2014 Chevrolet Cruze reliability

Is it reliable?

Owners have filed 702 complaints with NHTSA about the 2014 Chevrolet Cruze over 13 years — 57 per year. That is more complaints per year than most Cruze years here — over the median of the other years, which is 22. NHTSA has 10 recalls on file, including Side and window, Ignition, and Steering.

2012 Chevrolet Cruze — Photo by MercurySable99, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0

Complaints

702

Per year

Recalls

Years on the road

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Engine (217 of 702), then Electrical system (187) and Powertrain (97). Those filings include 70 that report a crash, 17 that report a fire, and 38 that report an injury.

Next to 2013 and 2015

The 2013 Cruze has 586 complaints, 62 per year, and the 2015 has 252 complaints, 20 per year. The 2014 has about the same number of complaints per year as the 2013. The 2014 has more complaints per year than the 2015.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2014 Chevrolet Cruze. How we count. Data as of 2026-10-16.

Recalls (10)

Recall air bags, side and window 2025-11-06 · NHTSA campaign 25V764000

Summary General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2014 Buick Verano and Chevrolet Cruze vehicles. The left and/or right-side roof-rail air bag (RRAB) inflators located on the roof rails above the headliner, may rupture at the inflator weld joint.

Remedy Dealers will replace the left and/or right-side RRAB modules, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 5, 2025. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N252530830. This recall is an expansion of previous NHTSA recall numbers 23V674 and 23V870.

Recall air bags, side and window 2023-12-21 · NHTSA campaign 23V870000

Summary General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2014 Buick Verano and Chevrolet Cruze vehicles. The left and/or right-side roof-rail air bag (RRAB) inflators may rupture at the inflator weld joint. This recall is an expansion of Recall 23V-674.

Remedy Dealers will replace the left and/or right-side RRAB modules as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 22, 2024. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 and Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N232425640.

Recall air bags, side and window 2023-09-20 · NHTSA campaign 23V674000

Remedy Dealers will replace the left and/or right-side RRAB modules, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 12, 2024. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N232408490.

Recall electrical system, ignition 2016-07-05 · NHTSA campaign 16V502000

Summary General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Buick Verano and 2016 Chevrolet Malibu as the electronic park lock lever may allow the ignition key to be removed without the transmission being in PARK. Also, certain 2013 Buick Encore, 2011 Buick Regal, 2013-2014 Buick Verano, 2011-2016 Chevrolet Cruze, 2010-2013 Chevrolet Equinox 2013-2015 Chevrolet Malibu, and 2011-2013 GMC Terrain vehicles may have been serviced with similar defective replacement electronic park lock levers. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."

Remedy GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and if necessary replace the key cylinder lock housing, free of charge. The recall began on October 14, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, Buick 1-800-521-7300, and GMC 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 50490 and 50491.

Recall Steering 2015-07-10 · NHTSA campaign 15V442000

Summary General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Chevrolet Cruze vehicles manufactured November 8, 2013, to March 12, 2015, and 2015 Chevrolet Volt vehicles manufactured April 11, 2014. In the affected vehicles, the inner tie rod may not be tightened to specification allowing the tie rod to separate from the steering gear.

Remedy GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering gear assembly, free of charge. The recall began on July 28, 2015. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 15386.

Recall equipment, electrical 2014-07-02 · NHTSA campaign 14V417000

Summary General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Buick Encore all-wheel-drive vehicles manufactured August 23, 2012, to September 9, 2013; Verano vehicles manufactured August 8, 2012, to June 20, 2013; Chevrolet Cruze vehicles manufactured August 7, 2012, to August 16, 2013, and 2012-2014 Chevrolet Sonic vehicles manufactured May 10, 2011, to August 16, 2012 equipped with a Calix oil pan/block heater. In cold temperatures, the insulation on the engine block heater cord can become damaged, allowing the wires to be exposed.

Remedy GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the engine oil pan/block heater cord with a new cord that is rated for temperatures of minus 40 degree Celsius. The recall began in August 2014. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 14257.

Recall Air bags 2014-06-26 · NHTSA campaign 14V372000

Summary General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Chevrolet Cruze vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the driver's front air bag inflator may have been manufactured with an incorrect part.

Remedy GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver side air bag, free of charge. The recall began on June 28, 2014. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 14305.

Recall powertrain, axle assembly, axle shaft 2014-03-31 · NHTSA campaign 14V151000

Summary General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013 and 2014 Chevrolet Cruze vehicles equipped with a 1.4L turbo engine, and manufactured between November 28, 2012, and March 7, 2014. On the affected vehicles, the right front half shaft may fracture and separate.

Remedy GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the right half shaft, as needed, free of charge. Parts for the remedy are not currently available. GM will send an interim letter to owners in May 2014. A second owner letter will be mailed when parts are available. Owners may contact Chevrolet at 1-866-694-6546. GM's number for this recall is 14079. This is an expansion of recall 13V-452. NOTE: Some vehicles subject to this recall were subject to the recall campaign initiated in 2013. Some of those vehicles were repaired using defective parts. Those owners will be advised that they must have their vehicles remedied again under this campaign and that having the earlier recall completed did not remedy their vehicles.

Recall powertrain, automatic transmission 2014-02-21 · NHTSA campaign 14V092000

Summary General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014 Buick Regal, LaCrosse, Verano, and Enclave, and Chevrolet Impala, Malibu, Cruze, and Traverse, and GMC Acadia vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions. In the affected vehicles, the transmission shift cable adjuster may disengage from the transmission shift lever. As such, these vehicles do not conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 102, "Transmission Shift Lever Sequence, Starter Interlock, and Transmission Braking Effect." They also fail to conform to FMVSS number 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."

Remedy General Motors will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace any affected transmission shift cable adjusters, free of charge. The recall began on April 10, 2014. Chevrolet owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-222-1020, Buick owners at 1-800-521-7300, and GMC owners at 1-800-462-8782. General Motors' number associated with this recall is 14048.

Recall powertrain, axle assembly, axle shaft 2013-09-23 · NHTSA campaign 13V452000

Summary General Motors (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013 and 2014 Chevrolet Cruze vehicles equipped with manual transmissions (MF3/MR5) and manufactured January 24, 2013, through August 1, 2013. On the affected vehicles, the right front half shaft may fracture and separate.

Remedy General Motors has notified owners. Dealers will replace the half shaft assembly, free of charge. The safety recall began on October 15, 2013. Owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-521-7300. This is General Motors campaign number 13276.

Complaints by component (702 total)

Engine

217

Electrical system

187

Powertrain

Steering

Air bags

Electronic stability control (ESC)

Fuel and propulsion system

Visibility and wipers

Speed control

Service brakes

Exterior lighting

Engine and engine cooling

Structure

Seat belts

Suspension

Wheels

Visibility

Lane departure

Seats

Tires

Traction control

Forward collision avoidance

Fuel system, gasoline

Hydraulic brakes

Adaptive and mobility equipment

Back-over prevention

Equipment

Interior lighting

Show 20 more Show less

Crash-flagged

Fire-flagged

Injury reports

Death reports

Complaints filed per year

Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings

"For the first question, I’d strengthen it to: The vehicle has experienced repeated engine and engine-cooling system failures, including recurring overheating and coolant loss. Over approximately the past year, I have…"
Powertrain, Electrical system, Engine · filed 2026-08-21
"My transmission blew up. My airbags did not deploy. And neither of my brakes or emergency brakes worked. I was in a car accident where I hit another car in a tree and was admitted into the hospital as I am pregnant."
Electrical system, Air bags, Service brakes · filed 2026-08-14
"The contact owns a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that while attempting to move the gear shifter, the vehicle hesitated while shifting into neutral(N) or drive(D) as intended, and there was an abnormal sound…"
Powertrain · filed 2026-08-13
"The contact owned a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that while driving 45 MPH, a Chevrolet Impala crashed into the rear of the vehicle, causing the vehicle to fishtail and flip over several times and land…"
Fuel system, gasoline, Electrical system, Air bags · filed 2026-08-06
"Engine replaced turbo charger. Purchased the vehicle on 5/16 and a week later the engine light came on. Took the vehicle to AutoZone and received a code of P0299. Call the dealership and got no response from the…"
Engine · filed 2026-06-17

NHTSA crash ratings

Version	Overall	Front	Side	Rollover
2014 Chevrolet Cruze 4 DR FWD	5 stars	5 stars	5 stars	4 stars

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim	Engine	Transmission	Drive	City	Hwy	Combined	Annual fuel cost
Cruze	2L, 4-cyl	Automatic (6-speed)	Front-wheel drive	27	44	32 MPG	$2950
Cruze	1.4L, 4-cyl	Automatic (6-speed)	Front-wheel drive	26	36	30 MPG	$2150
Cruze	1.4L, 4-cyl	Manual 6-speed	Front-wheel drive	26	37	30 MPG	$2150
Cruze	1.8L, 4-cyl	Automatic (6-speed)	Front-wheel drive	22	34	26 MPG	$2500
Cruze	1.8L, 4-cyl	Manual 6-speed	Front-wheel drive	25	35	29 MPG	$2250
Cruze Eco	1.4L, 4-cyl	Manual 6-speed	Front-wheel drive	28	40	32 MPG	$2050
Cruze Eco	1.4L, 4-cyl	Automatic 6-speed	Front-wheel drive	26	37	30 MPG	$2150

Specs and fitment

2nd generation, 2012–2016

Body styles Sedan, Hatchback

Oil 5W-30 (1.8L); 5W-30 (1.4L turbo where equipped) , 4.2 qt capacity

Tire size 215/60R16 to 225/45R18 (trim-dependent)

Known issues for this generation

Recall 12V-288 covers certain 2011-2012 Chevrolet Cruze vehicles: spilled or dripping oil may collect in the engine shield near hot surfaces and ignite. Recall 13V-360 covers certain 2011-2012 Cruze vehicles with the 1.4L turbo and electric vacuum brake assist pump: the pump may not activate, reducing brake assist on some starts. Recall 14V-151 covers certain 2013-2014 Cruze vehicles with the 1.4L turbo: the right front half shaft may fracture and separate.

Compare

Previous year 2013 Chevrolet Cruze Next year 2015 Chevrolet Cruze See every Chevrolet Cruze model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2014 Chevrolet Cruze reliable?

What are common problems with a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze?

Is the 2014 Chevrolet Cruze more reliable than the years next to it?

Has the 2014 Chevrolet Cruze been recalled?

The 2014 Chevrolet Cruze has 10 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2014 Chevrolet Cruze?

Owners have filed 702 complaints about the 2014 Chevrolet Cruze with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2014 Chevrolet Cruze is 29.9 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

When did Chevrolet stop selling the Cruze in the US?

The US catalog ends with the 2019 model year.

What engine oil does a Chevrolet Cruze use?

5W-30 (1.8L); 5W-30 (1.4L turbo where equipped)

What does NHTSA recall 12V-288 cover on the Chevrolet Cruze?

Recall 12V-288 covers certain 2011-2012 Chevrolet Cruze vehicles: spilled or dripping oil may collect in the engine shield near hot surfaces and ignite.