I have a check engine for an underboost code and I’m too lazy to replace my dead tire sensors lol. But bought it off the lot with 6 miles. 2017. If you have any suggestions for the P0299 code please let me know. I’ve already replaced the wastegate, inlet and outlet charge pipes and the intercooler. Still underboost code. Hoping it’s not the turbo but I think it might be the turbo itself. The car itself runs normal and haven’t notice a drop in performance. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

The grey bolt or the black one, which one for the grounding cable when im jumping another car?

2016 Cruze LS LE2
146k Miles

The past month and a half with my Cruze has been an absolute nightmare. It’s a long story so buckle up (pun intended) and I’m just at my whits end with the whole situation. Please keep in mind, I am not super knowledgeable about cars.

9/3 - Take the Cruz to a local shop to have Brakes & Rotors replaced, they were at the point of starting to make some noise so I figured it was time.

9/4 - Pick up the car after a finished job, everything seems to be working fine.

9/9 - Girlfriend is driving the car and suddenly the brake pedal gets really stiff and the amount of time it takes to brake fully increases. Drop it back off at the shop and they determine that my vacuum pump like exploded, literally just came apart while she was driving it. What are the chances of that immediately after have brake/rotor replacement? Whatever. Agree to have them replace it. With that they also recommended that the valve cover gasket be replaced to avoid any potential metal fragments getting into the oil pump or engine. Sure, just do it I guess.

9/15 - Shop calls and says they completed the work, they test drove the car and now oddly enough it starts shaking really bad at about 40MPH and is giving the dreaded P1101 code. Guy says he checked everything and “all the work they did looks good”. Says the only thing he can see that may be the issue is a hairline crack in the turbo, but his technician isn’t comfortable replacing the turbo so I’ll have to take it elsewhere.

9/16 - Did some research on my own to try and figure out how I can potentially fix my car that was drivable before I took it to this shop and somehow now isn’t. Find that some common potential fixes for P1101 are replacing the air filter and cleaning the throttle body, so I make a trip to Advanced Auto and that’s what I do. Clear the code, it hasn’t come back since, test drive the car and it starts misfiring at around 40.

9/18 - Drop it off at shop #2. Explain to them all the work that had been done to the car, and the current issues it has. Pay for another round of diagnostics. They determine that the misfiring was due to one of the spark plugs that the first shop has just replaced, was cracked. If they checked all their work after test driving it… how do you miss a cracked spark plug? However, they also determine that the car has positive crankcase pressure of about +0.9 to +1.2 inches of water at hot idle. (GM recommends -1 to -5 btw) They recommend a full valve cover replacement that they estimate to be about a $1700 job. However, after the research I had done, I know that PCV orifices are a common issue with these hunks of junk. The previous shop also JUST did work in and around this area when replacing the valve cover gasket, so it seems especially odd that it all of a sudden needs replacing. So, I did not agree to the work because it was around this point while looking for better financial options, I realized that my CarMax MaxCare Warranty was still active but this shop did not accept the warranty. So I would be taking it elsewhere, but did ask shop #2 “did anyone actually remove the valve cover and check the orifices and lines to make sure they’re not blocked?” To which they responded “No, because it’s built into the valve cover so the whole thing would need to be replaced either way”. As I’m sure many of you know, on the LE2, it’s no longer built into the valve cover. Yet, I was no longer going to be utilizing this shops services anyway so I said whatever and moved on.

10/5 - Drop it off at shop #3 (where it currently resides) explain everything that’s going on, tell them about the positive crankcase pressure and explain the common issues these cars have with PCV and especially PCV orifices. Also explicitly mention that it is an LE2 and that the PCV is NOT built into the valve cover. There is a line on top of the engine that has a slight split in it near the PCV valve right there toward the front of the engine, so I mention that to them as well. The last shop had also mentioned I was probably due for some control arms, so I went ahead and had them include that in the claim to the warranty company as well. They do their diagnostics, determine that yes there is a split in the line that I mentioned, but don’t go any further than that PCV wise. They said they wanted to go ahead and replaced that first to ensure it’s not the issue, and then if there’s still a problem we’ll proceed from there. Sure, whatever, it needs to be replaced anyway so let’s just do it. They do that, replace the control arms, a couple tires, do an alignment, etc.

10/15 - “Your car is ready for pick up”. Finally, over a month of work and nonsense and my car is finally ready for me to get it back on the road. I pick it up, drive it about 5 minutes up the road, pop the hood, remove the oil dipstick and there is still air blowing out of it. There’s still positive crankcase pressure. I immediately take it back to the shop and tell them what’s going on, I show the lady at the front desk what exactly I’m referring to and she’s like ok I’ll have the technician take another look tomorrow.

10/16 - “Hey, the car is good to go. The technician says a little bit of positive crankcase pressure should be fine, especially if the car isn’t rough idling or throwing a check engine light or anything.” Ugh. Nothing I’ve researched or read has given me this same sentiment that driving the vehicle with that pressure is fine, but you know what? Fine. I’m over it, I’m hoping you’re right, I just want to be able to drive my car. So I take the car, I drive it back and forth to work over the weekend and I immediately notice that it appears to be leaking oil. It drives well, honestly probably even better than when I bought the damn thing, but there is a bit of white smoke and the smell of burning oil. The second shop had mentioned some oil residue on the underside of the vehicle so maybe it’s just that, maybe for once I’ll be lucky and it’ll just be some oil residue from all the work that’s been done on the car burning off. Unfortunately not. The smoke continues and I’m able to see down in the engine bay that there’s fresh oil in a couple of spots, my parking spot at work has several fairly large spots where it leaked after I parked.

10/19 - I drop the car back off at shop #3 and let them know what’s going on. They do a UV dye test to see where it’s coming from, and according to them it looks like it’s coming from the head gasket. “Unfortunately, we think you’re going to need a new engine.” That’s where I currently am, waiting for the shop to reach back out to the warranty company to see what the likelihood of them being able to cover the cost of a whole engine replacement would be. Mind you, the only evidence they’ve provided of this diagnosis is a poor video of oil on the underside of the vehicle. Nowhere in said video can you see that the oil is coming specifically from the head gasket. Again, I don’t know much about cars, but I’m also not entirely convinced that this in some way is not being caused by the positive crankcase pressure that still exists. I called them yesterday asking for them to please check the crankcase pressure and provide me with the measurement, and was told there’s no specification for them to measure it. What? What does that even mean? The 2nd shop literally gave me a measurement and photo of the manometer with said measurement, so you most definitely can measure that. I went around in circles with her about it where she just kept telling me that “There aren’t any symptoms that deem that to be necessary, it’s not rough idling or giving a check engine light or any codes so it’s fine.” NO ITS NOT. I feel like I’m speaking a different language to these people or something.

In Conclusion - There has been consistent positive crankcase pressure seemingly ever since I got the car back from shop #1 after they did the work to replace the valve cover gasket. Yet, despite that being the case, to my knowledge neither shop #2 or shop #3 have ever actually removed the valve cover to check any of that work or any of the lines or orifices beyond what is on top of the engine. Now here I am, a month and a half after dropping the car off for brakes & rotors, waiting to find out if my warranty company is willing to cover AN ENGINE REPLACEMENT. The thing is, they’ll likely want a full tear down diagnostic of the vehicle to actually determine that the engine needs replacing. If the shop does the diagnostic, and determine that the engine doesn’t need to be replaced, then I would be the one who is on the hook for paying for the tear down. Even if the warranty company wants a full tear down diagnostic and they determine that the engine does need to be replaced, there’s no guarantee that they’ll agree to cover the full cost of said diagnostic. It’s like a gamble. I’ve already put more money into repairing the car than I could probably even get out of it in its current state, so I’m simply not willing to chance having to pay for that diagnostic as well. What sucks the worst about all of it, is that I still have a loan for the damn thing. It’s financed. So, there are basically 2 outcomes from here:

Option 1 (please god): The warranty company agrees to replace the engine based on the already existing evidence rather than requesting a tear down.

Option 2: They want a full tear down, and I have to just get rid of the car. I’d just have to trade it in and get a new car, with a new loan, with the negative equity from the Cruze included.

If anyone has any advice, or any further experience with this kind of thing than I do, I would really appreciate it. I feel like I’m losing my mind here. I feel like either Shop #1 or a combination of Shop #1 & Shop #3 have actually ended up causing a lot of this but I don’t even really know how I could go about proving or pursuing that in any way. Especially with shop #1, it feels like all of the issues since their initial work have been in or around where they were working. Could it be a coincidence? Sure, but it feels extremely unlikely.

Thanks.

I popped this code during the first “cold” day in Texas last weekend. I’ve replaced the air filter, and working on cleaning the MAF next. I’m not noticing any dips in performance or gas mileage, it seems like it’s accelerating quick and I’m still getting what I’ve normally got on mpg since I bought the car in August. I don’t hear any whistling or any noise from the engine. Should I just worry about cleaning the MAF and throttle body next if the code doesn’t go away?

I have a 2012 Holden Cruze 1.4L Turbo. A14NET. It was bought second hand by my cruze obsessed dad and has had issues since I got it. but it only has 65xxx on it and aside from a constant engine light, 2 codes and it sounding like a Lathe. It runs fine. I drive it everyday just over 100kmh 5 days a week. Its always had a ticking noise but recently has gotten incredibly loud. I have 2 codes. p0171 and p1101. I have replaced the intake manifold and valve cover ordered a new valve tube but the new one had a goddam crack in it. I tested the old one and the mushroom valve in it still works so I just reused it. Everything got new orings. Valve cover got RTV on the left side where the block sort of flares out. I torqued everything down too. Anddddd it ran good. For about 5 minutes.

Before I did that work. I'd have RPM hunting. Id have random moments where the whole note. Tune of the engine would just drop for 2 seconds the ticking would stop. Itd come back up. And then the ticking returned. Not sure what thats called but it doesnt do it now.

When i first drove it it made a very loud hissing noise not sure what but i couldnt see anything. The EVAP Purge Solenoid line wasnt connected to the manifold properly so i clipped that down. Hasnt hissed at me since lol. But the ticking is very aggressive.

I also would like to mention i have 9.7L-100km it was previously owned by a city driver and was at like 10.6 and has dropped.

But using the sort of live fuel reading on the screen where the odometer is. It rises drastically when accelerating. More at lower speeds than higher.

Sorry im Australian. But Ive seen it go as high as 38 going from 60kmh to 80kmh. Not being an idiot about it. Just normal driving. When cruising itll sit between 5 and 7. No problem. Im not sure how much of that is stock cruze behaviour.

Now I dont have an expensive scan tool and as far as i know i do not know if the code p1101 was there prior to my intake and valve cover placement. However. After using a slightly better scan tool i found that both p0171 and p1101 are permanent. Nothings stored but p0171 is still almost always pending. I say that because randomly. It decides to go away. Until I pull back into the driveway that is. And its back.

Im not sure what that means in terms of a permant codes. Will fixing the mechanical issue sort it out? Or do i need to do some kind of calibrations.

Another sympton I have is a popping noise coming from the fuel tank. Does it when its hot regardless of the car running or not.

Now ive long suspected my EVAP Purge Solenoid is faulty. So ive ordered a replacement but havent swapped it yet. Im not sure if thatll fix my issue or not.

I guess I'm just wondering if anyone has experience with this. And if theres any suggestions on what I should check and/do for maintainance regarding the horrible PCV design on the cruze. And what could be making that god awful noise.

Video included for your reference. Note the valve cover and intake are replaced in this video. (Not the EVAP yet)

Thankyou very much

Aside from neglecting these fellas for 250k miles they held up good i suppose. Only concerning thing was some oil on #4 (drivers side)

is it serious? what could it be?

It kinda goes away once warmed up but its got a solid 1 or 2 seconds of speed before it stops for 1 second and then goes alright again.

My car’s been leaking coolant quite a bit and it seems to cover the bottom of the frame underneath the radiator hose. But I just cannot seem to find where it’s leaking at. As you can see on the last picture, the coolant seems to be spraying up on the hood in that one little spot every time. Got any idea?

I’m thinking about getting a coolant pressure test kit. I’m having trouble finding out which one fits the Cruze. I have a 2013. Does anyone have one already that they know fits?

Recently changed the spark plugs and the coil pack, but there seems to be a delay sometimes, when i accelerate, and the car hesitates, and then jolts forward. Also in summer heat, the engine will bog down and even shut off sometimes when idling. The valve cover cap seems fine and i think it does not pull in air, as i tested with a piece of paper. God i have how i can't diagnose this car. 1.4 turbo petrol 2012 or 2013 not sure.

Underbody of the cars been leaking oil for some amount of time. Any advice?

Nice especially since gas here is way to near $6 a gallon

I begrudgingly post here after months of coming for advice through other people's posts but I need help and I really don't want to get ANOTHER expensive repair on this piece of trash.

For context, around the end of September my car started making a loud chirping sound and needed to have the PCV cover and intake manifold replaced, it had been producing a smell after driving on the highway which I later found out was oil. I got the PCV cover replaced at the shop and opted to not spend $700+ on a new intake and decided to install the Cruzekit myself which went fine.

when I installed the Cruze kit I couldn't get some of the hoses all the way down on the fittings btw maybe that information is useful?

now yesterday after a while of driving the check engine light comes on, I get home and plug in my $20 code reader and it says P0420, the app said the code three times too. I did my research and it looks like I need a new downstream and upstream catalytic converter.

since the check engine light came on yesterday the car has been kind of jumping down in rpms when I brake? and the engine is just more loud enough than usual to make me feel like I'm going crazy for noticing. She starts up and little rougher too just a little but mind you NONE of this was present before yesterday when the light came on!!

but I just did some googling and looking at things myself and found a few things and here are my findings:

*the dipstick still has strong suction like it did when I installed the kit

* the pcv weephole has no suction

*I did a spray test and saw nothing and noticed no jump in rpms

*the car idles fine from what I can see in like 15 minutes of having it idle

*there is a ticking noise but that's just the fuel injector right

* none of the fittings look any looser than they were when I installed the kit

* the little manifold cover I installed with JBweld is still there

*P0420 is the only code I get and the reader says 2/3 severity

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE help me any advice is welcome

I can’t see it but I can smell it and coolant level is below the fill line, thermostat and water outlet were upgraded, any ideas of what direction I should go in? Where to look etc TIA

What is causing this? happened after changing valve cover gasket

And before you say “Oh but a Cruze is a bad first car” i genuinely want one, ive done research, and my parents like it too, please tell me any info that’s actual info

Just changed the oil cooler on my 2014 Chevy Cruze. Haven’t gotten around to cleaning everything just yet I just noticed there was a crazy amount of coolant leaking from the top of this part, my guess is maybe one of my oil cooler gaskets wast seated properly? Top of engine bay looks dry it seems to be dropping straight down.

Edit: when I squeeze the coolant hose, I can hear a faint hiss of air coming from where the oil cooler is. Normal?

Hey, I'm looking for car i see chevy cruze 2015 LS 1.8 L .. 97000 miles .it looks nice but I don't know if it's good and reliable any advice..thanks

I got it from a mechanic who fixes cars up and resells them, mine has been really pretty good so far. Over the past month I have been getting no issues from it so far, It stalled once but that was because I was being dumb and had every single air conditioning opition on at once.