Owners have filed 3,356 complaints on the Chevrolet Cruze, covering 2010–2019. The system named most often is Power Train (574 reports). Worst years by volume: 2012, 2014, 2011; cleanest: 2010, 2019, 2018. 261 reports describe a crash, 74 a fire, 3 a death. On average the car was 4.4 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Chevrolet Cruze
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 3,356 Cruze complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Power Train 574 Read
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that the vehicle shifted from park into reverse without warning. While the vehicle was idling, the driver exited the vehicle and the vehicle rolled and crashed into a telephone pole. The driver's side door was ajar and was ripped off during the crash. The…
Put car in PARK ,got out to check mail box 20 feet away [car door left open]. When retuning to car it began to slowly move backward.I ran around the back and tried to get in but was knocked down by the open door.I rolled away from the approaching wheel with minor scrapes. The car continued backing across the…
I should have filed a complaint here after the catastrophic failure. The next time I may not be so lucky and it could cause loss of life. I was driving at approx. 65 MPH on the frwy when bang! An explosion under my hood that caused my car to jump over a lane, I slammed on the breaks, swerved but couldn't push the…
Engine 566 Read
The contact owned a 2018 chevrolet cruze. The contact stated that while driving about 45 mph, a pop noise was heard from the rear of the vehicle and black smoke shot out from the front passenger's side and immediately followed by flames that quickly covered the entire vehicle. There was no warning. Both police and…
The contact owns a 2017 chevrolet cruze. The contact stated while driving 35 mph, the vehicle vibrated abnormally. The contact stated the stabilize and engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to park on the side of road where she saw smoke exiting the engine. The vehicle was towed to chevrolet of…
The contact owned a 2017 chevrolet cruze. The contact stated while driving at approximate 25 mph when she unexpectedly saw smoke coming from her rear view mirror without warning. The contact immediately exited the vehicle and dialed 911 when shortly after the front of the vehicle where the engine was located and burst…
Electrical System 473 Read
Driving down a road on the friday morning. When a deer popped up in front of me. I hit the deer on cruise control going 70 mph; but was hard braking to avoid the deer. The vehicle clipped the deer on the front left side of the car by the hood. The airbags did not deploy, meaning it wasn't even a big impact. So I…
The car caught fire from inside the cab. I'm not sure why or what happened exactly but it burnt. It was a total loss. Luckily it was stationary when it happened
Vehicle was parked, electrical short. Possibly after locking the vehicle the fire department said. Resulted in fire damaging the whole interior of vehicle. Visor melted, burned from center console, right through the floor to the frame, damaged the seats. Car is a mess from smoke damage. Car was declared a total loss…
Steering 329 Read
The contact owned a 2015 chevrolet cruze. While driving at 40 mph and attempting to turn the vehicle, the steering wheel seized. The contact crashed into a telephone pole. The front end of the vehicle caught fire and the air bags deployed. The fire department extinguished the fire. The origin of the fire was not…
On i35 south bound just north of oseola ia. At 73 miles an hour something came loose on left front car took a hard left no control crashing into cable barrier in median. 3 people on board 2 front 1 rear. None can explain what happened it happened so fast. Left front wheel and axle were not found at the seen of the…
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that while making a turn, the vehicle went in another direction. While her son was driving at 2–3 MPH, making a turn, the vehicle went in another direction. The frame was rusted and secured with chicken wire. While her son was driving at 20 MPH and driving up…
Service Brakes 236 Read
I was travelling on the interstate at about 50 mph when traffic came to a sudden stop. I slammed on my brakes in plenty of time, but I rear-ended the van in front of me. At the time I thought I must have skidded into the van, but looking at the collision site later, there were no tire marks
The brakes system didnt seem to be stopping properly almost as if i had to push really hard on the brakes to get the car to stop. Finally today, I was 1.6 car lengths behind another vehicle whom slammed their brakes on for no reason and I had to do so as well. My car would not stop, the brakes would not work causing a…
As I was backing out I placed my foot on the gas as I got ready to break I placed my foot on the brake, but that's when my foot slipped off the pedal and backed into the person behind me
Air Bags 195 Read
My boyfriend was in a car accident. We are both on the car, and the airbags didnt go off
I purchased a 2013 chevy cruze in june, 2013. In november of the same year, I struck a deer on a rural stretch of interstate highway at high speed (70mph). At this point there were roughly 9,000 miles on it. The air bags did not deploy, but I was unharmed. The impact caused the vehicle to do a 180 degree roll onto the…
Direct impact with 1200 pound cow while driving on a state highway, the airbag did not deploy. Entire car engulfed in flames as the engine immediately started fire. Totalled. Why didn't the airbag deploy? Serious injury. Serious safety issue. I have purchased 2 cruze's because of the safety features. This is so not…
Vehicle Speed Control 123 Read
My vehicle looses power, engine leaks, have a number of different problems with the key in the switch....the vehicle started smoking and caught on fire than looses power all the time. I am afraid to drive this car because I travel with my family I have three children
I was stopped in the left turning lane attempting to cross a highway. When I turned left the vehicle would not accelerate. I pressed the pedal all the way down but the car was creeping. I could not cross the highway and was struck in oncoming traffic. I was given a ticket for failure to yield. I hit a vehicle and was…
The contact owns a 2016 chevrolet cruze. While stationary, the vehicle accelerated rapidly without warning and crashed into a tree. Upon removing pressure from the brake pedal, the vehicle accelerated independently. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was not filed. There were no injuries sustained. The…
Engine And Engine Cooling 114 Read
The contact owned a 2016 chevrolet cruze. While driving approximately 35 mph, the check power steering warning light illuminated. When attempting to stop the vehicle, the brakes were inoperable. After coasting to the side of the road, black smoke was present coming from the window vents. While attempting to exit the…
I just got oil change a week before this happened through the dealer. At northshore chevrolet in smithtown ny. My son was waiting at traffic light at intersection of pond path and nicolls road in setuket ny. When a woman in next lane was yelling your.cars is on fire. Just as he was exiting car he saw a flame pop out…
While driving a 2011 cruze eco with approximately 11,000 miles the car caught fire. The car was last serviced by the deal approximately 4,000 miles ago (3 months). The car was 30 miles into a 43 mile trip when it caught fire, and prior to the incident there were no warning signs of any problems with the vehicle. The…
Cruze years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Air Bags | 4 | 1 | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | 16 | 3 | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 7 | 5 | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 18 | 6 | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 19 | 4 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 62 | 15 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 46 | 8 | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 55 | 14 | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 34 | 18 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | — | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 709 |
| Average complaints per series | 4.7 |
| Worst single series | 36 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 4.4 years |
A model average of 4.7 hides a worst series at 36. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Cruze?
By complaint volume, 2012, 2014, 2011 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Cruze years are the cleanest?
2010, 2019, 2018 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Chevrolet Cruze have?
3,356 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2010–2019. Of those, 261 describe a crash and 74 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.