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Thermostat Issues

19K views 31 replies 11 participants last post by  Jim Frye 
#1 ·
I have a base model 2012 cruze and I am starting to think my thermostat is not operating properly. I live in northern minnesota and we are in a bit of a cold snap, currently -18F in my town. But my car will not get up to temp when idling or when I am driving it for 20 minutes. Most of the time it will barley leave the Cold area of the gague. I saw there is a recall of some sort for the 2011's in regards to the thermostat, has anyone had this issue with the 2012's? I am thinking of bringing it into the dealership so I hope it is covered by the warranty.

Thanks in advance!
 
#3 ·
just search this site for thermostat threads, there are lots. i live in mpls. i have had both cruzes ive owned in for this. "car is working as designed" aka nothing we can do to help you. nature of this small motor. DO NOT USE FAN SPEED 4, car will never warm up. **** mine doesnt warm up on speed 3 when its 10 degrees or less. good luck
 
#5 ·
mine doesnt warm up on speed 3 when its 10 degrees or less. good luck
Just wait until the car is warmed up before you turn the fan speed up past 2, you will have no issues with the car cooling down at that point(enough heat is built up). I also just use the cold/hot at the 1 o'clock position & the controls set on defrost only(no feet).

My car warms in under 10 minutes this way, once warm I turn the fan to 3 & defroster to also give the floor some heat. I still leave the cold/hot dial in the 1 o'clock position, otherwise within 20minties of driving it gets so hot I could peel my skin off like bacon.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the input guys. I dropped it off at the dealership this morning, the service tech seemed to agree that it should be warmer than it was which was 2 notches below cold after running for 30 minutes. They just called me back and they said that its operating normally and that there aren't any engine codes but if it continues to happen they offered to replace the thermostat.

I understand that the car will be cold when driving down the highway with the wind through the radiator but what I don't understand is why it won't get up to temp when idling in the driveway with no wind what so ever. Every other car I've owned had no issues getting to temp when idling at least. I am starting to wonder if the recall from this past summer where they trimmed the splash guard has anything to do with this. Maybe the engine is too exposed to get up to temp? Very frustrating to say the least.
 
#6 ·
Idle speed will not fully warm a cold 1.4T engine. My experience is that it will get to about 130 degrees after ten minutes on idle from a remote start. That gets me cabin heat, which is the purpose of doing a remote start. The engine will come up to temperature at freeway speeds when the outside temps are below freezing. The normal gauge reading is one tick before center when the engine is at full temperature.

Stop chasing the thermostat. It's not the problem. Keep the heater fan speed set at less than the highest setting while the engine is warming up. Use recirculate so that the cabin warms up faster, which helps the engine also.

I still have the splash guard. It makes no difference on engine temperatures, still takes a good twenty minutes to warm up. Don't chase that either.
 
#7 ·
I still have the splash guard. It makes no difference on engine temperatures, still takes a good twenty minutes to warm up.
I have had my splash shield cut, but my car is always up to temp within 15minutes of driving. I posted info about my warm up time yesterday on another topic, even when it was 2 degrees yesterday I was fully warmed up in under 10 minutes(including 1 minute remote start). It might be the all the hills around here helping build heat(increased load).

Here is a link to my post yesterday.
http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/10-e...10971-2-stuck-thermostats-row.html#post160106
 
#9 · (Edited)
I'm in Minnesota also, I found if i use fan speeds above level 2 to soon it takes a while to warm up, So i leave it on 2 till it reaches 180 mark, It was -14 this morning and i tried this -- once on the freeway @ cruising speed, i manually shifted it to 5th gear (more rpms) and it seemed to warm up faster, how ever at 65 mpg it was reading 36-38 mpg in 6th and it dropped to 30 mpg in 5th gear. Give and take.

my .o2

P.S. I wonder if we can block off the radiator? I do this in my dodge ram Cummins diesel pickup as that could run 8 hrs a day and not get about 160.
 
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#11 ·
This is exactly what I am wanting to know. Also, why does the car need a computer controlled thermostat when the old mechanical ones work just fine? I understand the fact that the car will be cooler on the highway but when idling there should be NO reason why that car doesn't get to operating temp.
 
#14 ·
I was cold today (10 degrees when I got in this afternoon), so after I got on the highway and let it fully warm up, I cranked the heat. 82 degrees and max fan speed. She went from the usual 220 down to 197/198 while still rolling at 70. Get off the highway and wait at the light to turn, and the coolant dropped to 173 before the light turned. The heat got cooler as well, even with the other settings the same.


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App
 
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#15 ·
ndsustudent,
I would like you to keep me posted on your concerns. If you do end up taking your Cruze back to the dealer please let me know. If you have any other questions please feel free to contact me anytime. Try and stay warm!
Thank you,
Stacy Chevrolet Customer Service
 
#18 ·
your write up is exactly as my car does as well. i have done all you mentioned as well except ive never tried turning the heat setting down. i will try that in the am as it will be -0. and for your post about the car being cold after 4 hrs...i can go out to eat and its like starting all over again trying to get it to warm up. i have to bring the car in for a very slow tire leak(thinking its a rimm seal) i will ask about the ecm.
its a small motor but in the 15 or so cars ive owned ive never had such problems getting to and maintaing op temp and heat in the car. never had to, or should have to, monkey around with this
 
#21 ·
I have an odd sensitivity to cold temperatures, so getting heat as soon as possible is important to me. That is why i have remote start and heated seats. The slight decrease in fuel economy isn't that much anyway. Because of that I have the temperature control at max and the fan speed at 4 until the cabin warms up enough. I then back off the fan speed.
 
#23 · (Edited)
Today's drive:

Temperature outside 19F. Remote started the car with the fan speed at 2 and heat at max. Let it run the full ten minutes until it shut off. Got in, started the thing and had a DIC reading of 131F. Cranked both the heat controls to max and drove off. City speeds only, but the engine temp kept steadily rising until it fully warmed up.

Outside temperatures make a big difference for the 1.4T engine. Yesterday I was driving when it was 6F outside and could not warm up the engine fully with the heater controls set to max. I feel for you people that have to deal with cold weather that goes well below freezing. It appears that you have to reduce the heater output by reducing either the fan speed or the heat setting if you want the engine to fully warm up. And I recommend using remote start, perhaps letting it go twice so that you get 20 minutes of warmup time when the weather is well below freezing.
 
#26 ·
Don't forget it's a tiny ass 1.4L motor with a lot of modern engine efficiencies built in to it. Press the gas pedal, get the turbo doing something and watch as your engine easily gets up to temp.
 
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#28 · (Edited)
I don't understand all of this fiddling with the heater controls just to get some warmth in the passenger cabin. I had car with a 1.3L motor in it and it would be putting out heat within a mile or two in the dead of winter. No control twiddling and you didn't have drive on the expressway just to get heat. Of course, it didn't have a computer controlled thermostat.
 
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#29 ·
Don't believe all the BS about this car not warming up, unless you max your fan/heat knob before any heat is built or there is a problem with your thermostat, this thing is the fastest warming car I have owned.

Even at -10F I was up to 175-220 within 8-15minutes of driving(combined city/hwy). The only "fiddling" one has to do is not turn the fan speed up until the car has some heat build up starting. I'm not sure about you but I wouldn't want a fan blasting me with cold air when its freezing out, and by doing so it just keeps the car cold for longer.

every small engine car I have driven will experience some cooling while coasting or maxing the fan speed on super cold days before the engine is fully warm. The 2.2ecotec on my 2004 cavalier would hit a wall half way warmed up idling around town if you used fan speed 3 or higher on days below zero.... the exact same thing the cruze does.

Remember GM has to design the cooling system for both extreme ends of the spectrum, 115+ degree desert & -30 winters in Canada. With the heat of the turbo the engine NEEDS a large radiator for the extremely hot days, the trade off is slower warming on very cold days(which most will probably never see). an overheating engine will leave you stranded, a slow warming one will not.

Its to bad all the complainers don't listen & actually try a lower fan speed for 10minutes of driving(or 5minutes of idle+ 5minutes of driving). I have heat within 3 blocks of my house with 5 minute remote start idle(fan speed left at speed 2) even on the coldest days.
 
#32 ·
Maybe it's not the thermostat. Perhaps the closely mounted turbocharger is sucking all the heat out of the engine?


nudge nudge wink wink
 
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