What 201 owners told NHTSA about the 2017 Chevrolet Cruze Limited

THE ENGINE HAS EXCESSIVE BLOW BY FROM THE OIL FILLER CAP. HAVING A MISFIRE ON CYLINDER NUMBER 1 AND IDLING ROUGH. THERE ARE SEVERAL THREADS ONLINE CONCERNING THIS ISSUE BEING CAUSED BY WORN PISTONS AND PISTON RINGS.

NHTSA ODI 11739100

Recently my car's check engine light and the message "Service Stabilitrak" started coming up on my car, then my car started shaking while idling. I quickly took the car to my mechanic who assessed it, replaced my spark plugs, which did not solve the issue, and recommended I go to the dealership. In between these appointments my car was consistently shaking while idling and I would have difficulties accelerating especially after coming to a complete stop and often while making turns, this worsened after adding fuel to my car. The nearest Chevrolet dealership did a compression test and found that the psi in cylinder 1 was only 85, while the rest of the cylinders are 180 psi. They reported "internal engine damage causing misfire on cylinder 1" and quoted the repairs and replacement engine at $9500, almost double the value of the car if the engine was working. The codes P0300 "Engine Misfire Detected" and P0301 "Cylinder 1 Misfire Detected" were the two relevant codes in the report. However the car only has 49,860 miles on it. I see that other people have reported this issue as well and it continues to happen. Additionally, if the manufacturing issue or defect has not been rectified what are the chances of this happening again down the line with the same issue? This is a clear manufacturing defect in the engine of these cars that make them a safety hazard on the road. There is no telling when and where my engine may completely give out despite the car being low mileage and well taken care of. GM and Chevrolet should and must rectify this issue.

NHTSA ODI 11737526

My airbag light came on. My vehicle has less than 100K miles on it. I took it to the Chevy Dealership that I purchased it from. The dealership indicated that the passenger side rail air bag is the issue. Apparently, that airbag is no longer available. If I wanted to repair it, they can't, because there is no airbag. As long as the airbag light remains on, NONE of my airbags will deploy. My car is now a useless lemon. I don't feel comfortable driving it in the condition it's in, but I have to commute to work.

NHTSA ODI 11736392

Paint bubbling and rusting alone the car even though it’s washed and is no where near salt never even been hit there are tons of issues with GM paint yall need to fix these and recall every gm car with this issue and wipers are very rough scratching windshield

NHTSA ODI 11711931

Car is currently not drivable due to strong smell of gas coming from under the hood. Findings, gas is leaking into the engine and car will not crank. Diagnostic machine indicates poor fuel to fuel injector causing a gas leak within the engine.

NHTSA ODI 11708707

My 2017 Chevy Cruze had the throttle body replaced by STG Auto Group in Montclair, CA. A few months after the repair, my car began shaking violently and then shut off in the middle of the street while I was driving on 11/17/2025 This created a serious safety hazard for me and other drivers. When I took the vehicle to a local auto zone once the vehicle turned on , they told me the throttle body “needs cleaning,” but a new throttle body should not get dirty within a few months. This suggests improper installation or a defective part. The problem returned even though the part was recently replaced. I immediately called the dealership who fixed it and the manager stated I’d have to wait to the following week for another inspection and that I can not be squeezed in . The vehicle is still unsafe to drive because it shakes and can stall unexpectedly. I am concerned because this issue has happened more than once and could have caused an accident. [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11700010

Apparently there is a TSB from GM regarding the end for updated/replacement of parts concerning the hydraulic piping, slave cylinder and accumulator. My clutch became spongy then stuck on the floor. This happened unexpectedly (reservoir full) while driving and almost caused an accident. Apparently GM doesn't take enough accountability to update the failure before or after failure. Reporting this hoping it will eventually force a recall!

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My head lights stopped working except the day time running lights. The high beams don’t work nor the actual head lights. They just went out.

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My turbocharger is failing. My car has 83,000 miles, but had to get a completely new engine at 37,000 miles. So the engine is less than 50,000 miles old. My check engine light has turned on and it’s is the turbo charger. General Motors has a Special Coverage Adjustment N232395330 that covers models with the same engine as the Chevy Cruze. However, because the model is not listed they are refusing coverage under this adjustment. The adjustment specifically covers the turbocharger, a component or the engine. But since my model is not listed it is not covered despite having the same engine. My turbocharger began failing while I was driving on the grapevine in California. Luckily I was able to make it to my destination but had it failed over the grapevine that would have put me and my passengers in an unsafe situation. It is unacceptable that an engine with less than 50,000 miles on it which has been maintained with frequent oil changes be having this issue yet not be covered under an SCA that acknowledges the issue just doesn’t list the model.

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The 3rd brake light is known to leak on Chevy cars, which I found out when searching up the issues, which allows water inside trunk without your knowledge and does water damage to the battery and other electrical components that are located in the trunk that controls the dashboard, a/c, radio, power steering and probably even more. Safety risk: makes your dashboard stop working along with the power steering, while driving. There is another vehicle at the same dealer as mine right now with water in the trunk, it’s an impala. When you search up on the internet about dashboard not working along with radio and a/c there are quite a few different people pointing to the leaking 3rd brake light and water in the trunk damaging the electrical components in the trunk. The vehicle is at a Chevrolet dealer right now being fixed. No warning messages before it happened. I have only owned the car for 1 year bought it used June 2024. The bill I included is so far what they are saying needs to be fixed but I’m sure more to come as they get some components working.

NHTSA ODI 11679586

Check engine light say turbo charger problem code is P0299, i have googled this issue and its pretty common on this vehicle as well as prior years of chevy cruzes. There should be an investigation as to why this issue is so common.

NHTSA ODI 11676497

The Cruze has always been slow to accelerate which made passing a problem. In May 2025 we were driving on [XXX] in Detroit and the engine light came on the dashboard. We were able to drive the car without propulsion to Lansing, a distance of 90 miles. Feldman Chevorolet said the code for the light was engine turbo-charger. That's a $3K repair. We have no choice but to drive the car. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11673940

My 2017 Chevrolet Cruze LT (VIN: [XXX] 1.4L turbo, ~85,000 miles) is inoperable due to cracked pistons, a known issue in 2016–2017 models causing misfires and power loss (TSB 18-NA-171). I seek GM goodwill assistance for repair costs (~$3,877–$10,500) and am exploring legal options, as no recall or class-action lawsuit currently exists. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6

NHTSA ODI 11662199

There has not been any specific incident, but I have noticed a gasoline odor while driving my car. The smell is particularly strong when I open the trunk. I have had the issue inspected and inquired about the cause, as the odor began suddenly and without any apparent reason.

NHTSA ODI 11658116

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the door latches independently unlocked and locked. Additionally, the contact stated that the failure had occurred with all four doors. The contact stated that the RPM occasionally increased unintendedly. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The vehicle was taken to the dealer twice; however, the failure was not duplicated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 16,994.

NHTSA ODI 11653936

The catalytic converter on my Chevy Cruze has failed several times over the course of almost 2 (two) years and required replacement. The most recent replacement was 3/17/2025. The vehicle had diagnostics performed each time. It is my understanding that the life of a catalytic converter is 10 years or more. So being replaced several times seems excessive in such a short amount of time. The safety of myself and others were at risk because issues with a catalytic converter can lead to engine problems, which could indirectly lead to an accident or injury. I received warning messages each time and took the vehicle in for diagnostics and repair. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives.

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In a rear end collision to my Chevrolet Cruze my driver seat back broke on the left side causing my torso to twist in the accident. This caused disc protrusions in my lumbar and thoracic spine. Vehicle was totaled

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The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact observed a 1-inch crack in the third brake light. The contact stated that there was condensation leaking into the interior of the vehicle near the pillar loop of the seat belt, onto the floor near the retractor of the rear passenger’s seat belt. Additionally, the contact observed condensation in the trunk of the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11646488

We believe the auto stop is malfunctioning. When stopping at a light the car will go into auto stop and then die. It won't restart without getting out of the car, alarming and locking it, then unlock and get back in. This is our second 2017 cruze hatchback, both purchased brand new. The first one was doing the same thing less than 2 months after we bought it. Dealership couldn't figure it out, we caused enough of a scene for them to put us in another brand new one. Obviously, a car randomly dying on the road is a safety issue. We did have our first one checked out by the dealership, Autonation Chevrolet Gulf Freeway in Houston, and they couldn't find anything wrong and couldn't recreate the issue, which is why they got us in a second one. This one didn't start doing this until a couple months ago, at at 8 years old. No warranty, and we haven't had it checked out by anyone yet. It's worth mentioning that we also had this issue with our 2017 Traverse, 3 years in. Same dealership, couldn't recreate the issue, we ended up trading it in. No lights or warning lamps of any kind appeared.

NHTSA ODI 11645776

The shutoff feature that shuts the engine? down while at a full stop/red light, is defective. I was stopped at a red-light and the engine shutdown as a gas-saver feature and stalled and I had to put my car in park and restart it in mid traffic. I was rear-ended by the person behind me, who was a hit n run. This is an unsafe feature that has been put in many Chevrolet vehicles. I called the Chevrolet # and she told me, I had to pay for the $250 diagnostic test at a Chevy dealership and I told her, Chevrolet should be responsible for the failure to restart my engine car as it is a an unsafe feature installed by them and that that they should turn off that feature for free as I was hit from behind when the vehicle did not restart. I want Chevrolet to pay to have this unsafe feature removed without charging my for an expensive diagnostic system test. I as a consumer, should have that choice! I want that flawed feature turned off in my vehicle. IT'S UNSAFE.

NHTSA ODI 11642606

Slave cylinder failure. At approximately 125,000 miles, the slave cylinder began to fail. Clutch pedal would only come back up about half way, and would need to be pulled the rest of the way up. Associated problem is difficulty putting car into gear. Took vehicle to dealership for other warranty work and asked to investigate. Dealership ignored request. Took back separate time for other faulty parts and was ignored again. Other part failure was turbo waste gate. Internal spring failure caused turbo waste gate to become stuck open, not allowing boost to build. Caused check engine light and severe lack of power. Replaced part with aftermarket, and problem disappeared. Investigation into cause revealed low quality spring that broke internally. Dealership visits within extended warranty period were ignored/ told could not replicate issue, despite suggestions of potential causes, including waste gate failure.

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My 2017 Chevy Cruze engine failed with only 38,000 miles on it (Case [XXX]). After it happened, I read that this is a known problem (see link below). I hope that GM will consider a recall on this item in order to save others from this experience. When I contacted GM and Chevy about this in late August, I was hoping that GM would take full responsibility for what clearly appears to be a manufacturing defect in Cylinder 1. I was deeply disappointed that it took GM so long to respond to this request, and that the compensation was no more than the cost assistance that I was offered at the dealership originally. I will never buy a GM vehicle again, and will be sure to tell my friends and family about my dissatisfaction with owning a 2017 Chevy Cruze. [XXX] Sincerely, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11633238

The radio screen stopped working, and now the backup camera will not display on the screen at all. This is a definite safety issue.

NHTSA ODI 11630920

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated while driving 55-60 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormal banging sound. The contact then noticed through the rearview mirror, that the rear bumper had detached and was hanging on the passenger's side of the vehicle. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and noticed that an unknown control module had detached along with the bumper. The contact stated that only one rear bumper screw remained attached while the others were missing. The vehicle was taken to the dealer parts department and was provided the screws to temporarily re-attach the bumper. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 88,000.

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