I have had ongoing issues with the coolant system in my car since I bought it brand new at the end of May 2011. It is a 2011 CHEVY CRUZE. I have at least 6 bills that are related to the repairs. I have been told by a private mechanic that this will continue because the engine need to be replaced specifically the Head Gasket. I am not in touch with the President of GM Canada Head Office to see what they will do. What suggestions do you have?
Why would the engine need to be replaced for just a head gasket? Answer, it doesn’t.
Given the issues you’ve had with the car and its age, maybe trading the car in for a new or lightly used car of another brand might be the least stressful solution to your problem.
You haven’t supplied enough information regarding engine option, repairs that were tried/done/failed,etcetera. So it’s a guessing game for us and much more work doing what you haven’t done.
Do you have the 1.4 L engine? I think you need might a third opinion. Do you park on pavement? Do you ever see coolant on the ground? How about in the engine compartment?
Has anybody mentioned “Water Pump”?
Some of these vehicles were manufactured with water pumps (actually the coolant pump, but called water pump) that can leak at the shaft seal. There are several bulletins written for Chevrolet technicians that outline this.
Warranty coverage on many 2011 -2014 Cruze vehicles with leaking pumps has been extended to 10 years or 240,000 km.
CSA 
On what basis does your own mechanic think there’s a problem with the head gasket. There are several tests mechanics use to test that part. For example in this case they’d probably start w/ a cooling system pressure test. Has that been done?
If your mechanic has done all the tests and knows the engine needs to be replace, then replace the engine. At that point your mechanic can tear down the old one and if there’s proof of a manufacturing defect, they can make photographs providing evidence of the defect and then you go back to GM Canada asking for some help on the cost of your engine replacement.
What did Consumer Reports New Car Guide say about the predicted reliability of this model when you first purchased it?
I wanted to give you a little bit more information about my 2011 Chevy
Cruze. Attached is the letter I sent to GM Canada
along with copies of all the invoices related to any coolant issues.
I would be happy to receive your expert opinion on why this same issue
keeps coming up over and over again - very frustrating!
When I bought this car, as a senior, I was hoping that it would be the LAST
car I would have to buy and would last me at least for 10 years!
Thanks
Wilma
@cdaquila can we edit out @WilhelminaCromwell’s phone number? Unfortunately Wilhelmina we can’t see any attachments, and I highly recommend you NOT post your phone number on an open website
Please edit out your phone number if the administrators didn’t do this already.
The car isn’t what you expected it to be and GM can’t change it to match your expectations. They’ve tried, you’ve tried, it hasn’t worked. You have given 7 years of your life to this unfulfilled expectation with this car. This is a car, not a spouse. Cut your losses. Divorce the car. Bring peace to yourself by trading this car in on something else.
Maybe not with GM.
1 Like
I took out the phone number. We’re just looking out for you, Wilma!
Thank you! I did not know that this was a web-site.
Wilma
@WilhelminaCromwell Wilma , you did it again . Maybe you should not reply by email .
@cdaquila