Selling a junk Chevrolet Cruze
Any Cruze sells for scrap or parts, running or not. Below: what owners report most often for each model year, the recalls on file, and which of those change the offer. Enter your ZIP for a buyer near you.
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What owners report about the Chevrolet Cruze
NHTSA has 5,796 owner complaints on file for the Chevrolet Cruze, model years 2010 to 2019, the 84th-most of the 423 models in our data. The most-reported components are engine (1,260, 22%), other (862, 15%), electrical system (763, 13%). 479 complaints involved a crash, 137 a fire, and 274 say the vehicle had to be towed. The median mileage when the problem was reported is 56,788 miles. The 2012 model year has the most complaints (1,354). Data as of 2026-10-12.
When the top complaint is engine, the question for a seller is whether a buyer will resell the car, pull the parts or scrap it. Read our guide to selling a car with a blown engine: it explains which offers assume the part works and how to describe the car so the price holds at pickup.
Chevrolet Cruze by model year
| Year | Complaints | Most reported | Crash | Fire | Recalls | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2 | Transmission and drivetrain | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2011 | 1,116 | Engine | 67 | 30 | 7 | 60,000 |
| 2012 | 1,354 | Engine | 104 | 26 | 7 | 56,788 |
| 2013 | 939 | Engine | 90 | 15 | 5 | 57,725 |
| 2014 | 1,106 | Engine | 115 | 31 | 10 | 57,168 |
| 2015 | 385 | Engine | 30 | 8 | 4 | 56,597 |
| 2016 | 398 | Engine | 28 | 11 | 4 | 59,500 |
| 2017 | 295 | Engine | 11 | 9 | 2 | 34,500 |
| 2018 | 166 | Other | 27 | 5 | 3 | 26,580 |
| 2019 | 35 | Transmission and drivetrain | 7 | 2 | 2 | — |
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not confirmed defects. Median miles is the odometer reading owners gave when they reported a problem, shown only where 20 or more reports include it.
Chevrolet Cruze recalls
NHTSA lists 26 recall campaigns across these model years, most often for air bags (7), transmission and drivetrain (5), steering (3). Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer. Before you sell, check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls; a buyer who plans to resell the car will.
- 2014 model year, air bags (campaign 25V764000, Nov 2025): 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 th…
- 2014 model year, air bags (campaign 23V870000, Dec 2023): 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 expans…
- 2014 model year, air bags (campaign 23V674000, Sep 2023): 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 th…
- 2018 model year, transmission and drivetrain (campaign 20V668000, Oct 2020): General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Chevrolet Cruze and Buick LaCrosse, 2018-2020 Chevrolet Equinox, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Terrain, 2018 Chevrolet Malibu, 2019-2020 Buick Encore, Buick Enclave, Ca…
- 2018 model year, brakes (campaign 18V576000, Aug 2018): General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Chevrolet Equinox, Impala, Cruze, Volt and Bolt EV vehicles, GMC Terrain vehicles, Buick Lacrosse and Regal vehicles, Cadillac XTS and XTS Professional vehicles and …
What a Chevrolet Cruze is worth as a junk car
Buyers price a junk Cruze on four things: its weight at today's scrap steel price (the floor), the parts still on it that can be resold, whether it starts and drives, and how far they have to tow it. None of those come from a complaint database, so use this page to describe the car accurately and our junk car value guide to work out a ceiling for the metal. Then get more than one offer.
Guides for selling this car
How to sell a car with a blown engine 
How much is my junk car worth? 
How junkyards price cars 
Catalytic converters and junk cars 
How to prepare your car for the junkyard 
Junk car scams and how to avoid them Other Chevrolet models
- Chevrolet Malibu 29,279
- Chevrolet Silverado 1500 22,548
- Chevrolet Impala 15,194
- Chevrolet Tahoe 12,433
- Chevrolet Equinox 12,060
- Chevrolet Silverado 10,454
- Chevrolet Cobalt 10,115
- Chevrolet Trailblazer 9,175
All Chevrolet models · All makes · Cash for junk cars by state
Questions people ask
- What is a junk Chevrolet Cruze worth?
- What a yard can recover: the car's weight at the current scrap steel price, plus parts it can resell (the catalytic converter, engine, transmission and wheels if they're good), minus towing and processing. The same Cruze gets different offers from different buyers, so compare at least two. Our value guide shows the public benchmark.
- Will a junkyard buy a Chevrolet Cruze that doesn't run?
- Yes. Junkyards and junk car buyers take cars that don't start, and most arrange the tow. Tell them honestly whether it starts, whether the engine and transmission are still in it, and whether the catalytic converter is on; those are what change the price.
- Should I fix an open recall before selling a Chevrolet Cruze?
- Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer for as long as the car exists. If the car is going for scrap, the repair won't change the scrap price. If a buyer might resell it or pull parts, a completed recall can help. Check your VIN at NHTSA's recall lookup first.
- Where do these Chevrolet Cruze numbers come from?
- From the complaint and recall data NHTSA publishes for every make and model, counted by model year on 2026-10-12. A complaint is an owner's report, not a confirmed defect, and the count rises with how many of the model were sold.