2015 Chevrolet Cruze problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine (58) · Power Train (32) · Electrical System (19)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Chevrolet Cruze model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
173 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (4)
Electrical System:ignition 2016-07-05 · campaign 16V502000 · 8,367 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Buick Verano and 2016 Chevrolet Malibu as the electronic park lock lever may allow the ignition key to be removed without the transmission being in PARK. Also, certain 2013 Buick Encore, 2011 Buick Regal, 2013-2014 Buick Verano, 2011-2016 Chevrolet Cruze, 2010-2013 Chevrolet Equinox 2013-2015 Chevrolet Malibu, and 2011-2013 GMC Terrain vehicles may have been serviced with similar defective replacement electronic park lock lever
Risk: If the key is removed without the transmission in PARK, the vehicle may rollaway as occupants are exiting, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and if necessary replace the key cylinder lock housing, free of charge. The recall began on October 14, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, Buick 1-800-521-7300, and GMC 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 50490 and 50491.
Seat Belts:front:anchorage 2015-12-23 · campaign 15V876000 · 15 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015 Chevrolet Cruze vehicles manufactured September 24, 2014, to May 29, 2015. In the affected vehicles, one of the driver-side seat belt assembly bolts may not be properly tightened.
Risk: An insufficiently torqued bolt may prevent the seat belt from holding the required load in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and tighten the bolts, free of charge. The recall began on January 27, 2016 Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 15777.
Steering 2015-07-10 · campaign 15V442000 · 10 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Chevrolet Cruze vehicles manufactured November 8, 2013, to March 12, 2015, and 2015 Chevrolet Volt vehicles manufactured April 11, 2014. In the affected vehicles, the inner tie rod may not be tightened to specification allowing the tie rod to separate from the steering gear.
Risk: Separation of the tie rod from the steering gear could result in the loss of steering, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering gear assembly, free of charge. The recall began on July 28, 2015. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 15386.
Parking Brake 2015-02-27 · campaign 15V113000 · 1,733 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015 Chevrolet Cruze vehicles manufactured February 4, 2015, to February 9, 2015. The left-rear or right-rear parking brake cable brackets may not have been properly fastened during the assembly process. As a result, the fastening bolts may back out completely, causing the parking brake bracket to separate and the parking brake to not hold the vehicle in place. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor
Risk: If the parking brake bracket separates, the parking brake may not hold the vehicle, increasing the risk of a vehicle roll away and a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the left-rear and right-rear parking brake brackets bolts, tightening them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began in March 24, 2015. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 15135.
Service bulletins (1,555)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-26 · PIT5698F · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this pi provides diagnostics tips on how the lin bus works and how to diagnosis it.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-04 · PIP4902W · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email gds2 session logs into technical assistance.
Unknown Or Other 2026-07-21 · PIT5099J · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
pi to help diagnose a/c concern
Unknown Or Other 2026-04-01 · PIT3271Q · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communicates information about how to determine if a wheel and tires size change is available.
Unknown Or Other 2026-03-09 · PIP6104 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communicates the steps on how to save a gds2 session log and upload to a technical assistance case in cx connect.
Unknown Or Other 2026-03-09 · PIP4902V · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email gds2 session logs into technical assistance.
Showing the 6 most recent of 1,555 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-28 · Vehicle Speed Control“code u0101 transmission electro-hydraylic control module sudden shift while at stop light . all warning lights came on stable track etc . vehicle has been inspected can bus and tcm not communicating …”
2026-09-20 · Unknown Or Other“it started over heating and i had to replace multiple coolant lines/hoses from the thermostat, heater core, the reservoir, radiator. ive replace the intake diaphragm. thought since all the pieces that got hot and cracked or broke got replaced that the issue was gone. then one day i drove 8 mins into ohio and it started smoking so i pulled off the r…”
2026-06-13 · Fuel/Propulsion System“i have replaced my whole engine and the cars fuel system.. my gas was backing into my oil along with the engine failing .. has happened again. this car has been a nightmare and just keeps failing. strong gas and oil burning smell then car starts smoking. had to shut it off in the middle of the road. …”
2026-01-29 · Engine And Engine Cooling · 90,000 mi“the contact owns a 2015 chevrolet cruze. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was leaking oil from the top of the engine onto the drive belts. the contact stated that the vin was not included in nhtsa campaign number: 12v288000 (engine and engine cooling). the vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not repaire…”
2026-01-08 · Electronic Stability Control (Esc) · 113,000 mi“ the contact owns a 2015 chevrolet cruze. the contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, the “service stabili-trak” message was displayed. the warning light turned on and off, and the vehicle suddenly stalled. the vehicle failed to restart. the contact stated that the vehicle started jerking and rolling while on the side of the road. t…”
2025-12-16 · Unknown Or Other“radiator leaks, car overheated. looking online it is obvious that a lot of people have had this same issue, so why no recall. it's a peice of crap car, that is dangerous to drive. …”
2025-06-25 · Unknown Or Other“i understand this vehicle is over 10 years old. i bought this vehicle pre-owned and have only had it for less than 6 months. this vehicle has 71,000 miles on it and isn't very good condition cosmetically besides the gloss paint. as a widow, i needed a dependable vehicle for work purposes. since i've had this vehicle i've had to replace the thermost…”
2025-05-12 · Fuel/Propulsion System“i have had car repairs done identical with the 2014 models with the same exact issues described in those year recalls, car hesitant and jerking, breaking down on numerous occasions and replacing gaskets hoses and many codes common with fuel and traction control and finally engine blown!…”
2025-03-05 · Engine“i have had to replace the turbo 3 times now. my car was leaking oil where the the oil filter is so i replaced that whole part. i watched a video how to replace the part. and it said in the video to remove the plastic piece from the engine oil cooler filter housing if you have a turbo because it feeds oil to your turbo. well my car had the original …”
2025-02-20 · Unknown Or Other“ on [xxx], i purchased a used car from marietta auto sales(2015 chevy cruze), through sales agent alexis wiley, i test drove the car and everything seemed fine, so i continued with the purchase, later that same day i had a diagnostic done on the car(autozone),the fix finder read check engine(pass),abs(pass),emissions ready(no),service interval(pass…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.