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2018 Chevrolet Cruze

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Fewer warning signs than most model years

Owner complaints for the 2018 Chevrolet Cruze are lower than the model-year median of 250.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

61 reports with mileage · 48 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Engine. Review the 27 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 23 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 14 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

17 crash reports3 fire reports6 injury reports

Unknown Or Other complaints

24 reports
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Mileage unknown · Mar 2, 2022
EngineUnknown Or Other

I got my vehicle through a local dealership in town, in July of 2020 and only a couple months later my problems started. The vehicle started to vibrate violently and almost jerk back and forth on its own whenever I would drive it. And whenever I did come to a complete stop and accelerate the vehicle would hesitate a bit, it felt…

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I got my vehicle through a local dealership in town, in July of 2020 and only a couple months later my problems started. The vehicle started to vibrate violently and almost jerk back and forth on its own whenever I would drive it. And whenever I did come to a complete stop and accelerate the vehicle would hesitate a bit, it felt like I would have to really force it in order to keep driving. That same feeling would occur whenever I would have to drive on the highway it felt like I was pushing really hard on the gas in order to move. Which lead to my stability track message to appear on the dash as well as the check engine light. Then finally one day while I was driving and making a right turn to exit a shopping center my vehicle just stopped out of nowhere. I was unable to drive I tried putting it in neutral and reversing but nothing worked. I couldn't even take my keys out the ignition or turn off the vehicle I was completely stuck casing traffic on a busy street until what felt like five minutes later, I was able to turn it on and off and drive home. I then took my vehicle to the local Chevy dealership where they kept my car for a week even though no work was done to it. They wanted me to let them take apart my engine to determine what the problem was, and I was advised by multiple sources including my vehicle warranty to not let them do a tear down. The service consultant said they couldn't find a reason why my vehicle just stopped on me and blew it off as nothing. I then took it to a local mechanic in town where they replaced my air filter, spark plugs, and did a mass air flow clean. However only days later my check engine light appeared again along with the message to service the stability track. The jerking, vibrating feeling is still present when I drive also now whenever I turn on my vehicle.

NHTSA ODI #11454890

Mileage unknown · Dec 8, 2021
Unknown Or Other

The radio stays on full bright after dimming the lights. Then when I stop at a red light and the car shuts off when I release the break my car jumps makes engine makes a it rev up like the switching of the gears or something. And when I am driving the speed limt and press the gas to speed up to pass a car the car does not go fas…

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The radio stays on full bright after dimming the lights. Then when I stop at a red light and the car shuts off when I release the break my car jumps makes engine makes a it rev up like the switching of the gears or something. And when I am driving the speed limt and press the gas to speed up to pass a car the car does not go faster the RPM' only go up like I am going to blow the motor u.i do not know anything about the

NHTSA ODI #11443027

Mileage unknown · Jun 11, 2021
Unknown Or Other

Auto Start-Stop failed. I was in heavy traffic in 90 degree heat with the air on max. Stopped at a light so engine turned off. When light turned green I pressed on the gas and my 2018 Chevy Cruz did not start!! I could have gotten rear ended because I was holding up traffic on Telegraph Road in Taylor MI. I tried starting it an…

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Auto Start-Stop failed. I was in heavy traffic in 90 degree heat with the air on max. Stopped at a light so engine turned off. When light turned green I pressed on the gas and my 2018 Chevy Cruz did not start!! I could have gotten rear ended because I was holding up traffic on Telegraph Road in Taylor MI. I tried starting it and was flustered and scared. The dash said "SHIFT TO PARK". So I did and then it started. But that should not have happened. A different day on a freeway in heavy traffic there was a long delay one time before it started. That was scary also. But at least it started. Today, June 11, 2021, it did not start. Something has to be wrong. A car should not do that. Very dangerous situation. I wish I could turn off the auto stop where it stops the engine every time you come to a complete stop. I don't like it at all. Now the dealer has to keep it 4 days. It is under warranty still. It only has 34,000 miles on it.

NHTSA ODI #11420611

45,700 miles · Jan 28, 2020
EngineUnknown Or Other

I WAS 3 FEET FROM TURNING LEFT AT INTERSECTION LEFT LANE TURN (LIGHT HAD JUST TURNED GREEN) THROUGH A INTERSECTION, WHEN I NOTICED MY ENGINE WAS OFF. I ROLLED ACROSS THE INTERSECTION; ATTEMPTED TO RESTART THE CAR - CAR DIDN'T START. THE ELECTRICITY IN CAR WAS STILL ON AND NORMAL. COOLANT WAS AT NORMAL TEMP. ONLY RADIO WAS ON LOW…

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I WAS 3 FEET FROM TURNING LEFT AT INTERSECTION LEFT LANE TURN (LIGHT HAD JUST TURNED GREEN) THROUGH A INTERSECTION, WHEN I NOTICED MY ENGINE WAS OFF. I ROLLED ACROSS THE INTERSECTION; ATTEMPTED TO RESTART THE CAR - CAR DIDN'T START. THE ELECTRICITY IN CAR WAS STILL ON AND NORMAL. COOLANT WAS AT NORMAL TEMP. ONLY RADIO WAS ON LOW VOLUME. NO DASHBOARD LIGHTS- NOR MESSAGES APPEARED. CAR WOULDN'T RESTART. WAS STUCK HALFWAY IN RIGHT (ONCOMING TRAFFIC) TURN LANE & HALF IN BUSINESS DRIVEWAY. PUT CAR IN PARK & TRIED TO TURN ON AGAIN. NOTHING. STEERING, BRAKES, LIGHTS AND DOORS WERE FUNCTIONAL. GOT HELP TO PUSH CAR IN A PARKING SPACE. TURNED OFF CAR COMPLETELY & ATTEMPTED TO TURN ON. CAR CRANKED & ALMOST STARTED. TRIED AGAIN - NOTHING. TURNED OFF & REMOVED KEYS TO GET OUT OF CAR TO LOOK UNDER HOOD. ALL LOOKED NORMAL. GOT BACK INSIDE CAR, ATTEMPTED TO START. IT CAME ON FOR 5 SECONDS THEN DIED. WAITED. NO DASHBOARD LIGHTS NOR ERROR MESSAGES. FINALLY GOT CAR TO CRANK AND IT STAYED ON. NO ERROR MESSAGES. WENT TROUGH CAR SCREEN AND VOLTAGE WAS NORMAL 13 +/- VOLTS; IDLE WAS NORMAL - DID NOT MOVE AROUND. LEFT BUSINESS WHEN MESSAGE SAID ABOUT HAVING ANTILOCK BREAKS CHECKED BUT HAS NOT APPEARED ON CAR SCREEN SINCE (DIDN'T PRESS BREAKS BEFORE IT DIED. I PREFER ENGINE BREAKING). RECEIVED EMAIL FROM ONSTAR THAT "AN ISSUE WITH THE STABILITRAK STABILITY CONTROL SYSTEM IN YOUR 2018 CHEVROLET CRUZE HAS BEEN DETECTED. PLEASE SERVICE YOUR VEHICLE WITHIN 7 DAYS. & AN ISSUE WITH THE ANTILOCK BRAKING SYSTEM IN YOUR 2018 CHEVROLET CRUZE HAS BEEN DETECTED". I WAS ALMOST HIT BY A TRUCK WHILE STUCK HALF WAY IN STREET. CALLED AND COMPLAINED TO GM. GM REP SAID I AM PAST WARRANTY BY 9,000 MILES (CAR IS 1.5 YRS OLD). THEY CANT HELP. TOLD ME TO GO TO DEALERSHIP. CALLED 4 DEALERSHIPS, NO TECHS ON SATURDAYS AND NO LOANERS SINCE OUT OF WARRANTY. NO ERROR CODES STILL. NO LIGHTS LIT UP. CAR IS ACTING NORMAL.

NHTSA ODI #11302608

36,200 miles · Aug 30, 2019
SteeringUnknown Or Other

IT STARTED AROUND THE 18TH OF THIS MONTH. WHEN I GO TO TURN MY CAR MAKING A POPPING SOUND... I TAKE IT INTO MY CHEVY DEALERSHIP THEY STATE ITS THE STEERING RACK.. THEY REPLACE MY STEERING GEAR AT N/C BECAUSE AT THAT TIME I WAS ABLE TO GET IT IN WARRANTY, WE ARE NOT ON MY THIRD VISIT NO LONGER UNDER GM WARRANTY DUE TO MILES AND …

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IT STARTED AROUND THE 18TH OF THIS MONTH. WHEN I GO TO TURN MY CAR MAKING A POPPING SOUND... I TAKE IT INTO MY CHEVY DEALERSHIP THEY STATE ITS THE STEERING RACK.. THEY REPLACE MY STEERING GEAR AT N/C BECAUSE AT THAT TIME I WAS ABLE TO GET IT IN WARRANTY, WE ARE NOT ON MY THIRD VISIT NO LONGER UNDER GM WARRANTY DUE TO MILES AND I STILL HEAR POPPING WHEN TURNING..

NHTSA ODI #11252432

35,000 miles · Aug 30, 2019
Unknown Or Other

CAR HAS A TICKING NOISE COMING FROM THE ENGINE BAY. CURRENTLY AT A CHEVY DEALERSHIP, BUT NOISE HAS TEMPORARILY GONE AWAY. SEEMS THAT THEY CAN'T FIND THE ISSUE AT THE MOMENT BUT IT SEEMS THAT OTHER OLDER AND NEWER VEHICLES OF THEY SAME KIND AS MINE (CHEVY CRUZE 2018) 1.4L AUTOMATIC HAS HAD SIMILAR ISSUES WITH A TICKING NOISE COMI…

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CAR HAS A TICKING NOISE COMING FROM THE ENGINE BAY. CURRENTLY AT A CHEVY DEALERSHIP, BUT NOISE HAS TEMPORARILY GONE AWAY. SEEMS THAT THEY CAN'T FIND THE ISSUE AT THE MOMENT BUT IT SEEMS THAT OTHER OLDER AND NEWER VEHICLES OF THEY SAME KIND AS MINE (CHEVY CRUZE 2018) 1.4L AUTOMATIC HAS HAD SIMILAR ISSUES WITH A TICKING NOISE COMING FROM THE ENGINE BAY AREA. THIS TICKING NOISE LASTED A WHOLE DAY BUT WENT AWAY THIS MORNING ONCE DRIVING THE CAR FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES ON HIGHWAY.

NHTSA ODI #11252427

80,000 miles · Aug 12, 2019
Unknown Or Other

WENT TO STOP AND PEDAL GOT HARD TO PUSH DOWN THIS HAS HAPPENED ON 3 SEPARATE OCCASIONS THE FIRST TIME IT WAS UNDER WARRANTY THE 2ND TIME IT HAPPENED I HAD AMECHANIC FIX IT THE 3RD TIME I TOOK IT TO A CHEVROLET DEALER THIS SHOULDN'T HAPPEN TO A VEHICLE 15 MONTHS OLD

NHTSA ODI #11243403

18,000 miles · Jul 31, 2019
Unknown Or Other

THE TIRE PRESSURE MONITOR SYSTEM IS MESSING UP ALL THE TIME. I WAS HEADED TO MY SISTER IN LAWS IN MARYLAND AND I WAS 2 HRS AWAY FROM HER HOUSE N 3 HOURS AWAY FROM MY HOUSE AND THE TIRE LIGHT CAME ON AND MY CAR SAID THAT MY TIRE PRESSURE WAS LOW. I WAS ON A BUSY HIGHWAY AND I FREAKED OUT BC I COULDN'T GET OVER TO FIX MY TIRE. I E…

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THE TIRE PRESSURE MONITOR SYSTEM IS MESSING UP ALL THE TIME. I WAS HEADED TO MY SISTER IN LAWS IN MARYLAND AND I WAS 2 HRS AWAY FROM HER HOUSE N 3 HOURS AWAY FROM MY HOUSE AND THE TIRE LIGHT CAME ON AND MY CAR SAID THAT MY TIRE PRESSURE WAS LOW. I WAS ON A BUSY HIGHWAY AND I FREAKED OUT BC I COULDN'T GET OVER TO FIX MY TIRE. I ENDED UP GETTING OVER AND FINDING OUT THAT MY TIRE WAS COMPLETELY FINE AND IT WAS JUST THE SYSTEM MESSING UP. I STARTED DRIVING AGAIN AND AS I WAS DRIVING MY CAR STARTED READING THAT THE TIRE PRESSURE WAS SLOWLY GOING BACK UP TO WERE IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE. EVER SINCE THEN THE TIRE PRESSURE MONITOR GOES OFF AND THEN GOES AWAY AFTER AWHILE.

NHTSA ODI #11240848

16,000 miles · Jun 11, 2019
Unknown Or Other

THIS IS A DIESEL CRUZ. OF NO FAULT OF MY OWN, THE CAR MUST BE TAKEN TO THE DEALER TO HAVE A MANUAL REGENERATION OF THE EXHAUST PARTICULATE FILTER PERFORMED WITH 16K MILES ON THE CAR.

NHTSA ODI #11219316

24,000 miles · Feb 13, 2019
Exterior LightingUnknown Or Other

WATER IS LEAKING INTO THE TRUNK. IT WAS SUPPOSEDLY REPAIRED ON 1/12/2019. I HAD TO RETURN ON 1/21/2019 BECAUSE WATER WAS STILL LEAKING INTO THE TRUNK. THEN AFTER APPARENTLY BEING FIXED AGAIN, I WAS FORCED TO RETURN ON 1/30/2019 WITH WATER STILL LEAKING INTO THE TRUNK, NOTHING WAS DONE (I HAVE PICTURES AND VIDEO OF SAID LEAK).

NHTSA ODI #11179730

Official recalls

3

20V668000 · Power Train:automatic Transmission

Oct 29, 2020

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Chevrolet Cruze and Buick LaCrosse, 2018-2020 Chevrolet Equinox, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Terrain, 2018 Chevrolet Malibu, 2019-2020 Buick Encore, Buick Enclave, Cadillac XT4, Chevrolet Blazer and GMC Acadia, and 2020 Cadillac XT6 vehicles. The start/stop accumulator endcap may have missing bolts.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Missing bolts on the start-stop accumulator endcap could result in a transmission oil leak and may progress to a loss of propulsion, increasing the risk of a crash. A transmission fluid leak in the presence of an ignition source may increase the risk of fire.

Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the start-stop transmission accumulator and replace it if any bolts are missing, free of charge. The recall began December 15, 2020. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-888-988-7267, Buick Customer service at 1-866-608-8080, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N202313440.

18V576000 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic:foundation Components:disc:caliper

Aug 30, 2018

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Chevrolet Equinox, Impala, Cruze, Volt and Bolt EV vehicles, GMC Terrain vehicles, Buick Lacrosse and Regal vehicles, Cadillac XTS and XTS Professional vehicles and 2018 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles. The rear brake caliper pistons may have an insufficient coating causing gas pockets to form, potentially reducing rear brake performance.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A reduction of braking performance can increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will bleed the vehicle's brake system, free of charge. The recall began October 11, 2018. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 18279.

18V304000 · Fuel System, Gasoline

May 10, 2018

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Chevrolet Cruze LS vehicles, equipped with a gasoline engine and a tire inflator kit instead of a spare tire. The vehicles may leak gasoline following a rear-impact crash and a rollover. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 301, "Fuel System Integrity."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A fuel leak, in the presence of an ignition source, increases the risk of a fire.

Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will install a lock-ring on the fuel tank that will shield the fuel tank vapor pressure sensor from damage in a rear-impact crash, free of charge. The recall began June 7, 2018. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 18159.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.