Iv decided to not get the cruze after reading about there recalls and known problems that are very serious and dangerous. The 2012 model is plagued by issues that can cause serious injury to the driver, passengers and other people on the road. After what I read I don't feel like it's a safe car and not something that I want my 2 year old riding in. Right now I'm looking into a 07 Mazda 6
thinking of buying a 2012 cruze
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Wow, I wouldn't go that far. The worst they do is leak things.
I did some research and found alot of people saying the breaks would randomly not work on there 2012 and they would be unable to stop even after recall repair after 6 months to a year later and random loss of power while driving leaving the driver with little to no control over the car. This problem was also said to have continued after the recall repair. I also found that in 2012 the cruze had to be pulled from dealer ships because the car was found to be unsafe to drive. Not something I want to risk the safty of my son with and the safty of others.
I read 100s of post and reviews on the car on several different sites where people were saying that they were extremely scared to drive there 2012 cruze cause of the problems they had experienced and then being told by chevy that there wasn't a problem and no repairs would be made.
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I do not feel that your words on safety align very well with your past practice.
Best wishes to your son.
Get off your high horse man. Just because I have owned cars with high miles and currently have a car with high miles doesn't mean that it's unsafe... I keep up with matinance on my cars. Currently the only thing wrong with my xterra is it has a small oil leak. Other then that there's nothing wrong with it. I just replaced the exhaust a month or 2 ago when it started going. New Cooper at3 tires with a new suspension system. My car is mechanicaly sound and the only reason why I want to replace it is cuz it's 1. Tax time so I can sell it easy, 2. I get 13 mpg and would like to get better gas milage, 3. I'm sick of getting my clothes dirty or wet pending weather when I put my son in his car seat, 4. It's still worth what I payed 3 years ago so might as well get purchase price back while I can. I make sure to take care of my cars so dont even start that with me. I'll take my high miles xterra of a car that hundreds of people have said there to scared to drive...... sorry if that hurts your feelings sense your a "enthusiasts" of a bottem teir chevy car that appears to nothing more then a shinny turd when you look at it closely
I wouldn't always read into reviews completely. While they do indicate people have had problems, people are a lot more likely to write a bad review than a good one. My alero did great things for me and didn't cost a lot to keep on the road during it's life. If I believed everything in the reviews I would have missed out on a great car. Based on the reviews there shouldn't be an alero on the road with over 150k miles, but I know a ton of people with over 200k that haven't had that many problems. It just depends on the luck of the draw. You had great luck with you honda's, but I have a friend who took good care of his accord and the motor went at around 120k miles. If you get the mazda 6 be sure to get the airbags fixed as they are part of the takata recall. There are also years that are very checkered for mazdas as I was looking at them when deciding to get my cruze. My choice ultimately came down to fuel economy because they had equally questionable reviews. Keep in mind you are looking for a modern car. Anymore cars are designed to be just reliable enough to keep customers, but they still want to make money on parts and don't want them to last forever. That isn't to say that you can't take care of a car and have it do better than most would think could happen, but anymore everything from your tv to, depending on where you live, your house is designed to break in a shorter time period than things of the past. Some people may not agree with me, but as far as I am concerned that is just the world we live in now. It is all about money and profits and making a product that lasts forever might provide a great reputation, but it doesn't put near as much money into the companies pocket as if it lasts just long enough to be equal to or better than it's competitor.
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The brake booster vacuum pump switch affected automatic 1.4T Cruzes. Small turbo engines generate no vacuum of their own at a high idle and in gear, so the assist pump is there to provide vacuum to the brake booster. It was a faulty part, and the cars were recalled for it. If replaced with a good part (98% of them were), there should be no more issues with it.
I would stay away from Cruzes that are:
1. A 2011 model year.
2. An automatic. Just too many issues/leaks with the auto transmissions in these cars - transmissions are something that GM has never been great at.
3. Have high miles for the model year or a sketchy service history (the LS you were looking at). Heard the phrase "driven hard and put away wet?"
I would, on the other hand, recommend a manual 1.8 or 1.4 Cruze with a clean history and manual transmission.
If you're looking for a good family car, I think a Mazda 6/Fusion, Ford Escape/Mazda Tribute, 03-07 Honda Accord/CRV, or 2005-6 or 2009+ Toyota RAV4/Camry would serve you well (avoid 07-08). The 2008-2012 Malibus weren't terrible cars either. Maybe it's just me, but I'd want something bigger than a small car if I had a family.
My experience with buying a 140,000 mile car was that it is right at the point in its life where many things begin to need to be replaced (suspension components and rubber things especially). That car (a Volvo) has a ridiculous reputation for durability and it is still on the road today at 243,000 miles, but it has definitely needed work (not powertrain), sometimes quite expensively, along the way.
If you read enough reviews about ANY product/car/etc. on the Internet, it'll make it look like a piece of crap - yep, even a Civic/Corolla. These are machines built by people, and people inherently screw things up sometimes.
I would stay away from Cruzes that are:
1. A 2011 model year.
2. An automatic. Just too many issues/leaks with the auto transmissions in these cars - transmissions are something that GM has never been great at.
3. Have high miles for the model year or a sketchy service history (the LS you were looking at). Heard the phrase "driven hard and put away wet?"
I would, on the other hand, recommend a manual 1.8 or 1.4 Cruze with a clean history and manual transmission.
If you're looking for a good family car, I think a Mazda 6/Fusion, Ford Escape/Mazda Tribute, 03-07 Honda Accord/CRV, or 2005-6 or 2009+ Toyota RAV4/Camry would serve you well (avoid 07-08). The 2008-2012 Malibus weren't terrible cars either. Maybe it's just me, but I'd want something bigger than a small car if I had a family.
My experience with buying a 140,000 mile car was that it is right at the point in its life where many things begin to need to be replaced (suspension components and rubber things especially). That car (a Volvo) has a ridiculous reputation for durability and it is still on the road today at 243,000 miles, but it has definitely needed work (not powertrain), sometimes quite expensively, along the way.
If you read enough reviews about ANY product/car/etc. on the Internet, it'll make it look like a piece of crap - yep, even a Civic/Corolla. These are machines built by people, and people inherently screw things up sometimes.
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Yes, there are a lot of negative review of the 2012 Cruze, but there never was a stop sale on them. There was a stop sale on the 2013s and 2014s for brake booster (1.4T only) and front drive axle flaws. Both of those have been fixed. The biggest worldwide recall going right now, Takata Airbags, doesn't impact the Cruze. Also, the 1.8's don't seem to have the water pump issues. If you can get more information on the specific services we would have a much better feel for "is this normal" or "excessive".
I have pages of serves history on this cruze I was looking at. They are all in my email. I do agree that things are built to break. I'm a welder for a very large company and I won't say what I weld but there are flaws built into what I work on to keep people spending money. I do understand also that there are more negative reviews then positive and it's like that with almost every product out there but the trends that I'm seeing arnt ones that I would won't to take the risk with. With the Mazda 6 yes it's a smaller car but the mpg is thru the roof and iv had alot of great luck with Japanese 4bangers. Right now it's just me, my wife, and the little guy with no more on the way anytime soon so a small car with great milage works perfect for us. After we buy our house in September is when my wife will get her suv she wants lol. Last I knew it was a terrain she wanted but idk.
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Doesn't hurt my feelings at all. Quite honestly I don't feel that you're a good candidate for a Cruze and I think you've made the right decision. But not necessarily for the reasons that you've cited.
If you look at my signature below you'll see that I also am an original owner of a Cadillac. I come from a Cadillac family with both my father and brother as owners. So I know what it's like to drive both spectrums. And quite frankly the model of Cruze that I have, and the way I equipped it, has never disappointed me.
They say that welders have one of the lowest life expectancies. Enjoy life with whatever you choose as your new ride.
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Wow this thread got kinda heavy. Many posts back I shared I didn't think the Cruze you were looking at was a good fit based upon the info you shared, I have driven high mile cars at times, not my preference but I do know if cared for and a good car things last longer than some think. I hope the Mazda 6 or whatever your car you buy works great for you and your family.
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Good stuff broh.
One of my neighbours was a welder. My favorite neighbour to be truthful. He died in his 50s. He was a good man.
The father of one of my closest friends was a pipeline welder. He's had a brain tumour a few years back and has suffered some loss as a result. But he's still with us and is in his mid-70s.
Nowadays welders do have excellent protective equipments in many work shops, local suction etc. And it all depends what material is welded. Aluminium is very bad, also some impurities in steel grades. So, it's not like it used to be earlier, not much to worry any more. I'd say, those who dismantles old buildings are more in danger, can be asbestos etc., though at least here there are laws that allows only trained personal with licensies to do that for asbestos.
If You would not need much space in a car, I would suggest a Suzuki. I have a 30 year old SJ413JX (="jeep") and that is stll in goog condition. I bought that as new. Only things which have needed attention are the body panels which have been welded many times in many places. One wheel bearing, alternator coals once, one leak in the windshield washer hose. Many tires, few brake pads etc. parts which are meant to wear, but no any faults in other parts, never. I will never give it up. Also I have seen some other models with happy owners here.
But as a family car those all Suzuki models are small, except the long Vitara whitch then again is too expensive, I think. Names may be different there though.....
If You would not need much space in a car, I would suggest a Suzuki. I have a 30 year old SJ413JX (="jeep") and that is stll in goog condition. I bought that as new. Only things which have needed attention are the body panels which have been welded many times in many places. One wheel bearing, alternator coals once, one leak in the windshield washer hose. Many tires, few brake pads etc. parts which are meant to wear, but no any faults in other parts, never. I will never give it up. Also I have seen some other models with happy owners here.
But as a family car those all Suzuki models are small, except the long Vitara whitch then again is too expensive, I think. Names may be different there though.....
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While I certainly do not agree with you, I can respect the conclusions you have come to. If safety is number one, the Subaru Forester is the safest car you can buy. Let us know if you change your mind and get a Cruze, the majority of us are extremely pleased with our Chevrolets.
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