Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2013 Chevrolet Cruze owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
"Takata recall" we were going to church on Sunday morning , it was a raining day , I was driving at 35-38 MPH in a zone 40 MPH . I was approaching to a curve when I intended to brake, the car slipped to the left all the way , it dont braked, it dont turn on the sensor to stabilize the car and the most important , any of the air bags in the left side , it dont came out . This is the police accident report case # hc170007937.
My car is a danger the engine power slows down when driving causing another to hit in the back power steering light displays, stabilize tract and engine power, I have already had one hit and run accident.I took car to Chevrolet dealership harbison rd columbia sc they just half repair it someone May die if car continue to power down.
My vehicle looses power, engine leaks, have a number of different problems with the key in the switch....the vehicle started smoking and caught on fire than looses power all the time. I am afraid to drive this car because I travel with my family I have three children.
Since purchasing my car it has done strange things with what I thought was the breaks. When stopping at a light etc.. The car will jump forward.. Sometimes only once and others it does it over and over until I accelerate again. I took it to the dealership where I purchased it. David maus in sandford fl. The service tech took a ride with me.. He stated that he's heard this from other Chevy Cruze owners and it's just what these cars do. It did demonstrate the jumping, thrusting forward while the service tech was driving. I was not happy with this answer but believed he knew what he was talking about. Yesterday I get in my car and it will hardly go. The service stabiltack light was on. Then every light on the dash came on. Obviously I understand things go bad on cars as it's 4 years old. …
I bought my car from a used car lot in March. After about 2 weeks, I started having issues with the cruise control, after a few months, the cruise switch had to be replaced because it stopped working all together. During the time I've had the vehicle, I've had to replace the thermostat control, as well as a coil in the engine. For the past 2-3 months or so, I'll be driving down the highway and the service stability track will show up, with the traction control and the check engine light blinking. My car wont let me speed up, and it will slowly slow down. If I have my cruise on when this happens, the car's RPM will shoot up in an attempt to get back to the speed I had it set at. After about a minute with the lights on, the check engine light will stop blinking and the car will go back to normal (the traction light wont turn off until I turn off the car). …
This issue has been ongoing since last year. I have been getting messages on my dash with errors such as service traction control/service stabilitrak. The car slows down to 5 speed and it stalls /jerk when driving. This is not safe and I almost got into an accident because of it. This vehicle is not safe. Took my car to the dealership for a diagnosis check and was told nothing showed up but a low battery. I got that fixed and the car is still having the same issue. When driving on the highway/streets/expressways when all of a sudden my car decelerated and I got the message engine power has been reduced/service traction control/service stabilitrak as well as my check engine light came on. Because of this, I was forced to pullover while almost being hit by other vehicles. …
While my son was driving the car on the highway the engine started to smoke. He pulled over and turned off the car. He waited 10 mintues and started the car to head back home. When he arrived home liquid was leaking out the car and the car had smoke coming from the engine. At this time the check engine light was on. GM had sent a recall notice in the mail (n202299080), a couple of days prior. I called them on Monday and they told me to take it to a dealer. I called the local Chevy dealer and told them about the recall notice. He told me to bring it in. I called a tow truck driver and left the car at the Chevy dealer. Ater they had the car for two weeks, they explained that it will be $2000 to fix the vehicle, even though there are currently 4 recalls on the vehicle. I called GM several times to ask how are they going to rectify this, with no call-back. …
Lately I've been noticing the touch screen radio to flicker and completely lose power. I figure it was just a glitch with the all the technology that this car has. Well, the service antitheft deterrent system continues to come on, but goes away. Car is fine. Last Saturday my car wouldn't start until the 3rd try. The car completely shut off, absolutely no power, key wouldn't come out of the ignition. After 15 minutes it started, the radio flicker. On my way to work, the radio kept cutting out then as I was slowing down to turn, my steering and brakes gave out, nearly causing a huge collision! This seems to be a very common thing with the 2013 Cruze lt. Chevy needs to do something! I do not feel safe in this car anymore! No one seems to know the problem? It's life or death here, I travel a lot for work and get on busy highways. …
Roughly 6 weeks after purchasing this vehicle, I started having incidents where the radio would cut out for 2-3 seconds and the infotainment screen would go blank. At the same time, the "service stabilitrak" message momentarily appears on the instrument panel. There isn't a trend to when this happens. Sometimes it won't happen for a week, other times it will happen multiple times in a single drive. Last week, this happened and I also lost power steering and could not steer for what felt like a couple seconds. Based on the Chevrolet Cruze customer forum, this is a fairly common problem and other's have also lost power steering pulling out of a parking lot. There is not a recall for my specific vehicle or a permanent corrective action that I've found. …
I have two complaints on my vehicle, 1.several times the vehicle went into a loss of engine power mode where it was in an idle position with no ability to accelerate, the display showed loss of engine power, no stabiltrack and check engine light. The vehicle would transition to a loss of power mode on the main road, I had to turn the engine off, wait about 60 seconds and restart, my power was restored, this happened on 3 occasions. 2. The second complaint is regarding the low coolant level, I brought the vehicle to a certified dealer and they put the coolant system under pressure and detected no leak, they added coolant since it was very low and asked me to leave the car with them for a day or two and suggested it May be the radiator. I refused and asked them to add a dye to the system that would indicate the leak path and I would return the next day, they refused.
Traction Control complaints in other Cruze years
Frequently asked questions
How common are traction control problems on the 2013 Chevrolet Cruze?
NHTSA has 62 complaints about the stability & traction control of the 2013 Chevrolet Cruze, 11% of the model year's 587 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2013 Chevrolet Cruze traction control problems?
No. NHTSA lists no stability & traction control recall for the 2013 Chevrolet Cruze, though it has 5 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2013 Chevrolet Cruze traction control problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 66,000 miles, and 11% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 5 crashes, 1 fire and 1 injury to stability & traction control problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.