This man knows what he is talking about. Several of these things happened to my car. Even the wife was right they didn’t torch mine I had to do that valve cover twice. This was years ago but. I’m only going back to my Cruze which I hadn’t driven in 4 years, because I totaled my beautiful brand new Honda. I cranked my Cruze up after almost 4 years and it drove just like it did the day I parked it. It’s not a bad car just take care of it!

My wife and I, we own 4 and she just went to buy our 5th Cruze. These cars are great the issues I’ve seen with these cars all come down to one thing and one thing only, the owner. PM maintenance or the lack of, is what causes all the issues. If you replace parts before they break, these cars will last a long time. The one thing you can’t prevent is the turbo. They crack and there’s nothing you can do to avoid it. Out of the 2 engines I think the 1.8L is the better of the two. Horsepower is almost identical, plus no turbo issues. 1.4 also has oil leak issues unlike the 1.8. All in all these are good cars. Just replace parts when they’re suppose to, don’t wait till it breaks.

I could be wrong but usually I’m pretty good at this and you sir sound like a decent respectable and honest mechanic and my god we need them especially where I’m from.

Mine 2014 Cruze almost hit 120,000 miles and running still great with no problem issues so far. Most often oil change every 3,000 miles very good care with myself.

The Cruze drives great but has so many issues. Love your videos Alex, I have learned a ton from them. Thank you!

I have a 2014 and a 2015 Chevy Sonic 1.4l LTZ Turbo and love them, I do my own oil changes and other small things at home. I use the 2014 for doing door dash and that only has 38,600 miles on it purchased it with 13,500 both cars have been great. There is one thing you didn’t mention in this video and that is the expansion tank they crack at the bottom and I have had to do them on both cars thank you Alex for sharing this. I also would like to see more on the Sonic 1.4l turbo.

My Cruze has over 180k miles and still going strong. The easiest thing you can do for your car is change the oil.

I worked for GM for a long time, all these issues you talked about, yup, I saw a bunch of those. Great video

Great video Alex Thank you for presenting these common problems which are totally true.😊

2014 Cruze LT owner, this video is super accurate. My valve cover gasket is leaking into 1 and 4, I just replaced the water pump today, and I replaced the plastic water inlet by the turbo a few months ago. There is oil in my throttlebody too so I suspect turbo problems also.

Alex thank you for the awesome, informative video, 👏 really did learn a few things . As always keep up the excellent work/videos. GOD BLESS .

Very informative and honest you don't see that all the time 👍👍👍👍

I had all the problems you mentioned with my Chevy Cruze except for the last one

Just discovered your channel love it..keep up the good work !!

Checking the list....yeah you covered it all 👍 Constant cooling issues, turbo tore itself apart, but the airbag worked just fine so all is good now 😂

I had a 2018 Buick encore (same engine) which i sold at 122k. Blew a water pump but caught it immediately so no overheating occurred then the plastic cooling parts cracked small leak at 100k miles fixed it and evap canister threw a CEL at 50k miles. You exactly correct on common issues. Again if you maintain engine and avoid any overheating and 5k intervals synthetic oil this can be a decent car. But someone the continues to drive with leaking coolant will blow the turbo and head gasket again avoidable with proper maintenance.

Yeah he is definitely not wrong about the turbo issue I'm on my third turbo in The last 5 years in my 2011 1.4 l Chevy Cruze. I also had my water pump replace two days after I bought it. And I've had many water hoses replaced as well this is a very informative video.

I have a 2014 cruze 1.4, no problems with the turbo yet, but all the other problems talked about yes, these problems are inexpensive fixes, it was my Daughter's car for 8 years, I still like the car, over 30 mpg, runs like new, nice video!!

Great video guys. I learned something about these cars!

Alex wanted you to know Summit racing now has the the complete line of Walbro fuel pumps, they have tank units for gm cars and trucks they will last forever, I had something to do with that over 600 part numbers, I do not know how far that new retail store just south of Atlanta is from you, but I would highly recommend them over the parts store pumps

2015 Cruze LT here, bought it used and I swear it could have been my car behind him when he was talking about the coolant lines and the turbo cracking. Just replace both, 129,000 kms. It's honestly a great car, especially for commuting, just need to take care of it.

owner 2012 Cruze YOU ARE THE MAN! KUDOS

Spot on assessment! Lots of these on used car lots now

I have a 2016 cruze and literally everything you mentioned in the video has already failed in my car. But hey, its paid off. Turbo charger failed twice already, due to oil buildup.

Underrated channel by far

Thank you for sharing your knowledge , much respect my brother ... I appreciate you.... Wish you the best always....

Chevrolet Cruze 2015 1.4 owner here and I once got changed overflow hose for water, water pump, valve cover gasket Rear break pad holders Crankshaft oil seal, and I almost got robbed for that but thankfully I ordered all the parts online but still the labor was expensive

Thanks for sharing your expertise, Alex! A big help ... I've got a 2012 1.8L with 120K miles that needs some maintenance work.

My stepdaughter has a 2011 Malibu with the 1.8 and I've gotta replace the thermostat and housing. Didn't think about looking for other plastic components in the cooling system. Glad I watched this video. Gotta follow the doctor's orders. Thanks Doc!

I'm buying a 2013 1.8l tomorrow and you just helped me by knowing what to look for. Greatly appreciated.

Buick encore has this same engine.. cheap plastic parts do break. Check your coolant regularly for leaks and make sure you change the oil full synthetic 5k intervals. The water pump and evap are common issues. If you maintain the car it can be a decent little car.

I have had my car for years and I have replaced all these with OEM parts and it’s still running strong.

Be sure to use the right oil cartridge when you change your oil 2013-2016. Read TSB 17-NA-184 and know what kind of oil cartridge cap you have. Hengst vs. UFI.

its exactly that, my cruze I had to change the water outlet housing and the valve cover gasket along with the coolant reservoir. all were reasonable cheap to fix so not terrible.

Another plus, I drive me 15’ Cruze 40-50 minutes to work and 40-50 minutes back; 5 days a week and as of today feb 2024 it only takes $65 gas (including local minor outside of work trips) for an entire week

I have a Chevy Cruz 2014 1.4 . It’s giving me some little issues now . I replaced the coolant reservoir it was leaking then replaced the starter . Geez American car. Thank you for sharing

Hey i dont know to much about cars so i was wondering if the cheap plastic components mention could be swap with something of better quality? Great video by the way! 🤝

I got the 1.4 turbo for commuting and its cool. I do my own oil changes with quality synthetic. In hot summer days i will put midgrade fuel in it. Seems to like that batter than regular in the summer heat. I get 40mpg on the highway driving the speed limit. Decent little car.

Thank you for your video, I just boguht one of these and oh boy, the maintenance issues i uncovered is crazy. I have so far maintained it. I do have a question about a code I have been getting. A p2261 code about bypass valve getting stuck. I went to a shop so they can test the valve but it works. A mechanic mentioned replacing the turbo boost sensor and map sensor? Would that fix it, Let me know and thank you for your informative video. I have the 1.4 Turbocharged Engine for the sonic 2014 ltz

As a Cruze 1.4 owner zzperformance has a lot of part for the Cruze and sonic 1.4 including the water outlet in aluminum

Im going to be replacing my turbo soon but at idle my turbo tings i was told its the wastegate. It dont effect the performance at all just an annoying sound it may give a little less boost but it still drives fine. Im glad i seen this video because when i have the turbo replaced im changing all plastic pieces under the hood.

awesome video! Thank you!

Bought mine new. Turbo went out at 180k and head gasket blew at 207k. Had some other minor issues along the way but overall i condsider mine to be reasonable for reliability.

Oil cooler and timing belt is definitely the common problems with the 1.8. Just gotta check up on the car every couple thousand miles, I think they’re reliable.

thank you brother.GODSPEED.

I am having the same issues what Alex saying in the video, I have chevrolet cruze 2014, the biggest issues that I have facing of aircond. During rainy or when I wash my car then the aircond is not working.

I had 2014 Chevy Cruze LT turbo. Just traded in with 176k miles. Great mileage and small engine oil leak towards the end

suggestion: when replacing the reservoir hose, save the old one… it works perfectly to drain the coolant.

My wife has 2012 LT with 178K, I did some work on it sometime back that it improved the power. It feels great driving it but boy it has too many leaking issues. I have replaced most of the parts mentioned in this video. Now got to replace the gasket on the oil filter house for the second time in a year. Very annoying but I still enjoy driving the car when it has no issues

Changed the coolant outlet on my 2013 Sonic THREE times between 50k and 85k miles. Now at 92k miles. Just replaced the camshaft cover and installed a PCV fix kit. Pretty sure my head gasket is blown now and I've never run it hot.

The last GM vehicle my Wife and I bought was a new 2006 Pontiac Torrent AWD in May of 2006, which we still own with less than 72K Original Miles in pristine condition. Suffice to say it is the very best vehicle my Wife and I have ever owned. And since I do most of my own maintenance and replacement of parts, Rock Auto has been a real money saver as well on parts, and Walmart on Filters and Petroleum Products. *HOWEVER..* We refuse to ever buy another GM vehicle because GM is notorious for taking the cheapest way out in favor of the bottom line instead of quality. Alex presents a great example by pointing out all of the plastic parts GM uses in their vehicles, which not only saves them money, *BUT,* still charge you as if they are quality parts. Another reason why we will never buy another GM vehicle? It's because *GM IS OWNED BY CHINA.*

tyvm! unfortunately i had some of these probs with my 1.4t sonic .. especially pcv valve that went missing (fixed that with a nice little kit) now im carrying po300 misfires issues and hesitation on acceleration for more than 2 month, im frustrated .. changed spark plugs and ignition coils the probs remain .. suggestions alex? 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

Got a new thermostat today and hopefully it works when I put it on

The 1.4 is nice because power and timing chain, they tend to go through coil packs

I have a 2011 cruz with the 1.4 and mine has 225000 on it its had most of these issues already but not a bad car if you take care of it

Scrolling through youtube looking for music and having viewed many videos for use alongside a Haynes repair manual. Randomly see the title of this video. First thought - I bet I can easily give you ten more. At least it's a fun learning experience in repairing my own vehicle.

Oh my god i just got to my shop and what do i get in the turbo cruze amazing

Thank you

Sometimes the pcv can fail in the stuck position creating incease crankcase pressure and can cause oil leak usually from the vavle cover gasket.

They do make an aluminum water outlet for the 1.4T. I already replaced mine with a plastic one before knowing this. Next time it will be the aluminum one.

Thank You, Sir!

I do have a weird thing going on with mine though every now and then it glitches driving down the road and the stability track service traction control lights will come on. I've done a tune-up changed coil packs replace the valve cover I have a brand new top-of-the-line battery. All the things that cause the Stabilitrak traction control lights to come on I've done fixed and replaced. As of right now there isn't any reason that I could think of for it to be doing this. I always do my oil changes on time I maintain the car very well. I just don't understand what is going on here

Alex, I like your videos and have subscribed. However, I think you should do a update to this video. You stated in a lot of other videos that you hate to see customers waste money. Well, With respect, I think recommending this car to anyone or at least coming off making it sound like they are a decent car does not serve the customer well. These cars are for sale everywhere and at highly discounted pricing - used of course. However, They have a bad history of recalls and repairs. The one that really caught my eye is the recall for Steering wheels breaking away from the steering column. I drive a 2008 Buick Lucerne with the 3800 series III engine. I bought it back in 2010 and now have 164,000 miles on it. While I have done a lot of work on it, Its mostly because of lack of maintenance and some GM flaws like the back seat fuse box problem. However, I bought it because it has Buick's best made engine in it. My GF had a 2003 Malibu with the 3100 in it. She ran it up to 190,000 miles and had to rethread the rocker arm bolt holes in the heads (just two) and pretty much thats it. Pretty impressive for that car. She now drives a 2007 Buick Lucerne. Thank you for the video(s) and hope you had a good Christmas/New Years. :)

Do they make after market aluminum parts for the plastic ones?

Could you do one video on the Chevy Silverado around 2008?

My cruze has 228k on it and just now the waste gate is going bad. So im getting a new turbo also my ac don't work ill be getting that fixed also. But I love driving this little 6 speed manual turbo it's a fun work car.

I have a 2012 Cruz turbo and it’s reading on the dash stop low engine press . I have no clue what’s going on . The drives fine until I stop or when after a 20 min .if you can suggest anything . And where are you located

aluminum foil tape for ducts/insulation, wrap it on the cooling pipes and it reflect off the heat from the engine and gives it better thermal conduction to cool the rubber part. i made heat sinks for my cheap chinease led headlight powersupplies for my volt and they lasting forever

I actually had the 2014 cruze diesel greatest of all 3 engines best Mpg as well was just too small for me

My thinking was the list would be shorter if you mentioned the problems it didn't have 😆the 1.8s run forever but the 1.4ts seem to be endless for problems. Granted the fixes are well known and relatively affordable and easy to do with some knowledge and tools and can more or less be prevented with good maintenance and proactiveness.

Hi, I have a few questions. My 2014 cruze is showing the code P0449, I was wondering what might causes that to pop up? I have went to two shops here in my city and yes they replaced the solenoid, also even the gas cap as well. I still smell gas in the air when I step out of my car, is my evap canister going bad or something else? Either way, I'd be happy if you could help a brother out by sharing more info! Oh yea I forgot to mention that the engine light is still on

On my sonic 2014 I've replaced the timing belt . The valve cover. The purge valve. The catalytic converter. The thermostat housing twice . Can't remember, I believe the intake manifold also at 120k now and running kinda funny where can I contact you for advice on the matter if possible

Plz make a video on a 2003 -2006 Chevy Silverado if it comes by the shop love the vid

Yeah your correct about the 70-100 mile tyming belt replacement 😂🤣😂

Everything, I had a 2015 cruze, and it lived in the shop.

My chevy has all the problems that you mentioned, am just spending money on it the day i bought

I financed one of these.. worst decision lol it gave me alot of issues at first. valve cover failed and the pcv system did aswell but i ended up replacing those, then had some coolant outlet pop on me thankfully i caught it the moment it happened, just shut it off and pulled over. didnt over heat! been good to me since then..... knock on wood lol.

To be fair, every car has its issues. And mostly user issue haha 😅 and everything needs replacing. I am so glad to have picked my cruze. Its been less problematic than some others my friends have

Hi Alex i have a Chev cruze 1.8l hatchback, it started by failing to climb the steep it'll go off and now it refuses to start what can be a problem?

Great video! But Alex, you know it's not a Chevy unless it has oil leaks and plastic heater parts. 😂

What a coincidence, I have both engines in my cars, Opel Astra 1.4T and Fiat Croma 1.8 :) but аre you really changing the timing belt on 70-100k miles in USA? In Europe we changed this belt on 50k km (31k miles).

So my partner has one of these and so far the list as followed. 1. 3 coolant res bottles cracked. 2. 4. Water pumps. 3. 1 valve cover. 4. 1 turbo which I am currently changing

Thanks!

Hey man do you have any clue why my 2013 Chevy Cruze key fob does only works sometimes? I had my key fob replaced and it still only works sometimes. I also know it's not my batter. What could it be?

I’ve had my 2013 Cruze for 5 years.. I’ve replaced the turbo 2 times, the transmission, the water pump, about 5 head lights, the battery, the ignition coil, ball joints.. currently I need to replace my heater core, coolant reservoir is cracked, a/c compressor is out, my fan only blows out of the dash, and I have a misfire when I’m at an idle in drive, not at an idle in park, and my struts just started to rattle a couple hundred miles ago.. But I’m still averaging 36 mpg….. this is the only great thing about the Cruze… The maintenance is high

I have a 2013 did a oil change recently

Bought a 2016 from a sealer. Drove forcone week. Found coolant in oil. Bad head gasket. It was under 100k miles so warranty covered half. No lemon law here.

Great video!

change coolant cap also, if fails, heat up the whole system.

Good and accurate. I will add that the 1.4 PVC/valve cover issues are often related to a check valve in the intake manifold. It's under that corrigated tube that runs to the turbo inlet. Pull that corrigated tube's elbow on the intake and look in the hole back towards the cabin. If you don't see a orange little tit, it's gonna need an intake manifold.

Nice😎👨🏾‍🔧

I have a gas smell when i start car and put heat on 1.4 lt cruze 2014 any in put thanks

Do you know what would cause a 2011 eco to die out sometimes when you push the clutch in but not all the time and stalls first time you start up but is fine the second tome

Dam... i am thinking or really close to getting a 2014 Chevy Cruze, with close to 300km on it. From what i have seen so far, these cars are really good on gas. Thats one of the reason why i wanted to get one. But, i am getting it for $2500k CAD. Still worth it?

is'nt the valve cover leaks do to blowby?

A lot of the Chevy Cruze has had a diagnosis of a head gasket gone when in fact the head gasket is not gone it is the oil cooler nine times out of 10 leaking oil into the radiator fluid not the head gasket

Do you ever see power steering go out if the car stalls ?

It gets more gas miles than that I have one I drove from Illinois to Ohio on full tank of gas filled up 2 days after I drove to Ohio . How good they are on gas . Also I keep my maintenance up on it . Mine has 170 thousand miles and it’s still running good . Just replaced the vacuum pump because it was going out . And put new spark plugs in I have the 1.4

Sonic 14' code 52 popped up to change the timing belt around 100

What can it be if it shuts off when you put it into reverse?