NHTSA Complaint #10554773 — 2013 CHEVROLET CRUZE

AFTER CHANGING OIL FILTER, OIL SPRAYED IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT APPROXIMATELY 10 MINUTES INTO DRIVE, CAUSING A FIRE IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. ALL OCCUPANTS WERE SAFE, BUT THE DAMAGE IS EXPENSIVE. WIRING HARNESSES, AS WELL AS MASTER CYLINDER WERE MELTED. THE TOP MOUNTED FILTER IS A PLEATED CARTRIDGE THAT SNAPS INTO A THREADED PLASTIC OIL FILTER CAP. A BLUE O-RING, INCLUDED WITH THE FILTER, SLIPS OVER THE PLASTIC OIL FILTER CAP, PAST THE THREADS. THE ISSUE SEEMS TO THAT TWO "GROOVES" EXIST AFTER THE THREADS TOWARDS THE END BY THE FLANGE. IF THE O-RING IS PLACED IN THE WRONG LOCATION (I.E. ALL THE WAY TO THE END) THIS PROVIDES AN INADEQUATE SEAL, POSING A FIRE HAZARD AS DESCRIBED ABOVE. CORRECT PROCEDURE IS TO APPLY THE BLUE O-RING ON THE SECOND TO LAST GROOVE IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE THREADS. BASICALLY, IF AFTER TIGHTENING THE OIL FILTER ASSEMBLY THE BLUE O-RING IS VISIBLE, IT'S IN THE WRONG LOCATION. SOURCE: LOCAL DEALER. THIS IS NOT RELATED TO THE PLASTIC SHIELD MODIFICATION ADVISED IN A PREVIOUS SERVICE BULLETIN FROM GM REGARDING THE 2011-12 MODEL YEARS. *TR