2017 Chevrolet Cruze

Above average

Owners filed 201 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the engine. It has been recalled 2 times.

When it fails
020k40k60k90k120k200k
28,000 milesMedian miles at failure

114 complaints record an odometer reading. Failures cluster around 010,000 miles.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Engine56
021
Electrical System27
020
Power Train24
000
Service Brakes18
111
Unknown or Other14
101
Structure › Body12
100
Air Bags7
311
Exterior Lighting6
100
Electronic Stability Control (esc)6
000
Vehicle Speed Control4
000

2 safety recalls

Part 573 reports
Fuel System, Gasoline18V304000
Filed May 10, 2018111,966 vehiclesGeneral Motors Llc

Defect. 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."

Risk. 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.

Seats › Front Assembly › Head Restraint17V057000
Filed Jan 26, 201717,197 vehiclesGeneral Motors Llc

Defect. General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2016-2017 Chevrolet Cruze vehicles. A bracket used in the driver or front passenger seat-back recliner mechanism may have been incorrectly welded to the seat-back frame, as a result, in the event of a crash, the head-restraints may not function properly. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 202a, "Head Restraints."

Risk. In a crash, the seat-backs for the front seats may break, increasing the risk of injury to the occupants.

Remedy. GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the front passenger seats, replacing any with seat-back frames that are incorrectly welded, free of charge. The recall began on February 28, 2017. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 17035.

What owners reported

Newest filings
Engine
Filed May 20, 2026GA

THE ENGINE HAS EXCESSIVE BLOW BY FROM THE OIL FILLER CAP. HAVING A MISFIRE ON CYLINDER NUMBER 1 AND IDLING ROUGH. THERE ARE SEVERAL THREADS ONLINE CONCERNING THIS ISSUE BEING CAUSED BY WORN PISTONS AND PISTON RINGS.

Engine
Filed May 13, 2026NC

Recently my car's check engine light and the message "Service Stabilitrak" started coming up on my car, then my car started shaking while idling. I quickly took the car to my mechanic who assessed it, replaced my spark plugs, which did not solve the issue, and recommended I go to the dealership. In between these appointments my car was consistently shaking while idling and I would have difficulties accelerating especially after coming to a complete stop and often while making turns, this worsened after adding fuel to my car. The nearest Chevrolet dealership did a compression test and found that the psi in cylinder 1 was only 85, while the rest of the cylinders are 180 psi. They reported "internal engine damage causing misfire on cylinder 1" and quoted the repairs and replacement engine at $9500, almost double the value of the car if the engine was working. The codes P0300 "Engine Misfire Detected" and P0301 "Cylinder 1 Misfire Detected" were the two relevant codes in the report. However the car only has 49,860 miles on it. I see that other people have reported this issue as well and it continues to happen. Additionally, if the manufacturing issue or defect has not been rectified what are the chances of this happening again down the line with the same issue? This is a clear manufacturing defect in the engine of these cars that make them a safety hazard on the road. There is no telling when and where my engine may completely give out despite the car being low mileage and well t

Air Bags
Filed May 7, 2026WA

My airbag light came on. My vehicle has less than 100K miles on it. I took it to the Chevy Dealership that I purchased it from. The dealership indicated that the passenger side rail air bag is the issue. Apparently, that airbag is no longer available. If I wanted to repair it, they can't, because there is no airbag. As long as the airbag light remains on, NONE of my airbags will deploy. My car is now a useless lemon. I don't feel comfortable driving it in the condition it's in, but I have to commute to work.

Structure › Body
Filed Jan 19, 2026TX

Paint bubbling and rusting alone the car even though it’s washed and is no where near salt never even been hit there are tons of issues with GM paint yall need to fix these and recall every gm car with this issue and wipers are very rough scratching windshield

Engine
Filed Jan 5, 2026SC

Car is currently not drivable due to strong smell of gas coming from under the hood. Findings, gas is leaking into the engine and car will not crank. Diagnostic machine indicates poor fuel to fuel injector causing a gas leak within the engine.

Engine
Filed Nov 18, 2025CA

My 2017 Chevy Cruze had the throttle body replaced by STG Auto Group in Montclair, CA. A few months after the repair, my car began shaking violently and then shut off in the middle of the street while I was driving on 11/17/2025 This created a serious safety hazard for me and other drivers. When I took the vehicle to a local auto zone once the vehicle turned on , they told me the throttle body “needs cleaning,” but a new throttle body should not get dirty within a few months. This suggests improper installation or a defective part. The problem returned even though the part was recently replaced. I immediately called the dealership who fixed it and the manager stated I’d have to wait to the following week for another inspection and that I can not be squeezed in . The vehicle is still unsafe to drive because it shakes and can stall unexpectedly. I am concerned because this issue has happened more than once and could have caused an accident. [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Power Train
Filed Nov 17, 2025VA

Apparently there is a TSB from GM regarding the end for updated/replacement of parts concerning the hydraulic piping, slave cylinder and accumulator. My clutch became spongy then stuck on the floor. This happened unexpectedly (reservoir full) while driving and almost caused an accident. Apparently GM doesn't take enough accountability to update the failure before or after failure. Reporting this hoping it will eventually force a recall!

Electrical System
Filed Oct 4, 2025MD

My head lights stopped working except the day time running lights. The high beams don’t work nor the actual head lights. They just went out.

Engine
Filed Sep 30, 2025CA

My turbocharger is failing. My car has 83,000 miles, but had to get a completely new engine at 37,000 miles. So the engine is less than 50,000 miles old. My check engine light has turned on and it’s is the turbo charger. General Motors has a Special Coverage Adjustment N232395330 that covers models with the same engine as the Chevy Cruze. However, because the model is not listed they are refusing coverage under this adjustment. The adjustment specifically covers the turbocharger, a component or the engine. But since my model is not listed it is not covered despite having the same engine. My turbocharger began failing while I was driving on the grapevine in California. Luckily I was able to make it to my destination but had it failed over the grapevine that would have put me and my passengers in an unsafe situation. It is unacceptable that an engine with less than 50,000 miles on it which has been maintained with frequent oil changes be having this issue yet not be covered under an SCA that acknowledges the issue just doesn’t list the model.

Air Bags
Filed Sep 12, 2025MI

.

Electrical System
Filed Aug 9, 2025OK

The 3rd brake light is known to leak on Chevy cars, which I found out when searching up the issues, which allows water inside trunk without your knowledge and does water damage to the battery and other electrical components that are located in the trunk that controls the dashboard, a/c, radio, power steering and probably even more. Safety risk: makes your dashboard stop working along with the power steering, while driving. There is another vehicle at the same dealer as mine right now with water in the trunk, it’s an impala. When you search up on the internet about dashboard not working along with radio and a/c there are quite a few different people pointing to the leaking 3rd brake light and water in the trunk damaging the electrical components in the trunk. The vehicle is at a Chevrolet dealer right now being fixed. No warning messages before it happened. I have only owned the car for 1 year bought it used June 2024. The bill I included is so far what they are saying needs to be fixed but I’m sure more to come as they get some components working.

Engine
Filed Jul 27, 2025OK

Check engine light say turbo charger problem code is P0299, i have googled this issue and its pretty common on this vehicle as well as prior years of chevy cruzes. There should be an investigation as to why this issue is so common.

Engine
Filed Jul 16, 2025MI

The Cruze has always been slow to accelerate which made passing a problem. In May 2025 we were driving on [XXX] in Detroit and the engine light came on the dashboard. We were able to drive the car without propulsion to Lansing, a distance of 90 miles. Feldman Chevorolet said the code for the light was engine turbo-charger. That's a $3K repair. We have no choice but to drive the car. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Engine
Filed May 20, 2025MN

My 2017 Chevrolet Cruze LT (VIN: [XXX] 1.4L turbo, ~85,000 miles) is inoperable due to cracked pistons, a known issue in 2016–2017 models causing misfires and power loss (TSB 18-NA-171). I seek GM goodwill assistance for repair costs (~$3,877–$10,500) and am exploring legal options, as no recall or class-action lawsuit currently exists. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6

Fuel/Propulsion System
Filed May 1, 2025GA

There has not been any specific incident, but I have noticed a gasoline odor while driving my car. The smell is particularly strong when I open the trunk. I have had the issue inspected and inquired about the cause, as the odor began suddenly and without any apparent reason.

Electrical System
Filed Apr 10, 202516,994 milesTN

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the door latches independently unlocked and locked. Additionally, the contact stated that the failure had occurred with all four doors. The contact stated that the RPM occasionally increased unintendedly. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The vehicle was taken to the dealer twice; however, the failure was not duplicated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 16,994.

Unknown or Other
Filed Apr 2, 2025TX

The catalytic converter on my Chevy Cruze has failed several times over the course of almost 2 (two) years and required replacement. The most recent replacement was 3/17/2025. The vehicle had diagnostics performed each time. It is my understanding that the life of a catalytic converter is 10 years or more. So being replaced several times seems excessive in such a short amount of time. The safety of myself and others were at risk because issues with a catalytic converter can lead to engine problems, which could indirectly lead to an accident or injury. I received warning messages each time and took the vehicle in for diagnostics and repair. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives.

SeatsCrash1 injured
Filed Mar 6, 2025FL

In a rear end collision to my Chevrolet Cruze my driver seat back broke on the left side causing my torso to twist in the accident. This caused disc protrusions in my lumbar and thoracic spine. Vehicle was totaled

Structure
Filed Mar 5, 2025TN

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact observed a 1-inch crack in the third brake light. The contact stated that there was condensation leaking into the interior of the vehicle near the pillar loop of the seat belt, onto the floor near the retractor of the rear passenger’s seat belt. Additionally, the contact observed condensation in the trunk of the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Engine
Filed Mar 1, 2025TX

We believe the auto stop is malfunctioning. When stopping at a light the car will go into auto stop and then die. It won't restart without getting out of the car, alarming and locking it, then unlock and get back in. This is our second 2017 cruze hatchback, both purchased brand new. The first one was doing the same thing less than 2 months after we bought it. Dealership couldn't figure it out, we caused enough of a scene for them to put us in another brand new one. Obviously, a car randomly dying on the road is a safety issue. We did have our first one checked out by the dealership, Autonation Chevrolet Gulf Freeway in Houston, and they couldn't find anything wrong and couldn't recreate the issue, which is why they got us in a second one. This one didn't start doing this until a couple months ago, at at 8 years old. No warranty, and we haven't had it checked out by anyone yet. It's worth mentioning that we also had this issue with our 2017 Traverse, 3 years in. Same dealership, couldn't recreate the issue, we ended up trading it in. No lights or warning lamps of any kind appeared.

20 of 201 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 2012
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
201921210Routine
2018109331Fatalities reported
2017 — this page201260Above average
2016249460Above average
2015251440Above average
201470210170High concern
2013586580High concern
20128657180High concern
20117327202Fatalities reported
20102000Routine

Compare every Cruze year →

Reading this record

Complaint volume is well above typical for a single model year.

Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Recall repairs are free for as long as the recall stands. Check whether a specific car still has open work at NHTSA's VIN lookup.

Most recent recall on file: May 10, 2018. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.