Used 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Consumer Reviews
Used Cruze for sale
I will never own another Chevy
Jane, 01/23/2021
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 6M)
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
This vehicle caused me nothing but problems, and Chevy's customer service will dismal at the best of times. I owned a 2011 Chevy Cruze Eco for just over three years and regretted my purchase frequently. Although I read some questionable reviews about this car before I bought it, I just assumed that overall the good would outweigh the bad. Unfortunately this was not even remotely true. Within 6 months of owning the car I noticed that when I idled my car smelled like burning oil. Took it in to get fixed, and they told me it was leaking from the crankshaft oil seal. Fixed that and went on my way thinking if that was the biggest of my problems I was laughing. About a year later I noticed that my RPM's were dropping extremely low while I was idling, to the point where I stalled my vehicle a few times sitting at red lights. Looked into it and it was an apparently very well known issue with the PCV valve which somehow has still not warranted a recall from Chevy. Your options for repair here are to either replace the entire intake manifold, or try out a handful of different aftermarket fixes. The problem with replacing the intake manifold itself (outside of the exorbitant cost associated with it) is that it doesn't actually solve the underlying problem which causes the mechanical failure in the first place, so the issue is bound to reoccur. I ended up going with an aftermarket fix that was relatively inexpensive, but very labour intensive. I moved on hoping I wouldn't find myself with any more issues, however about 8 months later, as I was driving on icy winter roads, my power brakes stopped working entirely. I was forced to quickly change lanes to avoid rear ending another vehicle and had to use my emergency break to come to a stop. At first I took my car to a local mechanic in town who was unable to diagnose the problem as my brakes had started working again, but I was later advised by the shop that they had discovered a recall existed for the 2011 Chevy Cruze for this power brake failure (an issue with the brake vacuum micro switch) and that I should contact the dealership. The dealership proceeded to test my car for the issue and diagnosed the problem as the same issue which warranted a recall on other 2011-2012 Chevy Cruze's with a turbo, however they told me that although there was a recall, it was only for the automatic, not manual, transmissions. I attempted to call Chevrolet Canada to see if they would help remedy the issue, and although I spoke with several supervisors I received absolutely no help or offers to see what could be done for this safety issue. The dealership kindly offered me a 15% discount on my quoted >$800 service for all my troubles. I had no sooner decided that I was going to get rid of this piece of garbage on wheels when my defrost broke in the middle of winter, requiring another pricey fix to get it into a position where I could sell it. The issue was the blend door actuator, yet another very common problem with these Chevy's, another safety issue, and another thing Chevy could not care less about. If it weren't for all the mechanical issues this car, I'm sure I would have loved it. The mileage you get from this car is amazing. It is roomy inside for the driver and front passenger and not terrible in the back for kids, although adults would probably find it a bit cramped. The car handles well in snow, although it is a bit light so sometimes if it's icy it is a bit more difficult to control but that is to be expected with a small car. Overall I had a terrible experience with this vehicle and an equally disappointing experience with Chevrolet Canada. I would not recommend this vehicle to anyone and have been actively dissuading any of the people I know from considering any Chevrolet vehicle.
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
A Real Winner!
jtisch, 12/16/2010
2011 Chevrolet Cruze 2LT 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
I owned a 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid, the best car I ever owned. Someone once asked me why I bought Japanese car. I said that when an American automaker can build a car as good as my Civic I will buy it. Chevy did it with my 2011 2LT turbocharged Cruze. As a matter of fact, it exceeds the Civic in every way. I am amazed at the automatic and standard transmission of this car. Every once in a while I shift over to the manual tranny and feel like a 20-something again. I only miss the 47 mpg I got with my hybrid, but paying $6,000 less for the Cruze more than makes up for it.
Liked it for 1st year
mnflyer, 03/19/2013
2011 Chevrolet Cruze LS 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 6M)
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
I enjoyed my Cruze for the 1st year and a half, even though it had it's fair share of issues covered by warranty. It handled well enough and I felt it was a good value. In 2 years I put on 43K miles mostly commuting on the highway. During the warranty period, I had 2 cases of "check engine" light on which were caused by faulty sensors. Also I had a steering issue whereby the steering would slightly stick at highway speeds. It often had a strange groaning sound from the engine. Biggest problem. "AC off due to engine overheat" It took 5 trips to the dealer to fix it. I wanted a car I could drive trouble free for many years and realized this wasn't it. I traded it in for a Hyundai.
Transmission- Read other REVIEWS BEFORE BUYING
Mackenzie, 01/26/2018
2011 Chevrolet Cruze LS 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 6M)
9 of 10 people found this review helpful
Insanely unhappy with my purchase of my chevy and your customer service care. Never thought I would run into this problem as my grandfather actually sold Chevy’s at Davidson Chevrolet in Malden, MA. Not to mention, my whole family basically drives Chevy’s. My aunt was actually just going to buy a brand new Traverse, but certainty not anymore! Chevy should look up reviews about the 2011 Chevy Cruze- not many are too fond of the car. Furthermore, I bought my 2011 Chevy Cruze in May of 2016. Brought it back to Lannan of Woburn, where I bought it May 27 of 2016 because I felt that the transmission was “jumping”. At the time it was covered under warranty at 43,974 miles. I was told nothing was wrong with it and was told to go home. Now at 70,000 miles my car decided to stop driving on the highway and only go in reverse. I really suggest you go online and read the more recent reviews, mayve even consider a recall because many reviews are the SAME EXACT situation that happened to me. I brought it to Lannan in Lowell, as it is closer to my house and was told not even two years later my transmission was gone and they want $4,745 dollars to replace it. How do you expect a 20 year old, whose trying to do their best and in college, not to mention commuting an hour to school to have this money to fork up, to get their car fixed? I had to take a loan out of this car in the first place, that I pay all myself. Not possible to pay this ridiculous amount. So I opened a case with GM myself (a case that is now closed as of today 1/18/18 because your customer service representatives are extremely rude). Actually hung up on me - I asked for cash assistance for this, because my warranty is up because the date expired first. But let’s keep in mind, the mileage marker isn’t until 100,000 miles and my car still isn’t even close to that. I spoke to a women today on the phone who basically told me that I was getting no help and it was because my car was old with many miles. Frankly, I’ve never heard of a cars transmission blowing frequently on a car with 70,000 miles. I then asked to speak to a supervisor and she would not let me because “they all were going to tell me the same thing”. To make a long story short, she ultimately told me that there was nothing that was going to happen for me, asked if i was going to fix the car. When i told her I had no idea as of yet, she replied then your case is closed and hung up the phone. This is how you treat loyal customers? I am extremely unhappy and would like a resolution to this.
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
Very, very poor gas mileage.
disatisifiedd, 04/26/2011
2011 Chevrolet Cruze 2LT 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
15 of 18 people found this review helpful
I bought this car because of the gas mileage.and that it was the best value around. I have never got over 21 miles per gallon, and have also only gone only 255 miles on a full tank of gas. Very disappointing with the price of gas today. I also know that driving differs with each person, but at least 1/2 of my driving is on the highway (60 mph), and that I recently gave my old Elantra to my son (at 100,000 miles still gets about 30+ miles per gallon. The car is also sluggish, does not drive like a new car.