Wondering now about that 1.4L in winter months.

[jblackburn]

How?

My experience is that the car will never reach full operating temperature if the temp is below freezing unless you get on the highway. It just won't keep enough heat.

35-45 mph speeds right out the gate and it does fine (stick shift, and I let the revs get above 2k for most shifts). The heat gets hot around 1/4 mark on the temp gauge...it takes a while to reach full operating temp if I'm blasting the heater, but within 5 miles of highway driving, it'll hit the 1/2-way mark by the time I'm off my exit.

If you shift at 1500-1800 RPM or idle all the time, you're not going to make any heat from a small engine. There's an idiotic stoplight outside my complex that will sometimes wait for 5 minutes to turn, and sometimes turn as soon as you get there. If I sit there idling after just starting the car, yeah, it doesn't warm up at all.

Rev it up a bit more to 2-3K and let the turbo boost a little bit (after 2 minutes or so, it's fine to push a little harder). That makes a lot of heat, and I really don't care about getting the best gas mileage I possibly can by driving like a grandma. It's good enough as is.

I think one of the reasons this works for me is the ECO's shutters are closed, even at low speed, when it's cold outside which reduces the amount of cold air directly hitting the engine.

Mine's an LT and doesn't have the Eco shutters - the shutters really shouldn't make a difference UNTIL the thermostat opens and sends water through the radiator.

I'd love to know why my 2012 eco doesn't have the temp readout in the DIC.

Does anyone know at what temp the car goes closed loop? I've been waiting until mine reaches full running temp before turning on any heat because I want to be sure it's in closed loop.

As soon as the heated O2 sensor warms up. 1-2 minutes? The car will run a slightly rich mixture at idle til the coolant temp sensor shows 190 deg. I believe the later-production 2012's did not have the DIC coolant temp display - my 10/2011 does.

If your Cruze takes 10 minutes to warm up to the point where the needle even begins to move, you've got a bad thermostat.

[jdubb11]

wow am i glad i found this thread!!! even though i had my car at the dealer only for them to tell me my car was working fine. i didnt know if my very slow warming cruze was just my car or more of them. i cant use the fan speed past two for like 5-10min otherwise the car wont even make it to 1/4 way of the temp gauge. i also noticed that even when the car does get to full op temp that if i turn the fan on high the temp gauge pretty much crashes to 1/4. im scared to see what happend in real mn winter temps. ive seen 10 degrees only a couple of mornings so far this winter and the time the car took to start to warming up was horrible. so you need heat but cant use the fan or it will never warm up. then when the car gets warm and you hit the fan it just cools off... i thought i bought a 2012 car not some old hooptie. funny about the cardboard statment, when i was out driving with the service manager about this he stated they went through the whole car and there was nothing else the could do. i asked him if they sold custom cardboard cut outs for the grill or if id have to make my own. i didnt get a responce lol. trying to get the car to warm up faster, ive also been downshifting the car to 5th gear once i get up to speed. not what i want to be doing to my mpg car but its that or freeze or just drive my truck and say f it. also my 2012 with a build date of 4/12 doesnt have the coolent temp in the dic. i assumed thats also "normal"

[jblackburn]

wow am i glad i found this thread!!! even though i had my car at the dealer only for them to tell me my car was working fine. i didnt know if my very slow warming cruze was just my car or more of them. i cant use the fan speed past two for like 5-10min otherwise the car wont even make it to 1/4 way of the temp gauge. i also noticed that even when the car does get to full op temp that if i turn the fan on high the temp gauge pretty much crashes to 1/4. im scared to see what happend in real mn winter temps. ive seen 10 degrees only a couple of mornings so far this winter and the time the car took to start to warming up was horrible. so you need heat but cant use the fan or it will never warm up. then when the car gets warm and you hit the fan it just cools off... i thought i bought a 2012 car not some old hooptie. funny about the cardboard statment, when i was out driving with the service manager about this he stated they went through the whole car and there was nothing else the could do. i asked him if they sold custom cardboard cut outs for the grill or if id have to make my own. i didnt get a responce lol. trying to get the car to warm up faster, ive also been downshifting the car to 5th gear once i get up to speed. not what i want to be doing to my mpg car but its that or freeze or just drive my truck and say f it. also my 2012 with a build date of 4/12 doesnt have the coolent temp in the dic. i assumed thats also "normal"

Get it to 1/4 temperature off a cold start and get out and feel the lower (or hey, even upper) radiator hose - should not be the least bit warm. The heater, full blast, on mine has shown the DIC display dropping a few degrees at idle, but never the temp needle once it was warmed up to the 1/2-way point, even when it was in the 20's the other night.

If the lower hose is warm, take it back to the dealer and tell them they're idiots and that you have proof the thermostat isn't working as it should.

[Sunline Fan]

One of the reasons I chose the LTZ was for the automatic climate control. It has a setting for controlling the fan speed in the menu. I'm not sure exactly how this works because back in A/C months, it would come on like a jet engine, but now, it stays at a quiet, slow speed. I had the start up fan speed set on low. Unfortunately, it never seemed to speed up once the car warmed up, so it was still a little chilly in the car by the time I got home. Just Friday, I changed that startup setting to Medium instead, so I'll see if that changes anything. I don't want to have to set it up to 78 or so just to get the car warmed up and then go turning it back down to 68 because I'm starting to break a sweat. It's supposed to be automatic for a reason!

I do have coolant temp readout on my DIC. It's not a regular scroll menu option, I have to press that rectangular button on the turn signal stalk and scroll through that menu in order to get it. I just use my Scangauge for coolant temp though. The DIC readout one has been 2-3 degrees off the Scangauge the few times I've looked at it.

It sounds like I got a pretty good build time for my car, despite the brake issue and potential coolant issue. I'm late enough to get a decent trans, better gearing, and I'm past the December 2011 problems, but still early enough to not have been shafted out of features.

[Ru5ty]

i confirm that 2012 after june do not have temp in dic

[DMC]

i confirm that 2012 after june do not have temp in dic

Mine has a May build date and I do not have the temp gauge in the DIC.

[silverram323]

I warms up faster then my 95 dodge ram with that 5.9l diesel cast iron block, i have drove it over 25 miles in -25 before getting 140 degrees out of it. I put cardboard in front of the radiator, makes a huge difference.

[Sunline Fan]

I warms up faster then my 95 dodge ram with that 5.9l diesel cast iron block, i have drove it over 25 miles in -25 before getting 140 degrees out of it. I put cardboard in front of the radiator, makes a huge difference.

True, but it's hard to beat the sound of a 5.9 12V, and when cold too!

[titan2782]

This is surprising. I've always been amazed at 1) how fast the cruze heats up 2) how well it holds heat. After sitting for 2-3 hours in the cold I can come out and it will still be warm. It takes my other vehicles FOREVER to start getting warm (especially with the mechanical fans). I let me car go through it's cold start cycle and then I start driving. By the end of the street, the car is already warming up. Before I've done a mile it's up to temperature. This is normal including today which was pretty cold.

[jdubb11]

This is surprising. I've always been amazed at 1) how fast the cruze heats up 2) how well it holds heat. After sitting for 2-3 hours in the cold I can come out and it will still be warm. It takes my other vehicles FOREVER to start getting warm (especially with the mechanical fans). I let me car go through it's cold start cycle and then I start driving. By the end of the street, the car is already warming up. Before I've done a mile it's up to temperature. This is normal including today which was pretty cold.

pretty cold like 50?? lol thats the one thing about this thread. we all live in different areas and cold to you my be different then cold to me. under 25 and my car has no chance at op temp with the fan on high. car can get to op temp all day not using the fan on 4. once you do that, its done.