2011 CHEVROLET CRUZE — Owner-Reported Problems
NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 727 complaints · 7 recalls
Verdict & Safety Summary
Most-reported system: ENGINE (178 complaints · 24.5%)
Safety signals:
- Crashes 38
- Fires 20
- Injuries 39
- Deaths 2
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
Component Problem Distribution
Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)
UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.
View component data as a table
| System / Component | Complaints | Share of Reports | Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE | 178 | 24.5% | 3 crashes · 14 fires |
| POWER TRAIN | 149 | 20.5% | 2 crashes · 0 fires |
| SERVICE BRAKES | 58 | 8.0% | 10 crashes · 1 fires |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 50 | 6.9% | 3 crashes · 0 fires |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 45 | 6.2% | 2 crashes · 2 fires |
| STEERING | 32 | 4.4% | 4 crashes · 0 fires |
| FUEL SYSTEM | 27 | 3.7% | 0 crashes · 3 fires |
| VISIBILITY | 26 | 3.6% | 0 crashes · 0 fires |
| AIR BAGS | 24 | 3.3% | 7 crashes · 0 fires |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 169 | 23.3% | 9 crashes · 1 fires |
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
Problem & Recall Timeline
Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time
- Campaign 11V270000 was reported 47 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
- Campaign 11V273000 was reported 45 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
- Campaign 12V289000 was reported 108 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
- Campaign 13V360000 was reported 865 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
- Campaign 16V502000 was reported 1,875 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
| Date | Record type | Count | Record identifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-Q4 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2011-Q1 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2011-Q2 | Owner reports | 16 | |
| 2011-Q3 | Owner reports | 17 | |
| 2011-Q4 | Owner reports | 13 | |
| 2012-Q1 | Owner reports | 13 | |
| 2012-Q2 | Owner reports | 23 | |
| 2012-Q3 | Owner reports | 20 | |
| 2012-Q4 | Owner reports | 13 | |
| 2013-Q1 | Owner reports | 11 | |
| 2013-Q2 | Owner reports | 24 | |
| 2013-Q3 | Owner reports | 15 | |
| 2013-Q4 | Owner reports | 12 | |
| 2014-Q1 | Owner reports | 24 | |
| 2014-Q2 | Owner reports | 35 | |
| 2014-Q3 | Owner reports | 36 | |
| 2014-Q4 | Owner reports | 26 | |
| 2015-Q1 | Owner reports | 32 | |
| 2015-Q2 | Owner reports | 23 | |
| 2015-Q3 | Owner reports | 9 | |
| 2015-Q4 | Owner reports | 17 | |
| 2016-Q1 | Owner reports | 22 | |
| 2016-Q2 | Owner reports | 20 | |
| 2016-Q3 | Owner reports | 15 | |
| 2016-Q4 | Owner reports | 17 | |
| 2017-Q1 | Owner reports | 18 | |
| 2017-Q2 | Owner reports | 8 | |
| 2017-Q3 | Owner reports | 21 | |
| 2017-Q4 | Owner reports | 10 | |
| 2018-Q1 | Owner reports | 23 | |
| 2018-Q2 | Owner reports | 16 | |
| 2018-Q3 | Owner reports | 13 | |
| 2018-Q4 | Owner reports | 10 | |
| 2019-Q1 | Owner reports | 10 | |
| 2019-Q2 | Owner reports | 15 | |
| 2019-Q3 | Owner reports | 11 | |
| 2019-Q4 | Owner reports | 14 | |
| 2020-Q1 | Owner reports | 12 | |
| 2020-Q2 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2020-Q3 | Owner reports | 11 | |
| 2020-Q4 | Owner reports | 8 | |
| 2021-Q1 | Owner reports | 8 | |
| 2021-Q2 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2021-Q3 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2021-Q4 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2022-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2022-Q2 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2022-Q3 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2022-Q4 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2023-Q1 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2023-Q2 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2023-Q4 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2024-Q2 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| 2024-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2024-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2025-Q1 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2025-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2025-Q3 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2025-Q4 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2026-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2026-Q2 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 11V221000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 11V270000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 11V273000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 12V288000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 12V289000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 13V360000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 16V502000 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | PE12010 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | AQ12002 |
Safety Recalls (7)
Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA
-
Manufacturer action
Recall campaign 11V221000
- Report date
- Component:
- Not available in the source record
- Consequence:
- SHOULD THE STEERING WHEEL DETACH FROM THE STEERING COLUMN WHILE DRIVING, THE DRIVER COULD LOSE THE ABILITY TO STEER THE VEHICLE, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
- Remedy:
- DEALERS WILL INSPECT TO ENSURE THAT THE STEERING WHEEL IS ASSEMBLED PROPERLY. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FOR YOU FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 7, 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438, OR AT THE OWNER CENTER AT WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM.
-
Manufacturer action
Recall campaign 11V270000
- Report date
- Component:
- STEERING
- Consequence:
- THIS COULD ALLOW THE SHAFTS TO SEPARATE, RESULTING IN THE LOSS OF STEERING. LOSS OF STEERING CONTROL MAY INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH.
- Remedy:
- DEALERS WILL INSPECT, AND IF REQUIRED, REPAIR THE INTERMEDIATE SHAFT/STEERING GEAR ASSEMBLY TO ASSURE THE BOLT IS FULLY SEATED AND THE SHAFT PROPERLY ASSEMBLED. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 23, 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438, OR WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM.
-
Manufacturer action
Recall campaign 11V273000
- Report date
- Component:
- POWER TRAIN
- Consequence:
- THE DRIVER MAY NOT BE ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE AND THE VEHICLE COULD ROLL AWAY AFTER THE DRIVER HAS EXITED THE VEHICLE, RESULTING IN A POSSIBLE CRASH WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING.
- Remedy:
- DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE TRANSMISSION SHIFT LINKAGE FOR CORRECT INSTALLATION AND ADJUST THE SHIFT LINKAGE SYSTEM FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 23, 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438, OR WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM.
-
Manufacturer action
Recall campaign 12V288000
- Report date
- Component:
- Not available in the source record
- Consequence:
- EITHER CONDITION COULD RESULT IN AN ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE, POSSIBLY CAUSING INJURY OR DEATH.
- Remedy:
- GM WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL MODIFY THE ENGINE SHIELD TO PREVENT FLUID FROM CONTACTING THE SHIELD. ALSO, ON VEHICLES WITH A MANUAL TRANSMISSION, DEALERS WILL APPLY A PROTECTIVE TAPE TO THE ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING WIRE HARNESS. REPAIRS WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE TO THE OWNER. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 10, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT THE CHEVROLET OWNER CENTER AT 1-866-694-6546.
-
Manufacturer action
Recall campaign 12V289000
- Report date
- Component:
- FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
- Consequence:
- THE FUEL TANK COULD COME LOOSE IN A CRASH, POSSIBLY ALLOWING FUEL TO LEAK FROM THE TANK. A FUEL LEAK IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE COULD RESULT IN A FIRE.
- Remedy:
- GM WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE VEHICLE FOR MISSING WELDS. IF THE VEHICLE IS MISSING WELDS, DEALERS WILL SECURE THE BRACKET ATTACHMENTS WITH FASTENERS. REPAIRS WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 9, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT THE CHEVROLET OWNER CENTER AT 1-866-694-6546.
-
Manufacturer action
Recall campaign 13V360000
- Report date
- Component:
- SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
- Consequence:
- A loss of braking assistance will require extra pedal force and/or distance to bring the vehicle to a stop, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy:
- General Motors will notify owners, and dealers will replace a microswitch in the power brake vacuum pipe assembly, free of charge. The recall began on October 7, 2013. Owners may contact Chevrolet at 1-800-222-1020. GM's recall number is 12213.
-
Manufacturer action
Recall campaign 16V502000
- Report date
- Component:
- ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
- Consequence:
- If the key is removed without the transmission in PARK, the vehicle may rollaway as occupants are exiting, increasing the risk of injury.
- Remedy:
- 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.
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
Complaint Narrative Explorer
Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records
Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Showing 0 of 727 complaints · page 1 of 30
No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →
Estimated Ownership Cost
EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates
Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Adjacent Model Years
Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
Methodology & Data Integrity
Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.