# Wondering now about that 1.4L in winter months.



## kevhed (Dec 3, 2011)

Yeah...mine does the same when its cold out. My commute to work is about 10 miles each way and the engine won't reach full temp until about 3/4 of the way there. It does seem like a long time. I was going mention it to my dealer and have him check it out at my first oil change. I would think with the electronically controlled thermo....if there was actually a problem it would throw a warning lamp or something.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

Mine's at full temperature inside 10 minutes. Full temperature is 200-220*F, although I've seen 180*F when running the heater idling at a 2 minute stoplight. 

Do you have a 2011 or 2012? The 2012's can check the coolant temperature on the DIC. At least on mine, the coolant will be 140*F before the gauge starts moving off of its rest position.


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## UpstateNYBill (Jan 14, 2012)

sciphi said:


> Mine's at full temperature inside 10 minutes. Full temperature is 200-220*F, although I've seen 180*F when running the heater idling at a 2 minute stoplight.
> 
> Do you have a 2011 or 2012? The 2012's can check the coolant temperature on the DIC. At least on mine, the coolant will be 140*F before the gauge starts moving off of its rest position.


Good point. While I've idled my car for 15 minutes or so in the morning when it's been below zero and the temp gauge hasn't moved up much during that idling period, it moves up quickly enough once I get going. The coolant temp display reads normal when I've bothered to look at it. 

Bought my car on the 9th, I'm already over 2400 miles.

On a side note, have you noticed in that section with the coolant temp, battery voltage, etc., there is one display is blank? That would be a handy place to show the boost.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Watched it carefully this morning took six miles of highway driving, 55 mph, OnStar is watching me to reach full operating temperature. Do have the 2012 2LT with a manual transmission and the display, did get up to 212*F and stayed there +/- a couple of degrees. Finally broke the 500 mile mark, tried to use mostly town driving for a good break in.

Gather with in town driving, DOT came in 12 years ago and installed a zillion traffic lights, spend more time waiting for a green light when not a **** vehicle is coming with a green light on their side. So at idle, just won't heat up. But did have a 1986 Civic with a 1.5L engine with the same problem.

Really got curious also about what boost pressure this 1.4L is using, could only find sites like this one with guesses. 88 Supra Turbo does have a gauge on it. One thing good about that is if your waste gate valve sticks, a good warning you are about to blow a head gasket or something worse. Not sure if this Cruze has an error code on this, shop manuals are not available yet.


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## GoldenCruze (Dec 18, 2011)

I sometime watch the temperature readout on the DIC when driving my 2LT. I have learned that when the temp reaches 125 Degrees F, I get heat from the heater. I'm sure running the heater extends the warmup period. I finally get to 224 degrees F after about 10 - 15 minutes. I have driven it in below freezing temperatures, but not below zero temperatures because of the crazy winter we are having in Ohio. Seems like the warmup period is the same. I don't have any concern for the length of time it takes to warm up fully.


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## eagleco (May 3, 2011)

That's nice the 2012 shows coolant temp. on the DIC. On my 5 mile drive to work, my Eco warms up about the same as my previous car, a 2.0 Mazda 3. It seems the iron block of the 1.4 retains heat a bit better than my aluminum 2 liter did, although that may be just because I think it should.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

NickD said:


> Really got curious also about what boost pressure this 1.4L is using, could only find sites like this one with guesses. 88 Supra Turbo does have a gauge on it. One thing good about that is if your waste gate valve sticks, a good warning you are about to blow a head gasket or something worse. Not sure if this Cruze has an error code on this, shop manuals are not available yet.


Common OEM boost pressures range from 4-12 PSI as needed, and bursts of up to 15 PSI when called for. Tuned, people see 21-22 PSI consistently when really getting on it. I do believe there's an error code for no turbo response. 

Folks have installed boost gauges. I have a ScanGauge II that reports boost as one of the 4 gauges it reports at one time.


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## blk88verde (Apr 30, 2011)

The small displacement and iron block leads to the slow warm up on cold days. I get complaints from my wife as to the slowness to warm up the interior. She is used to an all aluminum 3.5 litre V6 in her Olds Intrigue which starts putting out heat with in a mile to a mile and a half.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Just another minor factor with the 1.4L engine, with my 04 Cavalier with the DOHC engine, at idle on level ground, could ease out the clutch and get moving. With the 1.4L, kills the engine, have to lightly touch on the gas pedal to prevent that.

Can't say too much good about fuel economy, just as bad as my 04 Cavalier with this stupid winter gas we are forced to buy. Hope it does much better on long trips. 04 Cavalier got as high as 42 mpg with summer gas, if I could hold the speed to about 53 mph. EPA window sticker says 31-45 mpg, quite a range. But did most of my driving around town and for the first fillup, only got 27.2 mpg.

When we first drove it home, average mpg was 44.1, but that was with Ohio summer gas. I only use top tier gas, even my 04 Cavalier shop manual in very small print said to use ethanol free gas, E10 sparingly, whatever the **** that means. My old 84 Honda Accord DX with a 1.7 L engine and good gas would always get 46 mpg on the highway. Gas used to be 120,000 BTU per gallon, now they dropped it down to 96,000 to 106,000 BTU's if you are lucky. Not only getting screwed at the pump, but indirectly as well.


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## limited360 (May 6, 2011)

Going closed loop within first ~30 seconds. Its based on catalyst temp more than ECT


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## mr_raider (Aug 13, 2011)

No issues with heat, warming up, coolant temp or heater. And it gets cold here! Anybody from Western Canada can chime in? They are the final authority on cold weather.


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## UpstateNYBill (Jan 14, 2012)

Kept an eye on the coolant temperature when I first started the car this morning. Outside temp was 33, coolant temp read 41 on startup (temperature dropped overnite). I had heat within about 2 miles, and coolant temp was at 200 degrees in about 4 miles.


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## CHUV (Jun 25, 2011)

The little turbo in the winter is quite the beast though. I was able to get the wheels to spin out in 5th gear (automatic). Mind you with lots of snow and all season tires. But still. Tire slip in 5th gear when WOT is pretty interesting to feel coming from such a small car. Glad it has traction control. It really makes a difference, even when being very light footed on takeoffs.


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## Richard (Dec 1, 2012)

NickD said:


> Takes forever for that temperature gauge to reach normal, only about a 1/4 the way when driving around town for even seven miles. Maybe have to go back to the old days and put a piece of cardboard in front of the condenser. Then concerned if this thing is ever getting out of open loop mode. That occurs until the engine gets hot enough for close loop mode where the O2 sensor can take over.
> 
> Have to make a 80 mile trip tomorrow, have 413 miles on this thing already and will be watching that temperature gauge. Could have a bad thermostat, making these things in India or China now. 2.2L Cavalier would hit normal even in cold weather after two miles of driving.
> 
> Anyone experience this?


Yes, I noticed it takes a while for the temperature gauge to go up. My previous car was a 2010 Malibu with the 4 cylinder and the temperature gauge would go up after driving a minute or so. With the Cruze, it takes several minutes, but once it starts warming up, it goes up to almost half way pretty quickly. It never reaches the half way point, just a little short of it. But I will say one thing - once the car warms up, the heat is very warm. Even warmer than the Malibu. I never have to put the fan speed higher than 2 clicks.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Was 63*F Thanksgiving day here a 45*N latitude, next morning, dropped to 9*F. Was listening to this guy on PBS talking about how the Arctic is melting. Not questioning global warming, but just wondered where this cold blast of air was coming from. Certainly not from the Arctic, since its still melting.

But after nearly a year now driving the Cruze, getting plenty of heat after the temperature gauge cracks off of zero. Helps to close the recir door, and just crack open the drivers' window about a 1/4" to prevent the windshield from fogging up.

Wife was late in coming out, rarely ever let the engine idle, but was working outside and cold. So I did let the engine idle, watching the temperature gauge drop! Hey, this is a good thing, as with these aluminum and plastic engines, overheating can cause a great deal of damage.

Did you ever noticed the increments on the temperature gauge are exactly the same on the fuel gauge? My temperature gauge never goes to what would be half full.

On many older vehicles, they used the engine temperature sensor to control the radiator fan on FWD vehicles. This was really crazy as on a warm day especially in traffic, the engine would thermal cycle between 195 and 235* F, where the pressure in the cooling system was ready to blow before the fan came on. And this thermal cycling was very harmful to the engine as slapping an aluminum head with an expansion rate of seven times greater than a cast iron block, would wear through the head gasket.

With these vehicles would mount a sensor at the middle of the radiator tank, and kick on the fan at 160*F so the engine would maintain a constant temperature of 195*F. Far fewer problems.

Well I am happy to say, on the Cruze, they finally did it right, engine temperature remains constant, but more like 220* F. Really don't have to do anything with it, fine from the factory.


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## Ru5ty (Jun 20, 2012)

i dont get temp reading on my dic? wtf? is it in the maintance section ? cause all i get is oil life and batterie voltage


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## Ru5ty (Jun 20, 2012)

im in saguenay quebec and it takes my car forever to warm up ,i go from my place to the cornner store to tim hortens then 15 km to work and its only at proper temp when i almost arrive at work, with about 10 traffic lights, its currently -15 c here atm


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Ru5ty said:


> i dont get temp reading on my dic? wtf? is it in the maintance section ? cause all i get is oil life and batterie voltage


Heard that about Cruze's sold in Canada, in my 2LT, is in the maintenance menu. Also have that eight point compass, wish that was in degrees. But causes confusion, because many times I am driving North on a southbound road. Can only some congressman had a piece of land for sell, and had to go north so the government could buy that land from him.

But they do have strict laws against this practice, like just one other person should benefit from this. That congressman's brother-in-law is okay to benefit.

One reason I got into flying, between my home and Chicago, could knock off 100 miles just by flying in a straight line. But I can't afford that anymore, with liability lawsuits, the price of a plane was increased over 22 times, and insurance cost went up about 32 times. Then they torn down Meigs Field in Chicago. Use to pay 20 cents a gallon for aviation fuel, today it is 2-3 bucks more per gallon than car gas.

Another alternative would be to get two strong guys on each side of I-94 and stretch it out into a straight line that would also knock off a hundred miles from that long boring trip.


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## Ru5ty (Jun 20, 2012)

so do you think my dealer will fix it? case i paid for supervision cluster and i want that crap!


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## mcg75 (Mar 5, 2012)

Ru5ty said:


> im in saguenay quebec and it takes my car forever to warm up ,i go from my place to the cornner store to tim hortens then 15 km to work and its only at proper temp when i almost arrive at work, with about 10 traffic lights, its currently -15 c here atm


Normal. Mine is the same. I've been doing the same route for years to work. The Cruze heats up the same rate as my Cobalt ss turbo, G5 GT and Grand Am v6 before it.


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## patatewz (Aug 18, 2012)

same here in montreal 20F the car can take 10 miles of driving before achieve 220F. and if you put heater on and dont move the car for 2 minutes the temp drop to 180f easly! cant wait to try the car when 0f outthere....


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

My temp gauge starts climbing after 1-2 minutes, and the heat is quite hot by 5 minutes of driving, even in quite cold weather.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Although no snow, we've been having some really cold mornings. It appears that my ECO take that same amount of time to warm up at 20 as it does at 60.


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## patatewz (Aug 18, 2012)

impossible...you need a real time gauge to see if it realy hot or not...


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## ErikBEggs (Aug 20, 2011)

jblackburn said:


> My temp gauge starts climbing after 1-2 minutes, and the heat is quite hot by 5 minutes of driving, even in quite cold weather.


How?

My experience is that the car will never reach full operating temperature if the temp is below freezing unless you get on the highway. It just won't keep enough heat.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

obermd said:


> Although no snow, we've been having some really cold mornings. It appears that my ECO take that same amount of time to warm up at 20 as it does at 60.





patatewz said:


> impossible...you need a real time gauge to see if it realy hot or not...


I drive the same exact route every morning year round. I the summer I get heat at the top of a hill on my route. In the winter I get heat at the bottom of the same hill. Distance difference is less than half a mile. Also, watching the digital thermostat (I'm one of the lucky ones who has one in the DIC), the temperature readings as I travel this same road are within 5-10 degrees of each other regardless of external temp. So, technically, you are correct that the car doesn't heat up quite as fast in the cold, but from a driver's standpoint I have the option of turning on my cabin heater at the top of this hill year round.

I think one of the reasons this works for me is the ECO's shutters are closed, even at low speed, when it's cold outside which reduces the amount of cold air directly hitting the engine.


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## ErikBEggs (Aug 20, 2011)

obermd said:


> I
> I think one of the reasons this works for me is the ECO's shutters are closed, even at low speed, when it's cold outside which reduces the amount of cold air directly hitting the engine.


Ahhhh... this makes sense.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Don't forget the fan factor, set that thing to max & the fan+ heater core make pretty effective radiator. If you set the fan speed to 1 or 2 the car seems to warm much faster.

I have heat within 6minutes coming out the vents, even though the temp gauge is just starting to climb off the coldest setting. Car has heat much faster than my 2004 cavalier ever did.


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## BladeOfAnduril (Apr 27, 2012)

I'd love to know why my 2012 eco doesn't have the temp readout in the DIC. 

Does anyone know at what temp the car goes closed loop? I've been waiting until mine reaches full running temp before turning on any heat because I want to be sure it's in closed loop. 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using AutoGuide.Com Free App


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

ErikBEggs said:


> How?
> 
> My experience is that the car will never reach full operating temperature if the temp is below freezing unless you get on the highway. It just won't keep enough heat.


35-45 mph speeds right out the gate and it does fine (stick shift, and I let the revs get above 2k for most shifts). The heat gets hot around 1/4 mark on the temp gauge...it takes a while to reach full operating temp if I'm blasting the heater, but within 5 miles of highway driving, it'll hit the 1/2-way mark by the time I'm off my exit.

If you shift at 1500-1800 RPM or idle all the time, you're not going to make any heat from a small engine. There's an idiotic stoplight outside my complex that will sometimes wait for 5 minutes to turn, and sometimes turn as soon as you get there. If I sit there idling after just starting the car, yeah, it doesn't warm up at all. 

Rev it up a bit more to 2-3K and let the turbo boost a little bit (after 2 minutes or so, it's fine to push a little harder). That makes a lot of heat, and I really don't care about getting the best gas mileage I possibly can by driving like a grandma. It's good enough as is.



> I think one of the reasons this works for me is the ECO's shutters are closed, even at low speed, when it's cold outside which reduces the amount of cold air directly hitting the engine.


Mine's an LT and doesn't have the Eco shutters - the shutters really shouldn't make a difference UNTIL the thermostat opens and sends water through the radiator. 



> I'd love to know why my 2012 eco doesn't have the temp readout in the DIC.
> 
> Does anyone know at what temp the car goes closed loop? I've been waiting until mine reaches full running temp before turning on any heat because I want to be sure it's in closed loop.


As soon as the heated O2 sensor warms up. 1-2 minutes? The car will run a slightly rich mixture at idle til the coolant temp sensor shows 190 deg. I believe the later-production 2012's did not have the DIC coolant temp display - my 10/2011 does.

If your Cruze takes 10 minutes to warm up to the point where the needle even begins to move, you've got a bad thermostat.


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## jdubb11 (Mar 14, 2012)

wow am i glad i found this thread!!! even though i had my car at the dealer only for them to tell me my car was working fine. i didnt know if my very slow warming cruze was just my car or more of them. i cant use the fan speed past two for like 5-10min otherwise the car wont even make it to 1/4 way of the temp gauge. i also noticed that even when the car does get to full op temp that if i turn the fan on high the temp gauge pretty much crashes to 1/4. im scared to see what happend in real mn winter temps. ive seen 10 degrees only a couple of mornings so far this winter and the time the car took to start to warming up was horrible. so you need heat but cant use the fan or it will never warm up. then when the car gets warm and you hit the fan it just cools off... i thought i bought a 2012 car not some old hooptie. funny about the cardboard statment, when i was out driving with the service manager about this he stated they went through the whole car and there was nothing else the could do. i asked him if they sold custom cardboard cut outs for the grill or if id have to make my own. i didnt get a responce lol. trying to get the car to warm up faster, ive also been downshifting the car to 5th gear once i get up to speed. not what i want to be doing to my mpg car but its that or freeze or just drive my truck and say f it. also my 2012 with a build date of 4/12 doesnt have the coolent temp in the dic. i assumed thats also "normal"


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

jdubb11 said:


> wow am i glad i found this thread!!! even though i had my car at the dealer only for them to tell me my car was working fine. i didnt know if my very slow warming cruze was just my car or more of them. i cant use the fan speed past two for like 5-10min otherwise the car wont even make it to 1/4 way of the temp gauge. i also noticed that even when the car does get to full op temp that if i turn the fan on high the temp gauge pretty much crashes to 1/4. im scared to see what happend in real mn winter temps. ive seen 10 degrees only a couple of mornings so far this winter and the time the car took to start to warming up was horrible. so you need heat but cant use the fan or it will never warm up. then when the car gets warm and you hit the fan it just cools off... i thought i bought a 2012 car not some old hooptie. funny about the cardboard statment, when i was out driving with the service manager about this he stated they went through the whole car and there was nothing else the could do. i asked him if they sold custom cardboard cut outs for the grill or if id have to make my own. i didnt get a responce lol. trying to get the car to warm up faster, ive also been downshifting the car to 5th gear once i get up to speed. not what i want to be doing to my mpg car but its that or freeze or just drive my truck and say f it. also my 2012 with a build date of 4/12 doesnt have the coolent temp in the dic. i assumed thats also "normal"


Get it to 1/4 temperature off a cold start and get out and feel the lower (or hey, even upper) radiator hose - should not be the least bit warm. The heater, full blast, on mine has shown the DIC display dropping a few degrees at idle, but never the temp needle once it was warmed up to the 1/2-way point, even when it was in the 20's the other night. 

If the lower hose is warm, take it back to the dealer and tell them they're idiots and that you have proof the thermostat isn't working as it should.


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## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

One of the reasons I chose the LTZ was for the automatic climate control. It has a setting for controlling the fan speed in the menu. I'm not sure exactly how this works because back in A/C months, it would come on like a jet engine, but now, it stays at a quiet, slow speed. I had the start up fan speed set on low. Unfortunately, it never seemed to speed up once the car warmed up, so it was still a little chilly in the car by the time I got home. Just Friday, I changed that startup setting to Medium instead, so I'll see if that changes anything. I don't want to have to set it up to 78 or so just to get the car warmed up and then go turning it back down to 68 because I'm starting to break a sweat. It's supposed to be automatic for a reason!

I do have coolant temp readout on my DIC. It's not a regular scroll menu option, I have to press that rectangular button on the turn signal stalk and scroll through that menu in order to get it. I just use my Scangauge for coolant temp though. The DIC readout one has been 2-3 degrees off the Scangauge the few times I've looked at it.

It sounds like I got a pretty good build time for my car, despite the brake issue and potential coolant issue. I'm late enough to get a decent trans, better gearing, and I'm past the December 2011 problems, but still early enough to not have been shafted out of features.


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## Ru5ty (Jun 20, 2012)

i confirm that 2012 after june do not have temp in dic


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## DMC (Oct 22, 2012)

Ru5ty said:


> i confirm that 2012 after june do not have temp in dic


Mine has a May build date and I do not have the temp gauge in the DIC.


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## silverram323 (Mar 16, 2012)

I warms up faster then my 95 dodge ram with that 5.9l diesel cast iron block, i have drove it over 25 miles in -25 before getting 140 degrees out of it. I put cardboard in front of the radiator, makes a huge difference.


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## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

silverram323 said:


> I warms up faster then my 95 dodge ram with that 5.9l diesel cast iron block, i have drove it over 25 miles in -25 before getting 140 degrees out of it. I put cardboard in front of the radiator, makes a huge difference.


True, but it's hard to beat the sound of a 5.9 12V, and when cold too!


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## titan2782 (Nov 4, 2011)

This is surprising. I've always been amazed at 1) how fast the cruze heats up 2) how well it holds heat. After sitting for 2-3 hours in the cold I can come out and it will still be warm. It takes my other vehicles FOREVER to start getting warm (especially with the mechanical fans). I let me car go through it's cold start cycle and then I start driving. By the end of the street, the car is already warming up. Before I've done a mile it's up to temperature. This is normal including today which was pretty cold.


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## jdubb11 (Mar 14, 2012)

titan2782 said:


> This is surprising. I've always been amazed at 1) how fast the cruze heats up 2) how well it holds heat. After sitting for 2-3 hours in the cold I can come out and it will still be warm. It takes my other vehicles FOREVER to start getting warm (especially with the mechanical fans). I let me car go through it's cold start cycle and then I start driving. By the end of the street, the car is already warming up. Before I've done a mile it's up to temperature. This is normal including today which was pretty cold.


pretty cold like 50?? lol thats the one thing about this thread. we all live in different areas and cold to you my be different then cold to me. under 25 and my car has no chance at op temp with the fan on high. car can get to op temp all day not using the fan on 4. once you do that, its done.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

jdubb11 said:


> pretty cold like 50?? lol thats the one thing about this thread. we all live in different areas and cold to you my be different then cold to me. under 25 and my car has no chance at op temp with the fan on high. car can get to op temp all day not using the fan on 4. once you do that, its done.


I keep it off til the gauge moves above the C mark, turn it up to 2 or 3, and only hit fan speed 4 when I'm out on the highway and it's still a bit cold in the car. If I DO put it on 4, it takes forever to warm up - it's pulling the heat out faster than that small engine can make it. I have a place heated by hot water - if I take a shower, crank the heat, run the dishwasher and washing machine all at the same time, my water heater can't keep up either.

Funny how fan speed 3 seems perfectly fine with the heater going, but seems absolutely pathetic in the summer with the AC going. Guess the heater core was oversized, and the entire AC system undersized. :1poke:


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## bryanakron40 (Nov 8, 2012)

Any car in really cold temps will find it tough to get to operating temps. I'm talking about the kind of temps where part of the radiator needs covered. Diesels are known for loosing heat running down the highway in really cold temps. I agree, at low rpms and very low loads, it takes a little bit to get up to temp.
Nick, these aren't quad 4s or 2.2 chrysler engines. I'm not loosing sleep over the head gasket rubbing away....lol.


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## titan2782 (Nov 4, 2011)

jdubb11 said:


> pretty cold like 50?? lol thats the one thing about this thread. we all live in different areas and cold to you my be different then cold to me. under 25 and my car has no chance at op temp with the fan on high. car can get to op temp all day not using the fan on 4. once you do that, its done.


Yeah, sorry. Average "cold" day here is about 45-55. But, I've had same results in more than a few 30* mornings. I forgot how cold it can get back there.

Since everything on this car in variable, including the thermostat, I wonder if it can be reconfigured or tuned to stay closed longer to help it warm up. Maybe it isn't closing all the way and thats why it won't warm up? Might be worth a look or a call to the dealer.


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## jdubb11 (Mar 14, 2012)

besides that random buzzing noise when it is 90+ degrees out, and this heat issue, i do really like my cruze. ill "learn" whats best for getting heat as the winter goes on. thats what is VERY dissapointing to me. honestly, i could care less if the car gets to op temp or not. i upgraded from an 06 colbalt that cost 10k(ls with only cruise and air, no power locks/window). that car didnt have a temp gauge so honestly i couldnt tell you if that car ever got to op temp or not, but i had great heat in all mn winter temps(-10/25+) in 5 min or less. i didnt have to learn anything about it. maybe ill try another dealer when i have more days off i want to waste dealing with this just to triple check that "theres nothing wrong with my cruze".


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