# 2014 Cruze LT heater issue?



## hanginghelmet (Aug 15, 2014)

Hello everyone, I have a 2014 Chevy Cruze LT that was purchased in July. I live near Buffalo and we are getting pounded with snow already. I have noticed that my heater takes along time to warm up and doesn't truly get "hot". I will warm the car up for 10=25 minutes and when I get in it, its just barely warm. I don't think this is normal but has anyone else had any issues with the heater? Thanks in advance for everyone's help!!!


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

hanginghelmet said:


> Hello everyone, I have a 2014 Chevy Cruze LT that was purchased in July. I live near Buffalo and we are getting pounded with snow already. I have noticed that my heater takes along time to warm up and doesn't truly get "hot". I will warm the car up for 10=25 minutes and when I get in it, its just barely warm. I don't think this is normal but has anyone else had any issues with the heater? Thanks in advance for everyone's help!!!


Hey there,

Very sorry for this! If you need assistance into the dealership, please let me know! I would be happy to give them a head up of this concern from our end. Let me know in a private message along with your VIN, current mileage, contact information and the preferred dealership. 

Patsy G
Chevrolet Customer Care


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## BlkGrnetRS (Jul 21, 2013)

Have you had the coolant level checked? There is a so called "recall" out to have it checked and filled. Low coolant would cause heating problems. Also the cruze isn't the best when it comes to heating up quickly. It helps to keep the fan on low while the car heats up too.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Normal. Don't even bother turning on the heater until the temp needle moves up to the 1/4 mark on the gauge. Nothing but cold air will come out and if you run the fan more than half speed, the needle will fall right back to cold. 

Idling will do almost nothing to make heat in this engine - it needs to be driven. 1.4 liters and a cast iron engine block doesn't make a lot of heat.


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## iggy (Feb 14, 2013)

If your saying it doesn't get hot after idling for 25 minutes, that's probably normal. If your saying it NEVER gets up to full temperature, even when driving down the highway, then that's not normal. 

It was 11F outside when I started my car this morning, I let it run for at least 15 minutes before getting in it. When I got in, there was some heat, but the temperature gauge was just barely off the lowest reading. It was however warm enough to defrost a significant portion of the windshield. By the time I drove 5 miles down the road, the temperature gauge was at the point it normally is in the summer time. 15 miles from home, I was turning the heat down , the windshield was fully clear. It was 12F when I got to work.

My understanding , is that a perfectly functioning Cruze will not likely ever reach max operating temperature while idling at temperatures like we are seeing right now.


hanginghelmet said:


> Hello everyone, I have a 2014 Chevy Cruze LT that was purchased in July. I live near Buffalo and we are getting pounded with snow already. I have noticed that my heater takes along time to warm up and doesn't truly get "hot". I will warm the car up for 10=25 minutes and when I get in it, its just barely warm. I don't think this is normal but has anyone else had any issues with the heater? Thanks in advance for everyone's help!!!


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## blk88verde (Apr 30, 2011)

> Idling will do almost nothing to make heat in this engine - it needs to be driven. 1.4 liters and a cast iron engine block doesn't make a lot of heat.


-yes - however some have used an additive to the coolant that seems to help speed up/increase the heat transfer and heat is had a little sooner, Amsoil and Redline and others make these additives. All Aluminum engines as well as larger displacement engines definitely get the heat into the cabin quicker than iron block engines.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

blk88verde said:


> -yes - however some have used an additive to the coolant that seems to help speed up/increase the heat transfer and heat is had a little sooner, Amsoil and Redline and others make these additives. All Aluminum engines as well as larger displacement engines definitely get the heat into the cabin quicker than iron block engines.













Still need to drive it. Idle with this will still get you a few tick marks from "C" if you leave the heat off. Leaving it off for like 2 mins of driving and not eco early shifting gets me heat out the vents. Won't be super hot and taking clothes off heat uuntilabout 20 mins into the drive.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

I have learned to leave my HVAC fan on 1-2 & on defrost/feet for at least 10 minutes of driving to give the engine time to warm up. Such a small engine the heater core will pull off heat faster than the engine can generate it. Actually I don't think I ever use faster fan speeds for more than a few minutes either. 

Remote start and idling the car doesn't warm it past a certain point unless you just want to waste gas. Example: I remote start my car for 8 minutes I get in the engine is at 110F, however if I just remote start long enough for the car to come off high idle(2 minutes), and drive 6 minutes, my car is almost ll the way warmed up(180-220F). I need the engine around 165F before I even feel weak heat. 

The car will warm faster on the hwy than in the city.


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## iggy (Feb 14, 2013)

It was a balmy 17F this morning, remote started the LTZ ran for 10 minutes. ( no frost on windows ) When I got in the car, temperature gauge (needle) wasn't showing anything. Drive 1/2 mile the gauge was at 1/4 , two miles down the road gauge reads full temp ( just under 1/2 on the gauge ) 8 miles down the road (roughly 8 minutes into my drive ), I'm turning the heater down cause I'm getting a little too warm on my face. Fastest way to warm the car up is to drive it. 

Now obviously, if you can't see out your windows you can't drive... but If you think your going to get the cruze really warm , by idling it in frigid temperatures your wrong.

For those of you, who don't have a garage and have no choice but to leave your car outside. ( like me at the moment ). I have a tip my brother told me about a few years back. I like to call it, 'instant garage'. Get yourself about a gallon or so, of HOT tap water in a container... After clearing your windshield of ICE/Snow... poor the hot water slowly and evenly across the windshield, melting the remaining ice/frost. This should warm up the glass enough that it's not going to re-freeze , for at least long enough that you can get your car up to temp by driving it. I've done this over the past 4 years or so, with my old Toyota Camry ( 4 cylinder that doesn't warm up very quickly either ). If you are concerned that it will crack the glass pouring hot water on it like this... well it hasn't happened to me in the many years that I've done it.


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## au201 (May 18, 2013)

I found out it was worthless to idle the cruze to warm it up. It was 19F this morning and I got in and let it run for a minute and off I went. Driving really gingerly, I had warm air within a mile or so. 6 miles later it's fully warmed up and im turning it down. Granted im cruising at 60 within a mile of my house so that might help. 


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

My car also sits outside 100% of the time. I would not use hot water on the windshield, can crack it even though you haven't yet. Besides that water is gonna freeze again so it could make the problem worse. I have an extra bottle of de-icer washer fluid sitting at the front door of my house I can pour on my car if the windshield is thick with ice. 

Most ice/frost though doesn't require anything like that, a simple scrapper removes it with ease. Defroster on the cruze is more than enough even in well below zero F temperatures to keep the windows from fogging/frosting again, even before their is adequate heat. One squirt of de-icer washer fluid will keep the outside clear as well.


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## iggy (Feb 14, 2013)

The only time I've had re-freeze with the hot water trick , was when it was well bellow zero and I didn't really bring out enough hot water. I've poured hot water on windows with stone chips and never seen any issues. The hot water not only clears the outside, but will typically warm up the inside of the glass enough that it doesn't fog up from humid breath in a otherwise frigid car.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

au201 said:


> I found out it was worthless to idle the cruze to warm it up. It was 19F this morning and I got in and let it run for a minute and off I went. Driving really gingerly, I had warm air within a mile or so. 6 miles later it's fully warmed up and im turning it down. Granted im cruising at 60 within a mile of my house so that might help.
> 
> 
> Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App


60 will do it. If I jump on the highway, about a mile and a half from here, my heat cranks up within about a half mile to a mile of having merged. 

If I take the 35-45 mph roads and am in 5th/6th gear...it can take about 8 miles or 20 minutes before I really have to turn the heater down. 

It hits that 1/4 mark fairly quickly in either case, at which point I turn the heater on - but the rest of the way is what can take some time depending on the route.


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## Green (May 14, 2014)

19 at the house today for me also today (likely a tad lower 1/2 mile away in more open area). I can get heat fairly quickly also but temp gauge doesn't go to normal place for about 8 miles or so on my commute (kind of rural suburban)


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## SIXcustoms (Aug 19, 2014)

I haven't tried this yet but I plan to. 


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

jblackburn said:


> 60 will do it. If I jump on the highway, about a mile and a half from here, my heat cranks up within about a half mile to a mile of having merged.
> 
> If I take the 35-45 mph roads and am in 5th/6th gear...it can take about 8 miles or 20 minutes before I really have to turn the heater down.
> 
> It hits that 1/4 mark fairly quickly in either case, at which point I turn the heater on - but the rest of the way is what can take some time depending on the route.


yep that's me. It takes me forever to get to the freeway where I live. 



spacedout said:


> My car also sits outside 100% of the time. I would not use hot water on the windshield, can crack it even though you haven't yet. Besides that water is gonna freeze again so it could make the problem worse. I have an extra bottle of de-icer washer fluid sitting at the front door of my house I can pour on my car if the windshield is thick with ice.
> 
> Most ice/frost though doesn't require anything like that, a simple scrapper removes it with ease. Defroster on the cruze is more than enough even in well below zero F temperatures to keep the windows from fogging/frosting again, even before their is adequate heat. One squirt of de-icer washer fluid will keep the outside clear as well.


 Been there done that, the wipers on my older GM decided to park in the straight up position until they thawed out.


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## iggy (Feb 14, 2013)

I posted about my lunch visit to Wendy's yesterday accidentally in the thread about fog on window... But the gist of it, was that Wendy's is about 1 mile from the parking structure , it was 22F outside, light snow. I never got above 40MPH on my way to Wendy's, by the time I got there, I had noticeable heat/defrost. Even after I finished eating, I still had a bit or warmth. By the time I got back to my ground level parking spot ( in a structure that's mostly open to outside air/wind ) my coolant temps were at 180F, which is easily hot enough to warm up your car. I think the total time the car was running was likely less then 10 minutes and maybe hit 45 tops for 20 seconds on that trip out to eat lunch.

I had gotten my OBDII blue tooth thing going after I got back from lunch, and used it on the way home. Even after sitting in my parking spot with temps hovering around 25F, 3.5 hours after lunch my coolant in the parked car was at 50F. I don't know what temp it was before I left for lunch.

This morning outside temps were at 22F , about 1/2 of snow fell overnight, roads were a bit slick... I decided I would not warm up my car and would watch the temps very closely as I drove to work. Coolant temps were at 21.2F before starting the car, after 17 seconds of idle they were up to 23F, 1/2 mile down the road and two minutes after starting the car coolant was at 93F, 1 mile down the road 3.5 minutes into my drive coolant temp was 127F. At 127F coolant temps, I'm clearly getting warm air coming out of the ducts... at that point in my drive, I hadn't gotten above 45MPH. The roads were slick, I still don't have my snow tires on, I the next 3 minutes were driven at roughly 50MPH and my coolant was up to 170F after just 6 minutes into my morning commute. 8 minutes into my drive, before getting to the highway, I was at 185F, the cabin was comfortable I went to turn the climate control down a bit and noticed it was set to 75F. 11 minutes in, on the highway for about 1 mile I'm at 206F... high coolant temp of 225F was hit a few minutes later. Now, clearly this isn't the coldest of conditions... but I believe it does demonstrate that under moderately told temps, a Cruze LTZ will warm up in just a few minutes of driving at speeds bellow 50MPH. Sitting in the drive idling, for the same length of time, I'd probably never gotten above 90F coolant temps.

The moral of the story for me is... I need to get my garage cleaned out so can start parking the car inside. Not having to worry about windshield visibility much during the first 3 minutes of my commute can save me a lot of freaking time and gas by not having to try and warm my car up by idling for long periods of time. For those of you for whom garages aren't even a option... Well, scrape your car windows clean as possible, get driving as soon as it's safe, your Cruze will heat up MUCH faster while driving it, then it will just sitting at a idle.

7AM, just outside my garage... 









in the car before starting...









1.25 miles down the road 3 minutes of driving









3 miles from home after about 6 minutes of driving...


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