Had Chevy Cruze 2012 Engine Fire recall done rant

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: ls1mike
My TDI had a sheild. I hated it. I left it on, but really wanted to chuck it. None of my cars have one now and the Trans Am sits LOW. I can see it for aerodynamics, but protection? Unless you spend a lot of time off road I can't imagine what you are going to hit. I would have destroyed the Trans Am years ago.


It keeps the engine clean and the salt off things. Relevant if you live up in the GWN

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
Originally Posted By: silverrat
Interesting to note the notice I saw mentioned only US built Cruzes.

Edit: Appears I was wrong, the Australian ones got recalled by Holden.

Q9. Are Cruzes in other markets involved in the underhood fire investigation?
A9. This action only pertains to U.S.-built Cruzes. The involved engine shield and engine combination is only used in U.S.-produced Cruze models. About 10,000 Cruzes with similar design were built by Holden in Australia, but there have been no reported fires there. Other Cruze markets have a different design and there are no reports of underhood fires in other markets for this condition.

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/assets/pdf/A3191084622.PDF



My question is why did they alter the design of this panel for the US market? These cars are all about 99.5% identical so it is really difficult to understand why they would mess with this.


I bet CAFE, and getting 0.01 MPG better on every car sold.

My prediction is that GM gets slapped with a CAFE fine in 6-8 months when the EPA realizes that this recall destroyed that panel. Underbody panels are an easy/cheap way to help cars get better fuel economy.

 

[eljefino]

Microsoft Windows lets you turn off the auto updates. It's sometimes fairly tricky but you can get it done. Wish one could register their VIN as an "opt out" or a "Do not Resuccitate". Vote Mitt, cars are people too! They have rights!

The Cali thing is unsettling. When I buy a car off the showroom floor it should be as safe and non-polluting as the gov't says it needs to be. I should be able to re-register it in that exact condition in perpetuity.

heard about some VW/Audi policy where if you peel the garish airbag warning sticker off your sun visor, a new one magically appears next time you go in the dealer.

 

[spackard]

> I bet CAFE, and getting 0.01 MPG better on every car sold.

> My prediction is that GM gets slapped with a CAFE fine in 6-8 months when the EPA realizes that this recall destroyed that panel. Underbody panels are an easy/cheap way to help cars get better fuel economy.

No; their "fix" for mileage is to increase tire pressure. I looked it up. Q12/A12 on that .PDF.

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: spackard
> I bet CAFE, and getting 0.01 MPG better on every car sold.

> My prediction is that GM gets slapped with a CAFE fine in 6-8 months when the EPA realizes that this recall destroyed that panel. Underbody panels are an easy/cheap way to help cars get better fuel economy.

No; their "fix" for mileage is to increase tire pressure. I looked it up. Q12/A12 on that .PDF.

So they should have printed new stickers raising the recommended tire pressure. Great, now the new Cruze "issue du jour" will be "my car rides worse after the recall" or "my dealer over-inflated my tires".

Yeesh, what will they do next?

 

[mechanicx]

Next will be no oil drain plug to create a spill lol.

 

[Hokiefyd]

I have a hard time understanding how the answer to Q12 can be correct. They are saying that modifying this shield, reputed by GM to aid in aerodynamics, will not affect fuel economy in 2012 vehicles, yet a re-designed part in 2013 (which should in theory be superior to a field-modified part) WILL affect fuel economy in 2013 vehicles. So they are adjusting air pressure in '13 models to compensate.

None of that makes sense to me.

 

[spackard]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
I have a hard time understanding how the answer to Q12 can be correct. They are saying that modifying this shield, reputed by GM to aid in aerodynamics, will not affect fuel economy in 2012 vehicles, yet a re-designed part in 2013 (which should in theory be superior to a field-modified part) WILL affect fuel economy in 2013 vehicles. So they are adjusting air pressure in '13 models to compensate.

None of that makes sense to me.


My only theory, and feel free to chime in, is once you get through the EPA rating they don't take it away because of a safety recall that may reduce the mileage. But, in the future you have to go to the EPA again if you changed the design.

Now, if the OEM changed, say, a turbo boot from 2PSI to 15PSI and it wasn't a safety recall, that may raise eyebrows, because he could be gaming the system.

 

[ls1mike]

Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Originally Posted By: ls1mike
My TDI had a sheild. I hated it. I left it on, but really wanted to chuck it. None of my cars have one now and the Trans Am sits LOW. I can see it for aerodynamics, but protection? Unless you spend a lot of time off road I can't imagine what you are going to hit. I would have destroyed the Trans Am years ago.


It keeps the engine clean and the salt off things. Relevant if you live up in the GWN

I grew up in New York, my parents still live there. Wash your car, don't be lazy and guess what you can still be driving around a truck from the 80's just like my Dad.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: ls1mike
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Originally Posted By: ls1mike
My TDI had a sheild. I hated it. I left it on, but really wanted to chuck it. None of my cars have one now and the Trans Am sits LOW. I can see it for aerodynamics, but protection? Unless you spend a lot of time off road I can't imagine what you are going to hit. I would have destroyed the Trans Am years ago.


It keeps the engine clean and the salt off things. Relevant if you live up in the GWN

I grew up in New York, my parents still live there. Wash your car, don't be lazy and guess what you can still be driving around a truck from the 80's just like my Dad.


Dude, how many 80's vehicles do I own? LOL! Come on, give me SOME credit here

Seriously though, the pans DO make a difference in how clean the engine bay STAYS during normal operation. I'm always surprised at how little dirt and crud accumulate under the hoods of the bimmers as opposed to the Expedition or Lincoln.

 

[pezzy669]

With how litigious todays society is I am not surprised that this dealership did the work without prior authorization considering it is a safety recall.

OP: The US consumer is deemed a litigious dumb box of rocks, unfortunately we are all lumped into the same category and treated the same. If you would like I am sure Chevy would install the shield back if you sign a small stack of waivers should your Cruze burn to the ground due to the recall issue.

Good luck. Don't take it out on the dealership, they are doing what I am sure corporate directs them to.

 

[MCompact]

I just can't understand what the big deal was with the original splash shield; my BMW's and Mazda have undertrays that enclose virtually the entire engine compartment.
If I was a Cruze owner I'd be extremely upset with both the fix and the incompetent workmanship.

 

[urrlord]

I'd be a little annoyed by the lack of permission being sought and the poor workmanship.

From the looks of things a DIY job with a drill and a power cutter of some type would have been better.Cut out around the cat/exhaust or cut a series of slots for better cooling and to allow drainage of oil drip/grime.Maybe a junkyard trip is in order to get one off of a wreck and mod it as you feel.

That would be satisfying and give you a bit of customization compared to other cruzez.

 

[spackard]

The issue was Chevy and NHTSA were aware of 30 fires.
It's been said that oil causes most engine fires, not gasoline. The gasoline is volatile and will evaporate and leave a hot engine compartment pretty rapidly (plus it absorbs some heat while doing so), while oil hangs around, heating up until it hits its auto-ignition temperature.

With the Cruze, two fires have happened on the open road.
http://www.autoblog.com/2012/05/24/nhtsa-broadening-chevy-cruze-fire-probe-to-370-000-sedans/

---

GM also said today that it is running a second, concurrent recall to inspect Cruze models for a potential problem with welds that could affect the vehicle's fuel tank.

Of the 475,000 Cruzes that will be recalled for the engine-shield repair, about 61,000 built will be inspected for the weld issue, a GM spokesman said.

GM said an analysis determined up to 249 of those 61,000 cars were not properly welded and need to be fixed.

The automaker said it will inspect up to 26 welds out of 6,700 on each Cruze.
..

This is the second time since the vehicle's fall 2010 launch in the United States that GM has recalled every Cruze on the road.


Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20120622/OEM11/120629968#ixzz20K1XT64z