The popular Chevrolet Cruze is the Korean project of the General Motors concern. The Cruze replaced the equally popular Chevrolet Lacceti and Chevrolet Cobalt. The platform on which the Chevrolet Cruze is built is borrowed from the new Opel Astra J. The Chevrolet Cruze was introduced to the market in 2009. For our market, it is assembled both in Korea and in Russia at the GM plant in Shushary in the Leningrad region. Sales on the Russian market started in autumn 2009.

Chevrolet Cruze undoubtedly looks very impressive, "falling in love" with itself at first sight. The price also adds warm feelings. But behind the beautiful wrapper there are unpleasant little things. The largest currently known Cruze mileage is about 130 thousand km, and therefore one can draw any conclusions.

Engines

The line of engines with which the car is equipped is represented by two gasoline 1.6 liters with a capacity of 109 and 113 hp and a gasoline 1.8 liter - 141 hp.

1.6 L 109 HP received the F16D3 index, aka 1.6 XE, and is a well-known analogue of the Chevrolet Lacetti. This is probably the most reliable and less capricious engine installed on the Chevrolet Cruze. Among the unpleasant little things that rarely happen, but still happen - the appearance of carbon deposits on the valves, which can hang over time. Oil leakage from under the valve cover and its bolts is also a well-known problem of the Lacetti. Lid tightening rarely solves the problem of "snotty", the reason for which is a weak gasket stretching 40-50 thousand km, and in the lid itself, made of plastic. Over time, the valve cover leads from heating - it does not fit tightly. Often because of this, oil appears in candle wells.

Another trouble that can befall the owners of the Chevrolet Cruze with the Korean 1.6L is the engine stalling in neutral. The reason is not clear, the official dealer makes a helpless gesture. This "phenomenon" manifests itself both with a run of more than 50-60 thousand km, and already at 5-10 thousand km. Attempts by the services include learning the clutch, flashing the ECU, and cleaning the throttle valve. The problem is exacerbated in the summer, most likely due to switched off consumers, the load from which does not allow the engine to stall in the cold season.

Opelev's 1.6 XER (F16D4) and 1.8 XER (F18D4) engines migrated from the H-series Astra. Together with the engine, problems that were well known from Astra passed over. There are simply not enough words addressed to the leaders of the Chevrolet Cruze project, who installed these engines without curing the only, but serious disease of the engines - the gears of the intake and exhaust camshafts. About 30% of Cruise owners with Opel's Ecotec XERs face a problem. More often these are 1.8 liter engines. The reason for the failure of the gear is oil starvation caused by a low oil level or a malfunction of the solenoid valve due to a clogged solenoid filter (mesh). Signs of a rumble of the engine in the first seconds after starting the engine and loss of thrust. The only effective solution is, as soon as possible, to remove these "nets" (about 3 thousand rubles), and during further operation, change the engine oil more often. Less common is a crankshaft rear oil seal leak.

There are two tragic cases of spontaneous combustion of a car due to a breakdown of the fuel hose in the engine compartment. On a part of the Chevrolet with 1.8 L, a revocable company was held to refine the fuel hose mount.

Transmission

The engine can be paired with a five-speed manual transmission or a six-speed automatic with a manual shift. Manual transmission sometimes manifests itself by the appearance of noise, it is also not uncommon for a problem with the "clutch release". There are a little more problems with automatic transmission. The owners complain about the slipping of the box and its inappropriate behavior, for example, not dropping the revs. More often this manifested itself on the first cars and was eliminated by flashing the box ECU. Some automatic transmissions came to life after replacing the valve body and replacing the box ECU. Jerks when shifting gears on new cars are not uncommon, with an increase in the shift range they become noticeably softer. Note that on 1.6 liter engines, automatic transmission problems are less common than with 1.8 liters.

Fuel consumption for a Chevrolet Cruze is about 11-12 liters in the city for 1.8 and 1.6 with manual transmissions and 1.6 automatic transmissions, and 13-14 liters with 1.8 automatic transmissions. On the highway, all cars consume about 7-8 liters per 100 km.

Body and interior

The peculiarity of the body assembly also does not fit in the head. While chrome peeling and swelling on the grille is a common occurrence for most manufacturers, the violation of the integrity of the paintwork at the joints of the fender and bumper raises questions. Until 2010, many were "sick" of undocking the bumper, more often the front one, especially in the summer heat, due to thermal deformation of flimsy clips. Subsequently, the problem was solved by installing modified clips. In winter, the trunk opening button often fails.

There was also a place for "little things" in the Chevrolet Cruze salon. The leather steering wheel tends to "climb" to 20-30 thousand km. After being replaced by officials, history repeats itself again. The new leather steering wheel on the invoice draws 40 thousand rubles, but the quality is unchanged. "Leather" chairs to 40-50 thousand km often begin to break, the reason is an inexpensive and fragile leather substitute. The plastic used to trim the interior is quite soft and easily scratched. Be careful with interior fresheners, some of which can corrode the plastic of the panel. "Crickets" are not numerous, their habitats are the central console of the dashboard, the area of ​​the radio and air ducts. When driving through irregularities, door seals often creak. A small proportion of owners found moisture in the legs of the front passenger due to a hose that jumped off the drain pipe, often found on Cruises that have undergone alarm installations. Often the cause of moisture in the cabin is poor gluing of the windshield and rear windows, and in the trunk - a seal for the rear lamp.

Undercarriage

On bumps, the roar of the suspension often pesters. The source of the noise is in the shock absorber struts, the supplier of which GM will not change in any way, and it is in no hurry to modify them. Shock absorbers are knocking due to the bypass valve. Approximately half of the owners have an unpleasant knock even when they have driven less than 15-20 thousand km. Craftsmen in car services are sorting out shock absorbers, installing new cartridges.

Front brake pads run on average 25-35 thousand km, rear 50-60 thousand km. But the brake discs in the stock are rather frail, even after a mileage of 15-20 thousand km, tarnishing colors appear and the disc leads, vibration appears during braking. When braking, followed by overcoming puddles, the discs may "run out" even if the mileage is less than 10 thousand km.

Other problems and malfunctions

Small "pranks" of the electrician are manifested by the freezing of the fuel level indicator and the exact fuel consumption meter. Sometimes the radio tape recorder and the central locking begin to "glitch". The rain sensor moves away for too long after a wall of water has "passed" the windshield from under the oncoming truck, forcing the driver to "tighten up". Special "thanks" to the concern from the owners of the Chevrolet Cruze for the logic of the illumination, which mutes its brightness when the external lighting is turned on. The indication of the operating modes of the air conditioner, radio and seat heating on a bright day becomes indistinguishable. Re-flashing the electronics for a more convenient algorithm of operation costs about 1,600-200 rubles.

Well, towards the end of the revelations, one cannot fail to mention one more phenomenon - the buzz that appears when driving in reverse. More often this happens on a Chevrolet Cruze of the Russian assembly. One of the reasons is the skew of the pads, the modified version received bevels of the lining along the edge. Also, new brackets and dampers began to be installed on the caliper, which reduce the vibration of the caliper in the guides and prevent it from skewing. After improvements, the hum, in most cases, does not appear.

Conclusion

And so in the end, we get ... a beautiful car and too many annoying "little things". It remains to be hoped that the manufacturer will nevertheless turn its face to consumers and will timely and efficiently work on the shortcomings. Moreover, some of them could have been avoided even when they entered the conveyor, and not pull "sores" from the "donors".

Chevrolet cars are a huge success in the world market. And this is not surprising, because every experienced car enthusiast knows that the models of the American company are famous for safety, ergonomics, excellent dynamic qualities and fantastic appearance. The Chevrolet Cruze car was no exception. The model gained particular popularity in the domestic market. On Russian roads you can find quite a few "Americans" called Cruz. According to experts, the main reason for the high level of sales in domestic dealerships is the relatively low cost of the car enthusiast, and at the same time the high class of its assembly.

Photo: Chevrolet Cruze 2017

In today's article we will talk about where Chevrolet Cruze is assembled for Russia. It should be noted right away that there are several large branches of General Motors around the world that make Chevrolet Cruze. The debut of the model took place in 2008, at a motor show in South Korea.
As conceived by the developers, Cruz was to replace the Lacetti and Cobalt models. By the way, he managed to do it quite well. The first plant to start producing Chevrolet Cruze was a facility in the South Korean city of Gunsan. It is one of the most productive, as more than 260,000 vehicles roll off the assembly line annually. In addition, the car is also assembled in the USA and Australia. But, these products do not enter the Russian market, but only apply to local ones. Perhaps only the Australian-assembled Chevrolet Cruze is exported to Oceania and some Asian markets.

It is important to know that depending on the region, the car is named differently. For example, in Europe, the United States and the CIS countries, it bears the name familiar to us - Chevrolet Cruze. In the Korean market, it is called the Dao Chevrolet Premier. And in Australia it is produced as a Chevrolet Holden. However, whatever the name of the car, all of its international variants are identical, with the exception of some small details that take into account the relevant road conditions.

Chevrolet Cruze of Russian production

Photo: assembly in Russia

Since the beginning of autumn 2009, the General Motors Russian plant began to operate, which is engaged in the assembly of Chevrolet Cruze. It is located in the suburb of St. Petersburg, the village of Shushary. It should be noted that some of the cars are produced for export to European countries, and this once again speaks of the high quality of Russian-made cars. At first, this enterprise assembled cars exclusively in a sedan body, but, by numerous requests from motorists, in 2010, the plant began to produce a Chevrolet Cruze in a hatchback body.

In 2013, the giant General Motors opened another enterprise in Russia, namely in Kaliningrad. This plant uses the SKD assembly method, and cars are produced only in station wagons. It is also worth noting that in 2011, the Asia-Auto plant, which is located in Kazakhstan, began mass production of the Chevrolet Cruze. Due to the fact that hatchbacks are the most popular in this region, it is in this body version that cars are assembled.

The full list of countries of manufacture of Chevrolet Cruze looks like this:

1. Australia - supplies cars to the local market and the markets of the Oceania region;
2. South Korea - assembles cars for the local and Asian markets;
3. Russia - is engaged in the production of cars for the domestic market, the market of the CIS countries and for export to Europe;
4. USA - supplies cars to the local market, to Canada and the countries of South America.

Build process

As noted above, at the Russian factories, the Chevrolet Cruze is produced in three body styles. Regardless of the body type, the developers offer three vehicle configuration options: LT, LS and LTZ. The Chevrolet Cruze sedan or hatchback can be equipped with both a 1.8-liter gasoline engine and a 1.6-liter similar unit.

As for the station wagon, the developers offer two engines with the same displacement, but with more power. It is worth noting that 90% of the processes during car assembly are carried out manually. The robotic technology deals only with the application of the glass and the application of the sealant. Only “live” workers of the plant are responsible for painting and welding. All of these factors affect the rate of production, which certainly cannot be called the fastest. However, it is hand assembly, with all its care, that guarantees the high level of quality for which Chevrolet products are so famous. If we analyze the reviews of Chevrolet Cruze owners, it becomes obvious that 80% are completely satisfied with their car, 15% expected more, and the rest were disappointed. Not so bad performance as for a domestically produced car.

Many cars that appear in the world of technology with huge expectations and manufacturers' faith in a happy future turn out to be clearly raw and unfinished cars with unstable quality. It is about such a proposal of the American brand Chevrolet in the Korean version and the Russian assembly that we will talk about today.

After collecting certain opinions and feedback from the owners of the Chevrolet Cruze car, we decided that this proposal has more disadvantages than positive aspects. Therefore, today we offer you an anti test drive of the Chevrolet Cruze and a description of the main disadvantages of this car.

The history of the model's release - the first shortcomings are already here

In 2012, the Korean branch of General Motors announced the release of a completely new car, which was supposed to replace the Chevrolet Lacetti in the model line - a pretty outdated sedan. It was a sedan in the same class with a rather interesting Chevrolet Cruze appearance. As it turned out later, it would be better if the Koreans continued to produce the reliable and world-beloved budget car, the Lacetti.

Cruise's first customers fell victim to the beautiful design and the brand's bright name. Then they did not have the opportunity to read the anti-test drive of the Chevrolet Cruze and determine what weaknesses are in the car. But with a detailed study of the history of preparing the model for release, one could find such weaknesses:

• the car's equipment was taken from the Hyundai concern, and at the time of the release of the model, the engine was already 10 years old;
• the gearbox also migrated from another Korean concern, and earlier it became famous for the poor inclusion of some gears;
• the steering and suspension remained largely unchanged after the Lacetti, which meant an equally budget-friendly ride;
• given the large dimensions of the car, the manufacturer could offer a larger trunk, and there is very little space for rear passengers.

So much for the C-class, which the Korean company has been developing in a hurry. This has been the main reason for Chevrolet Cruze's sales failures to date. Already all potential buyers have access to the Cruze's list of shortcomings, because car sales in 2014 dropped significantly. Moreover, the cost became higher, which turned buyers towards other brands.

First, a small photo review:

The most important disadvantages of the Korean Chevrolet Cruze in the Russian assembly

Of course, we cannot throw all the stones into the garden of the Korean company. It is also worth scolding the assembly, which is carried out at the plant in St. Petersburg. Interestingly, in Europe, where cars are delivered directly from Korea, most of these problems are absent in the car.

If you add all the flaws that the car got in the Russian assembly, an incredible amount of flaws will be collected. The most common Chevrolet Cruze problems, which every second car owner talks about, are as follows:

• floating engine idle speed - a noticeable flaw in the electronics or the unit itself;
• problems with the box - the first gear engages with effort on many models;
• incredible side play of the clutch pedal;
• poor operation of the buttons for turning on the air conditioner and heated seats;
• eerie plastic fixing on the front panel.

There is a lot of information that the upper visor above the dashboard practically disappears and knocks terribly when driving on branded Russian roads. Such problems simply kill the corporate image and make buying a car impossible for the savvy and selective buyer.

It is worth saying that the Chevrolet Cruze showed itself from the worst side among the majority of Korean-made foreign cars. In this car, there is not only old technology and rather modest technical indicators, but also the absence of the banal quality that we expect from foreign brands.

Prices and engine are two more disadvantages of the Chevrolet Cruze

In the salon, today you will be asked 668 thousand rubles for the basic version of the Chevrolet Cruze. The equipment is comparatively good, but the money for this car is huge. The hatchback will cost even more. It is interesting that the manufacturer offers a lot of additional equipment for immodest money.

The car engine is clearly not worth the money that is asked for it. The 1.6-liter power unit with a capacity of 109 horsepower today is unable to amaze buyers spoiled by excellent technology. The machine, which is offered for 30 thousand rubles more, is also not happy with its characteristics. The main disadvantages of the technique are as follows:

• outdated units that are not ways to show good performance;
• increased fuel consumption due to old engine technologies;
• insufficient power, especially for a station wagon;
• high cost of maintenance and repair;
• the reliability of the engine and other units of the Chevrolet Cruze is under questions.

This is how the anti-test drive of the Korean sedan Chevrolet Cruze showed the main disadvantages of this proposal. If you still want to go out and buy this car, then the only benefit - the beautiful design - you liked it very much.

Summing up

An anti-test drive of the Chevrolet Cruze showed the true flaws of this car, which many buyers are talking about. Nevertheless, let's not forget about those hundreds and thousands of drivers who were satisfied with the Korean sedan. It should be noted right away that exchanging an old domestic car for a Korean Cruze will be an excellent option for a driver.

The Chevrolet Cruze has long been a solid choice in the compact sedan segment. Nice appearance, thoughtful and comfortable interior, good build quality and good reliability made this car in 2010 and including 2014 a favorite of many practical citizens in Russia. All these pleasant and understandable to every motorist condiments were offered to our buyer at a very reasonable price, from 500 thousand to 800 thousand rubles, plus or minus 50 thousand rubles back and forth.

Chevrolet Cruze competitors in class

Stylish Hyundai Elantra

Sporty Mazda3

Kia cerato

Honda civic

Toyota corolla

And there are two main competitors:

Ford focus

And the Opel Astra J

Which Cruze build is better, Russian or Korean?

The cars of the th generation sold in the Russian Federation were assembled in the Republic of Korea and underwent SKD assembly in Shushary, Russia. According to rumors of many car owners, the Korean copy was assembled better and had fewer problems during its operation. In fact, such an assumption most likely has no logical justification under itself, since the SKD itself cannot influence the quality of the same engine, body, transmission and other important units of the car, because all cars come to the car factory from already welded, galvanized and painted bodies, assembled chassis, fully equipped with both engines and transmissions, with individual parts installed. All this comes together like a constructor, and then the car is ready for use.

With this, we would like to emphasize that you can actually purchase a used Russian-assembled Cruze without any fear, you need to worry more about carrying out a standard technical inspection and checking the car in the car services themselves.

But still, let's list the main problems of the car, which supposedly occur only on the Chevy Cruze and it is the Russian assembly:

-floating engine idle speed;

-inclusion of the first gear with effort;

- backlash of the clutch pedal to the right - to the left;

-poor operation of some buttons, in particular, turning on the air conditioner and heated seats;

- not very high-quality fasteners for plastic parts.

Can you find the new Chevrolet Cruze (J300) on sale?

Unfortunately for us, due to the current situation in the country in the automotive market, the company actually broke off all relations with our country and stopped selling and not only selling, but producing its products throughout the Russian Federation. Therefore, at the moment, none of the official representatives of Chevrolet is located at home. The only three Chevy models that have been spotted at dealerships are the Chevrolet Corvette, Chevrolet Tahoe, and Chevrolet Camaro. In this regard, it is worth being extremely skeptical about the offers on the Internet for the sale of new Cruises. Be carefull. There is a good chance that these could be scammers.

Therefore, we advise that if you want to buy a Chevrolet Cruze, then you will have to take only a supported version of the car. Everything will depend on the year of its release, mileage and the condition of the car itself. A car can have different types of flaws, both serious and not so.

It is also worth taking into account and always remember that the Chevrolet car was very popular with private taxi drivers several years ago, it is still quite densely operated by large taxi fleets, and this is especially noticeable in St. Petersburg, where, along with the classic cars that have already become taxi, like or, on the roads of the city, you can still find Chevrolet Cruze cars in the station wagon.

The second part of car owners says quite the opposite, that the Cruze is a raw car, its first generation came out with many childhood illnesses that turn into unpleasant breakdowns.

Let's go through the most common problems of the first generation Chevrolet Cruze, both in the restyled version and in the pre-styling version.

Body

A fairly standard problem in all modern cars. Due to the thin metal, dents can remain, even after not very strong contact with an obstacle or with another vehicle.

Paintwork

In the wake of the body, the paintwork also thinned out. Hence the disappointing conclusion, after a year and a half of operation, or after 30,000 km, small scratches and chips will abundantly shower most of the car body. Moreover, some of them will calmly reach the base of the soil.

But there were no cases of rust in these places (thanks to the galvanized body), but you need to know about it. A radical and quite expensive option is necessary. You can glue it on separate parts of the car, on the hood, on the fenders. The only problem is that these scratches can appear in the most unpredictable places.

Chevy interior

Go ahead. ... In appearance, all materials are selected with taste, their quality is quite good if you take this segment of such cars. But the same total and forced economy got here too. The wear resistance of the interior materials does not differ in super strength.

Very quickly, scratches can appear on the plastic, namely, on the doors, at the bottom of the torpedo. Small scuffs and blots can appear on the plastic of the multimedia system itself, on its buttons. By 30 - 45 thousand mileage, the first scuffs may appear on the steering wheel.

Suspension

Some owners of these cars on the forums write that after a short period of operation they got some knocks, for this it is enough to drive only a few thousand kilometers. As it turned out later, the knock could come from loose stabilizer struts, from levers or from shock absorbers.

How much this corresponds to reality, we do not undertake to say, we do not know. Even if such problems actually occurred, they were most likely associated with a factory defect or with a very harsh operation of the car.

By the way, about marriage. In the fall of 2015, a revocable company was carried out by the Chevrolet car company, which was associated with a marriage of the axle shafts installed on the cars. An overheated part could cause serious damage. Models of ... - ... years of release fell under that review.

Clutch

Excessive pedal play may be observed in vehicles with (the pedal moves to the left and to the right). Although this is a small thing and not a problem, it is still unpleasant. Worse, when the car, at the moment of releasing the clutch when shifting gears (from first to second), starts to twitch like a neurotic, it immediately feels like the engine is simply choking and lacks traction.

There may be several reasons for this. One of the most common is a violation of the geometry of the clutch basket and premature failure of the clutch disc. Everything usually happens due to a factory defect, i.e. due to faulty damper springs.

Sometimes this reason was hidden in another place and it was solved by reprogramming the electronic control unit by the engine itself.

If the car has an automatic transmission, then it will be necessary to reconfigure the control unit itself.

Engine

The sound of running gasoline engines in some cars can be harsh and resemble a characteristic diesel bass. Sometimes extraneous noise is added to this when it starts up.

The reason is this - the failure of the intake shaft gear, which is made and made of poor quality material. Silent operation of the motor will be restored by installing a new gear.

Also, on some sites, we found a piece of advice that reads as follows - that the removal of filter meshes on the inlet and outlet valves can increase. This advice sounds suspicious and we would not advise to listen to it seriously to the general conclusion.

Steering

It can bring several unpleasant surprises at once. First, it may start to play, but it simply will not work to tighten it, you will have to change the steering rack. If the steering wheel began to move with effort, then it is possible to replace the hydraulic booster pump.

Also, when the steering mechanism is operating, foreign suspicious noise may appear. Knowledgeable experts say that if it comes from the steering mechanisms, then such noise can be stopped by replacing the high pressure hose.

Brake discs

In order not to raise the price of the car, the manufacturer also saved on. Due to the not very high quality of materials, under increased load and heating, the brake disc may wear unevenly or simply change its geometry. This is solved by grooving the disc or completely replacing a worn-out part. In this case, you can replace the original with its counterpart. Many people say that non-original spare parts have higher quality.

In addition to the discs themselves, the ABS sensors can also be damaged in the brake system. When road dirt gets on them, it simply clogs them up and puts them out of action.

Electronic sensors

Do not forget that in addition to ABS sensors, other electronic sensors can also have problems.

Outcome:

Despite the impressive list of the most common breakdowns and troubles that can happen to a Chevrolet Cruze car, in fact, it really has established itself well as such an unpretentious, inexpensive to maintain and thought out in terms of maintainability of the car. Spare parts for this first generation model will not be very expensive, since there are a huge number of non-original parts coming from Korea, and some of them, such as brake pads, simply do not fit from other cars in the same segment.

Actually, there is only one answer to the question in the title: in the near future, all Chevrolet Cruze sold in Russia will be exclusively Russian-made! Korean sedans, which have been brought to dealerships to attract buyers, will soon run out. Therefore, since September in Shushary at the Chevrolet plant, a full cycle production with welding and painting of bodies has started. The factories of Toyota and Nissan, also located near St. Petersburg, operate according to the same principle - the assembly of fully equipped vehicle kits.

To organize the production of Cruze sedans, the conveyor, where the Opel Antara and Chevrolet Captiva were previously produced, had to be stopped for three weeks. What for?

To train personnel and reconfigure equipment. By the way, the unpopular Antara and Captiva will no longer be produced in Shushary - only Cruze will remain. Moreover, the production process of the novelty is practically not automated: the bodies are welded and moved around the workshop manually. The only fully automated action is body painting, and the only robot is the one that applies sealant to the windshield and rear windows before installing them.

Moreover, GM managers say that the installation of robots is justified if 40 cars are produced every hour (or 100 thousand cars annually). And the Shushar enterprise is designed to produce 17 cars per hour in a double-shift operation. Now the plant produces much less - 8 cars per hour. How will idle capacities be loaded? Soplatform Opel Astra! Already now in Shushary, bodies of hatchbacks from a pilot batch are being welded. True, when the Magna-Sberbank consortium gets the Opel assets, GAZ, the consortium's industrial partner, will apply for the Astra release.

But back to our hero. Today, Cruze sedans are available in ten trim levels with 1.6 (113 hp) and 1.8 (141 hp) petrol engines and manual or automatic transmissions. All components - even rims and tires - are overseas! Why, then, was the creation of a Russian plant to assemble cars? The answer is simple: to get around customs duties. Hence, the price tags are quite affordable: from 540 thousand rubles. for a basic Cruze with "mechanics" (ABS, 4 airbags, an audio system and front power windows) up to 808 thousand rubles. for the top-end Cruze with automatic transmission (ESP, parking sensors, climate control, leather interior).

And what about the competitors? They - Ford Focus (30 thousand cars sold in six months) and Chevrolet Lacetti (18 thousand cars sold in six months) - are much more affordable. ... But Chevrolet marketers believe that today the Cruze is an ideal option for those who, due to the crisis, have an average foreign car. class (say, Camry or Passat) can not afford. Let's see if these claims come true.
Alexey KOVANOV
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