# Cruze in the Cold



## ErikBEggs (Aug 20, 2011)

Is it me.. or does the Cruze take a very very very long time to reach operating temperature? It is now high 20s and low 30s in the mornings and it takes my car 10 minutes to get warm!

Because of the nature of my work, I do a lot of idling sometimes. I also noticed that if the temperature is cold, the temperature gauge will actually lower to 1/4 on the Cold - Hot gauge (normal is 1/2) and stay there. If you idle and do light driving, it will also never really go past 1/4. You have to get on the highway or really wring her out to get to full operating temperature.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

Most of my cold starts are followed by pulling out onto the main road, spending 2-3 minutes at 30 mph, then gently accelerating to 55 mph where the speed limit changes. So it warms up in 7 minutes or so, even when it's cold out. 

I guess I haven't noticed it since I never encounter driving like that.


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## Chevyderek72 (May 16, 2011)

It does take quite a while for mine to heat up too. Not this bad because Arizona does get that cold, but it still does seem like it takes way too long. I've heard it is because of the very small size and not building that much heat.

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## sheleb1 (Sep 16, 2011)

When I saw "Cruze in the Cold" I thought the thread was going to talk about the automatic transmission's tendency for excessively high revs before up shifting, slipping, and general unpredictability. This is how my 2011 1.4 auto behaves from around 40 deg F and below, until it reaches close to full operating temp. Depending on how cold it is (+40 to -40F), and how hard I push it, it may take anywhere from 5-10 min. to reach this point. Until then, it makes the car unsafe during this time period in my opinion. Especially when having to pull out into traffic!


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## ErikBEggs (Aug 20, 2011)

sheleb1 said:


> When I saw "Cruze in the Cold" I thought the thread was going to talk about the automatic transmission's tendency for excessively high revs before up shifting, slipping, and general unpredictability. This is how my 2011 1.4 auto behaves from around 40 deg F and below, until it reaches close to full operating temp. Depending on how cold it is (+40 to -40F), and how hard I push it, it may take anywhere from 5-10 min. to reach this point. Until then, it makes the car unsafe during this time period in my opinion. Especially when having to pull out into traffic!


 Agreed! It does hold the revs in the cold perhaps it is programmed in the ECU?


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## UpstateNYBill (Jan 14, 2012)

To put it simply, because the engine is so small, the heat can can be sucked out of the system faster than the engine can generate it IF you turn up your fan setting. The way around this is to leave the fan at a very low setting for the first 5 minutes or so, to give the engine a chance to heat up to full operating temperature. Then you can turn up the fan and enjoy the heat.

This is also true if your car is idling outside when you are trying to defrost the windshield. Just sitting there, the engine is too efficient while idling to fully heat up. It will get warm enough to defrost the windshield, but you will still have to drive for a few minutes with the fan on low before you will have full heat.

This is from personal experience here in the Upstate NY area, so depending on the temperature where you are, this may vary for you.


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## jdubb11 (Mar 14, 2012)

when i started this thread back in september http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/10-e...n/8887-2nd-cruze-2nd-thermostat-replaced.html i thought how the heck is this car going to warm up in the middle of winter if it cant get to op temp now. back in september it was in the 40's and the car was very slow to warm up. common sence told me that if it cant warm up at 40 it wont heat up any faster when its any colder out. so far ive only seen low temps in the low 30's and the car is warming up at the same low rate. it will be intresting come 0 degrees to see what this car does. its like the computer just lets the car heat up at its slow sweet time. how else could it warm up at the same rate at 50 as 30?? ive been using the recirculate for faster cabin heat but that obviously doesnt do anything for the slow warm up to op temp. as a kid i remember my dad putting the cardboard infront of the car in the winter, maybe ill roll ghetto style and slap some on there lol.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

I remember last winter my ECO MT was very slow to warm up. That small engine just doesn't hold heat. It generates heat but doesn't hold it in very well. One thing I did notice is that the air flow shutters on the ECO stay closed in the winter. I actually got out and checked a few times. During the summer they were always open when I checked.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

ErikBEggs said:


> Agreed! It does hold the revs in the cold perhaps it is programmed in the ECU?


Most automatic cars do this. They want to warm up the coolant, oil, and transmission fluid for proper lubrication/most efficient operation as quickly as possible.

The Cruze warms up fairly quickly if NOT idling and not running the heater for the first 3-5 minutes. As soon as I get puttering around, there's heat - quicker than most other cars I've had. 

The 1.4 generates less heat at idle or low RPM than the heater core can pump out at 3-4 fan speeds.

We used to have an Acura with a coolant pump straight from the engine block. Heat within 30 seconds. Now THAT was awesome.


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## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

I've recently noticed my trans doing this too, and in manumatic too. It's been after it's sat outside at work all day. I get out of the parking lot, onto the road and into the turn-around to go the other way. When I pull out of the turn-around, it hasn't warmed up enough to have the torque converter lock. But usually as I get up to the speed limit, it'll finally lock. I usually get caught at the next light, and it doesn't do that when I start up from it.

I haven't paid much attention to the actual gauge other than it's just past that quarter mark by the time I'm getting to the highway a mile or so down the road. So I'd say it warms up pretty quick. It should be interesting to see what it does in the dead of winter.

I have noticed, it seems like the torque converter won't lock until the coolant temp is above 100 degrees on the Scangauge. I don't know how that translates to the dash gauge though.

The Excursion does this too though. Torque converter won't lock until the TRANS FLUID temp is 53 degrees. So water temp warms up to operating temp while the trans fluid warms up slower. So it might be about the same situation with the Cruze, if we could measure the trans fluid temp.


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## Starks8 (Jul 20, 2011)

ErikBEggs said:


> Is it me.. or does the Cruze take a very very very long time to reach operating temperature? It is now high 20s and low 30s in the mornings and it takes my car 10 minutes to get warm!
> 
> Because of the nature of my work, I do a lot of idling sometimes. I also noticed that if the temperature is cold, the temperature gauge will actually lower to 1/4 on the Cold - Hot gauge (normal is 1/2) and stay there. If you idle and do light driving, it will also never really go past 1/4. You have to get on the highway or really wring her out to get to full operating temperature.



I remember this being a common complaint about the cruze from other forum members when winter rolled around last year. Gotta love that 1.4 engine, lol!


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

UpstateNYBill said:


> To put it simply, because the engine is so small, the heat can can be sucked out of the system faster than the engine can generate it IF you turn up your fan setting. The way around this is to leave the fan at a very low setting for the first 5 minutes or so, to give the engine a chance to heat up to full operating temperature. Then you can turn up the fan and enjoy the heat.


Noticed the same exact thing with my car, warms up much faster on fanspeed 1 or 2 than 3 or 4. Makes sense though, its a tiny engine & the heater core/fan is acting as a very effective radiator/cooling system. My last car(a 2004 Cavalier) with a 2.2ecotec was exactly the same in the winter, on the fastest fan speed the motor never seemed to fully warm up. 

Once fully warmed my issue is to much heat(same as summer). Have to have the cold/hot dial turned down to midway to be comfortable. Car always feels to hot.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Cruze is far better than my old 86 Honda Civic, had to drive that thing nearly ten miles to get a little heat. Heater in that car was miniature with a 1.6 L engine.

On cold mornings, talking sub-zero, with the 1.4L turbo and MT, cuts this down to about a mile. We have the electric seats, that helps.

Then there is the question about being tough, neither my 30 Olds nor Ford even had a heater. 41 Chevy did, a tiny one where every one would fight to sit in the death seat to get some heat. Didn't think much about it, between the ages of 10 and 16 had a five mile paper route, had to get up every morning at 5:00 AM 365 days a year regardless of the weather. Least the cars kept that cold blast of cold air off your face without heaters, kept blankets in those cars.

Military back then wasn't the least concerned about your comfort, woke up in the morning with frozen water in the butt cans. Getting old ain't fun either, can't seem to take the cold anymore, right hand freezes and won't work. Use to work under cars just wearing a tee shirt in subzero weather, keep on moving and would stay warm.

After driving the Cruze about two miles, temperature gauge is at normal operating temperature. Is electronically controlled, if yours is cold even in hot 30*F weather, could have problems with it.


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## jdubb11 (Mar 14, 2012)

NickD said:


> Cruze is far better than my old 86 Honda Civic, had to drive that thing nearly ten miles to get a little heat. Heater in that car was miniature with a 1.6 L engine.
> 
> On cold mornings, talking sub-zero, with the 1.4L turbo and MT, cuts this down to about a mile. We have the electric seats, that helps.
> 
> ...


your cruze is at op temp in 2 miles in 30 degree weather?? no way!! mine barely gets to op temp after 10 miles...


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

jdubb11 said:


> your cruze is at op temp in 2 miles in 30 degree weather?? no way!! mine barely gets to op temp after 10 miles...


10 miles? You have a broken thermostat good sir. 


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## jdubb11 (Mar 14, 2012)

jblackburn said:


> 10 miles? You have a broken thermostat good sir.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Autoguide.com App


it was replaced in my first cruze and current cruze. it seemed to help a little but still not good imo. i will wait and see what it does when we get consistant cold weather and see what happens. this car needs more computer controlled sensors :biglaugha:


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

If you guys have read my "how to get better fuel economy" thread, you'll note one of the points I made was to not use your heater in the winter until the engine has fully warmed up. This is particularly important for the Cruze because, as others have noted, the engine takes a while to warm up. Once it has reached operating temperature, it will generally hold it there without any issues, but it will take significantly longer to warm up if you're blasting the heat or just idling.


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## jdubb11 (Mar 14, 2012)

XtremeRevolution said:


> If you guys have read my "how to get better fuel economy" thread, you'll note one of the points I made was to not use your heater in the winter until the engine has fully warmed up. This is particularly important for the Cruze because, as others have noted, the engine takes a while to warm up. Once it has reached operating temperature, it will generally hold it there without any issues, but it will take significantly longer to warm up if you're blasting the heat or just idling.


so dont use my heater all winter lmao. sure, that sounds reasonable...not . its already been stated, and ive noticed it, that the car doesnt warm up on a 5 min idle. waiting for the car to warm up on my 15 minute drive to work to see the car warm to op temp probably wont be an option unless the computer somehow gets this thing to warm faster. not holding my breath.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

jdubb11 said:


> so dont use my heater all winter lmao. sure, that sounds reasonable...not . its already been stated, and ive noticed it, that the car doesnt warm up on a 5 min idle. waiting for the car to warm up on my 15 minute drive to work to see the car warm to op temp probably wont be an option unless the computer somehow gets this thing to warm faster. not holding my breath.


No need to be sarcastic here. I didn't tell you not to use it all winter, I advised that you leave the heater off to help the car warm up more quickly. 

I advised that you wait for the car to warm up before blasting the heat, or the heater will just act like a radiator that doesn't have a thermostat and the engine will not actually warm up. I highly doubt that your car isn't heating up after 5 minutes of driving. Idling, I wouldn't know, as I've never let my car idle for that long. Waste of fuel IMO. Check the coolant temperature screen (if your car has it), and tell me what the temperature is after 5 minutes. 

Even idling, I'm fairly certain the engine will warm up significantly. Perhaps not all the way up to 220 degrees operating temperature, but it will warm up nonetheless. If you sincerely believe that there's something wrong with your car, take it in to the dealer to get it checked.


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## carbon02 (Feb 25, 2011)

If your commute is only 15 minutes you'll never have the car warm by the time you get to work. Unless some of that time is speeds over 40 mph at 1500-2000 RPM maybe.

I'm convinced GM designed the cruze to dissipate heat in all possible ways given it's a turbo engine and underhood temps could be high. Performance I imagine. 

There's a dedicated transmission cooler (At least for the Automatic) Radiator, Oil Cooler, and heater core. 

On my 2012 that has the coolant temperature as part of the DIC, you can see the temperature drop when you turn up the air speed of the blower. 

I guess if I really had that short of a commute, I would seriously look at the cardboard option. However, how do you do that without blocking the air intercooler? It may be possible to do something with the lowest part of the grill to block that. Just remember the thermostat of the cruze according to alldata is closed and doesn't start to open until 210-215F Fully open at 230F. 

With the blower on most of the time the lower radiator hose is cold. Cardboard would only stop the air in the engine compartment from cooling anything else since there's no flow through the radiator.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

This is one found on the internet, says its for the Cruze:

P ENGINE BLOCK HEATER (LUW/1.8H, KPK);. Fits: Cruze | Nalley Buick GMC Brunswick

Doesn't spec the operating power, ones I had to used for carb cars parked outside really ran up my electric bill, never needed one with FI.

Our 2012 1.4L kicks out good heat after a mile, hits operating temperature in about 2 miles with red hot heat. I feel you have thermostat problems. Getting that repaired is the correct way to do it.


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## GoldenCruze (Dec 18, 2011)

I learned last winter that I can start getting heat in the cabin when the DIC reading for the temp hits 120F. But it did take about 15 minutes to get to the standard operating temp of 224F when the weather was below freezing. That is with normal city driving. I'll take heat over economy when it's cold out. At least the heated seats help there.

My only real concern is a short trip where the engine doesnt warm up fully. Then there is the risk of not driving out all of the condensate in the engine and exhaust.


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## GoldenCruze (Dec 18, 2011)

NickD said:


> Our 2012 1.4L kicks out good heat after a mile, hits operating temperature in about 2 miles with red hot heat. I feel you have thermostat problems. Getting that repaired is the correct way to do it.


I really have to question that. Two miles of driving is less than 5 minutes running time. I've never seen any engine reach full operating temp that quickly even in the summer. Are you letting it idle for while before driving off?


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## jdubb11 (Mar 14, 2012)

XtremeRevolution said:


> No need to be sarcastic here. I didn't tell you not to use it all winter, I advised that you leave the heater off to help the car warm up more quickly.
> 
> I advised that you wait for the car to warm up before blasting the heat, or the heater will just act like a radiator that doesn't have a thermostat and the engine will not actually warm up. I highly doubt that your car isn't heating up after 5 minutes of driving. Idling, I wouldn't know, as I've never let my car idle for that long. Waste of fuel IMO. Check the coolant temperature screen (if your car has it), and tell me what the temperature is after 5 minutes.
> 
> Even idling, I'm fairly certain the engine will warm up significantly. Perhaps not all the way up to 220 degrees operating temperature, but it will warm up nonetheless. If you sincerely believe that there's something wrong with your car, take it in to the dealer to get it checked.


sorry, just thought it was funny that you said to wait for the car to get to op temp before using the heater. my car doesnt really get to up temp on my 15min drive to work, thus not using the heat. i wouldnt let it run for 5 min before leaving my house in the am or after a full day at work but im trying everything reasonable to get some good heat. as of now, using the recurculate is providing warm to hot air depending on ouside temp. like i said, im going to have to wait for temps below 20 and basicly winter to see what happens then. right now temps in mpls havent beein much below 35 in the am. i dont have the digital coolent temp. all i can go by is the needle that takes at leat 5 min to move at all, then slowly goes up unless im at a stoplight, then the needle goes down. the car gets to op temp or very close to it right when i get to work( the 15 min drive). NICKD what are the temps when you car warms to full op temp in 2 miles. ive already brought two cars in to have the problem fix but it only helped at best. idk if theres more they can do or not. im honestly not going to get over excited about this as long as i have warm to hot air still which i can get with the recurculate on. with the outside air the heat is really quite pathetic unless the car has been drivin long enough to get to op temp, then i do turn the outside air back on.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

3 minutes driving from a cold start, I'm beginning to get heat from the vents and crank it up to 3. Car hasn't been run since Tuesday, and it's 37 outside. 









Edit: Wow, sorry that's blurry. Key is not idling a lot. This engine does lose heat with heater on full blast @ idle.

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## jdubb11 (Mar 14, 2012)

jblackburn said:


> 3 minutes driving from a cold start, I'm beginning to get heat from the vents and crank it up to 3. Car hasn't been run since Tuesday, and it's 37 outside.
> 
> View attachment 8685
> 
> ...


funny you took this pic. i was just thinking that i am going to take a pic at start up (with hopfully time and outside temp as well) and various times through out my drive, when its safe of course. mpls weather: sat 60, sun 30 lol ill wait till sunday to do it


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## Domjenrob (Jan 13, 2017)

My heat blows out cold when idling. Does anyone know what could be wrong?


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Domjenrob said:


> My heat blows out cold when idling. Does anyone know what could be wrong?


Once the engine is warmed up and you come to a stop or just idling trying to warm up the car?


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## a2chris (Jan 13, 2017)

This is the first winter I have driven my 2011 Cruze and also noticed that it takes a long time to heat up. It normally gets to 1 hatch below the middle mark on the gauge. Takes 10 or more minutes when it has been in the teens lately. If it just got there and I try to turn the blower to 4, it will cool back down to the 1/4 mark. Once it has been fully warmed up for a few minutes, it will stay even with full blower as long as I don't stop and idle. 
My GF has a 2015 Buick Encore and I told her to keep the blower down or the engine will not warm up. She showed me that was not true and hers did warm up OK with blower at 3. It was in the 20s outside.
My 99 escort warmed up pretty quick but would cool back down in stop and go winter traffic with the blower on. however, even when it had a stuck open thermostat it would blow enough warm air to heat the cabin.


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