Holden Cruze Engine Problems

The first conclusion many mechanics will arrive at is that the engine’s head gasket has blown, allowing the oil and coolant to mix. Have a look at the dipstick. If the engine oil is milky, then this is a very real possibility. Perhaps when the cylinder head was replaced, the gasket has not sealed properly.

But if the oil cooler was replaced because it was leaking into the radiator (which is pretty common) then you might find that the oil you’re still seeing is just residual oil from the previous failure, and not a problem at all. Even so, it would be wise to replace the coolant and flush the system to try to eradicate all traces of the old oil.

A workshop can perform a chemical-based test to see if the head gasket is leaking. It’s worth the relatively small cost to rule this out and begin to look elsewhere.

If the car in question has the 1.8-litre engine, then this is definitely a known problem. Plenty of these engines suffered cracked cylinder heads which could allow the engine's oil and coolant to mix, producing the symptoms you saw. Holden actually issued a service program to replace the cylinder heads and other components to address the problem.

The other major cause of these symptoms is a failure of the transmission's cooling system. This actually piggy-backs on to the engine's cooling system (they use the same radiator) but if the transmission cooler fails, it can allow transmission fluid into the radiator and coolant into the transmission. Eventually, this will destroy the transmission both mechanically and electronically.

This particular error code denotes a lean running condition. That is, the engine either has too little fuel or too much air entering it. It's actually quite common on this engine and can be traced to several possible causes. Some of those include bad fuel injectors, a worn fuel pump, an intake vacuum leak, or – and this is where we'd look first on this engine – a bad PCV valve.

This valve is responsible for controlling the crankcase ventilation, but if it fails, it can allow the lean mixture condition to emerge which is when you'll get the error code and a check-engine light. The good news, is there's a quick and easy check if you know your way around an engine.

First, remove the plastic engine cover to reveal the rocker cover and the PCV valve. With the engine running, place a small piece of paper over the hole in the PCV valve. If the paper is drawn to the valve, you have a leaking PCV valve probably due to a broken diaphragm which is allowing extra air to enter the engine and create the lean mixture. If that doesn't work, make sure the oil cap is fitted tightly as a loose cap can cause the same problem. This certainly isn't the case for all engines, but experience has shown that in your car, it's a good place to start.

If the PCV valve theory doesn't work out, you're back to looking at things like fuel pressure, injector condition, intake tract leaks, a bad mass airflow meter or even a powertrain module fault.

The knocking noise could be anything from a poorly secured spare tyre to the struts that hold the boot or hatch in the raised position.

It sounds as though you either have a problem with the car's electrics or the electronics within the ignition remote. If the car's battery is dead flat, you'll get the symptoms you're reporting, but if the remote has a flat battery (or is faulty in some other way) then you an find yourself in the same boat.

But it could also be an electrical problem other than a flat battery. From memory, some of these Holdens had suspect battery terminals which lacked the grip they should have had and could lead to a loose connection which could produce these symptoms. This would be a good place to start.

But there's another trick you can try. On some Cruze models, there's a process that can over-ride the remote locking and ignition protocols. If the battery in the remote is weak or the remote itself is damaged, this is definitely worth a try. From the driver's seat, locate the small, round plastic bung in the cup-holder in the centre-console. Place the remote key over this hole with the Holden logo facing up. Then try the starter button. With luck, the engine will start and you're away to have the remote fob fixed or replaced. You may find you need to hold the stop/start button for two seconds to get the engine to stop.

Meantime, I have no idea why the actual physical key will not lock the doors from outside. That sounds more like a job for a locksmith.

The 1.8-litre non-turbo and 1.4-litre turbocharged engines in the 2014 Cruze will run happily on 91-octane petrol. The more highly tuned 1.6-litre turbo engine in the SRi, SRi V and Z Series models required a minimum of 95-octane fuel. There's no problem using 95-octane fuel in the engines designed for 91 fuel, but you probably won't gain anything in terms of fuel consumption or performance. The only thing that will happen quicker will be the emptying of your wallet.

There's no problem mixing 91 and 95-octane fuel in the cars designed to run on 91-octane petrol, but the 1.6-litre engine can be damaged by using anything other than a fuel with a minimum octane rating of 95.

The 1.8-litre non-turbo and 1.4-litre turbocharged engines in the 2014 Cruze will run happily on 91-octane petrol. The more highly tuned 1.6-litre turbo engine in the SRi, SRi V and Z Series models required a minimum of 95-octane fuel. There's no problem using 95-octane fuel in the engines designed for 91 fuel, but you probably won't gain anything in terms of fuel consumption or performance. The only thing that will happen quicker will be the emptying of your wallet.

There's no problem mixing 91 and 95-octane fuel in the cars designed to run on 91-octane petrol, but the 1.6-litre engine can be damaged by using anything other than a fuel with a minimum octane rating of 95.

If the engine is revving but the car is not moving, you probably have a transmission or gearbox fault. If the problem was a broken driveshaft or CV joint, the car would just roll to a stop and not move again. But since it gradually lost drive before finally refusing to move, it’s more likely to be the gearbox that is the cause of this.

Sometimes, this sort of problem can be as simple as a leak from the transmission which has led to a low fluid level. And since it’s the fluid in an automatic transmission that actually provides the drive (by transferring the torque) this can bring on the symptoms you’re seeing.

At the other end of the catastrophe scale, you could be looking at a gearbox that has failed internally and comprehensively. And I’m afraid to say that this model Cruze did have a reputation for just that occurring. Sometimes the problem could be traced back to a torque-converter, valve body or sensor error, but other times complete transmission failure was the diagnosis.

Holden actually acknowledged this problem by extending the transmission warranty to 150,000km or five years after the date the car first went into service. Unfortunately, that ended in 2018 for your car. It would still be worth contacting Holden’s customer service department, however, but don’t be surprised if financial help is not forthcoming.

Like a lot of relatively modern engine designs, the Cruze uses a spark plug centrally located in the cylinder head. That means that it’s between the two camshafts in the Holden’s case, and that means the spark plug lead needs to effectively pass through the rocker cover to attach to the spark plug. In turn, that means that the spark plug sits at the bottom of a tube that forms an oil-tight chamber between the inside of the tube (where the plug lives) and the inside of the rocker cover (which has oil flinging around inside of it when the engine is running).

The problems start when the seal at the bottom of that tube fails and allows oil to seep into the tube from the rocker cover. That’s when you’ll see the oil you described. The fix is to remove the rocker cover and replace either the whole gasket, or the O-ring seal (depending on the design). If it’s the latter, don’t just replace the one that’s leaking now, replace all of them as the rest won’t be far behind the one that’s already leaking. O-rings and gasket start to become hard and brittle as they age, and that’s when leaks will occur. This is not a huge job to fix, but left unchecked, it can allow the engine to begin to misfire.

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.

Leaking water pumps are not unknown; most are changed every time the timing belt is changed because they’re leaking.