What 201 owners told NHTSA about the 2017 Chevrolet Cruze Limited

It started with a check engine light stating I needed to replace a fuel injector. I had that replaced and continued to have the same problem. I had a compression test performed and stated that I had a cracked cylinder leaking compression in cylinder one. The engine needs to be replaced or rebuilt. As you can imagine that is expensive. After finding this out, I continued to drive the vehicle hoping to get a new a vehicle. I was unable to and the vehicle stalled on me while driving several times. This put my safety in jeopardy as I could've have gotten hurt on the road and other safety if I got hit. Luckily, neither happened. General motors intentionally inflates the PSI in the engine to compensate for the turbo engine, resulting in the breakdown of the engine quicker and makes it unsafe for the road. In my case, I just bought this vehicle a year ago and has under 100k miles. I have been unable to get a GM technician to diagnose the vehicle due to finance reasons. After research, this is common issue with my vehicle and I am reporting this issue.

NHTSA ODI 11523519

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 60 MPH, the engine started to misfire. The contact stated that the vehicle was hesitating while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled while driving into the driveway; however, the vehicle was able to restart. The contact stated that she attempted to call a local Chevrolet dealer however, her calls were not returned. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 35,000. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ODI 11515599

The number one cylinder piston cracked causing it to idle rough and possibly blowing up causing the car to come to a stop. The problem has been reproduced and confirmed by a licensed Chevy dealer/ repair shop. Was told that it’s a common problem with the car and also told that it will just explode

NHTSA ODI 11514420

I HAVE A 2017 CHEVY CRUZE, WITH 38,000 MILES. MY PISTON CYLINDER IS BROKEN. I HAD BOUGHT IT OFF A DEALERSHIP WITH 24000 MILES ON IT4 YEARS AGO. AT 38000 MILES WITH ONLY PUTTING VERY LITTLE MILEAGE ON IT, I HAVE TO HAVE THE ENGINE REPLACED WHICH IS A VERY EXPENSIVE FIX. I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO HAVE TO HAVE MY WHOLE ENGINE REPLACED AT 38,000 MILES. I HAVE DONE MY RESEARCH AND THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE 2017 CRUZES. THIS IS SUPPOSE TO MAKE A GREAT FAMILY, REALIABLE CAR! I AM VERY UPSET WITH CHEVY! THERE WAS NO PRIOR WARNINGS OF MY CYLINDER PISTON BREAKING. STABILITY SERVICE LIGHT CAME ON AND IMMEDIENTLY AFTER THE ENGINE LIGHT DID TOOK IT TO A SHOP THE NEXT DAY. AND MY CYLINDER IS BROKEN. WITH LABOR IT IS EASIER TO JUST REPLACE THE WHOLE ENGINE. I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED! I WAS DRIVING WITH MY KIDS WHEN THIS HAPPENED. LUCKY MY CAR ENGINE DIDNT BLOW UP IN THE PROCESS AND I WAS ABLE TO GET HOME SAFELTY!

NHTSA ODI 11497678

The car shut down in the middle of the highway which made me pull to the side and not so long after this incident the brakes stopped working for some time causing me to crash.

NHTSA ODI 11490066

Have filed an earlier complaint and never heard back. But the engine was stalling and not maintaining speed without heavy acceleration. First week of August 2022 the car finally gave out after diagnosis of faulty knock sensor. Was displaying knock sensor code intermittently and finally stayed on. Anyway first week of august it stalled completely at a stop sign and would not crank back up. I finally started checking relays and found the engine functions relay faulty by accident. There are two square grey relays under the hood in the fuse block. One says engine function s relay and one says something to do with defrost controls. Had to swap the two relays to get my car running. No problems since. Only had 87,000 miles on car.

NHTSA ODI 11477899

I should have filed a complaint here after the catastrophic failure. The next time I may not be so lucky and it could cause loss of life. I was driving at approx. 65 MPH on the frwy when bang! An explosion under my hood that caused my car to jump over a lane, I slammed on the breaks, swerved but couldn't push the brake pedal down anymore. It felt hard and would barely move. i had no way to slowdown or stop! And traffic infront of me was slowing fast. I put all my weight on that pedal even tried pumping it, but it would only move alittle. Luckily the car in front sped up just enough for me to swerve onto the shoulder. As I slowed i could depress pedal alittle if I stood up on it out of my seat but stopping distance was like 15ft while maybe going 15 mph. This all happened in a matter of minutes i still dont know how I was able to avoid an accident. The engine sounded really rough. So I called the dealership they said to bring the car in. I had already spoke. With them that week due to traction control system and transmission causing instability and brake issues. I was mortified when I found out what happened I had cracked 2 pistons & the force was so strong it blew thru the membrane that seperates the break system, got oil in my break lines! This is a new car! Dealership said it was a known issue & GM determinedtitle was a design flaw. I had 2 pistons replaced and my break system flushed my car has never been the same. There's always something little and intermitten still with the transmission & Now the engine jumps while idling and stopped in drive it jumps so hard the car jumps fwd, feels like ill hit whats in front of me. I lost significant value at only 26,290 miles, i cant afford to trade it in on disability, covid turned into long haul covid, no affordable extended warranty. I have no piece of mind in a car I dont feel safe in. What happens when the pistons fail they didnt fix. How many injuries or lives must be sacrificed before they do something.

NHTSA ODI 11477451

Car has a lot of difficulty accelerating even when pressing on the gas all the way to start to go. Car rolls back when stopped. Brakes sometimes aren’t working as they should. Car isn’t breaking properly. Doesn’t stop all the way sometimes. When driving the car also, burning smell comes from under the hood after stopping the car. Please help!

NHTSA ODI 11471072

Faulty knock sensor at 83k miles. First symptoms were slow/jerky acceleration and needing to apply more pressure to the gas pedal to maintain speed, followed by illuminated Check engine light that came on a few days later. The scanner at Autozone pulled the code P0325. Improper detonation regulation is dangerous. This vehicle has been well maintained but needed all four pistons replaced after 60k miles and the cause of the piston damage is unknown. In this vehicle’s history is also intermittent stalling and the vehicle turning completely off after idling, but dealership could not reproduce either issue. Those problems appeared early in the vehicle’s life/well within warranty.

NHTSA ODI 11469699

POWER TRAIN, PREMATURE MALFUNCTIONED ENGINE PISTONS, LOW SPEED, CHEVY SHAKE. AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION AT JOSEPH CHEVROLET ON COLERAIN AVE CINCINNATI, OH. MY SAFETY AND SAFETY OF OTHERS WAS COMPROMISED DUE TO LACK OF EXCELRATION , LOW COMPRESSION.PROBLEM IDENTIFIED BY JOSEPH CHEVROLET DEALER SERVICE WRITER CODY. IDENTIFIED . THE WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON FOR THE STABILITY TRAK AND THE ENGINE APPROXIAMETLY APRIL. 2022.

NHTSA ODI 11466517

The car acts as if it’s going to stall at every stop light and stop sign. It is slow to start and several times in the middle of a turn it just acts as if it stops.

NHTSA ODI 11462013

With no warning the engine 1t through a Stabletrac warning engine code and moments later BIG orange lettered notice showed something to effect of 'extreme low oil turn off engine!' and at the same moment the low oil indicator turned on. We pulled off the freeway immediately and discovered oil all over the engine and of course smoke everywhere - fortunately it did not catch fire. Checking this was a catastrophic loss of ALL the oil. It may be a completely other situation but 1 month previous ~ 1000 miles previous, that same BOGUS stabletrac msg was displayed and the car went on limp mode. Dealer determined very low oil level is cause! NOTE - it does not indicate low oil. It has never consumed oil. It does not drip anywhere and NO smoke. So this is quite a mystery. He reset the codes and serviced the oil. I was due for a formal recheck about now, a 1000 miles later. On this trip (about a 1000 miles I checked the oil level to start and there was full level, so again no indications of consumption. The Vehicle has but 80k miles. There is something very flawed in this engine to fail so early and so catastrophically. Thats dangerous on multiple levels.

NHTSA ODI 11454463

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated the service stability trac and check engine warning lights were illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the spark plugs, turbo boost sensor, and mass air flow sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred a week later. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 90,761.

NHTSA ODI 11454135

Cylinder 1 experienced cracking due to Low Speed Pre-Ignition (LSPI, commonly referred to as “Knock”) just after exiting the highway in a 70 mph zone and produced a Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) code of P0301. As evidenced in Attachment 1, this caused damage to the Antilock Braking System due to loss of vacuum on the system and possible fouling due to foreign object damage to the vehicle ABS. Later assessment by trained mechanics determined the root cause was due to insufficient structural capability of engine pistons to withstand brief periods of LSPI. As evidenced by attachment 18-NA-171 and PIP5490, the vehicle manufacturer (General Motors) is aware of the insufficient design of the pistons, has re-designed them to withstand LSPI, however has not made an effort to notify me or replace the existing part to prevent damage to the vehicle powertrain and ABS. While this particular instance of piston cracking due to LSPI has only had a financial impact on myself, loss of ABS functionality and potential engine seizure at highway speeds have the potential to produce dangerous, if not fatal, conditions to other drivers with similar hardware.

NHTSA ODI 11423287

WHEN VEHICLE IS SITTING IN AUTO-STOP MODE, RELEASING THE BRAKE AND PRESSING THE GAS PEDAL WILL RANDOMLY CAUSE VEHICLE TO STALL. I HAVE TAKEN IT TO DIFFERENT CHEVROLET DEALERSHIPS AND NO ONE CAN FIGURE OUT THE CAUSE OF IT AND THEY CANNOT REPLICATE THE ISSUE. (THE MECHANICS ARE NOT DRIVING THE VEHICLE LONG ENOUGH FOR IT TO HAPPEN.) THIS HAPPENS MORE OFTEN DURING SUMMER MONTHS, BUT HAS HAPPENED OVER THE 2020 WINTER. I HAVE TO PUT THE VEHICLE IN PARK, TURN IT OFF AND BACK ON TO GET THE CAR MOVING. THIS IS ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS IF I AM TRYING TO TURN IN FRONT OF ONCOMING TRAFFIC.

NHTSA ODI 11412786

I WAS DRIVING CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I IMMEDIATELY DROVE CAR HOME. GOT TENTAL. CALLED MY WARRANTY COMPANY HAD CAR TOWED TO GARAGE. HARAGEVIS MOT QUALIFIED TO REPLACE TURBO ENGINE. WAITING TIL MORNING TO FIX.

NHTSA ODI 11384626

AT AROUND 57,000 MILES SERVICE STABILITRACK MESSAGE DISPLAYED ON DASHBOARD. NEXT DAY CEL CAME ON. ROUGH IDLING. TOOK IT TO CLOSEST CHEVY DEALER TOLD IT WAS A MISFIRE IN CYLINDER 1. NEW SPARK PLUGS AND COIL PACK. DIDN'T FIX. RAN COMPRESSION TEST AND LOW COMPRESSION ON THAT CYLINDER (110 VS 220 IN OTHER 3 CYLINDERS). TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP WE PURCHASED IT FROM AND FOR SURE IT'S A PISTON. REPLACING ALL 4 PISTONS N SEALS UNDER OUR WARRANTY.

NHTSA ODI 11376103

64,000 MILES, CAR STARTED SPUTTERING, SERVICE STABILITRAC AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS CAME ON. DEALERSHIP SAID PISTON RING BROKE AND SCORED THE CYLINDER WALL BEYOND REPAIR. NEED TO REPLACE ENGINE.

NHTSA ODI 11365026

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 CHEVROLET CRUZE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE AT A STOP LIGHT, THE AUTO STOP MODE WAS ACTIVATED AND THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE INSTRUMENT PANEL WAS DARK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE RECURRED TWICE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THE VIN WAS NOT UNDER RECALL. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT AN ADVISOR WOULD CONTACT THE DEALER. THE CONTACT WAS ADVISED NOT TO MENTION THE FAILURE TO THE DEALER BECAUSE SHE HAD TAKEN THE VEHICLE FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE BATTERY TO VERIFY IF THAT WAS THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE AT JENKINS CHEVROLET OF VENICE (2324 S TAMIAMI TRAIL, VENICE, FL 34293). THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 18,511. *BF *TR

NHTSA ODI 11364479

INTERNAL TURBO CHARGER FAILURE. NOT GETTING ENOUGH BOOST PRESSURE CONSISTENTLY. CAR WILL BE MOVING ALONG FINE DOWN THE HIGHWAY, AND THEN SUDDENLY DROP SPEED.

NHTSA ODI 11351766

VEHICLE HAS STALLED 4 TIMES NOW IN THE PAST WEEK OR SO. IT HAS PASSED INSPECTIONS AT FIRESTONE AND THE OIL CHANGE SHOP AND THERE ARE NO AREAS WITH SUGGESTED MAINTENANCE OR REPAIRS. THE VEHICLE STALLS AFTER BEING IN PARK OR HAVING MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE AND NOT MOVING, AND THEN ATTEMPTING TO ACCELERATE/MOVE AGAIN. ALL 4 TIMES I HAVE BEEN ON A LEVEL STREET OR PARKING LOT, WITH THE WHEELS STRAIGHT, AFTER THE ENGINE HAD BEEN RUNNING FOR SEVERAL MINUTES UP TO AN HOUR. I HAVE TO PUT IT IN PARK, TURN OFF THE VEHICLE, AND THEN RESTART THE ENGINE AGAIN TO CONTINUE DRIVING.

NHTSA ODI 11342691

VEHICLE HAS HAD A MISFIRE THAT ONLY THREW A SINGLE GENERIC MISFIRE CODE FOR CYLINDER 3. JERKS OCCASIONALLY WHEN SLOWING DOWN AT STOP LIGHTS OR SIGNS. RECENTLY WENT TO TURN AROUND AFTER MISSING A TURN, SHIFTED IT INTO REVERSE AFTER STOPPING IN A RANDOM DRIVEWAY OFF A CITY ROAD, SLOWLY BEGAN TO BACK UP AND IT MOVED ABOUT AN INCH BEFORE THE STEERING WHEEL COMPLETELY LOCKED UP, A/C SHUT OFF, CAR ACTED LIKE IT WAS IN NEUTRAL AND WOULD ONLY ROLL FORWARD, WOULD NOT ACCELERATE WITH GAS. ENGINE WAS STILL RUNNING, NO LIGHTS CAME ON, BUT PROBLEM REMAINED UNTIL I PUT IT IN PARK AND SHUT THE VEHICLE OFF. TURNED IT BACK ON AND IT STARTED NORMAL AND HAVEN'T HAD A PROBLEM SINCE BUT IT'S ONLY BEEN 2 DAYS. TOOK IT IN TO DEALERSHIP AND FOUND 0 CODES AND ARE UNSURE AS TO WHAT COULD POSSIBLY CREATE THE ISSUE DUE TO NO CODES AND IT ONLY HAPPENING INTERMITTENTLY. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11329063

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2017 CHEVROLET CRUZE. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATE 25 MPH WHEN SHE UNEXPECTEDLY SAW SMOKE COMING FROM HER REAR VIEW MIRROR WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT IMMEDIATELY EXITED THE VEHICLE AND DIALED 911 WHEN SHORTLY AFTER THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE WHERE THE ENGINE WAS LOCATED AND BURST INTO FLAMES. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT DOUSED THE FLAMES. A REPORT WAS TAKEN HOWEVER NOT AVAILABLE. THE DEALER WAS NOTIFIED AND REFERRED THE CONTACT TO THE MANUFACTURER BUT AND A MESSAGE WAS LEFT. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 28,000. THE VEHICLE WAS TOTALED.

NHTSA ODI 11327930

THIS IS FOR THE KNOCK SENSOR I HAVE CHANGED IT 5 TIMES IT WILL LAST MAYBE A MONTH OR AT THE LONGEST 2 MONTHS AND IT WILL THROW THE CHECK ENG. LIGHT ON AGAIN I HAVE CALLED THE DEALERSHIP THEY SAY THERE'S NO RECALLS YET AND WHEN THIS HAPPENS IF U TAKE OFF SLOW IT WILL SHIFT FINE BUT IF YOU TRY TO GO AND GET ON THE HIGHWAY AND GET UP TO SPEED FAST THE RPMS WILL GO UP REAL HIGH AND NOT WANNA SHIFT VERY WELL. THIS JUST HAPPEN TO MY WIFE'S CAR AGAIN TODAY AND ITS THE KNOCK SENSOR I HAVE ALREADY PUT MY COMPUTER ON IT AND THAT'S WHAT IS COMING UP ON IT . WE HAVE 2 OF THESE CARS BOTH 2017 CHEVY CRUZE LT 1.4 TURBO AND HERS IS THE ONLY ONE ACTING UP. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11320804

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 CHEVROLET CRUZE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DECELERATING AT SPEEDS UNDER 5 MPH THE AUTO STOP FEATURE ACTIVATED BEFORE COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP. AFTER RELEASING THE BRAKE PEDAL THE VEHICLE FAILED TO AUTO RESTART. THE CONTACT HAD TO MANUALLY RESTART THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE RECURRED ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT DETERMINED. THE LOCAL DEALER PADDOCK CHEVROLET LOCATED AT (3232 DELAWARE AVE, KENMORE, NY) WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 1,000. THE VIN WAS INVALID.

NHTSA ODI 11317546