Worst Mileage Yet, Block Heater Dreams

[RyanPatty]

you said your running mobil 1 full synthetic, can you get them to put that in from the dealership or do i have to go a oil change place.

[jblackburn]

you said your running mobil 1 full synthetic, can you get them to put that in from the dealership or do i have to go a oil change place.

Yes, but they'll charge you an arm and a leg for it ($70-80). Much cheaper to do a full synthetic change on your own.


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[NickD]

A set of Rhino ramps will give payback the first time you use them. And you know for sure the correct oil and filter was used. With the latter, an easy oversight to forget to change the filter. Try that Bond trick of pasting a hair over the cap, used a dog hair and a little grease, was still there after the supposed filter change.

Properly install a new O'ring on the filter, no twists and coat it with oil, torque both the filter cap and drain plug, specs are written on each, that way, you won't have any engine fires.

Save that Delco filter lid and that dexous label, take photo of the oil remaining mileage and date for proof it was changed in case of warranty problems. Also spray all those suspension boots with silicone, they don't do that either but claim both an oil change and lube job.

I put in four quarts, start the engine and watch the oil lamp, should go off in four seconds, back off the ramps then top it off to the full mark. At oil changing places, kids came back with two quarts low. Tighten the oil fill cap and make sure the dipstick is fully inserted.

Entire job takes about twenty minutes, can wait as long as three hours for my dealer to do it. Three very boring hours.

[Blue Angel]

I was waiting at a traffic light and the temperature gauge dropped to the quarter mark.

Yep, the heater core in this car works very well at pulling heat from the engine. When the engine is this small, you can only pull so much heat out before the temp starts to drop. Another member suggested that this car could be operated in the winter without a radiator if you kept the heater blasting, and he may be right!

[Blue Angel]

And they engine power is greatly reduced when the engine is cold.

I think this has to do with cold oil in the turbocharger. It is a common problem with turbochargers, cold oil just keeps them from spinning freely until temps get up to near normal levels. So wen the engine is cold and the turbo is sluggish you basically have a naturally aspirated 1.4L engine.

[Blue Angel]

Last Wed. morning, when I saw the temperature on my outside thermometer at -39C, I figured I had better try blocking the radiator for my 35 min. drive north to the mine where I work. So I attached some cardboard with thin copper wire to the grill. Between my house & work the temp on the display showed anywhere from -38 to -41C. If the cardboard made a difference or not, I'm not sure. It still took about 10-12 min. to start getting any heat, and with the fan on 4, by the time I got to work, my side windows & edges of my windshield were so iced up that I couldn't see to the sides. It would definitely be nice to get a block heater in this engine!

Hay-zus! -39C is on another level! Do you have the oil pan heater installed? If not I would think about giving it a minute or two to warm up before heading out... that's BLOODY cold. My Dad is up in Elliot Lake, I wonder if it was that cold there as well?

Regarding the cardboard on the rad, this was my solution for the Eco's already partialy blocked grille:

213.jpg

I found this helped out quite a bit. I don't have a temp display on the DIC (mine's a '12) but I'm guessing it warms up about 20% faster while driving. I went one step farther and stuck a piece of matte black vinyl over that area which looks a little less redneck than the cardboard and won't get soaked through. I had the car on the highway last night, 100km/h for about 20 minutes and there was no overheating. So far so good.

My windows ice up inside as well. I have no idea why some cars are prone to this and some are not. My first car, an '85 Caddy Sedan DeVille, had a broken HVAC controller so all I had year round was full heat on the floor, the only option I had was the fan speed (not good in the summer!). Even piling 6-7 people in that car wouldn't get the windows frosted up, and that was in the dead of winter in North Bay. My GF's '11 BMW 3-series doesn't ice up either, and it has about the same interior volume as the Cruze. Both of my Saturns iced up on the inside, probably worse than the Cruze does. I'm cluless...

[Blue Angel]

you said your running mobil 1 full synthetic, can you get them to put that in from the dealership or do i have to go a oil change place.

As long as the oil meets Dexos specifications they should have no problem doing it for you:

GM dexos information center

The cheapest way to get it done would be to buy it on sale at C-Tire and bring it in with you. Not sure how much the dealer charges to do an oil change, but it's probably cheaper to buy the oil yourself. They might give you a "synthetic" oil change cheaper, but I'd make sure what oil they're using before signing up for that. I doubt they're cracking into fresh jugs of Mobil1...

[Blue Angel]

I put a thread up in the DIY forum on how to remove the thermostat in the OEM oil pan heater cord if anyone is interested in having a heater that works above 0F (-18C).

[sheleb1]

Hay-zus! -39C is on another level! Do you have the oil pan heater installed? If not I would think about giving it a minute or two to warm up before heading out... that's BLOODY cold. My Dad is up in Elliot Lake, I wonder if it was that cold there as well?

Regarding the cardboard on the rad, this was my solution for the Eco's already partialy blocked grille:

Attachment 10465

I found this helped out quite a bit. I don't have a temp display on the DIC (mine's a '12) but I'm guessing it warms up about 20% faster while driving. I went one step farther and stuck a piece of matte black vinyl over that area which looks a little less redneck than the cardboard and won't get soaked through. I had the car on the highway last night, 100km/h for about 20 minutes and there was no overheating. So far so good.

My windows ice up inside as well. I have no idea why some cars are prone to this and some are not. My first car, an '85 Caddy Sedan DeVille, had a broken HVAC controller so all I had year round was full heat on the floor, the only option I had was the fan speed (not good in the summer!). Even piling 6-7 people in that car wouldn't get the windows frosted up, and that was in the dead of winter in North Bay. My GF's '11 BMW 3-series doesn't ice up either, and it has about the same interior volume as the Cruze. Both of my Saturns iced up on the inside, probably worse than the Cruze does. I'm cluless...

Blue Angel,
Yes, -40 is "bloody cold". It was definitely a tough week! I have an oil pan heater and am using synthetic. The car started quickly, and I let it idle for maybe 3 or 4 minutes before I started moving. I would have let it run longer but it started icing up inside and I needed to get to work. By the time sufficient heat was coming from the defrost the ice was too thick and it couldn't keep up.
All my previous cars had block heaters, and I never really had an icing up problem inside. (I even remember one morning about 15 yrs. ago at -45.) Next time I'll just have to let it warm up longer in the driveway before even getting in.