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Radio Randomly Turning Off, Dash Lights and Stabilitrac Flickering

118388 Views 36 Replies 29 Participants Last post by  kebling80
I own a 2014 Chevy Cruze LT2 Gen 1 / 1.4 Turbo with 30,000 Miles.
Never been in accident and always treated well.

Im having an issue with the radio randomly shutting off and turning back on, the music stops and the screen goes blank.
At first it was just the radio turning off and the music shutting off and then turning back on... and then....it's still randomly turning off and the screen goes blank but now all of the warning lights and stabilitrack light on the dash will flicker on and off as well when this happens. Sometimes it will happen once and other times it will randomly shut off and turn back on a few times.

I took my 2014 Cruze to the same dealership I bought the car from and basically the service writer told me that this issue would have been covered by the GM " Bumper To Bumper Warranty " but unfortunately my " Bumper To Bumper Warranty " has just expired right as the problem started. He told me it would cost me a lot of money to have diagnosed and a lot of money to fix the issue since my " Bumper to Bumper Warranty " has expired.

Now, I work for a car sales shop where we have two mechanics.
I can fix this on my own as we have all the tools.


I just need to know if anyone else has had this exact issue and what exactly was the solution that fixed the problem?

Could the issue potentially cause the car to malfunction in a way that results in serious injury/death to driver or passengers?

Any information on how to exactly fix this myself would be amazing as I need to save my money as I do not have a lot of money at all. I've heard of other people having the same issue.

Thank you!
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It's the negative battery cable, it's a known issue with almost all cruzes and should be replaced at no cost by the dealer.

Here is a link explaining the special coverage bulletin (this is covered for 10yrs/120,000 miles):

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And if it's not that, it's likely a battery going south. 2-3 years is about par for the factory battery. If you've got access to a sophisticated battery tester, it wouldn't hurt to test it.

But start with the cable.
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Wow! Thank you for these answers!
Ill get to investigating this right away!
Thank you!
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I would bet on the battery cable. Mine had the same symptoms, and the gurus here directed me to that. Local dealer fixed it under the mentioned extended service bulletin, all good since then. Took about a half hour, no charge.

Dave
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This is awesome information as my 2012 just started doing this. I had previously called the dealership and they mentioned no special coverage existed for this issue. Thanks for the resource!!
In October my husband and I bought a 2015 LTZ Chevy Cruze. I have been having the same problem with the radio and thanks to this forum I knew it was an issue with the negative battery cable. I brought my car into a service appointment I made 3 weeks ago at a local dealer. On the phone when I made the appointment he agreed that he knew of this issue and as I was having all the issues like the ones listed such as service stabilitrak and turn signal muting, but this morning when I got there, suddenly it didn't cover my car and my model when my vin was entered, even though on the phone they ran my vin and told me it was covered, then he says I can do a radio update for 135$ maybe that will fix it. Long. Story short, I didn't do anything because I have a brain and they're not gonna get over on me lol and will have friend tighten the crimp. As well calling chevy and if they won't address it in calling consumer affairs, as this should not be something I should have to pay as it is a manufacturing defect.
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This is awesome information as my 2012 just started doing this. I had previously called the dealership and they mentioned no special coverage existed for this issue. Thanks for the resource!!
Home | NHTSA
Good luck with that though because even though it says all models 2011 through 2015 when you bring it in they may say you are model isn't covered like they did with mine
I own a 2014 Chevy Cruze LT2 Gen 1 / 1.4 Turbo with 30,000 Miles.
Never been in accident and always treated well.


I just need to know if anyone else has had this exact issue and what exactly was the solution that fixed the problem?


Thank you!
Welcome Aboard!:welcome:

I had mine changed as that was one of the issues I had.

Don't forget to introduce yourself and your Cruze here.

In October my husband and I bought a 2015 LTZ Chevy Cruze. I have been having the same problem with the radio and thanks to this forum I knew it was an issue with the negative battery cable. I brought my car into a service appointment I made 3 weeks ago at a local dealer. On the phone when I made the appointment he agreed that he knew of this issue and as I was having all the issues like the ones listed such as service stabilitrak and turn signal muting, but this morning when I got there, suddenly it didn't cover my car and my model when my vin was entered, even though on the phone they ran my vin and told me it was covered, then he says I can do a radio update for 135$ maybe that will fix it. Long. Story short, I didn't do anything because I have a brain and they're not gonna get over on me lol and will have friend tighten the crimp. As well calling chevy and if they won't address it in calling consumer affairs, as this should not be something I should have to pay as it is a manufacturing defect.

You should ask one of the Tech on the Board to run your VIN for you. I would also read the Special Coverage thread as @anthonysmith93 suggested to the OP.
the link posted here for the chevy cruize issues with the radio turning off randomly does not work.
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I own a 2014 Chevy Cruze LT2 Gen 1 / 1.4 Turbo with 30,000 Miles.
Never been in accident and always treated well.

Im having an issue with the radio randomly shutting off and turning back on, the music stops and the screen goes blank.
At first it was just the radio turning off and the music shutting off and then turning back on... and then....it's still randomly turning off and the screen goes blank but now all of the warning lights and stabilitrack light on the dash will flicker on and off as well when this happens. Sometimes it will happen once and other times it will randomly shut off and turn back on a few times.

I took my 2014 Cruze to the same dealership I bought the car from and basically the service writer told me that this issue would have been covered by the GM " Bumper To Bumper Warranty " but unfortunately my " Bumper To Bumper Warranty " has just expired right as the problem started. He told me it would cost me a lot of money to have diagnosed and a lot of money to fix the issue since my " Bumper to Bumper Warranty " has expired.


Now, I work for a car sales shop where we have two mechanics.
I can fix this on my own as we have all the tools.


I just need to know if anyone else has had this exact issue and what exactly was the solution that fixed the problem?

Could the issue potentially cause the car to malfunction in a way that results in serious injury/death to driver or passengers?

Any information on how to exactly fix this myself would be amazing as I need to save my money as I do not have a lot of money at all. I've heard of other people having the same issue.

Thank you!
Hi Marlo. My 2013 eco cruze is doing tye same thing but if my AC is on it shuts down as well. Not necessarily turning off like radio but it goes from high to low real quick almost to the lowest speed and picks back up again. It does it out of no where. I dont know if you have this problem as well but if the radio is on and I roll up the windows the car shakes a bit. I haven't yet taken it to the dealer due to my mother just passing and I can't afford $140 diagnostic fee since I'm helping with funeral expenses. Any quick/cheap fix solutions I can have my bf do would be helpful.
First of all, my condolences.
Secondly, if changing the negative battery cable does not work, give the following a shot.
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Hi Marlo. My 2013 eco cruze is doing tye same thing but if my AC is on it shuts down as well. Not necessarily turning off like radio but it goes from high to low real quick almost to the lowest speed and picks back up again. It does it out of no where. I dont know if you have this problem as well but if the radio is on and I roll up the windows the car shakes a bit. I haven't yet taken it to the dealer due to my mother just passing and I can't afford $140 diagnostic fee since I'm helping with funeral expenses. Any quick/cheap fix solutions I can have my bf do would be helpful.
Call the dealer and have them run the VIN to see if the negative battery cable replacement has been done on the vehicle. If not, that is free and have them do it. Next would be how old is the battery in the vehicle? Could have the battery tested at a local parts store. They will do this for free.
First of all, my condolences.
Secondly, if changing the negative battery cable does not work, give the following a shot.
Thank you. I called my local chevy dealership and my vehicle is not on the list for a recall which sucks. Its happening more frequent and I noticed the steering wheel pulls abit when this happens. Almost like if im going to change lanes and didnt see a car in my blind spot and quickly corrected getting back in my lane. That's how it feels. I will have my bf check it out thanks for the tips.
It's the negative battery cable, it's a known issue with almost all cruzes and should be replaced at no cost by the dealer.

Here is a link explaining the special coverage bulletin (this is covered for 10yrs/120,000 miles):

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/jaxrs/download/doc/UCM507523/SB-10057574-8899.pdf
Hi Anthonysmith93,
I clicked the link you provided but it doesnt take me any where useful. Is there any where particular I should look at or click on to find the info where dealership should cover it for 10yrs or 120,000 miles. I have recently called my chevy dealer and my vin has no recall.
Hi Anthonysmith93,
I clicked the link you provided but it doesnt take me any where useful. Is there any where particular I should look at or click on to find the info where dealership should cover it for 10yrs or 120,000 miles. I have recently called my chevy dealer and my vin has no recall.
Here’s the thread with discussion regarding Special Coverage #14311 Negative Battery Cable covering 2011-2105 Cruze models.

Hi Anthonysmith93,
I clicked the link you provided but it doesnt take me any where useful. Is there any where particular I should look at or click on to find the info where dealership should cover it for 10yrs or 120,000 miles. I have recently called my chevy dealer and my vin has no recall.
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Thank you. I called my local chevy dealership and my vehicle is not on the list for a recall which sucks. Its happening more frequent and I noticed the steering wheel pulls abit when this happens. Almost like if im going to change lanes and didnt see a car in my blind spot and quickly corrected getting back in my lane. That's how it feels. I will have my bf check it out thanks for the tips.
The car is now jerking when at a light. Never felt before and I honestly thought the car behind me taped the bumper and got out to look but they were not even near it. Happened again a few signal lights away. I have a brand new battery in it which I took back to pepboys to test and they shows me it good. And I also have problems accelerating and I'm scared to get on freeway if the on ramp isn't long enough to allow me enough momentum to merge on. I'm so fed up I think I have a lemon and will give Strategic Legal Practices a call because they got my parents didge journey to be bought back with a little over $50,000 back to them. Ugh so frustrating.
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