NHTSA Complaint #10930299 — 2012 CHEVROLET CRUZE

FIRST, I RECEIVE A WARNING ABOUT ENGINE TEMP SO I PUT SOME COOLANT IN AND THE PROBLEM DOESN'T COME UP AGAIN FOR A WEEK. BETWEEN THAT TIME, THE TIRE SENSOR MALFUNCTIONS AND THE CAR IS AT ONLY 40,000 MILES SO IT'S NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY. THE SECOND TIME I GET THE TEMP WARNING I'M ON THE WAY TO WORK RIDING ALONG A HIGHWAY AND THE CAR LOSES MOMENTUM AND LED ADVISES THAT CAR IS LOWERING POWER TO PROTECT ENGINE. MIND YOU, THIS IS AFTER I'VE ALREADY SPENT $400 ON NEW TIRES AND CHANGED THE OIL. A MINUTE AFTER THE LED ON, THE CAR WAS TRYING TO COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN AT THIS POINT AND I PULLED OVER. WHEN I GET TO A COMPLETE STOP, STEAM JUST ENGULFS MY HOOD. THE CAR WENT FROM DRIVING WITH NO INDICATION OF TROUBLE TO A COMPLETE DISASTER IN A MATTER OF ONE AND A HALF MINUTES. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO MY HOUSE AND LATER ON BROUGHT IT TO A CHEVROLET DEALER TO GET A DIAGNOSTIC. CHEVROLET ADVISES THAT THE ENGINE IS BAD. MY FOUR YEAR OLD CAR WITH JUST OVER 40,000 MILES NEEDS A $7,000 ENGINE REPLACEMENT. THIS IS NOT A NORMAL OCCURRENCE AND I'VE NEVER HAD A SIMILAR ISSUE ON A CAR THAT HASN'T EVEN HIT HALF A 100K. THESE PROBLEMS DIDN'T HAPPEN WITH A 1999 MODEL I HAD FOR MUCH LONGER THAN THIS AND THE MILEAGE WAS OVER 120,000 WHEN THE CAR STARTED GIVING UP. THERE ARE MANY SIMILAR COMPLAINTS HERE WITH SIMILAR ISSUES AND THESE PEOPLE INVESTED IN A VEHICLE THAT WE EXPECTED TO SERVE US FOR THE PRICE WE PAID. I BOUGHT AMERICAN BECAUSE I WANTED TO SUPPORT INDUSTRY IN OUR COUNTRY. CHEVY LAUDS ITSELF AS A TOP-TIER COMPANY RANKED AT HIGHLY WITH MULTIPLE AUTO MAGAZINES EVERY YEAR. MY EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN VERY LOW, THOUGH AND THIS HAS CAUSED ME SEVERE FINANCIAL BURDEN FOR A VEHICLE I PAID IN FULL PRICE BRAND NEW. ENGINE REPLACEMENTS DO NOT HAPPEN AT 40,000 MILES ON A BRAND NEW CAR WITH A TOP-TIER AUTO MAKER. *TR