Where do Chevrolet Cruze for Russia, Europe, Asia and America. All the weaknesses of the used Chevrolet Cruze of the first generation (J300) Korean assembly Chevrolet Cruze reviews

23.06.2020

The Chevrolet Cruze has long been a good choice in the compact sedan segment. Pleasant appearance, thoughtful and comfortable interior, good build quality and good reliability made this car in 2010 and including 2014 the favorite of many practical citizens in Russia. All these pleasant and understandable to every motorist 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 by class

Stylish Hyundai Elantra

Sports Mazda3

Kia Cerato

Honda Civic

Toyota Corolla

And two main competitors:

Ford Focus

And Opel Astra J

Which assembly of Cruze is better, Russian or Korean?

Cars of the 1st generation sold in the Russian Federation were assembled in the Republic of Korea and underwent SKD assembly in the city of Shushary, Russia. According to the rumors of many car owners, the Korean copy was assembled with better quality and had fewer problems during its operation. In fact, such an assumption most likely does not have any logical justification, since the SKD assembly itself cannot, for example, affect the quality of the same engine, body, transmission and other important vehicle components, because all cars come to the car factory with already welded, galvanized and painted bodies, assembled chassis, fully equipped with both engines and transmissions, with individual parts installed. All this is assembled together, like a designer, and then the car is ready for operation.

By this, we would like to emphasize that you can actually buy a used Russian-assembled Cruze without any fear, you need to take care more about conducting 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 allegedly occur only on the Chevy Cruze and the Russian assembly:

-floating engine speed at idle;

-inclusion of the first transfer with effort;

- play 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 of plastic parts.

Is it possible to find a new Chevrolet Cruze (J300) for sale?

To our regret, due to the current situation in the country in the automotive market, the company actually severed 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 has at home. The only three Chevy models found at dealerships are the Chevrolet Corvette, Chevrolet Tahoe and Chevrolet Camaro. In this regard, it is worth being extremely skeptical about offers on the Internet for the sale of new Cruises. Be carefull. There is a good chance that they 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 very condition of the car. A car can have different types of flaws, both serious and not so much.

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

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

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

Body

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

Paintwork

In the wake of the body, the paintwork has also become thinner. 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 - it is necessary. You can stick it on separate parts of the car, on the hood, on the wings. The only problem is that these scratches can appear in the most unpredictable places.

Chevy interior

Go ahead. . In appearance, all materials are tastefully selected, their quality is quite good if you take this segment of such cars. But even here the same total and forced economy has reached. The wear resistance of interior materials is not super-strong.

Very quickly, scratches can appear on the plastic, namely, on the doors, at the bottom of the torpedo. Minor abrasions and blots may 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 write on the forums that after a short operation they had some kind of 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.

To what extent this is true, 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 tough operation of the car.

Speaking of marriage. In the fall of 2015, the Chevrolet car company carried out a revocable company, which was associated with the marriage of the axle shafts installed on the cars. Due to the overheated part, serious damage could occur. Models of …-… years of release fell under that recall.

Clutch

For vehicles with excessive pedal play may be observed (the pedal goes left-to-right). Although this is a trifle and not a problem, it is still unpleasant. Worse, when the car, at the moment the clutch is released when shifting gears (from first to second), starts to twitch like a neurotic, you immediately get the feeling that the engine is simply choking and it 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, well, premature failure of the clutch disc. Everything usually happens due to factory defects, i.e. due to defective damper springs.

Sometimes such a reason was hidden elsewhere and it was solved by reprogramming the electronic control unit of 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 rough and resemble a characteristic diesel bass. Sometimes extraneous noise is added to this when it starts.

The reason is the failure of the intake shaft gear, which is made and made of low-quality material. Quiet operation of the motor will return the installation of a new gear.

Also, on some sites, we found advice that said the following - that removing the filter meshes on the intake and exhaust valves can increase. Such advice sounds suspicious and we would not advise you to seriously listen to it to the general conclusion.

Steering

Can present several unpleasant surprises at once. First, it may start to play, but it simply won’t work to pull it up, you will have to change the steering rack. If the steering wheel began to walk with effort, then it is possible to replace the hydraulic booster pump.

Also, during the operation of the steering mechanism, foreign suspicious noise may appear. Knowledgeable specialists 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 out unevenly or simply change its geometry. This is solved by turning the disk or completely replacing the part that has become unusable. In this case, you can replace the original with its analogue. Many say that non-original spare parts are of higher quality.

In addition to the discs themselves, the ABS sensors can also be affected in the brake system. When road dirt gets on them, it simply clogs them and disables them.

Electronic sensors

Do not forget, 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 proven itself well as such an unpretentious, inexpensive to maintain and well-thought-out car in terms of maintainability. Spare parts for this first generation model will not be very expensive, as there are a huge number of non-original parts coming from Korea, and some of them, such as brake pads, simply do not fit other cars in the same segment.

The popular Chevrolet Cruze is a Korean project of the General Motors concern. 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. Warm feelings are added by the price. But behind a beautiful wrapper, unpleasant little things are hidden. The largest Cruze mileage currently known is about 130 thousand km, and therefore any conclusions can be drawn.

Engines

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

1.6 l 109 hp received the index F16D3, 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, is the appearance of soot 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. Tightening the lid rarely solves the problem of "snot", the cause of which is a weak gasket that stretches 40-50 thousand km, and in the lid itself made of plastic. Over time, the valve cover leads from heating - it does not fit snugly. Often because of this, oil appears in candle wells.

Another trouble that can befall the owners of a Chevrolet Cruze with a Korean 1.6 liter is the engine stalling in neutral. The exact reason is not clear, the official dealer often 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. Among the attempts made by the services are clutch training, ECU flashing and throttle cleaning. The problem is exacerbated in the summer, most likely due to the switched off consumers, the load from which does not allow the engine to stall in the cold season.

The Opel engines 1.6 XER (F16D4) and 1.8 XER (F18D4) migrated from the H-series Asters. Problems familiar from the Astra passed along with the engine. There are simply not enough words for the Chevrolet Cruze project managers who installed these engines without curing the only but serious engine disease - the intake and exhaust camshaft gears. About 30% of Cruz owners with Opel Ecotec XERs face the problem. Most often these are 1.8 liter engines. The cause of gear failure is oil starvation caused by low oil levels or a malfunction of the solenoid valve due to a clogged solenoid filter (mesh). Signs of a rumble of the motor in the first seconds after starting the motor and loss of traction. The only effective solution is to remove these "nets" as soon as possible (about 3 thousand rubles), and during further operation, change the engine oil more often. Less common is a leak in the rear crankshaft oil seal.

There are two tragic cases of spontaneous combustion of a car due to a fuel hose failure in the engine compartment. A recall company was carried out on the part of the Chevrolet with 1.8 liters to finalize the fuel hose attachment.

Transmission

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

Fuel consumption on a Chevrolet Cruze is about 11-12 liters in the city for 1.8 and 1.6 with manual transmission and 1.6 automatic transmission, and 13-14 liters with 1.8 automatic transmission. 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 into the head. If the peeling and swelling of chrome on the grille is a common thing for most manufacturers, then the violation of the integrity of the paintwork at the junctions of the wing and bumper raises questions. Until 2010, many "sick" undocking of the bumper, often the front, especially in summer in the heat, due to thermal deformation of flimsy clips. Subsequently, the problem was solved by installing modified clips. In winter, the trunk release button often fails.

In the interior of the Chevrolet Cruze, there was also a place for "little things". 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 often begin to tear by 40-50 thousand km, the reason is an inexpensive and fragile leather substitute. The interior plastic is quite soft and scratches easily. Be careful with interior fresheners, the composition of some can corrode the plastic of the panel. "Crickets" are not numerous, habitats - the central console of the dashboard, the area of \u200b\u200bthe radio and air ducts. When driving over bumps, door seals often creak. A small proportion of owners have found moisture in the front passenger's feet due to a hose coming off the drain pipe, often found on Cruises that have undergone an alarm installation. Often the cause of moisture in the cabin is poor sizing of the windshield and rear windows, and in the trunk - a taillight seal.

Chassis

On bumps, the suspension rumble often pesters. The source of noise is in the shock absorbers, the supplier of which GM will not change in any way, and it is in no hurry to modify them. Shock absorbers knock due to the bypass valve. For about half of the owners, an unpleasant knock appears even with a run of less than 15-20 thousand km. Craftsmen in car services sort out shock absorbers by installing new cartridges.

The front brake pads run an average of 25-35 thousand km, the rear 50-60 thousand km. But the brake discs in stock are rather frail, already with a run of 15-20 thousand km, tint colors appear and the disc leads, vibration appears during braking. When braking, followed by overcoming puddles, the discs can "end" even with a run of less than 10 thousand km.

Conclusion

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

Many cars that appear in the world of technology with great expectations and the belief of manufacturers in a happy future turn out to be obviously 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 your attention is invited to an anti test drive of the Chevrolet Cruze and a description of the main disadvantages of this car.

Model release history - the first flaws 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 fairly outdated sedan. It was a sedan in the same class with a rather interesting appearance of the Chevrolet Cruze. As it turned out later, it would be better if the Koreans continued to produce a reliable and beloved worldwide budget car Lazetti.

Cruz's early buyers were victims of beautiful design and a rather striking brand 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 were virtually unchanged since the Lacetti, which meant equally budget-friendly ride quality;
given the large dimensions of the car, the manufacturer could offer a larger trunk, and there is very little space for rear passengers.

Here is the C-class, which the Korean company developed in haste. This has been the main reason for Chevrolet Cruze sales failures to date. Already all potential buyers have access to the list of shortcomings of the Cruze, because sales of the car in 2014 fell significantly. Moreover, the cost has become higher, which turned buyers towards other brands.

Let's start with a little photo review:

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

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

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

floating engine speed at idle - a noticeable flaw in the electronics or the unit itself;
problems with the box - the first gear is engaged with effort on many models;
incredible backlash of the clutch pedal to the sides;
poor operation of the buttons for turning on the air conditioner and heated seats;
terrible fixing of plastic on the front panel.

There is a lot of information that the upper visor above the instrument panel practically disappears and knocks terribly when traveling on branded Russian roads. Such problems simply kill the image of the corporation and make buying a car impossible for an experienced 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. This car has not just old technology and rather modest technical indicators, but also the lack of the banal quality that we expect from foreign brands.

Prices and engine - two more disadvantages of the Chevrolet Cruze

In the cabin today you will be asked 668 thousand rubles for the basic version of the Chevrolet Cruze. The equipment is relatively good, but the money for this car is simply huge. Hatchback will cost even more. Interestingly, 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. A 1.6-liter power unit with a capacity of 109 horsepower today is unable to surprise buyers spoiled by excellent technology. The machine, which is offered 30 thousand rubles more expensive, also does not please with its characteristics. The main disadvantages of the technique are as follows:

outdated units that are not able 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 components of the Chevrolet Cruze is questionable.

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

Summing up

The anti test drive of the Chevrolet Cruze showed the true shortcomings of this car, which many buyers talk about. However, let's not forget about those hundreds and thousands of drivers who were satisfied with the Korean sedan. It’s worth mentioning right away that exchanging an old domestic car for a Korean Cruze will be an excellent option for a driver.

Actually, there is only one answer to the question posed in the title: in the near future, all Chevrolet Cruzes sold in Russia will be exclusively Russian-made! Korean sedans, which were brought to dealerships to attract buyers, will soon run out. Therefore, from September in Shushary at the Chevrolet plant, full-cycle production began with welding and body painting. The plants of Toyota and Nissan, also located near St. Petersburg, work on the same principle - the assembly of complete car kits.

To organize the production of Cruze sedans, the assembly line, where Opel Antara and Chevrolet Captiva had previously been produced, had to be stopped for three weeks. For what?

To train staff 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 the sealant to the windshield and rear window before installing them.

Moreover, GM managers say that the installation of robots is justified if 40 cars are produced hourly (or 100,000 cars annually). And the Shushar enterprise is designed to produce 17 cars per hour with a two-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 hatchback bodies from the pilot batch are being welded. True, when the Magna-Sberbank consortium gets the assets of Opel, GAZ, the industrial partner of the consortium, will apply for the issue of Astra.

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

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 Cruze is an ideal option for those who, due to the crisis of a foreign car class (say, Camry or Passat) is not affordable. Let's see if these claims come true.
Alexey KOVANOV
Would you like to buy a Chevrolet Cruze? Leave a comment!

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 their safety, ergonomics, excellent dynamic qualities and fantastic appearance. The Chevrolet Cruze was no exception. The model gained particular popularity in the domestic market. On Russian roads you can meet quite a lot of "Americans" called Cruz. According to experts, the main reason for the high level of sales in domestic dealerships is the relatively low cost of a 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 the 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 the Motor Show in South Korea.
As conceived by the developers, Cruise was supposed to replace the Lacetti and Cobalt models. By the way, he quite succeeded in doing it. The first plant to start producing Chevrolet Cruze was the facility in the South Korean city of Kunsan. It is one of the most productive, because more than 260,000 cars leave the assembly line every year. In addition, the car is also assembled in the USA and Australia. But, these products do not enter the Russian market, but are distributed only to local ones. Unless only the Chevrolet Cruze of the Australian assembly is exported to the countries of Oceania and to 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 Dao Chevrolet Premier. And in Australia it is produced as a Chevrolet Holden. However, whatever the name of the car, all its international variants are identical, with the exception of some small details that take into account the relevant road conditions.

Russian-made Chevrolet Cruze

Photo: assembly in Russia

Since the beginning of autumn 2009, the General Motors Russian plant began to operate, which assembles the Chevrolet Cruze. It is located in the suburbs of St. Petersburg, the village of Shushary. It is worth noting that some of the cars are produced for export to European countries, and this once again indicates the high quality of Russian-made cars. At first, this enterprise assembled cars exclusively in a sedan body, but, due to numerous requests from motorists, since 2010, the plant began to produce Chevrolet Cruze in a hatchback body.

In 2013, the giant General Motors opened another enterprise in Russia, namely in Kaliningrad. At this plant, the SKD assembly method is used, and cars are produced only in the station wagon body. It is also worth noting that in 2011, the Asia-Avto 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 variant that cars are assembled.

A complete list of Chevrolet Cruze manufacturing countries looks like this:

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

Assembly process

As noted above, Chevrolet Cruze is produced in Russian factories in three body styles. Regardless of the type of body, the developers offer three options for completing the car: LT, LS and LTZ. 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 volumes, but with more power. It is worth noting that 90% of the processes during the assembly of the car are carried out manually. Robotic equipment deals only with glass stickers and sealant application. Only "live" workers of the plant are responsible for painting and welding. All these factors affect the pace of production, which is definitely not the fastest. However, it is the manual assembly, with all its care, that guarantees the high level of quality that Chevrolet products are so famous for. 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 such bad performance as for a domestically produced car.