# The Raider: my 2015 Cruze TD build, trip, and logging thread



## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

Yah! !! 

So I didn't notice you mention it in your other thread but why didn't you get another vw?

I mean, I hate almost everything about vw and I would rather walk but you already owned one.


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## pacolino (Aug 1, 2015)

enjoy your new CTD, you'll love it. ScanGauge II it's definitely a must have tool


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

Nice post! Welcome to the club!


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## buttons252 (May 10, 2012)

money_man said:


> Yah! !!
> 
> So I didn't notice you mention it in your other thread but why didn't you get another vw?
> 
> I mean, I hate almost everything about vw and I would rather walk but you already owned one.



I am also curious. A friend of mine has a 2012 loaded TDI jetta. I use to own a 2004 VW Passat 1.8T GLS. I loved that passat, but my friends newer jetta doesnt feel like a quality made car to me. Compared to my passat, feels like its been cheapened a lot. I sat in a loaded 2014 cruze TDI yesterday and it felt very nice.

4-6 months from now i am going to wrestle with which new car to get... a 2013 volt, 2011 eco cruze, 2014+ TDI cruze ... or just have one car and no car payments...


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

Depending on mileage and electricity prices, the volt might be a good way to go.


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## DECruzer (Jul 19, 2015)

buttons252 said:


> I am also curious. A friend of mine has a 2012 loaded TDI jetta. I use to own a 2004 VW Passat 1.8T GLS. I loved that passat, but my friends newer jetta doesnt feel like a quality made car to me. Compared to my passat, feels like its been cheapened a lot. I sat in a loaded 2014 cruze TDI yesterday and it felt very nice.
> 
> 4-6 months from now i am going to wrestle with which new car to get... a 2013 volt, 2011 eco cruze, 2014+ TDI cruze ... or just have one car and no car payments...


We don't use the VW "TDI" terminology for the Cruze. CTD is the accepted abbreviation. "Clean Turbo Diesel"...


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

I forgive him.


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## CruzeDan (May 17, 2015)

I am 6'2" and also comfortable in my CTD. The seats go way back, I don't even have mine all the way back. No back seat, but I don't plan on using it that much. I have a 2014 and am in love with it so far, 3,000 miles later.


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## Su8pack1 (Apr 17, 2014)

ccasion14:


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

Sometimes I'm so happy to have my cruze and other times I wish I could trade it in on a truck right then.


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

A couple of days ago I stuck the ScanGauge II into the car, and have yet to figure out a good mounting point (I do not like the easiest one, atop the steering column). Is it DieselA or DieselB fuel type?

I just ordered an oil catch can (a ProVent) and will be installing it along the lines of this thread once I get it. 

I have also been eyeing these fog lights to install somehow behind the grill, as I care for neither the look nor the shitty light output of the small circular style lights. Has anyone taken the front end off enough to get back there yet?

Also: as a TDI owner I am not used to the ovenlike heat from the turbo being RIGHT THERE when you open the hood. Anything else I should watch out for as "weird to me but right for this car"?


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

mrbrefast said:


> A couple of days ago I stuck the ScanGauge II into the car, and have yet to figure out a good mounting point (I do not like the easiest one, atop the steering column). Is it DieselA or DieselB fuel type?
> 
> I just ordered an oil catch can (a ProVent) and will be installing it along the lines of this thread once I get it.
> 
> ...


Does the TDI make all those strange sounds when you shut off the car?


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

diesel said:


> Does the TDI make all those strange sounds when you shut off the car?


Not sure I follow on which "strange sounds" you're referring to, here.


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

I think it's just a ctd noise. I've been told that noise is a valve/plate by the intake moving to close it off when the car is off


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

I went and got a full sized tire from a 2004 Impala to use as my spare...



.. although this little compact trunk definitely gets filled up very quickly with it:



My intention is to take this spare along with me on long trips as well as a jack, and just stick to the stock fix-a-flat setup for daily commuting use.<br><br>I also got the Mann ProVent in the mail, and might try to install it next weekend, before the long trip to Arlington VA and back the weekend after (the remote start is for my Subaru!):



Small projects on this new car, but projects nonetheless!!


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

mrbrefast said:


> Not sure I follow on which "strange sounds" you're referring to, here.


Shut your Cruze off in a quiet garage after you drive it, then listen for a couple minutes. Various hums, buzzes, whirs, clicks.


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## pandrad61 (Jul 8, 2015)

> a $27,000 car for $22,500


wow that's an absolute steal. I get employee pricing and some incentives and i walked with mine out the door taxed at 25,000$ at 2.9% ( I am first time buyer s 2.9 is a great deal)


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

*2015 Cruze diesel - Mann Provent 200 catch can installation*

Yesterday saw two primary efforts on the Raider:

*1) aborted installation of Hella fog lights on a fantastic little license plate bracket*

After getting these lights installed..



... even though I KNOW they would produce the disgusting amount of light I really desire for those bad weather driving days...



... I decided (at the frank insistence of many family and friends) that the rally car look ruined the sleek appearance of my Cruze. _These fogs were taken off so please don't freak out_ 

*2) Successful installation of a Mann ProVent 200 catch can*

With this thread as my starting point, I ventured to install a catch can in my car, but went with a really high end option from the world-renowned Mann - I want to keep this car for a long time, and having previously gone through the gigantic pain involved in manually burning clean a turbodiesel intake manifold... no oil through my intake system, thanks.

Armed with the ProVent and some parts from my office (McMaster-Carr) like a 200 degree-rated nylon 5/8" to 1" barbed fitting (why we sell those is beyond me - but it worked out for me!) I was able to step up from the stock enormous 5/8" tube on the intake line to the 1" size of the ProVent:



As mentioned in the source thread I used, the OEM clamps on the intake hoses are unlike any constant tension clamps I have ever seen before - but they were a royal pain to remove. I am pointing to the portion I used...



... with a thin steel rod to wedge open and thus remove. I hope that in writing makes this process easier for others in the future! Also featured above are a fantastic tool I can't recommend highly enough - a hose removal tool.

I have removed the stock steel connecting tube between the two rubber hoses, and have each hose with a white nylon adapter in this photo:



I then turned my attention to fabricating a mount for the relatively gigantic ProVent 200. I used a 90 degree corner brace as well as a straight brace; drilled them out with the metric drill bit set (thanks McM) and test fitted with the 316 grade stainless steel 8mm socket head cap screws (thanks McM... I love my job so much):



I made use of the stock nylon washer/bolt to hold this bracket to the firewall...



... because I believe the metal screw coming from the firewall is not any pitch I could get a stainless nut for. Drilling out the L-bracket with the metric drill set, I believe to the very odd 10.2mm size, was a PERFECT fit for the size of the nub on the back of the black plastic washer... and so it fits perfectly with little slop. It is my hope, though I am not convinced it will happen, that this mount will last for a VERY long time.

... not least of all because I ran a drain hose with a spigot out the bottom of the catch can, down to the ground so I won't ever have to remove the catch can from its mount:



I zip tied the hose a couple of places along the way, and it is a dangerous way - this drain hose goes directly past the exhaust system and also the front axle:



I believe this should make draining the catch can VERY easy at each oil change, as the car will already be on ramps in the front so I can just snip the zip tie, drain with the spigot into the oil drain pan, and then zip tie it back onto the subframe where the spigot currently lives. Again, only time shall tell!

SO.

The test drives (involving significant boost) saw no oil blow-by, but some condensation accumulated in the intentionally-clear tubing:



Here is the mostly stealthy installation...



... with the catch can and hose routes highlighted:


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

*Xpel protective film on the Cruze*

This past Saturday (I forgot to post this here, which is why this post is out of order with the previous one, which occurred on Sunday!), I finally dropped the money and had my new Cruze's front end protected with a self-healing protective film.

The product I got is Xpel, which came HIGHLY recommended from a friend who is an engineer for GM in Michigan and deals with their horrible roads all the time. He got their "core package" installed on his new GMC pickup and loves it for protecting his car: this package typically includes Xpel installed on the following:

entire front bumper 
first quarter of the hood* 
first quarter of the front fenders* 
front-facing portions of the side mirrors 
portion of each door behind the door handles (where your fingernails are liable to scratch the paint!) 

In my case, the asterisks above point out that my particular installer, Brad of Custom Shields in Willoughby OH, surprised me by going up the hood and along the bumpers so that the Xpel line coincided with the rearmost point of the headlights - and it looks MUCH better as a result. I also, on Friday, managed to get the first scratch on my car, by bumping the rear edge of the driver's door into my utility trailer when I got out of the car... so Brad threw in a 1/2" strip along the rear of each door for free. Brad is, as you can likely tell, VERY good people 

From the front, the Xpel line is really only visible because it poured rain on the way home and Brad had carefully waxed the new Xpel, so it stands out compared to the unwaxed body of the car:



The line of the rear edge of the Xpel looks SO much better on a Cruze when it matches up to the tail edge of the headlamp:



The Xpel will allow the paint to all fade evenly, which is really important to keeping the car looking grand and sleek regardless of age - so for right now, it lets the whole car look STUPIDLY sexy in an even way:



The very thin strip Brad threw on the rear edge of each door, which I hope will help a lot with preventing the daily fingerprints and the very intermittent bumping of things from damaging the paint:




They gave me some helpful literature and a complimentary bottle of spray-on wax as the top coat over the Xpel; I bought the $20 Xpel-branded and -specific sealant as I plan on protecting this nearly $1000 investment:










So: it is my sincere hope that my trip down to Dulles VA this coming weekend, with all the grit on the PA roads and the damaging sun of the VA area, will have no ill effects on this little Cruze!!


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

Nice write ups! i am interested to see periodic updates on the provent and what you see in the hoses. So far, I have not had any "intake gunking" issues in 135K miles on my stock CTD, so i suspect that you may see very little oil in the catch can. I am curious if my theory is correct.


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

diesel said:


> Nice write ups! i am interested to see periodic updates on the provent and what you see in the hoses. So far, I have not had any "intake gunking" issues in 135K miles on my stock CTD, so i suspect that you may see very little oil in the catch can. I am curious if my theory is correct.



Thank you, sir. I really do enjoy keeping a log of what I do on the car, to help other people but also so I can go back and see "THAT is when I did THIS, and THIS is how to do it" 

Last week, I got up early a few mornings and did a section-by-section wash, dry, clay bar detail (with this awesome Meguiar's Quik Detail), and then wax using the Meguiar's DA power buffing drill attachment. While I didn't finish the whole project (rear passenger door, rear other than the top of the trunk), the car looks great with it:



...it made a huge difference with all the rain I drove through in Virginia... because.......

This past weekend, I took me a trip down to Dulles VA for a wedding. The fuel efficiency from Cleveland OH to Breezewood PA (BIG hills the whole way, cruise control at the non-efficient 80 mph): *49.75mpg*. The efficiency for the remainder of the trip, into the heart of stop and go DC as well as the mess of northern VA traffic, and then back to Cleveland... was *41.1mpg*:



I am super pleased with this little car.

I did the commute to work today with the low fuel light on; and watching this screen below, it went from "53 miles until fueling required" to "LOW" as you can see here:



Does anyone know if the "LOW" remaining range is tied to 50 miles, or a specific remaining gallon count?


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## grs1961 (Oct 23, 2012)

My Cruze switches the DIC to "FILL FUEL" when the range drops below 80 kilometres, and as 80 km is about 50 miles, I'd say that's right.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

mrbrefast said:


> Thank you, sir. I really do enjoy keeping a log of what I do on the car, to help other people but also so I can go back and see "THAT is when I did THIS, and THIS is how to do it"
> 
> Last week, I got up early a few mornings and did a section-by-section wash, dry, clay bar detail (with this awesome Meguiar's Quik Detail), and then wax using the Meguiar's DA power buffing drill attachment. While I didn't finish the whole project (rear passenger door, rear other than the top of the trunk), the car looks great with it:
> 
> ...


LOW is tied to the quantity of fuel in the tank. Based on my experience, you are safe to assume you have about a gallon of usable fuel. I have gone over 50 miles on LOW, but driving very conservatively on the highway and keeping it over 50 MPG.


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## DrKlahn (Feb 10, 2014)

These are great trip cars. We drove ours to visit relatives in the Ft Laramie/Guernsey area of WY. We left Des Moines with a full tank and stopped to fuel up in Scottsbluff NE with just under 1/4 remaining. According to the DIC we averaged 49.4 MPG. That's running 75-80 mph loaded down with luggage and running the air. More shocking was going up the steep hills the little car never downshifted out of 6th gear. I was shocked. The last part of the trip we spent in the Denver area. We filled up in Loveland drove into Estes Park, drove around Estes Park and then to Fort Collins for the night. Got up the next day and drove to Lincoln NE where we filled up with just over a 1/4 of a tank. That tank averaged 52.7MPG. And the car behaved excellently at altitude.


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

diesel said:


> Nice write ups! i am interested to see periodic updates on the provent and what you see in the hoses. So far, I have not had any "intake gunking" issues in 135K miles on my stock CTD, so i suspect that you may see very little oil in the catch can. I am curious if my theory is correct.


Well, I have fewer that 2,500 miles on my Cruze CTD, and here is the blow-by pulled by the Mann ProVent 200 filter thus far:

 

More astonishing is the different between the intake tubing (front, blackened from oil) and the exhaust which goes over to the turbo (rear, still clear):



I am going to go ahead and say it: if you get a good quality catch can, you will be preventing a bunch of blow-by from re-entering your CTD's engine. Even if the regeneration will burn that crap out, I would rather not cyclically build up gunk in there.

Also, my vanity plates arrived today: MRBRFST, as my ubiquitous "mrbrefast" username on many a forum deserved a more visible spot in my life:



:grin:


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

Thanks for the update and pics!


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## pandrad61 (Jul 8, 2015)

is the mann filter a common one? i have used mann filters on my motorcycles for years with great experince


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

Tonight I ordered the KermaTDI tune for my Cruze (which, as I understand it, is actually the Duramax Tuning option):



Very excited!!!!!!!


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

mrbrefast said:


> Tonight I ordered the KermaTDI tune for my Cruze (which, as I understand it, is actually the Duramax Tuning option):
> 
> 
> 
> Very excited!!!!!!!


Let me know if you can initiate a manual regen with this.


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## BlueTopaz (Aug 25, 2012)

Nice thread and you picked a really cool color!


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

*Cruze diesel KermaTDI flash tune installation instructions*



diesel said:


> Let me know if you can initiate a manual regen with this.


As part of the following, I am still waiting on a full manual for this product as I do not know how to use even half of it. They are looking into it for me, but I am not going to give up until I get the full manual because I paid the full price to get the full product :angry:

So, diesel, I will let you know just as soon as I know!

So it has been a bit of a frustrating experience as the instructions on the Kerma site were wrong; the initial unit they sent was either defective or (more likely, given the incorrect instructions) COULDN'T work given I was told the wrong things to do. So they gave me a $50 credit and sent me a replacement unit and gave me the following instructions directly from the tuner, DuramaxTuning, which I am reproducing here for the benefit of other people who get this awesome tune:



> Cruze Tune Installation
> SPADE tune installation requires the ability to follow instructions, and is a beginner’s level installation. Installation videos can be viewed on our website under the Product Installation section. In order to install your tune you will need the following items: SPADE, and OBD2 cable.
> 
> 
> ...


On the subject of THIS AWESOME TUNE, allow me to just say: 

The 2015 (and from reading other forum posts, the 2014 as well) Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel, or CTD, has this annoying aspect to its stock tune: there is a noticeable and at times dangerous lag to its initial power when you're accelerating from a stop or at least in first gear. It forces you to choose between fuel efficient gentle acceleration or STOMPING on the pedal to safely merge with traffic - I didn't like either option. This tune offers three levels, and I agree with what other parties have said elsewhere - the Economy tune isn't noticeable; the Sport tune is WAY too much extra power so that you'll always blast off when you even breathe at the throttle; whereas the Sport Economy middle tune is perfect. You get immediate power when you throttle up and it seems to shift more quickly in general (and I actually liked the Aisin transmission besides its first gear woes). From my initial test drive, with a lot of fast acceleration up BIG hills and also stop and go... both the live MPG counter and the 50 mile MPG average counter showed gains, which also matches the claims I have read of between 1-3 MPG gain with this middle tune. In short, for turning an already awesome daily driver and distance trip car into even more fun... this tune can't be beat.


I will post further updates as I drive more with it, but since this car will be fully garaged over the winter, I don't know how much longer that will be in 2015 

Get one and get to tuning, people:





BlueTopaz said:


> Nice thread and you picked a really cool color! :smile:


You're too sweet :grin:


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

*Amsoil Cold Flow Improver*

Tonight I jockeyed cars a lot in the driveway and killed my 50 mile average fuel efficiency 

Does anyone have a good idea of why our cars tend to burn so much fuel when idling? My old 96 TDI, I swear, would actually *GAIN* fuel when it idled, it burned so little....

I also saw the weather forecast for tomorrow here (snow!! :grin: ) and so I put some Amsoil Cold Flow Improver into the fuel tank to prevent problems as it could get below 20 degrees tomorrow night and I don't plan on driving the Cruze after road salt has hit:



Does anyone have any preferred or known-bad additives for their Cruze? I have the *********** Service Diesel Kleen and loved it for my TDI; I will switch to that after I finally use up the last of my Amsoil.


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## KpaxFAQ (Sep 1, 2013)

I use AMSoil's diesel additives. I've used powerservice in a pinch. 

I put 3oz of the injector cleaner and 3oz of the cetane boost every fill up.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

I have never used an additive in my fuel. It started fine in all the temps it was exposed to overnight outside. Coldest was -9F.


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

Test parked the Cruze in the Harbor Freight carport tonight, where it shall live out the winter unmolested by road salt:



Any ideas or suggestions on how often to start it over the winter, and how long to let it idle as part of that?


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## KpaxFAQ (Sep 1, 2013)

mrbrefast said:


> Test parked the Cruze in the Harbor Freight carport tonight, where it shall live out the winter unmolested by road salt:
> 
> 
> 
> Any ideas or suggestions on how often to start it over the winter, and how long to let it idle as part of that?




Dont start it. Just put a cheap battery tender on the battery and call it good.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

KpaxFAQ said:


> Dont start it. Just put a cheap battery tender on the battery and call it good.


After thinking about it for a while, I would say I agree with this recommendation as well. If you're not going to be driving it, I think that starting it once in a while would probably cause more harm than good. First off, i don't think you could ever get the engine up to operating temperature without putting a load on it so you are likely to gunk up your sensors and exhaust components. Plus you will likely build up acidity in the engine oil. So yeah, leave it sit with a tender until you are ready to drive it again in the spring, then just start it up and go for it.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

diesel said:


> I have never used an additive in my fuel. It started fine in all the temps it was exposed to overnight outside. Coldest was -9F.


The only time ours didn't start was the one night early this year where it dropped to -16F. It isn't particularly thrilled about running in negative temps, but other than that morning, it started. Had to get some Diesel-911 to thaw it out, as it got to a high of a whole 4F. 20 minutes after pouring it in, started right up. Any really cold night after that we parked it in the garage, which is insulated.


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## Canadian Cruzer (Oct 27, 2014)

You seem like you are the type that wants to keep your car looking new! To that end i'm wondering if you noticed the small hook on the inside of the fuel filler door. It is there to hang the fuel caps tether so that you never scratch or mar the side of your car when re-fueling or adding additives. Cool feature.


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## KpaxFAQ (Sep 1, 2013)

diesel said:


> After thinking about it for a while, I would say I agree with this recommendation as well. If you're not going to be driving it, I think that starting it once in a while would probably cause more harm than good. First off, i don't think you could ever get the engine up to operating temperature without putting a load on it so you are likely to gunk up your sensors and exhaust components. Plus you will likely build up acidity in the engine oil. So yeah, leave it sit with a tender until you are ready to drive it again in the spring, then just start it up and go for it.


Yeah starting an engine just to breifly idle it is the worst thing you could do, One other thing I'd do is I'd fill my tank to the brim before you put it away and yes spend the extra time trickling it to the very top.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

KpaxFAQ said:


> Yeah starting an engine just to breifly idle it is the worst thing you could do, One other thing I'd do is I'd fill my tank to the brim before you put it away and yes spend the extra time trickling it to the very top.


i am usually able to get 3 gallons or more in after the nozzle clicks off. it takes about 5-10 minutes.


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

KpaxFAQ said:


> Dont start it. Just put a cheap battery tender on the battery and call it good.





diesel said:


> After thinking about it for a while, I would say I agree with this recommendation as well. If you're not going to be driving it, I think that starting it once in a while would probably cause more harm than good. First off, i don't think you could ever get the engine up to operating temperature without putting a load on it so you are likely to gunk up your sensors and exhaust components. Plus you will likely build up acidity in the engine oil. So yeah, leave it sit with a tender until you are ready to drive it again in the spring, then just start it up and go for it.


A battery tender, I was going to do anyways but it is good to have my thoughts confirmed. Being projecty... I will likely run an electrical conduit under the gravel parking lot from the garage to the carport so I have outlets in there... and maybe an overhead light as well :grin:

What about brake component rust? Any ideas on best way to prevent that?



Canadian Cruzer said:


> You seem like you are the type that wants to keep your car looking new! To that end i'm wondering if you noticed the small hook on the inside of the fuel filler door. It is there to hang the fuel caps tether so that you never scratch or mar the side of your car when re-fueling or adding additives. Cool feature.


I had no idea, and this is awesome advice, thanks so much!! Proof I learned from your wisdom: 







KpaxFAQ said:


> Yeah starting an engine just to breifly idle it is the worst thing you could do, One other thing I'd do is I'd fill my tank to the brim before you put it away and yes spend the extra time trickling it to the very top.





diesel said:


> i am usually able to get 3 gallons or more in after the nozzle clicks off. it takes about 5-10 minutes.


What is the benefit to filling it so full? And that is interesting, my old Passat had a fuel vent I was able to remove and more easily fit many more gallons of fuel. Is there a similar mod for our Cruze TDs?


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## KpaxFAQ (Sep 1, 2013)

mrbrefast said:


> A battery tender, I was going to do anyways but it is good to have my thoughts confirmed. Being projecty... I will likely run an electrical conduit under the gravel parking lot from the garage to the carport so I have outlets in there... and maybe an overhead light as well :grin:
> 
> What about brake component rust? Any ideas on best way to prevent that?
> 
> ...


H
just like outdoor power equipment a full tank leaves less space for air/condensation build up during temperature changes


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

I have to say, as a general point: after some initially higher MPG with the sport economy middle tune from the KermaTDI tuner... I seem to be getting worse efficiency than stock. Not sure if I am just enjoying the power too much or what. I will keep track and post updates over time with more data.



KpaxFAQ said:


> H
> just like outdoor power equipment a full tank leaves less space for air/condensation build up during temperature changes


Good to know, I will likely try this... eventually... because the winter weather hasn't kicked in yet. It was 52 degrees today in the heart of the snowbelt in northeast Ohio :angry:

(Disclaimer: I love the snow like nobody's business, which is why the above angry face reflects my angry face as I type this out)

In any event, I took advantage of the warm weather to wash the Cruze and then touch up a few places on the exterior with wax; and also to do the closer, _Doors Open Detail_:



...I have meant to do for a while:

-wax all metal that isn't exterior panels (so inside the door frames, underside of hood, strut towers, inside the trunk where there is exposed metal, under the rear license plate.... EVERYWHERE)
-scrub the wheels and dry them, to wax the **** out of them because ~~shiny~~
-RainX buffed into all the glass super carefully

All of that got done even as the sun went down, and now the car looks SUPER gorgeous (and, oddly, bronze or brown in this photo):



Looks like, lack of snowfall-willing, I'll just have to keep driving it to work and making every MAD jealous 

Though that said, I DID do a very spirited thing the other night to my Christmasbaru, which is perhaps a more fitting daily driver for the month of December......


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## KpaxFAQ (Sep 1, 2013)

mrbrefast said:


> I have to say, as a general point: after some initially higher MPG with the sport economy middle tune from the KermaTDI tuner... I seem to be getting worse efficiency than stock. Not sure if I am just enjoying the power too much or what. I will keep track and post updates over time with more data.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Where in NE OH are you? You know where I'm at obviously. Can't be too far away. I love snow as well except for what the salt does to our vehicles! Looks like you got that covered. A good hand wax makes such a difference. It's been a couple months since I last waxed and it's still clearly obvious how much shinier my car is at work parked next to all the un-waxed vehicles. It's amazing actually how long it lasts especially if you put a 2nd coat on after the first within a month or so I've found. I also avoid touchless car washes like the plague when I hand wax, I find it kills it. Hand washing doesn't seem to bother a thing.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

Looking good! Just finished waxing mine for the winter!


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

:angry: [email protected]


After an otherwise AWESOME day watching the original Star Wars trilogy with good friends in preparation for next weekend, a slightly foggy night conspired with a lack of reflector placed next to the large rocks lining my buddy's driveway.

This is the result, starting from the back edge of the driver's door most of the way back to the rear driver's side wheel, on the bottom edge of the rocker panel:



In one place, the indentation into the middle is approximately a quarter the width of my index finger, because **** my life:



In another place, the paint actually chipped slightly and is visible while standing next to the car, barely. 



But I work so hard on keeping this car in awesome shape, so you can imagine how frustrating an ending this is to my day.


[email protected] :angry:


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

That sucks, sorry to hear about that. Not that it's relevant to you, but something similar happened to mine. I just slapped some touch up paint on it and went on my merry way. It's just patina to me. 

Will your insurance fix you up?


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## spaycace (Feb 9, 2012)

buttons252 said:


> I am also curious. A friend of mine has a 2012 loaded TDI jetta. I use to own a 2004 VW Passat 1.8T GLS. I loved that passat, but my friends newer jetta doesnt feel like a quality made car to me. Compared to my passat, feels like its been cheapened a lot. I sat in a loaded 2014 cruze TDI yesterday and it felt very nice.
> 
> 4-6 months from now i am going to wrestle with which new car to get... a 2013 volt, 2011 eco cruze, 2014+ TDI cruze ... or just have one car and no car payments...


I'm not sure what you're looking for when you list the cars you're looking at purchasing ... but having owned both a Cruze Eco and a Volt, I can honestly say that they are both very nice cars to drive. Even though I'm not a "typical" Volt driver (meaning I drive 120 miles round trip for work) the car is at a lifetime average mpg of 59. Before the Volt, the 2012 Eco manual we had that we traded for the Volt was at 39 mpg lifetime average after 60,000 miles. Not knowing how reliable the Volt will be once it gets even more miles on it, I think if I were to choose from the vehicles you have listed ... I'd go with the Diesel if you plan to own the car "until it drops" which is also what my friend (a former GM certified Master Mechanic) said he would recommend when asked him which vehicle HE would purchase between a Cruze TD or an Eco manual. Maintenance over the long haul on a diesel will be less expensive also.


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## GlennGlenn (Nov 27, 2015)

spaycace said:


> I'm not sure what you're looking for when you list the cars you're looking at purchasing ... but having owned both a Cruze Eco and a Volt, I can honestly say that they are both very nice cars to drive. Even though I'm not a "typical" Volt driver (meaning I drive 120 miles round trip for work) the car is at a lifetime average mpg of 59. Before the Volt, the 2012 Eco manual we had that we traded for the Volt was at 39 mpg lifetime average after 60,000 miles. Not knowing how reliable the Volt will be once it gets even more miles on it, I think if I were to choose from the vehicles you have listed ... I'd go with the Diesel if you plan to own the car "until it drops" which is also what my friend (a former GM certified Master Mechanic) said he would recommend when asked him which vehicle HE would purchase between a Cruze TD or an Eco manual. Maintenance over the long haul on a diesel will be less expensive also.



X2, I was down to a used Passat TDI with only 7,500 miles on it, Premium SEL with cold weather package, a 2015 Volt leftover and a 2015 CTD. Took the CTD after driving all three. Picked her up yesterday and got it from dealer who,does a LOT of diesels and has two dedicated full time diesel mechanics . Got all options except for Safety ( blind spot etc.) which I won't use anyway. On way home car was showing 50 plus mpg at 70 mph.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

GlennGlenn said:


> X2, I was down to a used Passat TDI with only 7,500 miles on it, Premium SEL with cold weather package, a 2015 Volt leftover and a 2015 CTD. Took the CTD after driving all three. Picked her up yesterday and got it from dealer who,does a LOT of diesels and has two dedicated full time diesel mechanics . Got all options except for Safety ( blind spot etc.) which I won't use anyway. On way home car was showing 50 plus mpg at 70 mph.


Congrats on the purchase! I hope you enjoy it as much as I'm enjoying mine!


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

spaycace said:


> Maintenance over the long haul on a diesel will be less expensive also.


not so sure aboot that.

1 crazy emissions related repair and the gasser is ahead.


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

*Repairs, complete.*

$275 later, the scratches are completely fixed; the paint chips are repaired and the replacement paint is feathered in (though such a new car doesn't have any appreciable fading, especially as it has been garaged almost all the way through).

The dents are still there (I didn't want to pay ~$400 more to have those fixed but as part of the process, having the temporary welds cook off the internal corrosion protection for the rocker panel channels):



The paint was mixed with ChipGuard (I believe that was the product he used) along the entire underside of the rocker panel, to prevent future issues of chips on the car). You can see the dimples from the product here, it looks to me like a smoother and less noticeable version of the Rhinoliner they use in a lot of truck beds:



If you're crouched all the way down and looking, you can see the dent from the side of the car; but I do not think it was worth that money to have them fix it at this time. If (God forbid) I ever end up in an accident, such repairs might just include the dent fix....


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

mrbrefast said:


> $275 later, the scratches are completely fixed; the paint chips are repaired and the replacement paint is feathered in (though such a new car doesn't have any appreciable fading, especially as it has been garaged almost all the way through).
> 
> The dents are still there (I didn't want to pay ~$400 more to have those fixed but as part of the process, having the temporary welds cook off the internal corrosion protection for the rocker panel channels):
> 
> ...


Looks much better!


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

So two nights ago it finally started to dump rain all across NE OH...



... meaning all the salt is washed away, and my Cruze can come out to be my daily again 

I added a small improvement to the car, a Husky liner for the trunk deck. Even though I have rather junky floor mats for the car proper and don't care (as this is the fair weather car), I want a very solid protector for the trunk deck, and so:



Generally speaking, I have doubled my fuel efficiency since Wednesday driving the Subaru and that is so, so very pleasing:



General news of interest is tripartite:
1) I am now an Amsoil Dealer (so feel free to contact me if you're local to Northeast Ohio and are interested), meaning Amsoil products will start to be used in my car... I am even considering swapping out the transmission fluid at like 5000 miles just to get the best possible fluid into the trans....

2) I am now a distributor of Fumoto's newer consumer-level product, their EZ Oil Drain Valves. These are identical to the Fumoto brass valves except they're slightly cheaper and are designed with passenger vehicles in mind - they have a removable drain nipple to reduce the profile of the valve:



My Cruze will get an oil change at 5000 miles to get Amsoil into the engine, and I plan to install the Fumoto at that point. Pictures and videos to follow - and feel free to contact me if you're interested in buying an EZ Oil Drain Valve!

Finally, and related to the above: 3) I am a registered small business owner for car [and computer] repair, especially focusing on maintenance for folks!! This has made for a SUPER busy 5 weeks up until now but it is almost all set up. This is definitely a side business but I am quite excited about this big step in my life!!! :grin:

Short version though: the Cruze is so much fun to be driving again :eusa_clap:


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

Can you tell me more about that little pop up garage tent you have it in? I am considering some options for increasing my garage space, and something like that is a consideration.


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## txcruze26 (Jul 7, 2015)

Nice build thread! looking forward to more updates!


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

diesel said:


> Can you tell me more about that little pop up garage tent you have it in? I am considering some options for increasing my garage space, and something like that is a consideration.


Sure - it is the Harbor Freight carport, modified with a few things (square 2 gallon buckets dug into the ground, quik-crete poured into them, and installed threaded rods in them for the pre-drilled mounting holes on the feet of carport legs to bolt onto). It has withstood atypically high levels of gale force winds over the unsettlingly bad weather these past 4 months.

Maintenance includes: knocking snow off periodically and that is it. So far, no issues or problems, it stays bone dry inside and the car stays safe and clean!


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

mrbrefast said:


> Sure - it is the Harbor Freight carport, modified with a few things (square 2 gallon buckets dug into the ground, quik-crete poured into them, and installed threaded rods in them for the pre-drilled mounting holes on the feet of carport legs to bolt onto). It has withstood atypically high levels of gale force winds over the unsettlingly bad weather these past 4 months.
> 
> Maintenance includes: knocking snow off periodically and that is it. So far, no issues or problems, it stays bone dry inside and the car stays safe and clean!


Very cool!


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

Well, earlier this week, now that the last round of snow in Ohio melted and then rains washed away the salt, my Cruze has been back on the road and indeed has hit 5,000 miles:



Yesterday, after filling the car with 13.5 gallons of diesel from a BP near a highway (therefore more quality fuel for NE OH, in a station with consistently new fuel), I decided to add a little bit of both the Amsoil injector cleaner and the Amsoil cetane boost I just got, to keep the car running smoothly. Within 3 miles of driving, I tossed engine code P0172 before the car got to 5200 miles:



My thinking is: the fuel was already a sufficiently high cetane level, so boosting it actually caused the P0172 code for running rich, as the cetane is too high?
@*XtremeRevolution*, maybe you can offer some Amsoilian insight here?


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## IndyDiesel (May 24, 2015)

I don't get why add an addictive? GM doesn't recommend it, I never quite understand why go against recommendation of the folks that manufacture your car.


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

Because they aren't always correct. Look at all the lifetime fill items there are and that's impossible.


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## oldestof11 (Apr 3, 2016)

Cetane is, to my understanding, how easy it is to ignite. Easier igniting, more complete burn.


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

IndyDiesel said:


> I don't get why add an addictive? GM doesn't recommend it, I never quite understand why go against recommendation of the folks that manufacture your car.


While I do understand concerns over "using an engine as it was designed," I also previously owned a very high mileage TDI (264,000 miles when sold). I added 2-stroke motor oil into that, as well as Power Service additive, neither of which are anywhere close to suggested by VW... and that engine burned so clean that the Ohio Emissions Check guys ran the tailpipe test 3 times because they feared their equipment was bad. I am not adding 2-stroke oil to this car (yet) as it is still under warranty and all the emissions equipment may not like combined oils as fuel. But cetane boost does make diesel burn cleaner and easier; and injector clean will keep the spray patterns clean and centered - both of which should make the car run a lot better, for a lot longer, without ever needing to rebuild the engine.

Which is why it is so odd to have tossed that engine code so immediately.


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## IndyDiesel (May 24, 2015)

mrbrefast said:


> While I do understand concerns over "using an engine as it was designed," I also previously owned a very high mileage TDI (264,000 miles when sold). I added 2-stroke motor oil into that, as well as Power Service additive, neither of which are anywhere close to suggested by VW... and that engine burned so clean that the Ohio Emissions Check guys ran the tailpipe test 3 times because they feared their equipment was bad. I am not adding 2-stroke oil to this car (yet) as it is still under warranty and all the emissions equipment may not like combined oils as fuel. But cetane boost does make diesel burn cleaner and easier; and injector clean will keep the spray patterns clean and centered - both of which should make the car run a lot better, for a lot longer, without ever needing to rebuild the engine.
> 
> Which is why it is so odd to have tossed that engine code so immediately.


Your comparison is apples and oranges, both fruit but no correlation at all. With 5000 miles to think you need addictives of any kind is not a good idea in my view. Best of luck sorting out the issue. I won't add anything to my fuel for this CTD. The emissions systems on this car is very sensitive and nothing like your old TDI. 

i had a 95 Mercedes diesel with over 250k miles and I used power service on a regular basis, won't use anything on my CTD.


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## IndyDiesel (May 24, 2015)

I find it laughable folks think they know more than the engineers that designed a car, I was educated as an engineer and understand this emissions equipment is sensitive, in my view adding junk in your systems on a older generation diesel with much more basic emissions was probably ok, this CTD emissions is far from simple.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

mrbrefast said:


> Well, earlier this week, now that the last round of snow in Ohio melted and then rains washed away the salt, my Cruze has been back on the road and indeed has hit 5,000 miles:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It does make sense that it threw a code like that but it's hard to know for certain. I don't think I've ever seen that code posted on this forum for the diesel Cruze before. I have 163K miles on mine and never used an additive. Only drivetrain issue I had requiring parts replacement was an exhaust gas temperature sensor which is completely unrelated to fuel. No other failures and original everything. I would recommend never using any additives, based on my experience.


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## oldestof11 (Apr 3, 2016)

IndyDiesel said:


> I find it laughable folks think they know more than the engineers that designed a car, I was educated as an engineer and understand this emissions equipment is sensitive, in my view adding junk in your systems on a older generation diesel with much more basic emissions was probably ok, this CTD emissions is far from simple.


Engineers also live in a controlled environment. It is a well known FACT that US diesel is of subpar quality compared to Euro or even Canadian diesel. Look at all the CP4.x failures GM, Ford, and VW experienced when it was introduced circa 2013. All claimed the water content in the fuel was the cause and denied warranty claims until it was shown in Bosch standards that the fuel quality nationwide wasnt the same as the test standards. After a couple class action lawsuits, all these warranty denials have become almost silent.


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## IndyDiesel (May 24, 2015)

oldestof11 said:


> Engineers also live in a controlled environment. It is a well known FACT that US diesel is of subpar quality compared to Euro or even Canadian diesel. Look at all the CP4.x failures GM, Ford, and VW experienced when it was introduced circa 2013. All claimed the water content in the fuel was the cause and denied warranty claims until it was shown in Bosch standards that the fuel quality nationwide wasnt the same as the test standards. After a couple class action lawsuits, all these warranty denials have become almost silent.


Engineers are not perfect by any means, but your thinking makes little sense to me. We have a member here with excess of 163k miles no addictives and virtually no problems. Op here little over 5k miles, adds addictives to fuel and has a problem. I follow GM engineers in addition to others following their recommendations with positive results. Sometimes folks just try to fix a perceived problem that doesn't really exist and in turn create a problem by their own actions. I can't say with certainty that happened here.


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## Dunebuggy09 (Apr 13, 2016)

This is what I found on the engine codes.


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

Dunebuggy09 said:


> This is what I found on the engine codes.


http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/201-diesel-technical-discussion/154689-diagnostic-codes.html


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## Chris Tobin (Feb 23, 2016)

oldestof11 said:


> Engineers also live in a controlled environment. It is a well known FACT that US diesel is of subpar quality compared to Euro or even Canadian diesel. Look at all the CP4.x failures GM, Ford, and VW experienced when it was introduced circa 2013. All claimed the water content in the fuel was the cause and denied warranty claims until it was shown in Bosch standards that the fuel quality nationwide wasnt the same as the test standards. After a couple class action lawsuits, all these warranty denials have become almost silent.


The Cruze Diesel uses a CP1 variant which is much more robust that the CP4!


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

IndyDiesel said:


> Engineers are not perfect by any means, but your thinking makes little sense to me. We have a member here with excess of 163k miles no addictives and virtually no problems. Op here little over 5k miles, adds addictives to fuel and has a problem. I follow GM engineers in addition to others following their recommendations with positive results. Sometimes folks just try to fix a perceived problem that doesn't really exist and in turn create a problem by their own actions. I can't say with certainty that happened here.


the fuel in us is hot garbage

if it wasnt the fuel, why arent the occurences of vw hpfp failures at the same rate in canada vs usa?


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

Canadian diesel is supposed to be legit. Not sure though because it's all I have


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## IndyDiesel (May 24, 2015)

boraz said:


> the fuel in us is hot garbage
> 
> if it wasnt the fuel, why arent the occurences of vw hpfp failures at the same rate in canada vs usa?


Diesel fuel in the United States is not hot garbage. I have had zero issues with fuel. I wouldn't use VW as a basis for determing fuel quality. This OP probably wouldn't have any issues if he hadn't added junk in his fuel, I would argue that is what threw the code. I think some just over think issues and your actions create more problems. I am finding this forum bittersweet, bitter that many of the problems are self inflicted sweet in the sense it's nice to hear issues and solutions. I am starting to consider leaving the forum, not sure it is worth my time and listening to utter nonsense about half the time.


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

IndyDiesel said:


> Diesel fuel in the United States is not hot garbage. I have had zero issues with fuel. I wouldn't use VW as a basis for determing fuel quality. This OP probably wouldn't have any issues if he hadn't added junk in his fuel, I would argue that is what threw the code. I think some just over think issues and your actions create more problems. I am finding this forum bittersweet, bitter that many of the problems are self inflicted sweet in the sense it's nice to hear issues and solutions. I am starting to consider leaving the forum, not sure it is worth my time and listening to utter nonsense about half the time.


You've certainly been a pleasant and solely-constructive contributor to *my* thread thus far - so I am sure you'll help balance out the bitterness!


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

IndyDiesel said:


> Diesel fuel in the United States is not hot garbage. I have had zero issues with fuel. I wouldn't use VW as a basis for determing fuel quality. This OP probably wouldn't have any issues if he hadn't added junk in his fuel, I would argue that is what threw the code. I think some just over think issues and your actions create more problems. I am finding this forum bittersweet, bitter that many of the problems are self inflicted sweet in the sense it's nice to hear issues and solutions. I am starting to consider leaving the forum, not sure it is worth my time and listening to utter nonsense about half the time.


Stick around. Most of the stuff on this forum is good stuff, and you contribute positively as far as I am concerned. 


@mrbrefast What's your next move on this?


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

diesel said:


> @mrbrefast What's your next move on this?


I immediately cleared the code with my ScanGauge after getting it and it hasn't come back in ~85 miles of driving since. I have intentionally driven the card a little harder to get EGTs up and burn more of everything out (which the cetane boost is likely going to help do anyways). I also have the 350 mile trip down to Arlington VA on Thursday afternoon which will be IMMEDIATELY after my car will go through a regen anyways... so I suspect that for all of the above reasons, the car will soon be QUITE purged of those additives.

Even still, I am not at all worried and frankly glad to have run the cleaner through the system this early, to work to keep the fuel injection system clean. I may actually try future tests: adding ONLY injector clean on one tank, and then ONLY cetane boost on the next, and see which tank tosses a future code. The rich condition does make sense, of course (engine thinks too much fuel based on the cetane boosting and doesn't pull in extra air to compensate).

@*IndyDiesel*, I am not sure why or how you've got such a negative view of additives, excepting that clean diesel emissions systems are indeed more complicated than a typical engine... but I have multiple friends who tow with 2015 and 2016 Ram 2500 HD's with the newest emissions systems and their trucks run better at idle, under normal load, and with extreme load (12,000+ lbs) with Amsoil and other additives for injector cleaning AND cetane boosting. They see better fuel efficiency and notice that they're rolling less coal (for the tuned guys) - so it very well may be that for the Cruze CTD in particular, additives are actually not great - but it is not correct to decry additives in general. It is worth noting: Ram also doesn't suggest any additives. All I can do is try and see how it goes.

Less immediately, I have this question of additives on the CTD out to my buddy, a GM engineer who actually worked on the Colorado diesel that just came out, to see if he can provide more context.


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## IndyDiesel (May 24, 2015)

mrbrefast said:


> I immediately cleared the code with my ScanGauge after getting it and it hasn't come back in ~85 miles of driving since. I have intentionally driven the card a little harder to get EGTs up and burn more of everything out (which the cetane boost is likely going to help do anyways). I also have the 350 mile trip down to Arlington VA on Thursday afternoon which will be IMMEDIATELY after my car will go through a regen anyways... so I suspect that for all of the above reasons, the car will soon be QUITE purged of those additives.
> 
> Even still, I am not at all worried and frankly glad to have run the cleaner through the system this early, to work to keep the fuel injection system clean. I may actually try future tests: adding ONLY injector clean on one tank, and then ONLY cetane boost on the next, and see which tank tosses a future code. The rich condition does make sense, of course (engine thinks too much fuel based on the cetane boosting and doesn't pull in extra air to compensate).
> 
> ...


It is very simple, I read my owners manual and follow it, if it says Dexos 2 oil, I use Dexos 2 oil, if it says no additives, I do not use additives. This make believe stuff that our diesel fuel is junk is just nonsense. GM made our Cruze diesel to run on our fuel. I personally am not a fan of Amsoil, just my opinion, not based on any fact, just an opinion. I don't like stuff I cant find on a local shelf. my opinion there isn't a problem so I don't put stuff in my tank that GM says not too. I have used additives on older tech stuff that was much more forgiving with emissions.

Others are welcome to put whatever they like in their fuel tanks. I am very happy with my CTD, I don't like to experiment with it. I have read several threads with folks having serious issues, if I have serious issues it wont be because I didn't follow GM recommendations. Some on the forum think they know more than the engineers that designed our car, I find that just has zero merit.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

mrbrefast said:


> I immediately cleared the code with my ScanGauge after getting it and it hasn't come back in ~85 miles of driving since. I have intentionally driven the card a little harder to get EGTs up and burn more of everything out (which the cetane boost is likely going to help do anyways). I also have the 350 mile trip down to Arlington VA on Thursday afternoon which will be IMMEDIATELY after my car will go through a regen anyways... so I suspect that for all of the above reasons, the car will soon be QUITE purged of those additives.
> 
> Even still, I am not at all worried and frankly glad to have run the cleaner through the system this early, to work to keep the fuel injection system clean. I may actually try future tests: adding ONLY injector clean on one tank, and then ONLY cetane boost on the next, and see which tank tosses a future code. The rich condition does make sense, of course (engine thinks too much fuel based on the cetane boosting and doesn't pull in extra air to compensate).
> 
> Less immediately, I have this question of additives on the CTD out to my buddy, a GM engineer who actually worked on the Colorado diesel that just came out, to see if he can provide more context.


Nothing wrong with experimenting - many people on here are doing that to varying degrees. i am curious to see what you discover. I am also interested to know what your engineer friend has to say about all this.


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

IndyDiesel said:


> It is very simple, I read my owners manual and follow it, if it says Dexos 2 oil, I use Dexos 2 oil, if it says no additives, I do not use additives. This make believe stuff that our diesel fuel is junk is just nonsense. GM made our Cruze diesel to run on our fuel... my opinion there isn't a problem so I don't put stuff in my tank that GM says not too. I have used additives on older tech stuff that was much more forgiving with emissions...


So I just found this now as I was doing further searching. It is GM's bulletin about additives for the 2.0 Cruze and 6.6 Duramax engines:



Tomko said:


> With thanks to flapjack.
> 
> https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B--SKyVbN9DJMnVrdnNkeWdmZ1E/preview?pli=1


The important lines here are as follows for folks who don't want to open the link:



> "Diesel fuel additives are not required or recommended...under normal conditions."
> 
> "However, some customers may desire to use fuel additives to improve the characteristics of available diesel fuels"
> 
> ...


All of those read, to me, as saying "while you don't NEED to and we don't want to tell you that you SHOULD use additives... the best performance and longevity of the engine and its components will certainly not be hurt by the use of additives." 

In short: yes, the engine is designed to run without anything added in, but you're able to add in whatever you'd like within their parameters (which Amsoil's stuff falls within)...



XtremeRevolution said:


> I got a response back from AMSOIL technical services.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


... so my using these products alone should not have caused me to have the engine code.

That said, it also makes me realize that I *do* have a tuned engine, so it could be that the presumably faster fuel injection plus the cetane boost is what caused that code.



diesel said:


> Nothing wrong with experimenting - many people on here are doing that to varying degrees. i am curious to see what you discover. I am also interested to know what your engineer friend has to say about all this.


I too am curious to see what happens - and will keep updates coming as I get them.


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## 1877 iris ave (Sep 23, 2011)

i have used both of those additives regularly since my 2014 CTD was new. Now at 25000 miles. No codes, no problems with emission system.


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## 1877 iris ave (Sep 23, 2011)

ps. mine is also tuned by trifecta.


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## IndyDiesel (May 24, 2015)

I don't think the duramax and our diesel in Cruze may have different stuff in owners manual, I just read the Cruze owners manual and I don't see anything in regard to additives for Diesel Fuel mentioned, altho I didn't read every word. To each is own, I don't plan to add anything to my fuel on my CTD.

I would be interested what the baby duramax engineers thoughts are as well, from my understanding the duramax family of diesels are made by a totally different manufacture so its specs for fuel could be different than the cruze CTD as it relates to additves.

Just my personal opinion to not add something unless there is truly a need, we can differ whether there is a need for it, its all cool.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

mrbrefast said:


> That said, it also makes me realize that I *do* have a tuned engine, so it could be that the presumably faster fuel injection plus the cetane boost is what caused that code..


All bets are off now! lol


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

As follow up, I got back from my lengthy trip down to VA on Sunday night.

I drove ~1000 miles over the entire trip. I had a regen occur during the early part of the trip down through PA and the mountains there, so PLENTY of exhaust gas temps to help burn it clean. I fueled up before the trip from NE Ohio down to Arlington VA and got my best yet MPG average and hovered around 50mpg for the entire highway trip:



Once in Arlington, I had to do a pile of city driving to pick up my friends and get us down to the Shenandoah Valley National Park for our camping trip. Approximately 90 minutes south of Tyson's Corner, VA, I refueled at BP without putting in additives after the lengthy trip down to VA and the regen at the beginning of the trip - and *within 3 miles of refuel, the P0172 running rich code struck again*.

After torrential downpour in the Park overnight, at 3800 feet elevation the fog became a cloud that didn't clear as the day wore on. This was the worst I have ever driven in, and further makes me rue my lack of front or rear fog lights on this otherwise awesome car:



So: the additive doesn't seem a likely candidate for causing the engine code. The tune may be the cause, but why would it only strike now?


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

mrbrefast said:


> As follow up, I got back from my lengthy trip down to VA on Sunday night.
> 
> I drove ~1000 miles over the entire trip. I had a regen occur during the early part of the trip down through PA and the mountains there, so PLENTY of exhaust gas temps to help burn it clean. I fueled up before the trip from NE Ohio down to Arlington VA and got my best yet MPG average and hovered around 50mpg for the entire highway trip:
> 
> ...


probably very specific set of circumstances that throw the code.


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

diesel said:


> probably very specific set of circumstances that throw the code.


Indeed - both times the code popped, I refueled at BP and was gentle on the throttle immediately after. I have refueled at BP previously, and never had the issue. I wonder what else has changed? The air temperature is warmer, I suppose. Otherwise: nothing for ~4000 miles of driving has changed besides using the two additives....


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## starspangled6.0 (Apr 16, 2016)

Great thread you've got going on here! 

I too am a big fan of a) using AMSOIL products, and b) tinkering with the already-designed product in order to attempt to make it better. I find it quite difficult to leave my vehicles stock . Coming from a commercial landscaping world (built, bought, and sold landscaping firms), I can certainly attest to the difference high-quality additives can have in an extreme environment. Lower operating temps, smoother shifting performance, and even quieter diesel engines- all because of AMSOIL products.

I'm wondering if BP itself is the only thing causing you to have that engine code. I've run across this several times over the years, where a certain brand of fuel will cause an "upset stomach" in my trucks, and it even happened for my Cruze last week after filling up at a cheap gas station right outside post. 


Question- have you looked further into swapping the trans fluid? I think the owner's manual says to avoid this, due to the difficulty, but that makes it more tempting .


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

starspangled6.0 said:


> Question- have you looked further into swapping the trans fluid? I think the owner's manual says to avoid this, due to the difficulty, but that makes it more tempting .


It's actually pretty easy http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/169-...ion-fluid-diesel-aw-af-40-6-transmission.html


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

starspangled6.0 said:


> ...
> 
> I'm wondering if BP itself is the only thing causing you to have that engine code. I've run across this several times over the years, where a certain brand of fuel will cause an "upset stomach" in my trucks, and it even happened for my Cruze last week after filling up at a cheap gas station right outside post.
> 
> Question- have you looked further into swapping the trans fluid? I think the owner's manual says to avoid this, due to the difficulty, but that makes it more tempting :smile:.


So I had only encountered the engine code from BP fuel, both with and without Amsoil additives, and both immediately after a fillup or 50-100 miles into a tank of fuel (maybe 5 or 6 times has the code come up, now). Two nights ago, I fueled up at a Speedway for lack of options and added Amsoil - and immediately after fuel up, it tossed the P0172 code. No clear pattern of causation here (different brands; with or without additives; at idle and while boosting at highway speeds). If it was the tune I would have assumed I would have seen problems over the ~4500 miles I have driven it with the tune.

As for transmission fluid - this project will happen soon, as will figuring out how to plumb in a spin-on filter for the trans fluid. Because of the following link and reading about the HORRIBLE quality of the drained OEM fluid, I fear letting the transmission chew itself apart over time without a filter in line.



diesel said:


> It's actually pretty easy http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/169-...ion-fluid-diesel-aw-af-40-6-transmission.html


This is AWESOME, thank you. It will be done very soon.

Along those lines: I hit 7000 miles today, with the oil life indicator pointing to 5% oil life remaining, on the stock fill. I will try and swap in the Amsoil this weekend. Perhaps two weekends from now I will tackle the above intended transmission filter add-in - and then swap THAT out for Amsoil ATF at that time.


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## starspangled6.0 (Apr 16, 2016)

Love the idea of an additional spin-on filter. Keep us posted on that project as well!


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

mrbrefast said:


> and reading about the HORRIBLE quality of the drained OEM fluid, I fear letting the transmission chew itself apart over time without a filter in line.


so how do these transmissions last 300,000 + plus miles on this "_*HORRIBLE" *_​fluid?


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## IndyDiesel (May 24, 2015)

mrbrefast said:


> So I had only encountered the engine code from BP fuel, both with and without Amsoil additives, and both immediately after a fillup or 50-100 miles into a tank of fuel (maybe 5 or 6 times has the code come up, now). Two nights ago, I fueled up at a Speedway for lack of options and added Amsoil - and immediately after fuel up, it tossed the P0172 code. No clear pattern of causation here (different brands; with or without additives; at idle and while boosting at highway speeds). If it was the tune I would have assumed I would have seen problems over the ~4500 miles I have driven it with the tune.
> 
> As for transmission fluid - this project will happen soon, as will figuring out how to plumb in a spin-on filter for the trans fluid. Because of the following link and reading about the HORRIBLE quality of the drained OEM fluid, I fear letting the transmission chew itself apart over time without a filter in line.
> 
> ...


Just my 2 cents. Adding a spin on oil filter for transmission in my mind may void your warranty, this idea that you know more than engineers that designed our CTD is insane in my mind, the only issues our CTD has that are worrisome to me are emissions related issues. I been on forum for awhile and heard of zero transmission issues on CTD, really no oil related internal engine issues I can remember either. Why would you put your own oil also not certified dexos 2 while under factory warranty? I know you may think I am crazy but I always follow Gm recommendations and if I have any issues I won't have a problem getting warranty work done. I guess to each his or her own I just think swapping out fluids so early is worrying about issues that just don't exist. Best wishes to you and hope it all works out well. 

Ohonly issue on engine I can recall is a tensioner broke and snapped a timing belt and caused major engine issues and ruined a head, none of the things I hear you doing would address an issue like that with dexos 2 or tranny fluid.


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

Oil life indicator hit 1% yesterday morning, so I finally did the first oil change on the car, at 7312 miles:



So I zipped home after work, let the car cool a little bit, and dove into the project. My general thoughts:

1) the drain plug is incredibly well-designed, as I was able to drain the oil with no mess and no contorting of my arms to get a wrench on it

2) the oil filter canister is INCREDIBLY poorly-placed, being beneath the alternator and requiring a 32mm (or 1-1/4") socket to spin it, meaning you have almost no real estate to work with:



This also ends up meaning you will necessarily be spilling some oil (into your brand new car's clean engine bay :angry: ):



But, I will say that in an economic and environmentally-wise way, I do like the notion of a replaceable filter cartridge rather than a traditional spin-on filter:



I also drained just shy of 3 ounces of oil from my catch can. I remain glad that I installed it, just to keep the system as clean as possible.


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

ROFL

umm, you're supposed to access the oil filter from the bottom, its well documented


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

boraz said:


> ROFL
> 
> umm, you're supposed to access the oil filter from the bottom, its well documented


Where? I never have. http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/169-...ibrary/40489-cruze-diesel-oil-change-diy.html


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## GlennGlenn (Nov 27, 2015)

Aren't the oil changes included on the Cruze???


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## IndyDiesel (May 24, 2015)

boraz said:


> ROFL
> 
> umm, you're supposed to access the oil filter from the bottom, its well documented


I watched my Chevy dealer tech do my first oil change, the tech changed the oil filter from the top while the other tech removed the oil pan bolt from the bottom in the pit. It worked very well.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

diesel said:


> Where? I never have. http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/169-...ibrary/40489-cruze-diesel-oil-change-diy.html


Isn't it a cartridge? Yeah, those come out the top...but they also don't make much of a mess, either.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

GlennGlenn said:


> Aren't the oil changes included on the Cruze???


For me, that was about the first 3 months with as much as I drive lol! It's 2 years/24K miles, at least on the 2014. 



MP81 said:


> Isn't it a cartridge? Yeah, those come out the top...but they also don't make much of a mess, either.


Yeah it's a cartridge that snaps into the lid.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

Okay, so the same as my Cobalt. I'd never dream of taking that one out from under the car - and I can hardly see the **** thing (supercharger is directly above it). But it comes out plenty easy from the top of the car.


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

Yesterday morning, I pulled into work 1 minute before needing to be at my desk and looked over to notice the ScanGauge showing ~1100 degrees at Exhaust Gas Temp Sensor #1 - so a regen was in progress. The soot level was only down to 12 or 13. I didn't want to turn the damned car off in the midst of that.

I messaged my boss and advised I was in the parking lot due to my car being picky (and he was cool with it, I just skipped my morning break). I let it run all the way through to 3 grams of soot and the temps fell to ~900 degrees. I turned the car off and ran in to my desk.

After work, I drove normally ~2 miles to dinner with a buddy, and then ~21 miles home. From work to dinner, the car jumped from 3 grams to 6 grams of soot. From dinner to home, again driving normally, it jumped from 6 grams to 16 grams.

Is this normal behavior for after a "skipped regen" - because I should have let the car run slightly longer?


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

mrbrefast said:


> Yesterday morning, I pulled into work 1 minute before needing to be at my desk and looked over to notice the ScanGauge showing ~1100 degrees at Exhaust Gas Temp Sensor #1 - so a regen was in progress. The soot level was only down to 12 or 13. I didn't want to turn the damned car off in the midst of that.
> 
> I messaged my boss and advised I was in the parking lot due to my car being picky (and he was cool with it, I just skipped my morning break). I let it run all the way through to 3 grams of soot and the temps fell to ~900 degrees. I turned the car off and ran in to my desk.
> 
> ...


You would have been fine to shut the car off since the regen was in progress and not in the pre-regen I posted about. I have found that if you do a low speed regen, or a regen where you aren't moving, the grams do come back faster than a highway speed regen. Nothing to worry about in any case.


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

I have finally gotten to the point that I will not deal with the ABSURD oven of my dark car with black leather interior.

Before:



After: 



I went with the Weathertech side window deflectors, which are super slim and actually look really great.

Also: hit 9,000 miles on my baby car today, after a weekend trip down to Columbus OH. Such a fun car to drive with the tune :grin:


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## Aranarth (Oct 18, 2016)

mrbrefast said:


> I have finally gotten to the point that I will not deal with the ABSURD oven of my dark car with black leather interior.
> I went with the Weathertech side window deflectors, which are super slim and actually look really great.


ohh.... nice!! Which part number was that?

I was thinking of just doing window tint to help keep the car cool along with parking facing east.
Adding the deflectors will also help with opening the windows a crack...


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## GotDiesel? (Sep 9, 2013)

The Cruze is a CRTDI .........and the VW is a CR 09 to 15 it's a CRTDI ...


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## Cruz15 (Mar 17, 2016)

mrbrefast said:


> Indeed - both times the code popped, I refueled at BP and was gentle on the throttle immediately after. I have refueled at BP previously, and never had the issue. I wonder what else has changed? The air temperature is warmer, I suppose. Otherwise: nothing for ~4000 miles of driving has changed besides using the two additives....


Did you resolve your cel P0172?
Did you change your air filter?


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

And so, after about 18 months of owning my Cruze CTD... earlier this month I traded in my Chevy (and also my 2001 Subaru Outback wagon) on a car that is actually big enough for me:




A 2016 Nissan Titan XD with a Cummins engine. For interested parties, that build and mods thread is available here:



I will be posting a for sale ad on the Forums for the remaining items I have (a ScanGauge II with the CTD-specific programming, works great to keep a close eye on the car's health; assorted maintenance items) and link it here once I have the post up.

Merry Christmas!


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

mrbrefast said:


> A 2016 Nissan Titan XD with a Cummins engine.


Congrats on the Titan! I was looking at one of those. They're very nice. Did you get the $10K rebate + a huge discount?


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

diesel said:


> Congrats on the Titan! I was looking at one of those. They're very nice. Did you get the $10K rebate + a huge discount?


I did indeed - they also bought out the Cruze for what I owed on it AND I made money on my Subaru by trading it in. Good stuff all the way around.

I hit 3700 miles in the Titan this morning and I am still so in love with the truck.

The Cummins is *fantastic*


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

As promised, I have a for sale ad up with my handful of remaining Cruze goodies - and a package deal if you clean me out


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