEL had lit, I assumed maybe because of the humidity or poor quality gas. The next day, the CEL lit and I scanned the codes... P015B and P1101. I called my Chevrolet dealer, appraised them of the codes, made an appointment for Monday. Ok. Cleared them just so I could drive the car. That Friday, I headed out for a movie-dinner engagement, got five miles from my home and this time, I lost throttle input in a flurry of CEL and "Service Stabilitrack" warnings. I've experienced this before. I shut the car off, refired it and managed to get pedal authority back and drove the car home, where it sat all weekend. Yesterday, I went to my appointment and they had to replace, once again, the top of the engine rocker/cover pcv system AND the intake manifold... AGAIN. I am going to keep having to spend $744.22 every 50,000 miles or is GM going to acknowledge they have a problem with the design of this engine? I have already replaced the turbo assembly last summer (July 2016). This has me very considered as I am a long term owner that otherwise loves my car. Has anyone else had this type of problem or am I especially lucky? As usual, any information this forum can throw my way will be greatly appreciated. *edit- currently, my car has 119,543 miles on the odometer. The components were replaced yesterday at 119,522 miles. I have receipts for everything done to the car, including every oil change. One last thing and this was a supreme hiney chap... they tell me that it was my Injen Cyborg cold air intake that caused this failure. Funny, the first time it failed, there was nothing done to the car. Not even a K&N drop-in air filter. This car has always been serviced at the same dealer, even oil changes. So what gives? Am I getting the stinky weenie or what?

I spent quite a bit of time documenting and explaining all of the issues with our PCV system.

Here's a thread that provides an overview of the PCV related issues:
http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/34-g...4-pcv-valve-cover-intake-manifold-issues.html

Here's a thread that goes into more detail on how the PCV system in this car works:
http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/34-g...011-2016-cruze-1-4l-pcv-system-explained.html

Lastly, I designed a kit for the intake manifold that costs half as much as a new intake manifold, which permanently fixes the issue that would otherwise require an intake manifold replacement, which would, as you noted, fail again.
http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/34-g...urbo-intake-manifold-pcv-check-valve-fix.html

These are all rubber components that fail due to fatigue and exposure to petroleum products and heat. They become brittle and tear/break or crack. There is no way to fix the valve cover issue, but fortunately that's the cheaper component, which is a simple DIY replacement for under $60.

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ChevyGuy

· #3 · Aug 8, 2017

XtremeRevolution said:
There is no way to fix the valve cover issue, but fortunately that's the cheaper component, which is a simple DIY replacement for under $60.

IIRC, the redesigned valve cover does just fine as long as the valve in the manifold doesn't go bad. Or am I remembering this wrong?

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XtremeRevolution

· #4 · Aug 8, 2017

ChevyGuy said:
IIRC, the redesigned valve cover does just fine as long as the valve in the manifold doesn't go bad. Or am I remembering this wrong?

The diaphragm that fails is made using the same materials. After a while, it will fail again. Even the redesigned one has failed on many people.

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UpstateNYBill

· #5 · Aug 9, 2017

R3DSh1ft_Cruze said:
Yesterday, I went to my appointment and they had to replace, once again, the top of the engine rocker/cover pcv system AND the intake manifold... AGAIN. I am going to keep having to spend $744.22 every 50,000 miles or is GM going to acknowledge they have a problem with the design of this engine?

Just as I suspected. It is a bad design, which is why we now have a Gen2.

My advise is either get Xtreme's kit and maybe your PCV valve cover will last a little longer before it fails, or just replace your pcv valve cover and ignore the missing check valve.

What does replacing the intake manifold accomplish other than costing you more money when it is just going to go bad again? Like I said, it is a bad design. They don't have a fix for it, or they aren't going to bother coming up with one because of cost.

I ignored the missing check valve in the intake manifold and just replaced the PCV valve cover every 40k to 50k miles. Since the first two were covered under warranty, I only had to shell out a little over $100 to get my Gen1 Cruze to the 200k mark. My intake manifold check valve was missing for most of that 200k, and yet, I never once broke down, or had to be towed because of it.

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jsusanka

· #6 · Aug 9, 2017

Just as a side note my pcv and intake manifold failed at 59,000 miles and the night it failed it was also like 200 percent humidity. It was like 90 degrees out and was raining. Not sure if that has anything to do with it just that when you mentioned that it just struck me and thought I should share.

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R3DSh1ft_Cruze

Discussion Starter · #7 · Aug 9, 2017

thanks for the information and link to replacement parts. As an aside, I am just up the road from Albany... Exit 30 off the Northway.

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anthonysmith93

· #8 · Aug 9, 2017

Don't ignore the missing check valve, before you know it you'll have oil pouring out of every possible component of the engine.

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UpstateNYBill

· #9 · Aug 9, 2017

anthonysmith93 said:
Don't ignore the missing check valve, before you know it you'll have oil pouring out of every possible component of the engine.

Not gonna argue with ya that it can happen, but I thrashed my Cruze pretty good with a known bad check valve for nearly 200,000 miles with no problems.

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anthonysmith93

· #10 · Aug 10, 2017

UpstateNYBill said:
Not gonna argue with ya that it can happen, but I thrashed my Cruze pretty good with a known bad check valve for nearly 200,000 miles with no problems.

Interesting! Of course not every car is the same so not all cars would be affected in the same way, you must have had a pretty solid one haha

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WhiteAndBright

· #11 · Oct 5, 2017

I had a failed intake manifold and failing pcv and had oil pouring from every possible place. It looked like I took over the city mosquito spraying truck the smoke was so thick! Check it and fix it when it fails you will without a doubt go through so much oil it will make you sick and one time of forgetting to check it and suddenly your 2 qts low.. Get XR’s manifold kit and call it a day..

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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NOCHEVY

· #12 · Aug 16, 2018

I have had nothing but problems with my 2011 Chevy Cruze!! I have replaced the fuel pump twice, had several other issues, replaced the transmission at 120,000 miles and now have a intake manifold issue!! I just want to have it somewhat operational to dump the POS! I will NEVER buy a Chevy product again! Only 135K miles!

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Blasirl

· #13 · Aug 16, 2018

NOCHEVY said:
I have had nothing but problems with my 2011 Chevy Cruze!! I have replaced the fuel pump twice, had several other issues, replaced the transmission at 120,000 miles and now have a intake manifold issue!! I just want to have it somewhat operational to dump the POS! I will NEVER buy a Chevy product again! Only 135K miles!

Welcome Aboard!:welcome:

While there are definitely issues with the 2011's, I think you've done well for 135k miles. This forum exists to help people like you take care of the problems that arise with the least amount of hassle and money, but we are not really here to bash Chevy.

Remember to introduce yourself and your Cruze here.

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Hckyguy77

· #14 · Apr 15, 2022

I’m here in 2022 with a 2016 gen 1 and this same exact problem, replaced camshaft cover when pvc failed under warranty, they didn’t touch the intake manifold but now my camshaft cover is leaking oil up above the spark plugs.

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