Thinking of selling my 2011 cruze 1LT.

1734 Views 15 Replies 8 Participants Last post by jblackburn, Aug 6, 2017

jsusanka

Discussion Starter · Aug 1, 2017

Hello folks I am thinking about selling my cruze and was just wanting some possible answers.

The two main problems I would like to hear from the GM rep here or someone else who has inside knowledge are the pcv and water pump issues.

Before I make a decision and pull the trigger on a trade I would like to know if GM has a reason why these two problem keep happening and
is there a permanent solution?

I don't mind spending money on fixing a problem because I know there will always be problems but what gets my goat is spending money
on a problem and still be in the same boat as before the failure.

Even if you pay to have something fix - it still could fail and we don't know why.
It is like GM wants me to pay fix something that has no fix but just keep paying us to fix it even though we don't why it fails.

I don't know maybe I am making a big deal out of nothing but it just gets my goat to pay for something that really has no fix but just keep paying to fix it.

I guess I am mostly talking about the pcv problem because it looks like you can pay a gm dealer to replace a water pump after the extra warranty coverage is over and it will be covered for as long as you own the car. But that doesn't do you much good when you are the highway 300 miles from home out in the middle of nowhere and all your coolant is on the ground (still would like to know why they fail). But the pcv problem to me is inexcusable because there is no perm fix except for Adrei's

. lol (gm pay adrei for the fix).

I am just trying to decide if I should do a trade in with my cruze while it is still worth something and I still have semi-low miles. Thanks in advance.

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pacolino

· #2 · Aug 1, 2017

jsusanka said:
Hello folks I am thinking about selling my cruze and was just wanting some possible answers.

The two main problems I would like to hear from the GM rep here or someone else who has inside knowledge are the pcv and water pump issues.

Before I make a decision and pull the trigger on a trade I would like to know if GM has a reason why these two problem keep happening and
is there a permanent solution?

I don't mind spending money on fixing a problem because I know there will always be problems but what gets my goat is spending money
on a problem and still be in the same boat as before the failure.

Even if you pay to have something fix - it still could fail and we don't know why.
It is like GM wants me to pay fix something that has no fix but just keep paying us to fix it even though we don't why it fails.

I don't know maybe I am making a big deal out of nothing but it just gets my goat to pay for something that really has no fix but just keep paying to fix it.

I guess I am mostly talking about the pcv problem because it looks like you can pay a gm dealer to replace a water pump after the extra warranty coverage is over and it will be covered for as long as you own the car. But that doesn't do you much good when you are the highway 300 miles from home out in the middle of nowhere and all your coolant is on the ground (still would like to know why they fail). But the pcv problem to me is inexcusable because there is no perm fix except for Adrei's . lol (gm pay adrei for the fix).

I am just trying to decide if I should do a trade in with my cruze while it is still worth something and I still have semi-low miles. Thanks in advance.

What mileage has your cruze?

Sent from my LGMS631 using Tapatalk

jsusanka

Discussion Starter · #3 · Aug 1, 2017

59800

jmlo96

· #4 · Aug 1, 2017

I hate to tell you but your car likely isn't worth anything. My 14 LT with every package and 25k was valued at 7k trade in. An 11 with all the first year bugs is likely worth 3k.

ChevyGuy

· #5 · Aug 1, 2017

jsusanka said:
I guess I am mostly talking about the pcv problem because it looks like you can pay a gm dealer to replace a water pump after the extra warranty coverage is over and it will be covered for as long as you own the car. But that doesn't do you much good when you are the highway 300 miles from home out in the middle of nowhere and all your coolant is on the ground (still would like to know why they fail). But the pcv problem to me is inexcusable because there is no perm fix except for Adrei's . lol (gm pay adrei for the fix).

The PCV is two-part: The valve cover and the manifold valve. I think the valve cover has been redesigned and you already know about the other fix.

From my understanding, the water pump has also been re-done. And when it goes, it's a slow leak. I'd say if you keep an eye on the coolant level, you shouldn't have a problem getting stranded. I don't think it's every leaked so badly you couldn't by a bottle of coolant and get a week or more. I'd worry more about the water outlet. If that fractures, it will strand you. But at a certain age, coolant leaks from hoses and radiator is a given, so you need to keep a watch on the coolant anyway. I'd try to check it at least every couple of weeks or so.

Reactions: 1

Robby

· #6 · Aug 1, 2017

The three failures mentioned seemed to fall off drastically on 2014 and newer 1.4t's and it can be assumed some redesign of sorts took place.
On another thread we discussed the 1.4t found in my 15 Trax and this engine is still the only available engine on the 18's and the base engine on the Buick version.
Shops I have spoken with indicate this engine has become rather trouble free......consistent with continual production.

Your Cruze likely sports all the updated components now so, about the only thing to be wary of is the various plastic cooling system parts. For whatever it is worth, all manufacturers are using this stuff.....first seen on high end German cars. The material gets brittle and prone to cracking as it ages.
It is used because it makes assembly line progress faster and, believe it not, fewer failures during warranty.

Far be it from me to recommend against changing cars......I am accused (rightfully) of changing cars like underwear....I get bored.

The realities are, you may be yearning to see a new face in the driveway and are using failure potential as a decision maker.......only you can answer that.
Keep in mind though, new cars fail just like old cars.....otherwise a warranty wouldn't be necessary.

If potentially staving off a future failure is your only motivation, I'd say, Hold.

Rob

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jblackburn

· #7 · Aug 1, 2017

If it's paid off...keep it. You have relatively low mileage & sounds like you have had relatively few issues with yours (consider yourself lucky). Cruzes, like many common small and midsized cars right now, are worth nothing in the current used market.

Enjoy it another few years, take advantage of the extended warranty on the WP, and get into something newer and better when the time comes. Car technology has recently been taking leaps and bounds forward with each model generation, with relatively good things planned for 2019-2020 refreshes from a few mfrs.

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ChevyGuy

· #8 · Aug 1, 2017

jblackburn said:
Car technology has recently been taking leaps and bounds forward with each model generation, with relatively good things planned for 2019-2020 refreshes from a few mfrs.

It's not going to be too many model years before we start seeing full autonomous driving. You might want to time your ownership cycle so that you'll get the second year that's available. Of course, the cars prior to that will take a steep hit on value, so you might as well wear that one out.

jblackburn

· #9 · Aug 2, 2017

ChevyGuy said:
It's not going to be too many model years before we start seeing full autonomous driving. You might want to time your ownership cycle so that you'll get the second year that's available. Of course, the cars prior to that will take a steep hit on value, so you might as well wear that one out.

Now that's something I'm not looking forward to - at least in my own cars. I would like for the radar-guided cruise control to be an option in the Cruze, though. Driven 2 cars with that - Toyota's system is extremely jerky; Ford's is pretty well implemented. Lane keep assist in the Gen 2 Cruze is pretty useless, so mine stays off - but the blind spot monitoring and rear-cross traffic alert is extremely helpful.

ChevyGuy

· #10 · Aug 2, 2017

jblackburn said:
Lane keep assist in the Gen 2 Cruze is pretty useless, so mine stays off - but the blind spot monitoring and rear-cross traffic alert is extremely helpful.

I drove a rental Mazda during the summer. The electronics didn't feel as refined as the Cruze (I kept stalling the engine on start because I didn't hold the button long enough), but I'd be more than happy to have it's automatic windshield wipers and blind spot monitoring.

Yeah, but radar assisted cruse control - that could be a life saver.

jblackburn

· #11 · Aug 2, 2017

My parents had the auto wipers on a 2003 MDX. Maybe the systems have improved since then, but they were awful and never did anything right.

NewCarBuyer

· #12 · Aug 2, 2017

I guess I should be lucky that I still have the original water pump in my 17 year old Pontiac. In fact everything is still mostly original with 150k miles on it.

Reactions: 1

chevrasaki

· #13 · Aug 2, 2017

What you need to do is keep the Cruze and buy an MX-5......
You can pick up a reliable Japanese roadster for a super low price. Then you have something to drive when the Cruze is being fixed. Or for nice evening cruises around town. You can even drive it with the top up in the rain on the way to work when you just want to feel special.

In all seriousness, I agree you should keep it. Once all the bugs are worked out, it will last for awhile. Don't let sell it cheap to the next person who will reap the rewards of all your struggle. The car should be fine now. Unless of course, as mentioned above, you're getting bored with it, then treat yo self.

ChevyGuy

· #14 · Aug 2, 2017

jblackburn said:
My parents had the auto wipers on a 2003 MDX. Maybe the systems have improved since then, but they were awful and never did anything right.

They weren't perfect - they tended to overreact to a very fine mist that wasn't even visible. But by and large, I left them in automatic mode the whole trip. They'd range from off to all the way to high speed as needed. It was one less thing to mess with. I'd gladly trade the intermittent wipers I have now.

jsusanka

Discussion Starter · #15 · Aug 6, 2017

Hello everyone. I hope I don't get banned from the forum but I traded my Cruze in Friday night on a used 2016 Toyota Camry SE. They gave a trade in offer that was hard to refuse.

I took everything you folks wrote in this thread to heart and I appreciate that you responded. But I took a week to think about it and talked with my wife and we are at a point in our lives that we need to just get in our cars and go without having to worry about paying a 1078 dollars for a pcv problem. It was hard decision to make since I had the Cruze paid off and I still wonder if it was the correct one because I don't take changing cars lightly. My wife works with someone who has a Cruze and it also has a pcv problem or a turbo problem but still isn't fixed and that helped make her decision too.

My wife's 2015 Rav4 xle has been a fricken tank with nothing but oil changes and tire rotations. I hope the Camry is the same since it has the same engine.

I looked at all my shop tickets for the Cruze. It has been in the shop for a problem at least once a year since I owned it - not counting oil changes and tire rotations. There was only one year where it was just once all the other years were 2 or more. That is what kind of swayed me since I am out of warranty. I really liked the Cruze and loved my dealer because they went all out for me when it was appropriate. I wish all dealers were like that for all the manufacturers. I still think Cruze is a good car except for a few problems that should of never happened. The turbos for the most part are the strong point of the car and I thought those would be the weak point but looks like they put a good solid turbo in the cars.

I still would like to stick around the forum because I learn a lot and it is one of the friendliest forums around and who knows I may come back to GM and get something in the future.
Thanks everyone!

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jblackburn

· #16 · Aug 6, 2017

BANNED!

Nah, just kidding. I wish you'd waited for the 2018 to come out (it seriously looks good compared to anything else out right now, and I think for the first time in a while, the Camry one-upped the Accord refresh), but what you've got is an old platform with almost no reliability concerns - the technology is so old that most of the kinks have been worked out. I do like Toyota's touch-screen radios - they are simple, straightforward, and responsive. Honda's systems are just frustrating.

We've got a 2012 SE, and once it had the transmission torque converter crap worked out, along with the rattling cam gear on start-up, it's been decently reliable and will be paid off this month. It's boring to drive, but it goes from point A to B without issue, is a lot more pleasant to drive in stop-and-go traffic than the Cruze's jerky auto transmission, and has pretty decent low-end torque for a NA engine that make it mostly unobtrusive and quiet in everyday driving, which is good because it's not a pleasant-sounding motor at high revs. Build quality is not at all what it was with our Gen 5 Camry's, but I think it will hang in there for another 5 years with relatively minor issues along the way. I feel that at least the interior is a step up from previous Toyota products.

The best thing we did for that car was put a set of Pirelli P7's on it. The Turanza's from the factory were downright the worst tires I've ever driven on and completely ruined the noise level and ride quality you'd expect from a Camry.

P.S. The paint on modern Toyotas is absolutely terrible - give it a good wax and sealant job before it shows dings and scrapes from parking lots EVERYWHERE.

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