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Special Coverage #14311: Negative Battery Cable (includes Holden)

331754 Views 279 Replies 106 Participants Last post by  Blasirl
Just got notified of another special coverage. I don't have the details yet but it's to resolve the loose Negative Battery Cable some people are experiencing. We have had many members report problems with this cable and its connections. I'll post more information when I receive it.

#14311: Special Coverage Adjustment - Negative Battery Cable Loose - (Dec 3, 2014)
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Subject:14311 — Special Coverage Adjustment – Negative Battery Cable Loose
Models:2011-2015 Chevrolet Cruze
[HR][/HR]ConditionOn certain 2011–2015 model year Chevrolet Cruze vehicles, the negative battery cable terminal clamp may have an insufficient crimp at the battery negative terminal. Over time, the internal resistance increases and vehicle electrical systems do not receive adequate power.
With this condition, the following effects are possible: the Radio/HVAC Display may turn off and on; the Antilock Brake System, Service Traction System, Service Stabilitrac and Steering vehicle messages may come on and off; the turn signal sound may not be heard; “Battery Saver Active” and “Service Steering” may display in the Driver Information Center (DIC); and the interior and exterior lighting may flicker. Power steering assist may also be lost, and greater effort may be needed to turn the steering wheel at low speeds or while the vehicle is stopped.
Special Coverage AdjustmentThis special coverage covers the condition described above for a period of 10 years or 120,000 miles (193,000 km), whichever occurs first, from the date the vehicle was originally placed in service, regardless of ownership.
Dealers will replace the battery negative cable, which will now require a bolt to fasten the small regulated voltage cable. The repairs will be made at no charge to the customer.
For vehicles covered by Vehicle Service Contracts, all eligible claims with repair orders on or after December 4, 2014 are covered by this special coverage and must be submitted using the labor operation codes provided with this bulletin. Claims with repair orders prior to December 4, 2014 must be submitted to the Service Contract provider.
Vehicles InvolvedAll involved vehicles are identified by Vehicle Identification Number on the Applicable Warranties section in GM Global Warranty Management system. Dealership service personnel should always check this site to confirm vehicle involvement prior to beginning any required inspections and/or repairs. It is important to routinely use this tool to verify eligibility because not all similar vehicles may be involved regardless of description or option content.
@gyrfalcon found the link at NHTSA for this coverage adjustment. It's a PDF with more detail. Thank you.

Another Link: TSB #14311

EDIT: Adding 2011-2015 Holden Cruze Service Bulletin for similar coverage:
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Mine was covered by the dealer and I'm at 50,000 miles with no B2B left.

Cable picture

Why fix it yourself and possibly screw it up and then be denied coverage?
Can you put in the post you are referencing? 18 pages is a lot to look through to see what your asking about?:blink:
Are you kidding, just read a few lines up from your posting. Car was taken into dealer and left with new cable and same problem. New cables are just as bad as the old??:dazed002::Drooling_anim::dizzy:This is another case of foolishness of penny wise and pound foolish. My time is worth more then wasting it waiting for a dealer to put in another junk cable from China?

Fix it once with soldering ...no parts needed! If you dont have the talent get a friends help who does!
I made an appointment, did some errands, met up with @spacedout for a nice chat, went to the dealer, handed them my keys, sat in the coffee lounge, cracked out my iPad and posted a few of my daily posts, got up, received my keys and a coupon for a free car wash and headed out to the grocery store across the street to finish the weeks beer shopping. No wasted time at all, new cable in hand err car and if need be it is easy to tighten the ground bolt if needed. If it is still an issue, at least it has 50,000 miles less gunk built up in the cable and I might do your solder fix then.

Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow :th_coolio:
You can get the negative battery cable on Amazon for about $20 with free one day prime shipping. With the special coverage, you'll have to drive to the dealer and probably leave it with them for a day.

I made an appointment and they changed mine in less than an hour.
Well, the dealer I bought from was one I choose normally not to deal with, so I changed my preferred dealership to a local Chevy one. I also praised them on a local board and after my service. So far so good, although I hear gums flapping about them as well.
I found the same thing Robby said. Autozone and my own cheap scanner only look at engine codes along with emission codes. I have the same issue too. The ABS light is on and the "swervy" light is on, but the warnings are only for Stabili-Trak and Traction control. Since I tightened all the battery cable connectors and finally added the positive cable for the big three setup, the lights and warnings go away for days and then only popup occasionally. So I am taking it to the dealer next week for other services and will ask them to read the codes. I need to get a new battery as the post is leaking and corroding my positive cable and will do that before having anything repaired though. I should add that I have no issues I can see anyways, driving the car.
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I recently purchased a 2015 Cruze sedan with 50,000 miles and I experienced the same symptoms described in this post. My VIN wasn't covered under this recall so I simply purchased the cable and bolt online and changed them myself. It only took about 5 minutes and it solved the problem. Apparently, there are more cars affected by this problem than they are willing to acknowledge.
Good to know.

Don't forget to introduce yourself and your Cruze here.
I defiantly have this, I wonder if my dealer will find it... Looking at you Friendly Chevrolet Dallas
Well, you are definitely allowed to be defiant if you want, but I recommend you print out the special coverage .pdf and bring it with you to ensure they definitively find it.;)

In case you missed it on the first page, here it is again:
TSB #14311
Updated link for TSB 14311
Are you not allowed as a SMOD to edit your own previous posts. I find the lack of basic forum privileges to update, correct, and improve many Threads that are a work in progress to be one of the reasons the current Forum owners are seeing a 2000% loss of traffic.
I could, but then I'd have to edit the original post which is not mine and I try to do little of that.
so bad connections ? any visual way of knowing if it’s bad? 2015 chevy cruze LT
Welcome Aboard!(y)

No,
If you are having a lot of unexplained electrical issues, stablitrac or traction control lights coming on for no reason, weird radio issues, blinkers acting funny etc, take it to your dealer with this TSB and have them change out the cable. Or buy one and do it yourself. You could do your own resistance check on the cable as well to tell if it needs to be replaced.

Don't forget to introduce yourself and your Cruze here.
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The Chevy dealer in my area used to run diagnostics free as long as you had the service repair performed their. Now they charge you diagnostic to tell you what you may already know. How difficult is it to plug in a computer that’s tells you exactly what is wrong. Mechanics aren’t even mechanics anymore their part monkeys. Who have no real knowledge in troubleshooting unless a computer is giving them a code.
Well, considering each code can have a multitude of possible causes, you still need someone with experience diagnosing and they get paid by the hour ...
You are forgetting overhead and profit.
Does anyone know of any help on this issue in Australia? Unable to find the cable part anywhere online here other than shipped from the US.
Dealer will have it.
I spoke to them today and was quoted $110 for the part alone :'(. Seems like I'll have to roll the dice with a US import which could take a while with all the flight/import restrictions unless there's a better solution out there.
The negative battery cable is about $29 here. With shipping it should be less than the quoted price. Are you past the extended warranty?

As far as I am aware there is no coverage for extended warranty in Australia. Chevy Cruze is re-badged as a Holden Cruze here. Same car, but unfortunately not the same customer service. I'll probably have to ship it over, I'm just concerned about the shipping time with all the hold ups because of COVID-19.
Hmmm. Is it a GM dealership you went to or is Holden a separate company?
Important point: The Holden Cruze is not a re-badged Chevrolet Cruze, they were built in completely different factories, and although there are many parts in common, there are subtle differences, such as higher headlights, and different wiring looms, and totally different programming in the ECU. That's only a partial list.
Hence the reference to a global PLATFORM.
Hello-
I have been having issues with my battery not charging and then my car sending random codes. I took it to the dealership and they said it was the negative cable line. They fixed it and it was running fine. A month later it is doing the same thing. My dad and I just wiggled the negative line and it was fine. The dealership is saying modules of the car is the issue. Could the bad negative line be causing the car modules to fail? -Thank you!
Welcome Aboard!(y)

Probably not. Post the codes.

Don't forget to introduce yourself and your Cruze here.
Welcome Aboard!(y)

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