general problems of the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze - part 1

Had a 3-5-r wave plate failure. Symptoms started at around 87,000 miles. Bouncing/jerking when put into reverse. 5th gear slams hard into gear when upshifting and downshifting, making it feel like I have been rear ended. Now 3rd gear is starting to shift hard like 5th. Soon I'll have no gears. Car has been both regular and preventative maintained so should not have such a massive failure at under 100k miles. Other vehicles with the same transmission (6t40) have been recalled due to similar issues, like the 1. 4 turbocharged Cruze, but not the 1. 8l Cruze for whatever reason. Now I have to pay $4k for a rebuild on something that Chevrolet should be liable to pay.

Car started jerking when put in reverse and slams hard into 5th gear only. Taken to transmission shop and they have no idea what's causing it. They said they've never seen something like this before, and said it doesn't feel like a major transmission failure. Car only had 98,000 miles on it when hard shifting started. Regularly maintained. Motor and trans mounts were checked and fine. More than normal amounts of metal in trans fluid when drain and fill was performed.

My car keeps telling me my trunk is open then it dings constantly going back and forth from tire monitor system to the trunk open. Then everytime I turn the car off I have to wiggle the battery cable to get my car to start and my power steering keeps going out. I'm aware there are recalls. For my car but beings my check engine light is on they r refusing to fix my car. I don't understand. I thought recalls were mandatory and had to be fixed. This car barely has 85,000 miles on it. I shouldn't be having all these issues. It's all electrical it seems like. I need help.

Internal transmission failure just started with the transmission coolant line coming off on the interstate and the car wouldn't go this can cause a major wreck an now the transmission is going out has been verified by jd byrider and has several coolant leaks.

Feel like it downshift first really fast before going in 5 th gear. Feel like you’re going to fly out the windshield. If seatbelt wasn’t on you would get whiplash. When driving in automatic it go in limp mode. Burning oil. Now.

Car started blowing out white smoke and tranny fluide out tailpipe and then loosing power as inside of car filled with burnt plastic smell and smoke. On 08-03-2023 I test drove car. Upon entering car I commented a out smell of car. Left lot with car at approx 6:30pm, on 08-06-2023 at approx 4pm incident occurred and now that smell is even stronger inside car. So leaves me to believe it was already an issue and a possible life threatning one at that. Possiblity of igniting a fire . Transmission fluid is very flammable when heat source of engine and fluide trapped by shield. So engine was shut down immediately and we got out of car till we knew it didnt ignite.

The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at unknown speeds, the vehicle lost motive power after 45 minutes. The rpm increased, and the vehicle failed to accelerate. The driver was able to pull over. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The contact stated that after driving for 45 minutes, the vehicle lost power and went into limp mode. The transmission had seized in fifth gear. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the speed control sensor had failed. The contact was informed that the speed valve and transmission control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was a whining sound coming from the transmission before the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was later taken to the local transmission service center and the transmission was rebuilt. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 60,000.

The cars turbo system fails. This causes a loss of power when accelerating. Pulling out into traffic or merging onto the freeway are all unsafe now as the car suddenly doesn't accelerate. This can cause crashes. I have pulled out and assumed I was at a very safe distance only to have the car not pick up as it usually does. I feel very unsafe.

Clutch pedal began sinking down to the floor with little to no resistance, car would have trouble shifting took it to the dealer, I don't know what they did but it fixed it temporarily. Went to see another car for purchase a few days after with it and on my way back clutch failed completely, clutch pedal sunken all the way to the floor with no possible way to shift I was stuck. Towed it to have it "fixed" sold it to carvana, don't buy one manual or auto.

It keeps running pot. And it also needs any houses now and I have done replaced the thermostat and the thermostat housing I'm going to voicemail.

The transmission is a known issue, so much so they issued a service bulletin. The transmission will give out or shift very abruptly or shift in to neutral without warning and at various speeds. Our specific case was sudden downshift while travelling about 65 mph, then shifted into neutral which turned the engine off causing an abrupt stop then eventual release and had to coast to a stop. We then got a code for transmission code that a mechanic inspected and tried to replace a part they said the code was most likely related to. The mechanic then stated that if this did not fix it, it would require complete replacement of transmission. The independent service provider confirmed that it was indeed related to an internal service notice for gm. They did not give us the related number. We also received a notice to bring the car in for related notice if the car was under certain mileage however they knew our vehicle was over since they do all the service. In research, this is a common problem where Chevrolet is not able to accurately detect, troubleshoot and repair. It is a known issue however we are on the hook for the repair when this is clearly a design issue and a severe safety issue.

The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated while driving 55 mph, several unknown warning lights illuminated and the vehicle intermittently stalled. The contact also stated that the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road; then drove the vehicle to her residence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who informed the contact that they could not determine the cause of the failure since the unknown warning lights were no longer illuminated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact to take the vehicle to the dealer for diagnosis once the warning lights were again illuminated. The approximate failure mileage was 56,000.

Lose of coolant. Engine hot. Not in motion.

My car was parked and when I went to reverse it it would not reverse, then after getting it reverse I drove it and then it would not go over 23 mph. After having it looked at and was told that the tranny is bad at 95699. After during my research I found out that the Cruze is notorious for the transmission going out between 70 k to 90 k. There should either be a recall on these, buy back etc.

At 91,000+/- miles the transmission interior broke into multiple pieces while driving it home from the dealership. This was after the dealer told us nothing was wrong with the transmission. There were no codes and no warning. Previous mechanic sent us to the dealership and informed me that no codes were cleared.

I have filed a complaint 2 other times on my car from the power train to the electrical and now my radiator. Because of the date of my car, which is one week off, my car doesn't fall under all the recalls that have been made. Everything wrong with my car is a recall including the head gasket! I have paid to fix my car out of pocket every time and now the repair isn't worth fixing because I never know whats going to happen next! just like every other government agency NHTSA is controlled by the big corporations while the little guy gets screwed over! times are hard as is now throw in this plandemic and car problems life becomes unmanageable at times.

Brake abs and traction control shows on the dash board display and when I checked it with service they found no odb2 or any service issue?.

Right front axle making noise for a while now it is leaking. Is this related to the othe chevy axle recall? can't get parts as they are no longer manufactured.

On multiple occasions while car is driving, check engine light turned on and car was unable to accelerate. (also happened once after car had been parked) it only lasts about an hour before car can accelerate again and then check engine light will eventually turn off. Also, car feels rough shifting between gears and has trouble accelerating often.

When driving my vehicle (2012 chevy Cruze) on the highway (I-75 north between auburn hills and clarkston), the check engine light appears, rpm's fluctuate and the automobile loses acceleration even though the accelerator is depressed. The dashboard cluster light (p, r, d) blinks rapidly. The vehicle could not accelerate and the engine seems to lose power. The vehicle did this multiple times as power and acceleration was lost. Upon receiving a diagnostic reading, the code indicated a transmission control system or output shaft speed sensor. I am submitting this complaint due to the unsafe deceleration of speed on the highway during rush hour traffic. The potential for a fatal accident is great. Additionally, this model seems to have an issue due to several on-line inquiries and complaints.

The vehicle has only 80,000 miles on it and it just quit running. I was able to have someone help to push it out of the road. I was told by a repair shop that the transmission is bad. I understand that gm is aware of the bad transmission but have not recalled the vehicle to fix it.

Transmission went out at 46,942 miles in 2012 Chevrolet Cruze on 10/14/19. I was on my way home from work at night. Luckily I was on a small, empty road in town close to home. The engine revved but would not up shift. I pulled over and shut the car off hoping it might be a computer issue. When I turned it back on, the shifter moved but the transmission would not shift out of park. Towed it to my dealer, were it has always been serviced. The cause was a wave plate failure; gears 3-5-r were lost. Decided to replace the transmission with a new one to the tune of $4,500. Contacted gm/Chevrolet. Was told that there was nothing that could be done as far as financial assistance goes. The car was out of the 5-year/100,000 warranty period. I had just finished paying it off. This car has less than 50,000 miles, and is conservatively driven. The original brake pads still have half their life left. It is a problem when a modern car can not get to 50,000 before a catastrophic failure like this happens. I sent gm corporate a letter of complaint asking them to investigate the old transmission. Consumers should not have to pay the price of a shoddy product. What happens when this causes serious issues? I was given a $100 voucher for future repairs or services for my trouble. That was a kindness from a customer service standpoint, but not on a corporate level. I wanted my issue to be heard by the bosses, but like any big company it goes unheard and disregarded. People need to speak out against big companies. I understand sometimes things break, but not when the machine is taken care of. Flukes don't happen consistently, and this is a consistent problem with these drive trains. I was going to keep the car anyway and get a newer one in the spring. Not now. Now I have to pay on it for another year. I hope this does some good if just to give people a warning.

Our chevy Cruze had started shifting strange while driving, losing power and it would start to idle rough, and just shut off, a day later the engine light came on and we ran a code scanner on it to find out what was wrong. 7 error codes came up and it all led to a failed pcv valve. Two days later it was in the shop and we are now faced with a major repair cost.

The transmission related to reverse, 3rd and 5th gear and the transition between gears went out. No real warning before this happened. Vehicle was stationary when it wouldn't work in reverse, then would not drive more than 24 mph on road.

I bought the car used about 2 years ago from a certified chevy dealership. At the time I had concerns about the transmission because it was shifting hard (especially when it down-shifted at low speed) so I brought it back to the dealership to look at. I also had a few other issues like an anti-freeze odor. The mechanic at the dealership told me the transmission adapts to the person driving it, so I attributed the problem to that and figured it would "re-learn" how I drove and adjust. Well, it never did, and suddenly, without any warning the trans completely gave out driving while I on on my rural back-roads. Several months and two transmissions later, the message "transmission hot idle engine" persists and no one can find the reason why.

Tl the contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze. While driving 70 mph, the vehicle unintentionally decelerated. When the failure occurred, the vehicle took time to accelerate and the check engine indicator illuminated. Also, while the vehicle was at a stop light, it violently vibrated and stalled, but was able to restart. The vehicle was taken to feldman Chevrolet of lansing (2801 e michigan Ave, lansing, mi 48912, (517) 507-4948) where the contact was informed that the turbo in the engine needed to be replaced. The contact mentioned that the part was previously repaired. The vehicle was not repaired again. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 150,000.

Tl the contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze. While driving 50 mph, the vehicle began swerving across the road and the contact lost complete control. The vehicle also made an abnormal animal sound, similar to a cow moo-ing. In addition, the vehicle accelerated on its own and jerked violently back and forth. The contact was able to pull the vehicle over as it lost power. The check engine indicator illuminated. The vehicle was towed to jimmy vasser Chevrolet (583 soscol Ave, napa, CA 94559, (707) 255-7600) to be diagnosed, but no failures were found. The mechanic stated that there was no failure with the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures and stated that a new transmission was needed. The manufacturer offered to pay 10% of the repair cost. The failure mileage was 123,000. The VIN was unknown.

Purchased my 2012 chevy Cruze March of 2016. July 2016 the car will continue to run after the key was out ignition I took it to naperville chevy they changed thermostat. October 2016 the car would run on highway or street all of a sudden service traction light comes on the car only go to 20mph suddenly then it will turn off. Took it to chevy again they said trans module they fixed it March 2017 it happened again they didn't know the problem because no engine light on it happened every 4 months October 2018 trans line leaking with the same sign no faster than 20mph jerking they fixed lines January 2019 car jerking again car goes 20 mph but the car will stop at stop sign and will I accelerate to go the car won't move at all I have to turn it off to drive again.

Car was stopped at a red light, ready to make a left-turn and completely shut off for no reason. . Read more...

The oil housing unit is leaking causing oil to leak into the engine and burn potentially causing a fire.

From the time I bought this vehicle (off lease) the transmission never felt right. The car would jerk from gear to gear and the rpms would sky rocket. I expressed this concern multiple times with the dealership I bought the car from and they assured me everything was okay and that it was just the type of transmission. After just getting my car out of the shop for a separate issue the Cruze left me on the side of a very busy highway that is notorious for accidents. As I tried to speed up the rpms would once again sky rocket but the car would not accelerate. After about a minute of this happening I pulled over to the side of the road. After putting the car in park I sat for a moment. When trying to drive the car just would not move. I tried forward and reverse and neither worked. So there I sat with car whizzing by me with a car that did not work. After towing the car to the shop he gave me the gut wrenching new that my 7 year old car's transmission is shot. I now have a $4,000 repair which I cannot afford. Oh and the kicker is I owe $8,000 still.

The car has had issues since I bought it. Everything from the transmission to the seatbelts to the engine to the brakes there is something wrong. My VIN number doesnt match the recalls but teverything that is wrong is recalled on the 2012 and 2013 but I missed the recall by a week? sounds like to me gm knew the most issues were on the car manaufactured when mine was and didnt want to fix the problem.

I have had my car since 2012 and have not had any issues, until now. My car was running fine when out of the blue, while driving home from work on a city street, my car would not go over 30 mph. I was able to make it home and when I went to take it to a dealer to have it looked at, I could not back the car out the garage. The car would go forward, but not back. I had to have the car towed to the dealer where he was able to diagnose the car with a broken shifter plate that damaged other parts of the transmission. I regularly maintenance my car and only have 60,409 miles on it (mostly highway miles). A car this young and with that few miles should not have transmission issues. I looked up the issue and it seems to be common with this car (see the below links). Since this is not a normal wear and tear issue, it seems to be a manufacturing problem, I am requesting that a service bulletin or recall be issued so no other person deals with this issue. I also ask that you review the attached repair documents so that I may get some sort of compensation for the repairs. I take care of my car and should not have had to spend almost $4,000 for repairs that were not due to neglect. . Read more...

Transmission module control bad. Car jerks when put in gear and takes off very slow or not at all. Very dangerous.