# Turbo bad at 12k miles



## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

Well, the honeymoon is over ... after an awesome 12k miles, a check engine light came on last Tuesday morning. I had just bought a Scangauge II so I tried to check the codes and clear them, but I'm not sure the codes it gave me were right. The light cleared and stayed off while at idle (did not drive it anywhere) and I intended to get it checked after I returned from a trip that week, but then in an unrelated incident later that day I had to get the car towed to the dealer to get the fuel tank drained/flushed (another story for another day, but, don't let your brain shut off and go into autopilot when you are adding DEF!). I mentioned the CEL from earlier and asked that they check that out once the tank was flushed. Well, Saturday they told me the CEL is because I need a new turbocharger (?!?!?!). Codes they got are P049D and P003A. They said there is a defect where the vanes aren't opening or something along those lines and the only solution is to replace the whole turbo. Which they don't have so I have to wait. I do have a loaner car and it is all covered under warranty which I'm grateful for, but this really stinks. I haven't found any similar issues in searches so I don't understand what went wrong. The service managers insist it wouldn't be related to anything I did or didn't do, or driving style, and is just a manufacturing defect but naturally I am worried there is some reason, or this is going to be a recurring issue. I'm not great with electronics or computers, so I don't really understand what's wrong, which frustrates me ... I'm the kind of person who wants to know every detail even when I'm not paying for the work. Hopefully the car will be done this week and I will report back. I'm worried it won't be the same or it's all going to be downhill from here. I think it makes it worse that this is a unicorn car and I can't get another one, or anything like it. I really love it so I hope this is just a setback and it will be back to its 70-mpg self soon.


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## MRO1791 (Sep 2, 2016)

I would not sweat it. These things happen. My Gen 1 had a bad DPF in the first week, replacement and no problems since. Later had a ECU go, all under warranty. It has just under 50k now and it's doing fine. 

Side note, be hesitant to clear codes when under warranty. Always get any code documented be a dealership to ensure you can get warranty service should a failure occur. 

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

I don't know why they gave you a loaner car. If the vehicle still runs fine without a CEL and it's just a matter that the vanes in the turbine can't actuate properly to change the aspect ratio, I'd drive it until they get the part in stock.


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

Barry Allen said:


> I don't know why they gave you a loaner car. If the vehicle still runs fine without a CEL and it's just a matter that the vanes in the turbine can't actuate properly to change the aspect ratio, I'd drive it until they get the part in stock.


Sorry, I wasn't clear in my description, the light kept coming back on for them when they test drove and got it up to a certain load. They didn't feel it should be driven. I suspect it would have been fine but they didn't want me to be in a situation where it underperformed and didn't give me boost when I needed it. I didn't notice any issues at all when the light first came on (I had just dropped my cat off at the vet and drove the car home). I had noticed frequent regens for about a month. That is why I bought the Scangauge to begin with, to track regens and soot levels. Other than that no sign of things being off until the light came on, and the short amount I drove it after that it seemed normal performance-wise. Granted I did not push it on that drive. I was very surprised by this outcome. I thought it would be an emissions issue or something sensor-related, I guess just based on what I know about these cars, and the fact it was exhibiting regen behavior too frequently.


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

MRO1791 said:


> Side note, be hesitant to clear codes when under warranty. Always get any code documented be a dealership to ensure you can get warranty service should a failure occur.


Sounds smart. I probably shouldn't even bother using the gauge to check the codes, since the answer for any code is take it to the dealer anyway. No need to know what it is ahead of time, other than I'm just super OCD about wanting to know everything. I only bought the Scangauge to use the gauges and track regens, soot level, etc. I haven't really tried any of that yet and now I'm not sure I should since it will just give me more to worry about.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Barry Allen said:


> I don't know why they gave you a loaner car. If the vehicle still runs fine without a CEL and it's just a matter that the vanes in the turbine can't actuate properly to change the aspect ratio, I'd drive it until they get the part in stock.


They kept the car to repair it. Part of the GM warranty is a loaner anytime the dealership has to keep your car for more than one day. The dealership had to order a new turbo and can't return the car until it's repaired. Without the turbo, the car will be a 3,500 lb paper weight.


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## Rivergoer (Mar 30, 2017)

BodhiBenz1987 said:


> Sounds smart. I probably shouldn't even bother using the gauge to check the codes, since the answer for any code is take it to the dealer anyway. No need to know what it is ahead of time, other than I'm just super OCD about wanting to know everything. I only bought the Scangauge to use the gauges and track regens, soot level, etc. I haven't really tried any of that yet and now I'm not sure I should since it will just give me more to worry about.


Definitely continue using the SGII, knowing when the car is in regen and not shutting down during a cycle is really helpful to the longevity of your emissions system. You’ll also consume less diesel by not having to go through multiply heat cycles (EGTs @ 1100F) due to interrupted regen cycles.

There’s no harm in using the SGII for checking codes. Just don’t use the SGII to reset them if you’re taking it in for service, the tech will need those codes to properly diagnose.

So you mistakenly put DEF in the tank? And they say no relation to the turbo failure?


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

Rivergoer said:


> Definitely continue using the SGII, knowing when the car is in regen and not shutting down during a cycle is really helpful to the longevity of your emissions system. You’ll also consume less diesel by not having to go through multiply heat cycles (EGTs @ 1100F) due to interrupted regen cycles.
> 
> There’s no harm in using the SGII for checking codes. Just don’t use the SGII to reset them if you’re taking it in for service, the tech will need those codes to properly diagnose.
> 
> So you mistakenly put DEF in the tank? And they say no relation to the turbo failure?


Yes, I put a couple of ounces of DEF right in the fuel tank, not sure I've ever felt so stupid in my life (which is saying a lot), and yes, they are saying no relation. CEL came up before the DEF incident and it was never run after the DEF incident. My brain clicked in right as I started tipping the container to pour, realized what I was doing. I did not start the car, had it towed to the dealer to have everything drained and flushed, told them of the situation and told them not to start it. I also told them I had a CEL that morning prior to the incident and I'd like that checked once they finished the flush. They did the flush at my cost (insurance actually covered it) and said that was taken care of but the CEL kept coming back. They said the turbo problem is not related and will be covered under warranty; the first service manager I talked to characterized the problem as electronic. The whole thought freaks me out because it was kind of a perfect storm situation that I managed to do something dumb right after a problem arose and could have muddied the waters. Obviously it was good that I at least was bright enough not to start the car after the DEF incident. I guess on the bright side the mistake meant I only drove the car a few miles after the CEL came on, instead of taking it to the airport that afternoon. Instead I took my 370k-mile old Mercedes which leaks so much in the back window I had to leave a tarp over it in the airport parking lot.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Sounds like you have a good service department.


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## Rivergoer (Mar 30, 2017)

Yep ^^^^

I second the notion to not sweat it. Let them repair your unicorn and be confident they will continue to back you up for the remainder of your warranty period.

One glitch does not make a lemon. 

Oh, and no need to be embarrassed, happens to the best of us.

Mis-fueling has and always will be a problem with new diesel owners. VW even had to do several changes including stickers, fuel filler neck mods and fuel caps because so many people were mistakenly pumping unleaded in their TDIs.


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

obermd said:


> Sounds like you have a good service department.


This has been my impression so far. This is the same dealer I bought the car from and that was a nice experience ... salesman is a great guy and actually checked in to see what was up when I was in the service dept. So far they have been great to deal with ... I realize my anxiety and related endless questions can make me one of "those" customers but they have been patient with me. The loaner isn't bad either ... black 2019 Malibu.


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

Rivergoer said:


> Oh, and no need to be embarrassed, happens to the best of us.
> 
> Mis-fueling has and always will be a problem with new diesel owners. VW even had to do several changes including stickers, fuel filler neck mods and fuel caps because so many people were mistakenly pumping unleaded in their TDIs.


True, this is my first car with DEF, so it's sort of the same effect of inexperience and routine, and once you add a moment of absentmindedness to the mix, it can add up to a mistake. Going to add some neon stickers to the DEF box as soon as I buy each one with a note reminding me to pay attention.


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## Z71 (Jan 1, 2019)

Does anyone know if this turbo design is new? Have they used this turbocharger somewhere else on some other diesel engine?


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

Z71 said:


> Does anyone know if this turbo design is new? Have they used this turbocharger somewhere else on some other diesel engine?


I am wondering the same. It has taken them forever to get one. I still don't have my car though they called me Friday to let me know they had found a turbo and were trying to get it sent to them. Not their fault but a little disconcerting it was that hard to find when the car is not even a year old. I am thinking it must be unique to the engine.


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## MRO1791 (Sep 2, 2016)

BodhiBenz1987 said:


> I am wondering the same. It has taken them forever to get one. I still don't have my car though they called me Friday to let me know they had found a turbo and were trying to get it sent to them. Not their fault but a little disconcerting it was that hard to find when the car is not even a year old. I am thinking it must be unique to the engine.


Most likely new and for this engine. Due to limited production and it being new it is typical for parts to be scarce. Most of the parts will be used for new production. It took almost a week to get parts for the flywheel replacement on my manual diesel.. likely same issues for that. Also the service writer noted many parts were updated part numbers... Which means there were engineering updates (usually when they find and fix some design weakness they will update the affected parts). That could also be an issue with the turbo.. 

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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

MRO1791 said:


> Most likely new and for this engine. Due to limited production and it being new it is typical for parts to be scarce. Most of the parts will be used for new production. It took almost a week to get parts for the flywheel replacement on my manual diesel.. likely same issues for that. Also the service writer noted many parts were updated part numbers... Which means there were engineering updates (usually when they find and fix some design weakness they will update the affected parts). That could also be an issue with the turbo..


Makes sense in retrospect but this wasn't really an aspect I considered until now ... I knew it would have issues but didn't think about it being gone 2+weeks when issues happen. Wouldn't have stopped me from buying it anyway though, worth the gamble that it doesn't happen often. My Jeep diesel was very short production but oddly I never had issues with the dealer getting parts early on ... maybe because the EGR issues were SO common and consistent more dealers had the parts in stock. Whereas the Cruze 1.6 is still gradually showing its colors, and these issues are relatively isolated. 

Hoping I get it back this week. I don't think I will dwell on it as much when I'm not just sitting here waiting for the phone to ring and wondering. On the bright side it's missing some nasty weather!


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

So three full weeks now and they still can't get a part. Starting to get pretty upset. They said they located two at other dealers but they can't get them to send them, so they haven't even been shipped. I guess they can't get the part at all from GM which astounds me. I could understand if there was a production schedule that caused a wait, but it's not even like it's on back order. Am I overreacting to think this is completely ridiculous on GM's part? I don't think it's the dealer's fault and they seem frustrated too. The whole thing makes no sense to me.


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## Blasirl (Mar 31, 2015)

Relax, put as many miles on their vehicle as you can.. Just consider it a warranty extender.


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

Five weeks, no part, no ETA on the part from GM. Two other dealers have the part but won't give it up because they know they won't be able to get another one if their customers need it. GM just won't make more for anything other than new cars right now. Disappointing and depressing. And inexcusable on GM's part. I feel bad for my dealer too because there's nothing they can do and it stinks they have to deal with this for weeks on end. I miss my car.


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## MRO1791 (Sep 2, 2016)

BodhiBenz1987 said:


> Five weeks, no part, no ETA on the part from GM. Two other dealers have the part but won't give it up because they know they won't be able to get another one if their customers need it. GM just won't make more for anything other than new cars right now. Disappointing and depressing. And inexcusable on GM's part. I feel bad for my dealer too because there's nothing they can do and it stinks they have to deal with this for weeks on end. I miss my car.


 I'm pretty sure that they have tripped the time requirement for the lemon law. Get in touch with GM, they reply to the Facebook site (Chevrolet). Tell them your story, mention forcing a buyback. I'm quite sure with the right priority they will ensure your dealership gets the part needed. 

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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

MRO1791 said:


> I'm pretty sure that they have tripped the time requirement for the lemon law. Get in touch with GM, they reply to the Facebook site (Chevrolet). Tell them your story, mention forcing a buyback. I'm quite sure with the right priority they will ensure your dealership gets the part needed.
> 
> Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk


That had crossed my mind, but my fear is that they'd rather just buy it back than make the effort to supply a part. And I really don't want them to actually take my car away from me. I've started looking at other new cars again and there's just nothing I want in my budget. I spoke to the service manager last Friday and he seemed to be of the mindset I should sit tight and let them fight the battle for me (which it sounds like they are trying). If he's making any progress, I don't want to interfere with it. But yeah, there has to be a point where I'm going to have to go after GM with some kind of legal threat as a customer and just hope their logic is to supply a turbo rather than buy an entire car back ... one would think, but at this point, who knows.

Edit: checked and you are right, lemon law in my state kicks in after 30 days out in the first year. Guess I have to research the whole process. Stinks. I have enough stress in my life without a legal battle.


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## MRO1791 (Sep 2, 2016)

BodhiBenz1987 said:


> That had crossed my mind, but my fear is that they'd rather just buy it back than make the effort to supply a part. And I really don't want them to actually take my car away from me. I've started looking at other new cars again and there's just nothing I want in my budget. I spoke to the service manager last Friday and he seemed to be of the mindset I should sit tight and let them fight the battle for me (which it sounds like they are trying). If he's making any progress, I don't want to interfere with it. But yeah, there has to be a point where I'm going to have to go after GM with some kind of legal threat as a customer and just hope their logic is to supply a turbo rather than buy an entire car back ... one would think, but at this point, who knows.
> 
> Edit: checked and you are right, lemon law in my state kicks in after 30 days out in the first year. Guess I have to research the whole process. Stinks. I have enough stress in my life without a legal battle.


They do not want to buy it back, trust me on this. I had a GMC truck that was a lemon, 7 repair attempts for an oil leak, lemon law is 4 tries. They wanted to keep trying to fix it, I requested a buy back. They would not do it... So I found a lawyer who specializes in Federal lemon law work. They wrote GM a letter, GM bought it back and paid all their fees.. if they really wanted to buy it back and save the lawyer fees they could have. 
It is great your dealership is working on it, but it won't hurt to get GM corporate in on the case from customer contact. It certainly won't hurt getting the car fixed. You have nothing to lose. Good luck and keep us posted. 

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## johnmo (Mar 2, 2017)

BodhiBenz1987 said:


> Five weeks, no part, no ETA on the part from GM. Two other dealers have the part but won't give it up because they know they won't be able to get another one if their customers need it. GM just won't make more for anything other than new cars right now. Disappointing and depressing. And inexcusable on GM's part. I feel bad for my dealer too because there's nothing they can do and it stinks they have to deal with this for weeks on end. I miss my car.


I agree, five weeks is inexcusable. Even two weeks is ridiculous. Pull one off the assembly line. Pull one off a new car in dealer stock.

It's a tough call if you like your dealer shop and you believe they are really fighting the battle for you, but I'd be raising heck with GM corporate at this point. But... I also have a dealership that stopped returning my calls and that I won't do business with any more anyway after some protracted and repeated repairs. Note that I haven't had mine two full years yet and it's spent over 8 weeks cumulatively in the shop. I got the impression the dealer didn't like having GM corporate involved, but tough toenails, bucko. It's a brand new car and it should be on the road.


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

Called Chevy today and they took down my information and said someone will call me. Hopefully the next person is more helpful than the first one, who didn't even seem to understand the problem. :dry:


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

Update: right after I called Chevy and opened a case up, the dealer service advisor called me and said the turbo just showed up at the dealer. arty: They were pretty surprised since they still hadn't heard a thing when I called this morning. Will still be a few days for the repair but it's great news to me. Fingers crossed everything goes well and my baby gets back on the road.


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

Well, it's home! Saga isn't quite over because a "water in fuel" warning comes on at startup (then goes off and stays off) ... dealer said it needs a new separator filter, likely related to the DEF incident and subsequent flush. So fingers crossed there. But they said it's fine to drive. So far so good ... feels just like before and same great mpg. Here's hoping things go smoothly from here, it is great to be back in my car!


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

Have driven about 200 miles since getting it back, feels great, averaging 50 mpg for a variety of driving, no CEL. Plugged in the Scangauge again today to use the emissions-related monitors (would really like to track regens!) and it immediately showed me two codes (neither of which are listed as GM codes) ... so either another failure is impending or the Scangauge has a problem. Will ask the dealer to recheck the codes when I go back to get the water-in-fuel issues fixed. Fingers crossed ... been on Cloud 9 since I've had it back, don't want that to be short-lived ...


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

Well it's back from having water separator/fuel filter replaced, and everything seems to be going well. The codes I mentioned from the Scangauge seem to have been a Scangauge issue (which SG is addressing for me) ... no codes came up at the dealer, OnStar, Autozone, or my friend's scanner.  Been great having it back. This car has had a kinda rough start in life, so here's hoping it's smooth sailing for a while!


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## MRO1791 (Sep 2, 2016)

BodhiBenz1987 said:


> Well it's back from having water separator/fuel filter replaced, and everything seems to be going well. The codes I mentioned from the Scangauge seem to have been a Scangauge issue (which SG is addressing for me) ... no codes came up at the dealer, OnStar, Autozone, or my friend's scanner.  Been great having it back. This car has had a kinda rough start in life, so here's hoping it's smooth sailing for a while!


Some do get a rough start. My 2015 had a bad DPF that needed replacement after the first week of ownership... Then later had a bad ECU. Oddly it ran fine with a bad ECU.. anyway, it's now just under 50k, and it's been pretty much trouble free.. I did get a random code about a week ago following regen, but it hasn't come back. 

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## IndyDiesel (May 24, 2015)

This is very disturbing when the car is in production when turbo goes out and it takes weeks to source the part, what is this going to be like if this happens when the warranty is out and they don’t even make the car or the part anymore?


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## MRO1791 (Sep 2, 2016)

IndyDiesel said:


> This is very disturbing when the car is in production when turbo goes out and it takes weeks to source the part, what is this going to be like if this happens when the warranty is out and they don’t even make the car or the part anymore?


It's a bit counter intuitive, but parts are generally harder to get when the car is in production than later. The supplier often tools up to meet production demand, leaving little room for spares. When production ends, they generally have excess capacity, and they get more for spares production than OEM production per unit. I would not worry about it in this case. Plenty of cars have been produced, there will be a market to keep spares in production. 

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## sailurman (Sep 29, 2016)

IndyDiesel said:


> This is very disturbing when the car is in production when turbo goes out and it takes weeks to source the part, what is this going to be like if this happens when the warranty is out and they don’t even make the car or the part anymore?


Equinox and Terrain use same power plant so that shouldn't be an issue.


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

IndyDiesel said:


> This is very disturbing when the car is in production when turbo goes out and it takes weeks to source the part, what is this going to be like if this happens when the warranty is out and they don’t even make the car or the part anymore?


I wish I could have gotten a more detailed answer as to that wait time. My hope is that it was an aberration perhaps due to trying to get the final Cruzes finished before the Lordstown plant closed. I'm also hoping the fact they still produce the Equinox/Terrain with that engine, and cars for other markets with the engine, will mean parts will still be available. And sometime down the road there will hopefully be better aftermarket availability. For the most part my 2005 Jeep diesel is easy to find aftermarket parts for and they only made about 10,000 for US sale over a year and a half. It does concern me though. I prepared myself for the car to have some issues, but didn't expect that kind of wait for one part. It does seem most people haven't had similar experiences though (at least not that bad) so I hope it was just unusual circumstances and timing.


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

MRO1791 said:


> Some do get a rough start. My 2015 had a bad DPF that needed replacement after the first week of ownership... Then later had a bad ECU. Oddly it ran fine with a bad ECU.. anyway, it's now just under 50k, and it's been pretty much trouble free.. I did get a random code about a week ago following regen, but it hasn't come back.
> 
> Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk


To be fair some of it for mine has been my own doing (the DEF mistake, scraping wheel and rocker panel on a curb ... annoying because I'm usually the kind of person who takes care of cars!) and some bad luck (hitting an unavoidable tire tread on the interstate). The turbo problem has been the only thing that's gone wrong with the car itself so far, so I can't complain too much there. I am a little worried about frequent regens ... on my friend's scanner it looked like the data was saying the lifetime average between regens is 195 miles (!). I'm hoping that may have to do with the turbo/EGR not being right before the CEL came on for that problem. Or that we were reading the parameter wrong. Once I get he Scangauge back that will be interesting to track. I've yet to have it actually give me any trouble due to the regens though, and it certainly doesn't seem to effect the fuel economy!


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## sailurman (Sep 29, 2016)

Perhaps you are the type of person who should only break out the scan gauge when you pop a CEL. You worry way too much. Don't need it to know when you are in REGEN, you'll see the MPGs drop.


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

sailurman said:


> Perhaps you are the type of person who should only break out the scan gauge when you pop a CEL. You worry way too much. Don't need it to know when you are in REGEN, you'll see the MPGs drop.


This is a fair thought and I've considered the same. It's kind of a toss up because despite my worrying I'm also fascinated by all of it and just love knowing how things work and what's going on. Aside from the concern about the regen rate, seeing all the data on the scanner was pretty neat. I already paid for the SG so we'll see. There is on the other hand something to be said for the peace of driving like I do in my 1978 240D, where your ears and seat are the only diagnostics ... doesn't even have a tachometer!


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## MRO1791 (Sep 2, 2016)

Problems with the turbo and/or EGR can certainly be the cause of frequent regens. I'd bet you will find that explains it. 

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## IndyDiesel (May 24, 2015)

I hear they are still producing the equinox terrain with diesel that’s a fair point, but yikes let’s be real here, it took about a month to get a turbo for a car with 12k miles, if you want to think this may get better I guess that’s ok, I think it’s disturbing. I realize there may be other options after warranty is out, I still don’t like it. I have been fortunate I have never had an issue like this, I wouldn’t be as forgiving.


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## ganthc (May 25, 2018)

I'm just reading this now, but I'm glad the saga was eventually resolved. My 18 Cruze Diesel 9A has been solid. There have been a few times where I almost accidentally put regular gas in the fuel tank, but that has been because I would grab the wrong nozzle and be pushing the diesel fuel button and not getting anything to happen. Then I would slap my forehead and put in the right nozzle with the matching green handle cover. I thankfully have had no problem with my Cruze, and it has only been in the shop for regular maintenance. Almost 16,000 miles, and next month will be a full year of ownership. I average 39-40 mpg in mixed driving in the DC area. I get 49-53 mpg on all highway driving. I've been completely satisfied with my car.


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