# New to site: Conundrum



## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Based on your location I don't think you need an engine block heater. Just make sure you use winter blended diesel for the cold weather. We have diesel owners in much colder climates.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

GlennGlenn said:


> My concern is, can I buy a diesel and other than normal routine oil changes get away with little maintenance or are these "maintenance monsters??"


Good question. I think that's something the community itself is trying to answer. Some have had good luck, others have not. Not real clear reason for the difference. (However, if I had to guess, it might be those who "open it up" periodically seem to have less trouble. That may be even more important if you do a lot of city driving.)

One thing that will make a difference in the experience is the dealer. You might want to look for a service dealer who does a lot of trucks. They're more likely to have someone in the shop who understands diesels.


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

If you're a sale shopper then buy now. You will get a slightly more proven model where there is more expertise developed in its service and maintenance by dealerships. 

If you want to pay more for the latest and greatest then wait until next calendar year and buy then. It is a new engine with no service history in North America. 

2015 CTD is a 2.0 litre, and more powerful engine. But noisier and consumes more fuel than 2015. 

2017 CTD will be a 1.6 litre, less powerful engine. But quieter and slightly more fuel efficient than 2015. 

Whatever you do buy, I suggest you also purchase GMPP to assuage any anxieties you may have related to unplanned repairs.


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## KpaxFAQ (Sep 1, 2013)

The cruze diesel does not have a block heater, it has a wimply oil pan heater as an option which really isn't that useful in almost any climate on earth IMO. There hasn't been a single cruze diesel here that hasn't started unless there was bad fuel involved or bad battery. Boraz up in British Columbia has started his in some crazy cold ambient temperatures like -45F or something with no issue.


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## LiveTrash (May 24, 2015)

GlennGlenn said:


> Whats the deal with this "manual regen" and how often does that need to be done?!


The Cruze has an automatic regen. If the regen is interrupted too many times (this happens when the vehicle is shut off during the regen. If this is done 3 or 4 times, it goes into a reduced power state), the vehicle will typically need to be taken to the dealer for them to perform a manual regen in the unlikely event that the car doesn't resolve it itself.

I don't know of any diesel powered consumer car that has a manual regen option the driver can perform. With the Cruze, as mentioned, this is done automatically when the soot in the DPF reaches a certain level; which in this case is 22 grams. There is a gauge you can purchase that was tested by myself and a handful of other CruzeTalk members and is now available for purchase. It can read this soot level, regen status and various other pieces of data given off by the car's computer. You can check it out here: http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/64-chevy-cruze-diesel-general-discussion/132666-scangauge-ii.html

So in short, the regen isn't something you should be overly concerned about. The vehicle itself doesn't even tell you when the regen is occuring so GM obviously doesn't feel it's something worth stressing over as the car handles it fairly well. The vehicle must reach the normal operating temperature for the regen to begin and the optimal engine RPMs is around 2000 for the regen to complete. However, I've had a regen complete just fine in the city. If however the regen is interrupted too many times, it will go into a reduced power state and that is when it would need to be taken to the dealer.


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## Black20cruze (Mar 8, 2015)

No problems here, other than a bad starter solenoid. I don't do many short trips either, mostly highway. Power and mileage are great, I've never had any regen issues, only once in a while I'm getting about 10 less mpg for no reason, that's how I know it's doing its thing for 10 mins or whatever. Important to use the dexos 2 low ash formula oil for the emissions, dealer or online only and oil filters are also not available at auto parts stores. You get 2 years of maintenance free just make sure they put right oil in. My fuel filter is at 39% with 22,000 miles so 80-100 bucks every few years is nothing. Just crack the drain just incase there's water in filter. I did go through a tank getting about 30 mpg and couldn't figure out what was going on until I looked at receipt and realized I got fuel at some generic station, problem never returned I use marathon or shell or bp


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## Black20cruze (Mar 8, 2015)

I live in Michigan and temps were -10-15 several times and it starts fine with no block heater. I heard it has a thermostat that only works when the temperature is zero anyway


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## eaton53 (Nov 25, 2015)

I just bought a CTD similar to the one the OP is describing (except Autumn Bronze) for less than $20K.
It's a good time to buy. I'd rather have the powerful and proven current engine. It's plenty efficient enough.

I traded a 2005 Mercedes C320 4Matic for it so obviously I'm not going to fear the maintenance of any Cruze very much.


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## GlennGlenn (Nov 27, 2015)

Thank you gentlemen for the great advice. I am looking at black 2LT with Sun and Sound, smokers for 12v power, mud flaps and safety package . Car can probably be had for <20K . 

Are there any particular issues that are endemic to the car like def tanks ( saw a lot of posts about that) , , solenoid etc that are common?? I know from having owned many AMGs there always as issue(s) with a particular car with engine, body, suspension or electronics. Usually shared by a few or many. For example, head bolts in early C63 or seat heaters and radiator on C32. There's always something. 

Thanks again for all the great advice. Note as I said above, I am looking at 70% highway and 30 urban/city and I won't be afraid to get on her at all( won't be babied). As a note, neighbor has a TDI Jetta DSG and he's averaging in the Mid 40s on Fuelly on the same commute as mine. This is why I am looking at a diesel. Note that avg sped on highway during commute is typically 70-75 mph. No plans to be a hyper-miler. There's lots of BP and Shell here for fuel. Oh, can we fill at standard truck stops too and how far for a DEF tank take you??

anyone recommend an extended warranty for these??


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## GlennGlenn (Nov 27, 2015)

eaton53 said:


> I just bought a CTD similar to the one the OP is describing (except Autumn Bronze) for less than $20K.
> It's a good time to buy. I'd rather have the powerful and proven current engine. It's plenty efficient enough.
> 
> I *traded a 2005 Mercedes C320 4Matic for it so obviously I'm not going to fear the maintenance of any Cruze very much.*



I feel your pain, my various AMGs have been brutal regarding maintenance.


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## eaton53 (Nov 25, 2015)

GlennGlenn said:


> I feel your pain, my various AMGs have been brutal regarding maintenance.


Actually, I didn't really have any problems with it except for the taillights throwing codes for no good reason. 
But no Cruze is ever going to offer the wallet emptying opportunities of an old MB, even with a unique powertrain.


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## LiveTrash (May 24, 2015)

GlennGlenn said:


> Oh, can we fill at standard truck stops too and how far for a DEF tank take you??


So long as the nozzle will fit in the tank, you'll be able to fill up at a truck stop. DEF is DEF no matter where you buy it. As for how long it lasts, I'm at 22,000km and still on my factory filled tank of DEF.


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## GlennGlenn (Nov 27, 2015)

LiveTrash said:


> So long as the nozzle will fit in the tank, you'll be able to fill up at a truck stop. DEF is DEF no matter where you buy it. As for how long it lasts, I'm at 22,000km and still on my factory filled tank of DEF.


 @LiveTrash , I see you have the "safety" package. Are you able to turn any of the blind spot or cross traffic monitors off or do they remain on all the time?? If you can turn them off, does it really turn them off or just mute or silence the alert??


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

GlennGlenn said:


> Thank you gentlemen for the great advice. I am looking at black 2LT with Sun and Sound, smokers for 12v power, mud flaps and safety package . Car can probably be had for <20K .
> 
> Are there any particular issues that are endemic to the car like def tanks ( saw a lot of posts about that) , , solenoid etc that are common?? I know from having owned many AMGs there always as issue(s) with a particular car with engine, body, suspension or electronics. Usually shared by a few or many. For example, head bolts in early C63 or seat heaters and radiator on C32. There's always something.
> 
> ...


As far as I know the Smokers package gives you an ashtray in one of your cup holders and cigarette lighter element. It does not give you an additional 12 volt outlet. 

Extended warranty is called GMPP. It's risk management. Consider it insurance. I always buy them and most mechanics I know buy them too. The max when I bought was seven years / 100,000 miles / $0 deductible. 

DEF costs me about $10 a year from the truck stop bulk nozzle. I fill my tank once a year. That's 19,000 miles. I run Shell V-power diesel exclusively. AKA Shell Fit. But it's not available in all markets.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Tomko said:


> As far as I know the Smokers package gives you an ashtray in one of your cup holders and cigarette lighter element. It does not give you an additional 12 volt outlet.


This is correct, you loose the front power outlet in favor of a actual cigarette lighter socket. I've never actually used the cigarette lighter other than to see if it worked, but do prefer using the lighter socket as a power outlet since they seem to have a better connection. 

The cup holder ash tray will hold $30 worth of quarters! I quit smoking 4+ years ago and use the savings to make my cruze payment. I didn't need the smokers package, but thought it was a nice reminder of how I got the car.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

spacedout said:


> This is correct, you loose the front power outlet in favor of a actual cigarette lighter socket. I've never actually used the cigarette lighter other than to see if it worked, but do prefer using the lighter socket as a power outlet since they seem to have a better connection.
> 
> The cup holder ash tray will hold $30 worth of quarters! I quit smoking 4+ years ago and use the savings to make my cruze payment. I didn't need the smokers package, but thought it was a nice reminder of how I got the car.


I second the front power outlet having a bad connection. I had to fix mine earlier this month. Now my cell phone charges in half the time it used to charge using the same power cable in the outlet.


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## Gator (Jul 14, 2013)

I have 93000 miles and get 50 mpgs avg. I use mobil1 ESP 5w30, I get around 50000 out of fuel filter, still got 11% left on my fuel filter. DEF I get at the truck stop pump. I usually need a little over a gallon. I fill it after a oil change at 8000 miles. I get the oil filters at the dealer at wholesale around 9.00. This is a great car. IT does have a break in period of 5000 miles then it opens up.


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## LiveTrash (May 24, 2015)

GlennGlenn said:


> @*LiveTrash* , I see you have the "safety" package. Are you able to turn any of the blind spot or cross traffic monitors off or do they remain on all the time?? If you can turn them off, does it really turn them off or just mute or silence the alert??


I've actually never tried. I am able to as I've noticed there is an option to disable both in the car's settings. I'll give it a try later when I head out and get back to you on that one.


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## JRB'sOilburningCruze (Feb 25, 2015)

It has been pretty much all described above. I have 21K on my 2014. I had it back to the dealer for a bad NOX sensor. They reflashed the computer & changed the sensor. All has been pretty good since. I really like the 2.0, it is a little torque monster. It will break 50 MPG on extended highway driving. I have a 35 mile commute in the Maryland/DC area and in traffic I get high 30's low 40's MPG. 

I have never been an extended warranty guy, but will be buying the GMPP. I'm a pretty handy guy, but I don't know if I would be able to troubleshoot this car and all of its sophisticated emission system.


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## LiveTrash (May 24, 2015)

GlennGlenn said:


> @*LiveTrash* , I see you have the "safety" package. Are you able to turn any of the blind spot or cross traffic monitors off or do they remain on all the time?? If you can turn them off, does it really turn them off or just mute or silence the alert??


 @*GlennGlenn* , Alright so I've gone ahead and tested those two settings and they are both able to be turned completely off. Turning off the "Blind Side Zone Warning" function displays a message on the DIC indicating it has been turned off. Turning off the "Park Assist" function does not display a DIC message. Turning off the "Park Assist" function disables the backup beepers entirely, no longer displays warning symbols on the backup camera image on the screen but still maintains full backup camera functionality. This could be particularly useful if you're towing something and backing up. Even with my small bike rack, there is a solid tone when backing up indicating something is very close to the rear of the vehicle. Both of these functions can be found in a Safety and Convenience package equipped vehicle under Config >> Vehicle Settings >> Collision Detection Systems. I'm not sure if this disables the rear cross-traffic detection warning or not.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

I am a little late to this party, but I believe I have more miles on my diesel Cruze than anybody at 145K miles. i can wholeheartedly recommend the car to anybody. it hasn't been perfect, but it' s been a great car. I never had a manual regen issue until 115K miles, and I have figured out that it's not necessarily how many times you interrupt the regen, but WHEN you interrupt the regen. There's about a 30 second or less window when the car starts injecting fuel to start the regen process but it hasn't gotten hot enough yet. If you shut the car off exactly when this is happening, it can cause the car to think there is more than 32 grams of soot, which is the threshold to trigger a manual regen. I recommend a Scangauge or similar to monitor this (you will see vacuum instead of boost when coasting or idling, but the regen indicator will not have turned to a "1" yet"), but I never had any such issues until I was well over 100K miles. I am still on the original DPF. The car is very well built and in my opinion an engineering marvel. I was an early adopter and only got $1750 off the price of mine. It was worth every penny.


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## GlennGlenn (Nov 27, 2015)

diesel said:


> I am a little late to this party, but I believe I have more miles on my diesel Cruze than anybody at 145K miles. i can wholeheartedly recommend the car to anybody. it hasn't been perfect, but it' s been a great car. I never had a manual regen issue until 115K miles, and I have figured out that it's not necessarily how many times you interrupt the regen, but WHEN you interrupt the regen. There's about a 30 second or less window when the car starts injecting fuel to start the regen process but it hasn't gotten hot enough yet. If you shut the car off exactly when this is happening, it can cause the car to think there is more than 32 grams of soot, which is the threshold to trigger a manual regen. I recommend a Scangauge or similar to monitor this (you will see vacuum instead of boost when coasting or idling, but the regen indicator will not have turned to a "1" yet"), but I never had any such issues until I was well over 100K miles. I am still on the original DPF. The car is very well built and in my opinion an engineering marvel. I* was an early adopter and only got $1750 off the price of mine. It was worth every penny*.



went to two stealerships today and found a fully loaded one ( sticker was 29,500) which can be gotten for $20,000, nearly $10k off of sticker and another not quite as loaded for $8k off the sticker. Hard to believe they're taking nearly 30% off the sticker of these, despite incentives . I drove the black one and as a newb to diesel cars must say I was impressed with the power off the line. Inside it was as if I was driving a gas vehicle it was so quiet. Outside, while Idling, there's a lil diesel clatter but it's certainly not obnoxious . It felt like a very strong 6 banger and easily spun the front tires in the wet. I imagine it would do same in dry. 

One question for current owners: is the initial tip in sorta sluggish going right into the throttle. I noticed that just when you press the gas, it's as if there's a lag and then, boom , it hooks and goes. Early TDI had this issue and I was wondering if this is typical or can a ECM tune help with this issue. Otherwise, I love the torque of the car. The initial delay was a lil bit disconcerting.
@*diesel*, how the heck do you put 145,000 on a car in two years? Those are truck driver / big rig type of miles??
@*LiveTrash* , many thanks for the info. I asked the sales guy about this and he told me its in the menu! Thanks for checking that! In city driving, those BSMS can make one batty and it would be nice to turn it off.

as far as GMPP, who do you recommend to purchase that from? Theres a ton of guys selling them from Chevy dealers on the Internet.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

GlennGlenn said:


> went to two stealerships today and found a fully loaded one ( sticker was 29,500) which can be gotten for $20,000, nearly $10k off of sticker and another not quite as loaded for $8k off the sticker. Hard to believe they're taking nearly 30% off the sticker of these, despite incentives . I drove the black one and as a newb to diesel cars must say I was impressed with the power off the line. Inside it was as if I was driving a gas vehicle it was so quiet. Outside, while Idling, there's a lil diesel clatter but it's certainly not obnoxious . It felt like a very strong 6 banger and easily spun the front tires in the wet. I imagine it would do same in dry.
> 
> One question for current owners: is the initial tip in sorta sluggish going right into the throttle. I noticed that just when you press the gas, it's as if there's a lag and then, boom , it hooks and goes. Early TDI had this issue and I was wondering if this is typical or can a ECM tune help with this issue. Otherwise, I love the torque of the car. The initial delay was a lil bit disconcerting.
> @*diesel*, how the heck do you put 145,000 on a car in two years? Those are truck driver / big rig type of miles??
> ...


I think there is a 20% rebate on them now which helps, but does not explain how you can get one of these for $10K off sticker. That is a crazy good deal. 

I got used to the lag in mine. It's really not that bad and once you get use to it, you don't really notice it. Yes it will spin the fronts on dry pavement too. it's fun!

As for my driving, I drive a lot for work and when I am not working I drive a lot in general. I got my Cruze in May 2013 so about 2.5 years.


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## GlennGlenn (Nov 27, 2015)

diesel said:


> I think there is a 20% rebate on them now which helps, but does not explain how you can get one of these for $10K off sticker. That is a crazy good deal.
> 
> I got used to the lag in mine. It's really not that bad and once you get use to it, you don't really notice it. Yes it will spin the fronts on dry pavement too. it's fun!
> 
> As for my driving, I drive a lot for work and when I am not working I drive a lot in general. I got my Cruze in May 2013 so about 2.5 years.


 @*diesel*, that's a heck of a lot of driving in one year (65k +). My hats off to you for your butt time. 

Years ago Sister in law had a 300td MB that used to rattle and smoke that had the same kind of lag and the TDI I drove ( neighbor) had the same, so I guess it's endemic to diesels.

any thoughts on a source for extended warranty??


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

We've had several members comment on the initial lag from stop. The consensus appears to be to not go full throttle from a stop. Instead, use a lighter throttle to get the car moving and then go full throttle if needed.


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## econrey (Jun 7, 2012)

We purchased an extended warranty from GM, it really wasn't that expensive for the peace of mind.

The lag that you feel is torque management, the car is programmed not to deliver full torque from a dead stop. Most new vehicles have some degree of torque management, but it's prominent on diesel vehicles because they create so much torque low in the RPM range. It's basically protection for the drivetrain when you're go-pedal happy.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

I never got an extended warranty because I figured that odds were in my favor due to the miles I drive in a short period. Only out of pocket issue before 100K I had was wheel bearings at 60K miles. I think that was like $600. Not sure how that compares to warranty cost, but worst case is a wash.


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## Gator (Jul 14, 2013)

Im the same on the extended warranty Diesel.Figured I would reach 100000 way before I would use it. I've put out around 800 and I'm at 94000 now.


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## GlennGlenn (Nov 27, 2015)

diesel said:


> *I think there is a 20% rebate on them now which helps*, but does not explain how you can get one of these for $10K off sticker. That is a crazy good deal.
> 
> I got used to the lag in mine. It's really not that bad and once you get use to it, you don't really notice it. Yes it will spin the fronts on dry pavement too. it's fun!
> 
> As for my driving, I drive a lot for work and when I am not working I drive a lot in general. I got my Cruze in May 2013 so about 2.5 years.


The rebate is 30% and its from GM, not the dealer , so it takes a $30 K car down to about 21 K...............The rebates ended yesterday (Monday 11/30/2015) , BUT there's more coming for the Dec Holiday season..........


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

GlennGlenn said:


> The rebate is 30% and its from GM, not the dealer , so it takes a $30 K car down to about 21 K...............The rebates ended yesterday (Monday 11/30/2015) , BUT there's more coming for the Dec Holiday season..........


GM should advertise these rebates lol


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## GlennGlenn (Nov 27, 2015)

diesel said:


> GM should advertise these rebates lol


I found three cars all in the 27-29 K range and every one was being sold at the very low $ 20 K mark. In the midwest market, there were some amazing rebates from GM for Black Friday (month long till Nov 30 2015). More are coming back (another $1000) so you'll still be able to get a car at an amazing price. The best I saw was a 29,750 Cruze Diesel at $20, 500 K plus tax. That's almost $10 K off.


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## 1877 iris ave (Sep 23, 2011)

i think Greg Bell Chevy in Michigan has the best price for GMPP


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