# heater issues...



## 0whitkay (Jan 11, 2016)

i have a 2011 Cruze and up until a week ago my heater worked just fine. my car now does this adorable little thing where it don't heat up while idling or at a complete stop. when i'm driving it blows warm air, but when i come to a complete stop it automatically starts to blow cold air. i've never had this happen before and i live in Wisconsin so a working heater is really nice this time of year lol. any help, suggestions, insight would be greatly appreciated!


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## chevrasaki (May 1, 2015)

What type of engine do you have? 

Mine has the 1.4L and even in TN it takes a VERY long time to get up to operating temperature. The engine just doesn't generate a lot of heat. Once my car reaches its normal operating temperature of 218F - 226F then I can put the heater on full blast and its pretty warm, but unless I am driving with a steady engine load, the engine temperature drops pretty rapidly when the heater is on. Or it refuses to surpass 180F while idling or driving under 2500 rpm, even with the heater off.

I am using an ultra-gauge to view the temps the one on the dashboard isn't very accurate.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

Check the coolant level.


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## chevrasaki (May 1, 2015)

0whitkay said:


> i have a 2011 Cruze and up until a week ago my heater worked just fine. my car now does this adorable little thing where it don't heat up while idling or at a complete stop. when i'm driving it blows warm air, but when i come to a complete stop it automatically starts to blow cold air. i've never had this happen before and i live in Wisconsin so a working heater is really nice this time of year lol. any help, suggestions, insight would be greatly appreciated!


Now that ChevyGuy mentions it, I did have to add a bit of coolant when I did my last oil change. I figured that was actually adding to the problem of taking forever to heat up. 

Also, welcome to the forum!


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

chevrasaki said:


> Now that ChevyGuy mentions it, I did have to add a bit of coolant when I did my last oil change. I figured that was actually adding to the problem of taking forever to heat up.
> 
> Also, welcome to the forum!


Low coolant will keep the engine from heating properly. Air in the system heats up but doesn't register on the thermostat so the car never heats up. How low was your coolant?


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

If the coolant is low enough, it won't circulate at low engine RPM. At least that's what I'm thinking.


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

Low coolant or a Cruze being a Cruze.

Rob


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

In the winter I never use any fan speed above 2, its the only way to gain heat and maintain that heat. If I use above fan 2 in the city I can watch the temperature gauge drop. This is much more pronounced when its like today around 0F outside. This may seem counter productive running the low fan speed but once warmed up I get cooked out of the car. I can only have the temperature dial slightly past half way. 

My car has been this way since new, takes about 15 minutes of highway driving just to fully warm the engine. I usually remote start the car for 5 minutes and still have to drive another 5-7 minutes until I start getting some heat.


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## chevrasaki (May 1, 2015)

obermd said:


> Low coolant will keep the engine from heating properly. Air in the system heats up but doesn't register on the thermostat so the car never heats up. How low was your coolant?


It was down to the 4th rib on the reservoir so I filled it back up to the top, don't think it was low enough for any air to get in.


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## chevrasaki (May 1, 2015)

spacedout said:


> In the winter I never use any fan speed above 2, its the only way to gain heat and maintain that heat. If I use above fan 2 in the city I can watch the temperature gauge drop. This is much more pronounced when its like today around 0F outside. This may seem counter productive running the low fan speed but once warmed up I get cooked out of the car. I can only have the temperature dial slightly past half way.
> 
> My car has been this way since new, takes about 15 minutes of highway driving just to fully warm the engine. I usually remote start the car for 5 minutes and still have to drive another 5-7 minutes until I start getting some heat.


I wish they would add a remote start option for the manual transmission. I can leave it in neutral. Also that is about accurate, my routine for warming the car in cold temps usually goes like this:

Start my car, leave fans and heater off, turn on rear window defroster is necessary.
If there is ice, I get back out and deal with that as best as I can.
If I still can't see out the window, I try to wait until the temperature reaches around 110F before turning front defroster on to 1.

If I can see out the window, I'll only wait until the car reaches 60F and then I'll set off.
I usually try to be easy shifting for the first few times until the transmission oil warms up, shifting around 2500.
I generally have to keep the car a gear lower than I usually would until it warms up to around 180F then it drives normally.

Once at 180F If I'm still a bit freezing I'll turn the heater to blow at the floor on 2 and that usually warms up the car nicely without decreasing the engine temperature too much. Once I'm warm I try to turn the heater off again until it reaches it's normal temp range between 218F and 226F

I'd really love to have an engine block heater.
This really only applies to my city driving.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

chevrasaki said:


> I generally have to keep the car a gear lower than I usually would until it warms up to around 180F then it drives normally.


Even with my automatic I do the same thing. I typically drive back roads, with snow/ice on the ground and being curvy I can only go 35-45mph for the first 8+ miles leaving my town. I leave the car in 5th gear at 45mph until I hit 170F, where I start to feel some heat. 6th gear at 45mph is 1500RPM or slightly less, the engine doesn't warm up quickly at all at that low of RPM.


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## wrnatika (Jan 14, 2016)

Yesterday my heater wouldn't turn off! They had to reprogram my heater control module.


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