Holden Cruze 2012 Problems

I’d definitely be talking to Holden’s customer service department. I agree that 92,000km is a long way short of what I’d consider to be the lifespan of a modern motor vehicle, even if it has taken you more than five years to reach that mileage. In any case, nobody will be buying new Holdens any longer as the brand no longer exists.

Meanwhile, you’re right, transmission failures are a well known fault with this make and model and Holden did extend the factory warranty on them to 130,000km. Unfortunately, the five-year limit also applied which is where you’ve run out of time. I would hate to think that Holden’s demise as a brand will leave existing owners high and dry, but I can imagine that’s just how you’re feeling. Without an active factory presence in Australia, though, it might be difficult to get much joy from Holden.

If the engine is still revving up but the car isn’t moving, logic says you have a transmission (gearbox) problem. Transmission problems are very well known in the Holden Cruze, and must surely be classified as an inherent fault. Fundamentally, the automatic transmission in your car was a dud from day one, and Holden even announced an extended warranty for it as part of a special service program to replace consumer confidence in the unit. It didn’t work.

Many Cruzes exhibited the precise behaviour you experienced, and the loss of all drive as well as the check-engine light illuminating are classic indicators of a transmission that either needs new components such as sensors, a valve body or torque converter, or is totally done and needs to be completely replaced. An inspection will be able to determine this. Error code P0776 is what I’m tipping the car will offer up when it’s electronically scanned (which should be your next step).

Once Holden had fixed these transmissions, it was extending the warranty to five years from when the car first entered service or 150,000km, whichever came first. Obviously, your car is older than that, but it has covered low kilometres and since you’ve had it from new and can verify its service history with a Holden dealer, I reckon it would be worth your while to contact Holden’s customer service division and state your case. Let’s face it, less than 120,000km on a modern car before the transmission blows up is not really good enough, is it?

You may not get anywhere, but even if you can convince Holden to help with the cost of parts (labour would be nice, too) the financial picture changes dramatically. Without a bit of help from Holden, it may just be that the cost of repairs will be higher than the actual value of the car itself.

Thanks for getting in touch. As we've outlined in earlier questions about the Cruze, the automatic in cars built between 2011 and 2013 has been an issue, and so the subject of recalls, repairs and/or full transmission replacement. If it starts to shudder, take its time shifting up under acceleration or not go into gear at all, then there's a problem.

If a Holden dealer carried out the repairs, then they should honour the warranty under Australian Consumer Law for a minimum of five years or 150,000km unless the car is then neglected and/or abused, given that the transmission and coolant system (known problem areas in Cruzes) are major components and thus come with a reasonable expectation of reliability and durability since they're new.

Unfortunately the Cruze has a reputation for unreliability beyond these issues as well, including ECU (engine control unit) and PCM (power control module) failures (often due to water ingress), positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) valve failure that makes the car perform sluggishly, and rough engine running due to faulty ignition coils.

As most of these problems have already been dealt with in the car you're considering, we reckon you might at least have a few years of reliability given the warranty work performed under Holden.

We hope this helps. Good luck.

The six-speed automatic transmission in the Cruze built between 2011 and 2013 was, indeed, a bit suspect in some cases. Unfortunately, that puts the vehicle in question right in the middle of things. Holden instigated a fix which was applied when a car with gearbox dramas was brought in for repairs. Sometimes individual parts of the transmission could be replaced, at other times the transmission was replaced as a whole unit.

Any Cruze with a gearbox that flares during shifts, shudders, refuses to select a particular gear (including reverse) or loss of drive was covered by this special service directive. When fixed, Holden was extending the warranty of the transmission to five years or 150,000km. That won’t help you now, but it would pay to check whether the car you’re looking at has, in fact, had this work carried out. A car with these repairs carried out would be a better choice than one that hasn’t.

Holden has in the past replaced faulty transmissions without cost to the owner, but I would guess they won’t offer to replace yours free of charge, as your car is seven years old. But until it is assessed you can only speculate that the transmission is at fault.

If it is the well-known transmission issue then you could have a claim against Holden to repair or replace it, but if it isn’t you have no claim. You need to establish what the problem is, and you can then contact Holden, but until you actually know what the problem is you are in limbo.

I’d say it’s got the dreaded Cruze automatic transmission disease. It’s common in that model and it’s likely the transmission will have to be replaced. Contact Holden Customer Care on 1800 033 349 and see if they do.

The car is six years old, and was bought used, so you are unlikely to get any sympathy at Holden. You need to negotiate with the dealer who sold it to you, but I doubt that you will get any support there either. Your choices are to persist with it and hope that it doesn’t have any more gearbox issues, or unload it.

It’s in the zone, so I would be very cautious about buying it. If you can, check its history to see if there has been any trouble with the automatic transmission, and consider having it checked by an automatic transmission specialist.