NHTSA Complaint #10820458 — 2011 CHEVROLET CRUZE

I CAN SMELL A BURNING COOLANT TYPE SMELL INSIDE THE CABIN OF THE VEHICLE. IT DOES NOT HAPPEN ALL THE TIME. IT LEAVES A FILM ON THE WINDOWS. WHEN IT HAPPENS IT BURNS MY NOSE AND EYES. I HAVE TO ROLL DOWN THE WINDOWS TO GET FRESH AIR. I CONSIDER THIS A HEALTH ISSUE, INHALING THESE FUMES. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP THREE TIMES. ONCE THEY REPLACED A TRANSMISSION COOLANT CONNECTOR, THAT DIDN'T SOLVE THE PROBLEM, AND TWICE THEY SAID THEY COULDN'T FIND A PROBLEM. I SEE THAT THERE HAVE BEEN MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS. THIS HAPPENS IN ALL SITUATIONS, MOVING OR STANDING STILL. THE FOLLOWING I COPIED FROM A FORUM ONLINE. THIS PERSON HAD THE SAME PROBLEM: IN THE COURSE OF THAT REPAIR THE TECHS DETECTED AN EXTREME AMOUNT OF LUBRICANT ON THE INNER DASH BOX WHERE THE VENT DOORS AND CONTROLS ARE LOCATED. THE TECH REMOVED SOME OF IT AND HEATED IT UP AND IT SMELLED JUST LIKE DEXCOOL. THIS GREASE IS GLYCOL BASED HENCE THE SIMILARITY TO COOLANT WHEN HEATED. THE CONTINUOUS HEATING AND COOLING OF THE GREASE RESULTED IN A BREAKDOWN OF IT AND THE SMELL ONLY GOT WORSE. THE TECHS REMOVED ALL OF THE EXCESS GREASE AND REPLACED WITH ANOTHER LUBRICANT WHICH WAS A TYPE OF BRAKE LUBE GOOD TO 400F. THEY THEN ADDED A PEPPERMINT EXTRACT TO THE COOLANT FLUID TO ENSURE THAT IF THERE WAS A COOLANT LEAK OF ANY KIND THE ODOR WOULD BE IMMEDIATELY DISCERNABLE FROM ANY OTHER AUTOMOTIVE ODOR. I RAN THE HEAT AND DEFROST HEAVY WITH NO ISSUES TO REPORT. THIS FIX IS NOT EASY AS THE ENTIRE DASH NEEDS TO BE REMOVED, BUT A GOOD TECH CAN DO IT AND RESOLVE THIS ISSUE. IF YOU NEED ANY FURTHER ASSISTANCE OR INFORMATION PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I WOULD ENCOURAGE ANYONE EXPERIENCING THIS PROBLEM TO CONTACT THE DEALER AND HAVE THEM CONTACT GM TO GET YOUR VEHICLE FIXED.