Why Chevy Cruze Engines Fail

Here's a look inside the 1.4L Turbocharged 4 cylinder U14NFT engine and how it works!
In this video, we teardown a failed engine from a first generation Chevrolet Cruze. This inline 4 engine features dual variable valve timing driven by a timing chain, an iron block, turbo charger mounted on the exhaust, plastic valve cover, mechanical water pump and thermostat.
Common issues with these engines include the cooling components - as in this case - the head gasket. Other failures include the water pump, thermostat housing which is made of plastic, and the PCV system, which is integrated in the valve cover, requiring full replacement when worn. The ignition coil is one piece and must be replaced entirely when failed, as opposed to an individual coil on plug design.
In this case, the head gasket leaked coolant into the combustion chamber. Since liquid is not compressible, the piston top exploded, causing catastrophic damage to the surrounding components, including punching a hole in the iron block. There was also damage found in the timing system, and a lot of carnage in the oil pan. These engines are not known to be reliable as a result of many failure modes.
For the 2.2L Ecotec engine, please see the teardown here:
• Why GM Ecotec Engines ...
0:00 Introduction
0:56 Teardown
10.03 How it works
13:24 Conclusion
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[@pmpbuhgm]

Aside from all the technical details, the sense of humor onboard is on an entirely different level. Nevertheless, I highly appreciate all the time and effort you took for that. Sir, keep up the good work and stay safe.

[@speedkar99]

I'm glad you appreciate the video style. Thanks

[@NoahDoane]

I work as a tech at an oil change place. I swear, 9/10 of these come in pissing oil from the turbo or the rear main. Most of which we send out as the owner wants it fixed.

[@marsgal42]

Somebody tried really hard to make a good engine. Somebody else didn't care.

[@speedkar99]

That's one way to put it

[@michaelbrinks8089]

Ya, it's kinda crazy how if they had just made a few minor changes, it could have been a decent engine. But nope.....can't do that.......Quite ironic how they decided to not skimp on the water pump metal blade & used a timing chain instead of a belt..But then used a bunch of plastic timing parts. If they used a belt that needed replaced before 100K. They could told customers to also replace the plastic timing parts with new stock or aftermarket parts.

[@know916bound]

​@@michaelbrinks8089haha there you go. Properly planned, planned obsolescence. You should get an engineering job 👀.

[@ianriggs]

Lol

[@michaelw6277]

This just sounds like how GM makes engines. Every once in a while “someone else” isn’t allowed in the room and then you get the LS1 and 3800… other times we get this thing. What sucks is if you’re buying a new car you have no idea which one you’re going to get.

[@aluisious]

In the first two minutes it seems like every component of the engine is "known to fail" and "a sore spot."

[@nicholasvinen]

It would have been quicker if he had listed the parts that aren't known to fail...

[@aluisious]

@@nicholasvinenbasically the oil pump and hydraulic valve adjustment

[@atreyu4ws]

I got the exact same impression.

[@victorwilks88]

GM never fails to deliver a good video

[@frisco-2.0]

That the block is made from iron lies in the fact that this engine is based on a 1970's Opel 1300cc 8 valve engine (motor code 13n and 13s), also called Family I engines. It had an output of 60bhp for the 13n and 75bhp for the 13s. This engine was belt driven for the 8 valvers and 16 valvers up to 2004.

[@speedkar99]

Good to know thanks

[@abdul-kabiralegbe5660]

Interesting integrated oil pickup tube. I'm never expected an Aluminium piston to blow a hole through a cast Iron block.

[@speedkar99]

Yeah it's one of the first integrated oil pans I've seen. I was not expecting the hole in the block either!

[@jamesgeorge4874]

The powder forged steel connecting rod did the punching, oe cast piston was just along for the ride.

[@Liftium]

@@jamesgeorge4874 This engine uses aluminum connecting rods.

[@TxH666]

My fiancé had a 2014 Cruze and that thing was the biggest POS. The thing would constantly overheat and we replaced darn near every single cooling component and nothing worked. We ended up just junking the car to get rid of the headache. Now every time we see a Cruze on the road, we always laugh about how frequently the fan comes on since we know all too well how much they like to overheat.

[@speedkar99]

It went to junk? Was it too difficult to fix?

[@TxH666]

@@speedkar99 yeah man, we replaced everything related to the cooling system that we could think of. Water pump (x2), thermostat (x2), radiator, PCV, head gasket, etc. Nothing worked and it just got to be a money pit and kept leaving my fiancé stranded.

[@michaelbrinks8089]

@@TxH666 If I remember correctly it was the Cruze or similar low end Chevy that had the weakest cheapest most garbage rear brake calipers I had ever seen.

[@TheGuruStud]

b/c you did it wrong. You have to use low temp t-stat 170* and replace everything including the overflow hose and reservoir. Also, ditch dexcool. GM=trash. You still had leaks and/or recurring leaks.

[@bryan23361]

If the fan kept kicking on and off, the fan speed regulator was shot. It runs three modes - low, medium, and high - and if the regulator fails, it will only be able to run on high. When this happens, you will only get intermittent high-power mode, and you won't get constant air movement across the radiator. This can ultimately lead to high coolant temperatures. As TheGuruStud stated, a lower-temp thermostat would be the optimal solution here. There is a user over on CruzeTalk who found a way to replace the stock 218* thermostat to a 176* thermostat. It solves 95% of the overheating problems due to the fact that the dashboard temperature gauge does not display temperatures between 185* and 226*, if I remember correctly. The engine is not nearly as bad as others make it out to be. Taking care of it will make it run much longer. Changing the oil at half the recommended mileage, rectifying poor component choices of the manufacturer, properly repairing issues when they happen (and not sitting on them or using the "band-aid" fix for the issues), and, ultimately, understanding how the engine works can make these engines last hundreds of thousands of miles. Use good oil, change it every 3k-4k miles, do not use that crap-ass Stop-Leak for coolant leaks, and let it idle for 2-3 minutes before shut-off. This is base knowledge for any low-displacement turbocharged engines. All else comes to fruition will a little bit of care :)

[@danieln.285]

My backup vehicle is a 2011 Cruze with this engine. I've replaced just about everything under the sun as "preventative maintenance". Haven't had any leaks yet because of it, BUT I will tell you that the Dorman cover combined with that old style of oil cap will cause a vacuum leak. I remember replacing my old valve cover since the PCV issue was beginning, and I chose the Dorman one like in the video. I put everything back together, put the oil cap on, and I noticed that there was a ton of wiggle on the cap, telling me that the hole was too big for it and it wasn't sealing right. I ditched the Dorman one and bought a oem valve cover plus the updated oil cap with the bigger profile and it has held up just fine since. I'm noticing some loud clicking in the valvetrain now at 162K so I think the timing job is in order. But yeah, they used these engines in the bigger SUVs and I gotta say, what a crock of crap. At least in the Sonics and Cruzes, there wasn't a whole lot of weight for it to pull, maybe a little over a ton total, but with these SUVs, they way much more and put much more of a load on them, making them wear out faster.

[@speedkar99]

How much did the OEM valve cover cost you compared to Dorman?

[@GrnArrow092]

I owned a 2014 Chevy Cruze for a couple of years before I traded it. One day after an oil change, I had a couple of mechanics near my car and one was telling me that something didn't sound right. He was talking about my electric cooling fan that wasn't working right. It was advised to me that I should bring it in to have it looked at and so I did. Not only was my cooling fan bad, but they found that my valve cover gasket had gone bad and the water pump was about to go out. The water pump was making a constant squeaking noise. Thankfully, the repairs were done under warranty. The repairs would have cost $1700 otherwise and I ended up paying nothing for it to be done. I think the reason why the car was traded in the first place is that the previous owner just drove the car until it started having problems and didn't bother to have those problems fixed. At least the current owner of my Cruze had a freshly repaired engine to drive on for a while.

[@speedkar99]

Ouch

[@demal1010]

I had a 1st generation Cruze with the base non-turbo atmospheric engine. And I had complete coolant loss to where it pooled on the ground two separate times. The conditions when it happened seemed to be when the engine was brought up to operating temperature, then parked and cooled back down when it was 20 degrees fahrenheit or lower, which where I lived was usually overnight or really early in the morning. Brought it in the dealer mechanic and of course I could not replicate those conditions and the tech could not find any leak, he even showed me the pressure gauge while applying the pressure, which is what they use to check for leaks because the leak would show at the failure point, but no leaks..... eventually at about 20k or so from the warranty expiring I traded it in (that wasn't the only or main reason though).

[@BStreet666]

What a pleasant surprise to be met by a Speedkar video as I set down for dinner. It's a shame these engines suck because I personally feel like the Sonic hatch was a cool looking domestic car. Thanks for all of the hard work.

[@roddydykes7053]

Yeah I agree it’s a nice looking car for American.

[@michaelw6277]

The Sonic RS looked like such a fun car to own, it’s a shame GM can’t figure out how to put good engines in their small cars. Not that it matters anymore, GM was so bad at building cars all they offer anymore is the Corvette and a couple of Cadillacs.

[@Mike-xt2ot]

I felt that OUWWUUW!! OUCH! Bro. Especially in the cold weather. Been there a thousand times yet still hurts like the first time ! Great vid!

[@speedkar99]

Exactly, it hurts when it's cold.

[@Mike-xt2ot]

I've serviced them where the turbo impeller exploded and dozens of tiny pieces of ceramic impeller in between valve and seats and in pistons making a mess of things as well. . Good engine with several seriously terrible component longevity issues.

[@speedkar99]

How did the catalyst converter hold upto that?

[@user-ss5vx8sj7r]

Super good video, both technically and entertainment wise

[@speedkar99]

Thanks!

[@shaulpreisman5601]

Please do a VW 1.4 tsi (ea211) out of a Jetta or something… would absolutely love to see that. Cheers, and thanks for uploading cool and entertaining teardowns!

[@speedkar99]

Glad you like my videos!

[@johnw3379]

Another fantastic video! This will never happen to me....I drove Honda/ Toyota only lol

[@speedkar99]

Yep good choice.

[@chuckycheese84]

Eric from I Do Cars would love this

[@speedkar99]

I think he already tore down a Chevy Cruze motor

[@nicholasvinen]

"Malice in the combustion palace"

[@TheBandit7613]

@@speedkar99 He did. I think it's an Opel engine. Until it blows.

[@user-lp7dd7dz9m]

Yup he did one of these

[@fugelkusch3722]

1.4 Ecodreck engine as they're called in Germoney. Didn't work as non aspirated 90hp engines either.

[@speedkar99]

Even at that low stress ?

[@bojned]

I had Corsa C Z12XE, and when I sold it, it had 270.000km. It was eating some oil, but no smoke or any other problems... Had the original chain as well. Now I have B14XEL 90hp one, and it's fine after 70.000km. I had to replace the water pump (it wasn't being driven for a long time and the housing cracked when I started driving it) and the coil pack. A friend of mine had a turbo version, and that one was atrocious. Literally everything broke down on his Zafira.

[@fugelkusch3722]

No, didn't work. Don't really know what it was, but I got two new engines on guarantee (!) and then I sold the car. @@speedkar99

[@orkoto6057]

B14XEL corsa E with 110K kms, also a water pump replacement at 80K kms. No others problems aside a rattling in the dash since day one

[@bojned]

@@orkoto6057 Thankfully nothing rattles in my car... Seat squeaks when I get in, I guess something's loose, but couldn't be bothered to actually check 😂

[@jamesgetz8945]

I have 93,890 miles on one, doesn't use oil and never had a problem with it but always changed the oil at 60 to 50 percent with mobile 1 5w30 and Valvoline 5w30 synthetic, I think people must Abuse them Big Time

[@ua7pyro591]

Yeah poor people usually don't care

[@speedkar99]

Keep it maintained and it should last.

[@ShadowOppsRC]

The manufacturer extended oil changes of 5k or more dont help either. Even toyotas get issues if u follow their recommended 10k on a oil change.

[@know916bound]

We had a 2017 cruz, properly maintained with good oil, changed every 4k miles. I always let it warm up before accelerating fast too. And we have good gas living in Texas . But one day on the highway I just wanted to pass only going around 70 to the left lane. And the engine popped half way of me getting in the lane. It was a little scary losing all power and being in traffic. But luckily i was able to pull off to the side without being hit. The damned thing only had 46K miles. Chevy was reluctant to give me a new motor in 2019, but after much much hassle. They replaced it, and we traded that car immediately.

[@roddydykes7053]

That’s not a lot of miles

[@mahdavimail]

Thanks for the video 👍

[@JohnSmith-uh6cs]

Sir I have just subscribed. When you are able, please do a mechanic's review of the Grand Highlander

[@speedkar99]

Sure I'd love to get one!

[@timsmith2525]

"Pull off the side of the road, and call your big brother." That is so me: On more than one occasion. Thanks, David!

[@speedkar99]

That's my little brother calling me 😢

[@rotorhead5000]

The taking note of gm stamping all the small parts of the engine reminds me of an automotive history bit. During ww2, the government contracted with several companies to build the classic army jeeps, ford motor company included. Henry ford was all butt hurt about being told he wasnt allowed to put a ford logo on the jeeps, so out of pettyness every single part that went into the jeeps they built, every nut, bolt, washer, rivet, ect had the script ford F on them.

[@hawkdsl]

The #1 problem with the 1.4 is the owners. This motor needs an oil filter change every 1500 miles (the oil filter is very small), and oil change every 3k. The water pumps were crap, but GM replaced these for free for original owners. Replacing with aftermarket brands usually solves that problem permanently. They're easy to work on, they can be hot rodded pretty good by knowledgeable people. And they are a spunky little motor. But they are not small block Chevys. They are not for maintenance lackeys. Owners who take care of these engines can get north of 150,000 miles out of them with no problems.

[@speedkar99]

I tend to agree..it's not a very tolerant engine

[@bobconner422]

Bought mine new oil change 5k the normal issues but 190k and still going thinking another 100k no problem

[@bryanjohnson4819]

These videos are fantastic.

[@Haganu]

Glad to see you're using internet slang to describe what happened with some parts.

[@markbarber7839]

Thanks for the video. It's a shame because the motor's power characteristics in town were quite good. The Cruze was a lot of car for the money

[@speedkar99]

I don't think the rest of the car held up very well

[@arlowelee]

ik you've said that it's a hard to find engine before, but keep a look out for a dohc Mitsubishi 6g72 v6! i'd love to see that!

[@speedkar99]

Sure

[@terrienhumain6723]

I seriously consider your videos as the most interesting ones.

[@speedkar99]

Thanks!

[@williewest2370]

I saw a video of yours about 7 years old and it speaks about the P0420, I use spacers before to fool the computer but I noticed that you solder a capacitor & resistor to the sensor wires, can you tell me which capacitors and resistors I have to get? if you could do me that favor,THANK YOU!!!

[@speedkar99]

Honestly I don't remember what values. It's an iterative process, keep trying different RC values.

[@williewest2370]

@@speedkar99 thanks a lot brother

[@bernardcooks2918]

I got 256,000 miles outta mine. 1 Ignition coil, 4 valve covers, oil cooler line, 3 water outlet valves, and non working engine fan for over a year.

[@Henry_Jones]

Built in GM Lordstown. Same plant where they built the cobalt, J cars, and Vega. Not known for quality

[@RobertBeck-pp2ru]

And the Lordstown electric pickup truck debacle. That plant is cursed.

[@sgbawg0]

GMs never could figure out how to make engines for subcompacts. So what failed first? Timing chain guide or head gasket?

[@speedkar99]

The chicken or the egg... I'm betting the headgasket given the shear amount of coolant that came out of this thing.

[@charvakkarpe]

Is there any preventive maintenance for the timing chain? I've done my PCV upgrade, replaced leaky turbo oil lines, freed up the wastegate, replaced cracked plastic coolant outlet, will upgrade to metal. When I did the PCV/valve cover, I noticed some wear on the top timing chain guide.

[@cephas1206]

Timing chain guides are wear items that should be replaced if worn. Especially when they're made of plastic.

[@aciddiver1978]

Add Liqui moly ceratec.

[@chrispapanastasopoulos9192]

Sell sell sell

[@stger2384]

That poor little engine :(, and please play safely ;D

[@kingmarz3635]

Cheers Been subd since first 1k I know you’ve done most of them but…More Honda

[@spelunkerd]

If it came in with a hole in the side of the block, few mechanics would bother to take the head off or even take the timing cover off. So, I'll throw out a guess this was a complicated story, perhaps a head gasket leak that they attempted to fix, then maybe they messed up timing on reassembly causing catastrophic failure of timing and failure to stop the coolant leak into oil. Or maybe guys at an automotive school had a go at inspecting carnage after an overheating nightmare.

[@anubaral]

or this: the headgasket failed, they replaced the timing, it worked for a while untill it didn't and they took off the chains to resell or put it into a junkyard engine

[@rendaddy_]

"[component] is known for failure"....I sense a theme

[@naiche.]

How close are these to the Saab Eco-Tec engines found in the 2003-11 9-3?

[@anubaral]

how close? by a million miles, the eco tec engine in the saab is full aluminium with balance shafts on the 2.0turbo, the 1.8 naturally aspirated is also a good dinosaur that has nothing to do with this engine

[@mikekokomomike]

those plastic oil filter cartridge housings, I heard they crack on Pentastar Jeeps too?

[@speedkar99]

Big time. I have another video on that too

[@anubaral]

mine hasn't cracked and i have the same oil filter cap made of plastic, 17 years of age, if you're not overtightening it there's nothing to crack

[@aciddiver1978]

I had it for 10 years now and no cracks.

[@ats9682]

I wonder if some of these fail because of predetonation from using the wrong fuel. Mine started making all sorts of spark knocking sounds but ran good and drove just fine but ended up switching to higher octane fuel. The dealer told me regular gas is just fine to run in these with my instincts telling me forced induced direct injection engines need higher octane to slow down the combustion process and have a more even fire. They had a calibration update on the computer that injected extra fuel into the cylinders to prevent the pre detonation condition but at the cost of mileage. I went from 42mpg down to 36mpg with the calibration.

[@speedkar99]

Ouch.

[@justinv3080]

The luv/luj 1.4t is actually tuned for 91 octane from the factory so it definitely pulls tons of timing to run on 87 octane, the dealers can say whatever they want and even the owners manual can be ambiguous but the RPO codes don't lie, "KRD" tells you that it's supposed to run 91. Also the tuners have posted some articles about it, if you look up bad news racing article WHICH FUEL SHOULD I USE IN MY LUV/LUJ? DOES IT MATTER?, you can see the article.

[@maester3312]

I have this engine in my opel astra J. It made 200k km and still running so far without any problem :D i kinda suprised but i guess changing oil after every 10k km helped a lot.

[@speedkar99]

Reduce those oil changes to 6000km please.

[@TheBandit7613]

Wow, that waiting till the oil is shot. Turbo engines need frequent oil changes because of the natural blowby.

[@anubaral]

@@TheBandit7613 yea sure, you think truck drivers replace the oil every 6000 km? Yea right... 10 000km or once a year if not race driven is more than sufficient

[@TheBandit7613]

@@anubaral They hold 115 liters of oil! DUH!

[@anubaral]

@@TheBandit7613 so? 115 of oil, this engine is 5 liter of oil, do you see truck drivers replace engine every 3 month? i replace my oil at every 10k km or once a year, on my old diesel i was replacing it every 25k or once a year and it's still going strong on the new owner, closing to half a million km with original turbo, injectors, the engine never being open so far... my current car is 17 years and over 220k km still going strong

[@ianriggs]

This is a good one 👍

[@speedkar99]

It sure is.

[@Sagina1999]

Still waiting for a Honda A20A3!

[@zxggwrt]

What year Chevy Cruz do I need buy to get this engine?

[@anubaral]

2010 ish era

[@mr.knight1359]

i say maybe this could be a good and decent engine since the design is so simple. but i guess only if they used good quality material for it

[@JohnEvans-ct6mz]

This engine and the base 1.8 liter were lifted from Opel. In 2010, they were imported from Germany and weren’t too bad, but at some point they switched production to the GM Mexico facility and that is GMs worst plant. Which is very odd because Mexico is where VWs best plant is. Also one of Ford’s better plants too.

[@donvoll2580]

Good day from Waterloo I was trying ti figure out what u said when trying to bottom off U r a good but the difference between pliers & hammer ??? Do most engine come with oil cooler??? Thanks

[@speedkar99]

I was joking about the pliers lol

[@Iowa599]

The oil pan with intigrated pickup is cool! The iron blck is not!

[@anubaral]

the iron block is the best part from this engine

[@Iowa599]

@@anubaral iron blocks stopped being cool in 1970.

[@demonbox666]

I must got a good one. Not one problem with it yet, and it's past 200k miles.

[@louvendran7273]

Freeway driving I suppose.

[@speedkar99]

Nice. Do you change the coolant

[@demonbox666]

@@louvendran7273 not used in traffic since we got it, the car lived in Germany for 8 years. Got it with 130k miles, did a timing chain and variators replacement, it's when I changed the pump, coolant and the thermostat. Changing oil every 8-10k miles, always going for quality oil and filter. Starting to have various oil leaks around the engine, like valve cover, oil filter and oil cooler. Still not taking any oil or coolant. The turbo is slightly audible now. Engine code is A14NEL.

[@demonbox666]

@@speedkar99 replaced it this year when I flushed blocked heater matrix.

[@omarrolle3842]

Looks like you got an anti-lemon 😂

[@kirstenspencer3630]

The timing " slides " are made from UHMW ) ( ultra high molicular weight ) a plastic used for rather extreme service for sliding / anti friction / wear service. Too bad the oil was rarely changed on this motor. Except for the VVT should have lasted MUCH LONGER.

[@speedkar99]

The plastic is good but it needs more clips to grip it onto the guide.

[@slava_trushkin]

It was used in Opel cars too in Europe. I was considering buying Opel Zafira with this engine, ended up buying 1.6l diesel. Worst car ever. I believe those 1.6l diesels were available in Chevy sedans too. Has lots of issues, very expensive to repair. It was only 3 years old, just over 100k km and worse than my old car (also Opel) after 15+ years and 200k+ hm. Got rid of it after owning it for 1 year.

[@speedkar99]

Ouch! What kind of issues did you have?

[@bojned]

​@@speedkar991.6 cdti is notorious for chain rattle. The chain is at the back of the engine, so it has to come out for replacement

[@slava_trushkin]

​@@speedkar99 Engine ran smooth for a while, then few months in started rattling. At temperatures below freezing was throwing some codes, don't remember what exactly it was. Went to mechanic, he did timing chain job. Timing chain is behind engine, requires removing engine and also replacing flywheel. Timing was off by 2 tooth. It was rather expensive, over 2k euro, mostly in parts. Half a year and 15k km later it started rattling again. Same symptoms. Then I got rid of it. However, there were more issues, not just engine. It was a 2018 Opel, at 3-4 years old it squeaked like my old Opel did after it was over 10 years old. It is one of last vehicles built by Opel when it was under GM. Build quality was horrendous. Then, the biggest issue for me was seats. Its a minivan. Second generation, which is what I had before, had amazing comfortable seats. That car was third generation. GM did its money saving thing, used same seats in a minivan as in small Astra sedan. Didn't notice that during test drives because didn't know that seats could be so bad. It took few months of ownership to notice it. Caused a lot of health issues and back/butt pains. When I finally sold it, it got to point that I couldn't seat in that car for more than 5-10 minutes. Bought Forester with same age and mileage, quality difference is massive. Several months later all pains are gone.

[@slava_trushkin]

Its actually really showing in how many cars are on road. Just few years ago there were a lot of pre-facelift Zafira Tourer (2011-2016), which is easy to spot because they have weird headlights, now they are quite rare. Post-facelift cars are sold dirt cheap, imported from Germany, but are disappearing as fast as appearing. I see more second generation Zafira B cars than Zafira Tourer. Zafira B stopped production in 2014 (2011 in countries other than Germany) so they are very old now and are still running.

[@bojned]

@@slava_trushkin God, Astra seats are horrendous... When I tried it, it was a big no for me straight away.

[@greathey1234]

GM still can't make a good small engine no matter how hard they try.

[@speedkar99]

Sad. They'll need it soon with all these environmental regulations

[@nerd1000ify]

They could just remove a cylinder bank from one of their pushrod V8s.

[@Jontfs300]

3.6L Four-Cylinder Engine With GM LS Head Makes 500 Lb-Ft Of Torque

[@Matt123a]

My company had 4 Holden Cruzes. All serviced in-house at real short intervals. 3 were bought back under warranty. Mine was bought back *AFTER* warranty.

[@speedkar99]

What were the issues?

[@TuckerSG]

Do the vk45de next

[@speedkar99]

If love to get one

[@allencrider]

So it overheated, then the driver just put more coolant in and drove it for another few thousand miles.

[@speedkar99]

Basically yeah

[@CptPandy-tj9ty]

Gen 1 cruze stay away from them but the gen 2 are pretty fine they have a completely different engine thats also found in the malibus

[@The_R-n-I_Guy]

Modern engines are designed well. Unfortunately the financial department makes sure that everything is made as cheap as possible. So it barely makes it to the end of the warranty. Their thought is, if they made them last longer, they couldn't sell so many. But what they don't realize is. If they make good reliable cars. People will want them more. And they would be more excited to buy a new one. Like how it was in the 60's.

[@iamtfyyiam8834]

Hi can you tear eco-tec 1.8 NA

[@speedkar99]

Which is that? I've covered 2.2, 1.4T and 1.4 Ecotec already.

[@justinv3080]

​@@speedkar99the 1.8 engine is found in the base model cruze from 2011-2016 on generation 1 models.

[@theadvocate4698]

@@justinv3080 And saturn astra....I test drove a 2012 cruze in manual with both engine and liked the 1.8 more than the turbo...i feared for longevity on the 1.4 t...guess i was right on that one!

[@iamtfyyiam8834]

@justinv3080 also chevy trax 2015-2019

[@justinv3080]

@@iamtfyyiam8834 I don't recall the Trax ever using the 1.8, I know they came in the sonic on some models though

[@davidroberts6594]

1.4 turbo motors had low tension piston rings, known for oil consumption and failures.

[@speedkar99]

Sad.

[@SPAZTICCYTOPLASM]

The reason they "pulled a bmw" is because it's an OPEL design so it's German. Like every other german engine, ever possibly, it's a great design horrible execution. The biggest issue is this is a 1996 design for tiny cars, and was never intended to be turbocharged, ran hot for emissions and with cheap parts. It's just overstressed for what it was made for and cheaping out on parts doesn't help anyone. From what I've been told, this engine is related to the Hyundai nu engine. Lot of design sharing.

[@speedkar99]

NU? Interesting!

[@dcf8978]

The sad thing about the cruze is that it is actually a fun little car to drive... on paper it is great. Decently zippy, good fuel economy, alright handling, etc. The rest of the car is built alright, too... but that damn engine ruins the whole thing

[@speedkar99]

I don't feel like the rest of the car has good build quality.

[@dcf8978]

@speedkar99 yeah, guess I can't argue with that. Good enough for a cheap economy car, though

[@orkoto6057]

Is the NA version as notorious as this?

[@speedkar99]

The newer aluminum block ones are better. See my other GM Ecotec engine video where I took apart one from a 2000km Chevy Spark.

[@felixwankel3989]

Without actual temperature guages, which most modern cars lack oem, you probably wont know its overheating untill its too late.

[@speedkar99]

Agreed. I hate that

[@floyddwayneviernum3816]

I'm sorry, the piston you have reached is not in service. Please check your cylinder number and try again.

[@speedkar99]

Haha 😂

[@SWATT101]

I believe it was the oil cooler that failed on the mother in laws Cruze... didn't blow up and still running...so far lol

[@speedkar99]

Not the head gasket?

[@anubaral]

you mean the seals, just replace the damn seals and you are good to go

[@Henry_Jones]

The cruze weighed as much as a midsize, 3100lbs. Heavy Chevy

[@hesmycat]

Orc technology at it's finest, just believe in it.

[@padillaxA]

Why do manufacturers put the money and effort into making part of the engine strong just to skimp on other crucial components like pistons,timing guides, fasteners... ford and chevy do this everywhere now! Just build it right or don't lol.

[@speedkar99]

It's the bean counters pushing the engineers...

[@michaelbezoski3096]

Yes sir, I bet that motor going south was really exciting especially if the poor soul nailed it on the entrance ramp to the freeway trying to cut off a semi. I see too you may of made a blood sacrifice splitting the block, I feel your pain, have experienced it many times. Always a thrill to see skin on the head of a fastener. I have a bud that owns 2 Chevy Cruzes that seem to be holding up. BUT he is max anal about fluid changes. 3k oil changes, coolant every 5. Seems like a waste but they still run down the road at 100k & he does get some great gas mileage (better, to pay for the fluids). Great tear down video & explanation but hey, that's you. Kinda disappointed the Mrs. didn't give you a cookie.

[@speedkar99]

Thanks for the feedback! And yep Cruze drivers aren't the carefully ones. Cookies are only for easy teardowns. This one was quite something!

[@hippozippo44]

it makes me sick to see all those not-soo-old engine fail, because of poor construction and plastic parts all over the place.

[@TheRealSykx]

It's lack of maintenance that does them in

[@speedkar99]

I agree... Alot of Cruzes in the junkyards due to bad engines Meanwhile Honda engines are going strong

[@hippozippo44]

​@@TheRealSykxi guess the main issue is that quality can't be asessed by most buyers - so car companies are optimizing whatever is possible to cut costs. i mean what other reason is there for all that plastic parts which start to crack after 10-15 years, regardless of good maintenance or not. or those stupid combined parts, where one part does 3 things and can only be replaced at once.

[@johngreco4934]

I had a brand new 2011 Chevy Cruze. My gut was telling me that this car was junk. Within three months, I had to get rid of it because of stalling, engine failure, and poor visibility.

[@1976axerhand]

My friend has a trailblazer with the 3 cylinder engine and is already burning oil at 15k miles.....

[@craigiefconcert6493]

Trail(oil)blazer 😂😂

[@aslkdfjhg]

Cheap cars suffer from neglectful owners who don't have the funds to replace big ticket items. That's why you are a lot with dead turbos, engine sludge and timing chain issues. Honda's 20 years ago were non turbo and timing belt could be done once every 100,000 miles so not as sensitive.

[@speedkar99]

Yeah the more complex they get, the more likely they are to fail with neglected maintainence

[@CowboyStag]

I wonder how many miles on the engine- but it seems like a lot of failed components

[@speedkar99]

I wonder as well....

[@rcole3838]

Sad that these engines ever made it into production. GM should have had another company make their small engines. In worst case they could have blamed someone else.

[@stevenkerwin4041]

It would be easier to list the reasons they don't fail.

[@speedkar99]

1. They don't fail during the warranty.

[@tinko975]

There is no steel engine block. Only cast iron and aluminium with hard metal coating on cilinders.

[@nerd1000ify]

Some ww2 radials had forged steel crankcases.

[@user-vx7vi3vq1c]

Look…he’s gonna turn hand upside down 78 times.

[@speedkar99]

Fancy hand motions

[@user-vx7vi3vq1c]

@@speedkar99 Good video!

[@sergiykud]

do you think you can finish it by tomorrow? my husband does our car repairs and he said its at most a 5 hour job.

[@aciddiver1978]

I have this engine, and i must say i havent had any problems with it.

[@user-ss5vx8sj7r]

GM stamps all those parts to hide the word Yugo underneath.

[@speedkar99]

Haha

[@Tech-Dave]

Although I enjoy videos like this but they are talking about the car I drive which is a 2014 1.4 Eco Tech turbo what we have mostly in our society now is a big section of society that does no maintenance on their vehicle. They may change their oil every 6 to 8000 miles they may not even use the right oil. I hope you're not jinxing me but I change my oil in my car every 3000 miles I do not push my car to its limit when I drive it, I take it easy with the car and I take care of it, the example that you use looks like a vehicle that was not taken care of at all. You're kind of making the position that all of the engines are like what you're showing. Some of these engines have 200k miles on them. And still running. It's everything to do about how you take care of a vehicle. I know there are bad engines out there, but I also know if you take care of a vehicle, it will take care of you.

[@speedkar99]

While I agree, some engines have more tendencies than others due to design and manufacturing issues.

[@gordonliddy9418]

You might want to edit more when it comes to telling viewers that a timing job is inevitable on a gm, when you're talking about one engine in particular. Not all engines are junk regardless of the manufacturer.

[@speedkar99]

Okay. Edit which part?

[@zijie-he]

GM spent too much effort on something did not matter 😕

[@speedkar99]

Well they sure made alot of Cruzes

[@zijie-he]

@@speedkar99 oh, I meant the brand marks on the small parts :)

[@maikelnait4495]

@maikelnait4495 0 seconds ago I have collected 4 pre-2000 cars that I well try to keep and use till either they make a decent+ affordable el-driven car or make ok hydrogen one. These modern ICE engines are just one disappointment after another.

[@speedkar99]

Hybrids are promising

[@ronaldrussell5481]

Anything on that engine NOT prone to fail?

[@speedkar99]

The dip stick. Oh wait..

[@Douglas-up2vh]

Another modern day GM Mega Turd. I'll keep my 1996 Buick Lesabre with 127k. Back when GM built reliability motors. These dual overcame vvt engines wont tolerate extended oil changes. Like the old push rod engines would.

[@richardkanady7466]

well these are Daewoo's and Daewoo left the US but came back hidden by rebadged GM's and or combined w / German Opel of which all gm's (other than these Daewoo's) are nowadays. CR@P!

[@Vok250]

You weren't joking. That engine was obliberated.

[@terenceiutzi4003]

I will bet they didn't use the required DEXOS oil.

[@speedkar99]

Why dexos?

[@terenceiutzi4003]

@@speedkar99 DEXOS is formulated to dissipate heat and clean sludge.

[@gokugaming4]

stop saying "obliberate" im losing my mind

[@speedkar99]

Obliberate

[@kevinbarry71]

What? No personal possessions of relatives today?

[@MecTecher]

One of GM’s infamous terrible cars. Here in Australia GM (Holden) gave us the Cruze and Captiva, both made in Korea and complete rubbish.

[@speedkar99]

Yeah these are disposable.

[@richardkanady7466]

from watching many vid's people think a 10k oil chg interval suffices. nope, the oil itself holds up but is full of carbon and the pvc reburn clogs piston oil rings then fast downhill from there. gdi sucks, gdi+turbo sucks worsefor engine suicide.

[@speedkar99]

I agree. This engines weak points are more the cooling system.

[@thare2597]

I know someone with 220,000 miles on one of these with no major complaints. Just lucky I guess.

[@speedkar99]

Awesome. No cooling issues?

[@thare2597]

@@speedkar99 none that he admitted to anyways. I know it's a commuter with all highway miles. Wouldn't be the first time someone was FOS about their car problems though

[@TheRealSykx]

@@thare2597 highway miles and proper maintenance, doubt you'd have many problems

[@chuckh.2227]

It's a impeller not a propeller

[@get2dachoppa249]

Multiple government bailouts, too big to fail, all that noise, & this is how they repay their customers.

[@craigiefconcert6493]

Any “eco” anything engine is guaranteed to be a piece of junk 😂😂😂 At least it’s a hydraulically adjusted roller rocker valve system.