[XtremeRevolution]

Want better fuel economy, a cleaner engine bay, reduced road noise, and better highway stability? This thread is for you!

Back in 2011 and 2012, the Cruze and the Verano both used the same engine shield. It was a great design. Then, the NHTSA started investigating engine fires. Apparently, sloppy oil change techs would spill oil all over the engine bay, which would accumulate on the shield, splash on the exhaust, and catch fire. Bullshit recall ensued to address the PR nightmare.

The solution? Sawzall recall (hey, that rhymes)! I kid you not, the instructions literally told the dealer tech to take a reciprocating saw and cut up the engine shield. I declined the recall until I had to get some warranty work and they blackmailed me into getting the recall done in order to perform the work. I fought with them enough to get them to sell me the Verano shield (which was identical) for dealer cost ($80).

At some point, GM redesigned the engine shield for the Cruze so it had effectively the same size footprint.
The reason I'm sharing this is so those of you who have money burning a hole in your wallet would have a productive way to spend it, and so those of you who live in cold climates with salt on the road would have a cleaner engine bay. The Verano/Pre-recall Cruze shield covers much more of the engine bay. This has the following benefits:

- Significantly reduced engine bay dust/dirt/salt
- Significantly reduced road noise
- Significantly improved aerodynamics and cross-wind stability
- Slightly improved fuel economy

Here's the diagram of the original Verano/Pre-recall Cruze shield:

Here's a diagram of the redesigned post-recall Cruze shield:

Here's a brand new Verano shield next to the GM recalled (hacked up with a sawzall) shield:

For emphasis, here is the GM recalled shield on top of the brand new verano shield:

Lastly, here's what the Verano shield looks like installed:

I've also included pictures of the hacked up/recalled shield compared to a brand new Verano/Pre-recall Cruze shield so you can see what they look like as well. The 4th picture shows the hacked up shield on top of the new Verano/Pre-recall Cruze shield.

If you want to stick with OEM, the Part number is 23428362, available for $100 shipped on ThatGMPartsGuy.com, or you can get an aftermarket shield for less on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2gEXTR5

Please note, this only fits the 2011-2016.5 Cruze 1.4L and 1.8L. It does not fit the 2.0L Diesel.

 

[XtremeRevolution]

if my shield hasn't been cut, would it be any different than the $34 shield?

Depends on what year your Cruze is. The newer years had a redesigned shield that didn't need to be cut, but was the same size as the ones that were cut.

 

[XtremeRevolution]

So your shield doesn't cover as much of the lower body as the $34.00 one. By 2014 the saw procedure was being done by the manufacturer of the shields before they were sent to Lordstown for vehicle assembly.

It does keep the bottom of the engine quite clean, especially in salty winter roads of the midwest. In Cali, is it worth it? That depends. Keeps undercarriage dry if you drive through a lot of water in the rainy seasons.

There is reduced road noise, improved fuel economy, improved highway stability, and cleaner engine bay from using this. Even if you aren't getting salty winter roads, you are still getting dust and grime.

 

[XtremeRevolution]

Excellent info.

I take it this does not apply to 1.8L or Diesel models?

It will not fit on the diesel, but it looks like the 1.8 uses the same shield.

 

[XtremeRevolution]

XR, I forgot what year you have, but can you talk more to the bolt holes / hardware issue for those of us that have a 13-16.5?

There are anchors that go into the rear of the subframe for the shield to attach to. I'm not entirely certain on what hardware is missing but I assume that's part of it.

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[XtremeRevolution]

So what kind of increased fuel economy will this produce, I know the OP said some but I did not see that defined.

Will depend on driving speed, use of cruise control, and your particular terrain and environment.

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