NHTSA Complaint #10779640 — 2011 CHEVROLET CRUZE

MOST OF THE MILES I PUT ON A CAR ARE HIGHWAY MILES. I HAVE A 90 MILE ROUND TRIP TO GET TO WORK. THE FIRST TIME THIS HAPPENED WAS APPROXIMATELY 2 YEARS AFTER I BOUGHT THE CAR AND HAD ROUGHLY 60,000 MILES ON IT (SUMMER OF 2013). THE A/C SHUT OFF AND THE WATER TEMPERATURE ROSE VERY QUICKLY. I TOPPED OFF THE COOLANT AND DIDN'T HAVE ANY MORE TROUBLE FOR AWHILE. ABOUT THIS SAME TIME I STARTED GETTING A SICKLY SWEET BURNT OIL SMELL IN THE CAR. VERY STRONG SMELL WHEN STOPPED AND THERE'S NO AIR FLOW TO DISSIPATE THE FUMES. JUST RECENTLY IT HAPPENED AGAIN. SAME THING, A/C SHUT OFF, WATER TEMP INDICATOR PEGGED OUT AND I GOT A MESSAGE SAYING "GO TO IDLE" OR SOMETHING TO THAT EFFECT. THERE WAS COOLANT SITTING ON TOP OF THE ENGINE. WITH THE CAR AT IDLE I COULD ONLY FIND A SMALL LEAK AT THE RADIATOR HOSE WHERE IT PLUGS INTO THE WATER OUTLET. I ASSUME THE LEAK IS MUCH WORSE WHEN THE WATER TEMP GOES UP AND THE SYSTEM PRESSURIZES. EVERY 50 MILES OR SO NOW I HAVE TO CHECK THE COOLANT LEVEL OR RISK ANOTHER OVERTEMP. NEXT IS THE TRANSMISSION. I HATE THIS TRANSMISSION. IT'S VERY JERKY WHEN SHIFTING AND HAS BEEN SINCE DAY 1. I THOUGHT MAYBE AS I DROVE THE CAR IT WOULD SMOOTH OUT EVENTUALLY. NO IT DID NOT. IT'S ESPECIALLY BAD IF YOU ARE COASTING TO A STOP BUT RESUME ACCELERATION BEFORE STOPPING. FINALLY, THE BRAKES HAVE A GLITCH. FROM MY DRIVEWAY I BACK SLIGHTLY UPHILL AND THEN DOWNHILL INTO THE ROAD. AT THIS POINT I HAVE TO STAND ON THE BRAKE PEDAL OR SHIFT INTO DRIVE IF I EXPECT TO STOP. IT SEEMS TO ONLY HAPPEN BACKING OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY. IF I BACK UP ON LEVEL GROUND I DON'T NOTICE IT HAPPENING. IT MAY BE THE DIFFERENCE IN SPEED. I'M NOT GOING AS FAST ON LEVEL GROUND AS I AM COMING DOWN MY DRIVEWAY.