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Hot weather and sluggish running

23K views 68 replies 22 participants last post by  pL2014 
#1 ·
I've searched the forum and saw a few threads about this(all old) and have thus decided that i'm going to start using some premium gas and when my engine cools down i'm going to check my plug gaps. Outside of this, and a pricey tune, what else can I do to get this Cruze to run right in this weather? it's currently only 94F(34.4C) and it's been running pretty sloppy today, and in 2 weeks I have to drive all the way from the gulf coast to Illinois, Any other low cost suggestions(and preferably not warranty voiding) would be greatly appreciated.
 
#36 ·
Just a thought - reseat your oil dipstick.
 
#37 ·
Just tried that one, we'll see how it goes tomorrow. So far, I’ve gapped the plugs, checked every vac line I can find, added about a shot glass worth of coolant, and put in about a quarter of a tank of octane 91 gas(best they had near the house) and so far nothing is making a difference. I've scheduled an appointment for Friday with the dealership, mostly so I can bitch to someone, and plan on putting some more premium gas as soon as I burn down more of the tank. Guess we'll see how this week goes.
 
#41 ·
Been reported in Wisconsin that over 3,500 gas stations have water in the gas. While other states are complaining about droughts, won't quit raining here. Sure had a major downpour yesterday.

Many of our airports had to switch to above ground tanks, put a huge fence around them with huge NO SMOKING signs, but gather its okay to use an acetylene torch.

When fuel injection came around, first tool I had to buy was one like this.



A good fuel pressure tester, water in the gas is an age old problem, in older vehicles used a glass bowl in the fuel line so you can see the water in that bowl, even had a drain on it, got rid of this, but not the problem.

With the fuel pump test with that clear hose, well I use a two quart Manson jar, hot wire the fuel pump, press on that release valve so you quickly learn if you have water in your gas. This really causes misfires and all the new spark plugs won't cure this. Yeah, I use a funnel and pour the good fuel back into the tank.

Another problem with ethanol is getting a bad mix with nothing but super low octane gas left, but doesn't cause misfires, but sure causes detonation, new problems we never had before.

When I run across crap like this, file a complaint with my credit card company, usually get a full refund, but still have the problem, could run the tank dry and pour in only the top using five gallon cans. But toss in a can of Seafoam that helps, and burn that crap out of it.

But letting the tank settle and using the fuel pump tester, water is heavier than gas, so with hot wiring the fuel pump, can get most of it out. Fuel pickup is at the bottom of the tank. Not saying this is your problem but could well be.

Still old school with engines, fuel, compression, ignition, ignition and valve timing, sure running into a bunch of idiots lately, no your brake pedal isn't low, ain't getting a code, what AH's for lack of a better word. But do need a scanner because don't know if I get a check engine light if its a loose gap cap or a failed EGR that can burn up the engine. Cruze ain't got an EGR, this is good.

Checking crankcase vacuum is new to me, never was done before, but is now. Use a rubber cone in the dipstick with my vacuum gauge. Should show around 18"/Hg at idle. Finding leaks is not new either, compressed air sure helps with leak down tests. Spraying with starter fluid is a great way to get burnt alive.

Think the word is common sense.
 
#42 ·
I doubt it's water in my fuel, the places I fill up haven't flooded since Tropical Storm Allison(about 14 years ago) But it could be a possibility. I'm also starting to wonder if the dealership i got it from installed the radiator and intercooler correctly after the dog incident(details in my gallery). It's running like a mild version of how it ran when I limped it home with the cooling system destroyed. Probably just something I'll have to deal with till I can afford to replace the car, but that could all change with the dealership appointment on Friday. As for running it down to a quarter tank, sorry, I've been trained not to do that during hurricane season,
 
#44 ·
The ECU reflash is only for the automatics. The manuals have a different ECU programming.
 
#46 ·
That's part of the software update - it is put in place to help keep oil from coking in the turbo return lines.

The intercooler works fine if the car is moving down the road - it's just sandwiched between the hot AC condensor and hot radiator, so heat soaks like crazy at a stop.
 
#48 ·
Some tuners kick the radiator fan up a speed or two. But I don't think it would do much good if it's still pulling really hot air through the AC condenser and radiator.

If you had an aftermarket inter cooler with a fan behind it, kinda like people do with off road transmission coolers, that would probably help.
 
#49 ·
Well, Just got back from my appointment with the dealership, and I can atleast say the service staff were helpful and saved me some money. Rather than charge me the $125 diagnosis fee, the guy I was working with opted to ride with me and tell me whether it was performing as usual, or if he noticed anything wrong. Atleast I didn't have to pay anything. Per the service dude, the car is performing the way all of the cruzes on the lot perform. Sadly to me, this means that I'm stuck with a car that can't perform to a level that feels correct to me until I can afford to get rid of the 2013 LT. So basically I have a paid in full disappointment that runs sloppy and weak as **** in the weather that we have for 3/4 of the year down here. Needless to say, I'm never making the mistake of buying a small turbocharged engine ever again. Sorry this sounds all negative, but I was really hoping this was something fixable, so it's got me a little riled up.
 
#51 ·
It is fixable. See our Hestitation...Gone thread.

Throw out the useless crap stock spark plugs and change them for the BKR7E-4644 plugs for $10 and see if you notice a change in drivability. If that works, after summer's over, change up to the BKR8EIX-2668 (iridium) plugs that are slightly more pricey.
 
#52 ·
If I trusted the car to make the I10 East trip, I'd do that. They'd cover the fee under warranty here too if there was an issue, but the guy was so confident that this is just how they run here that he even offered to let me test drive other Cruze's on the lot to show me that they all run this way. I declined because I didn't want to get more aggravated. I was never expecting power out of this car, just a smooth running engine, and I got neither. Sorry i'm venting so much at you, just agitated.
 
#54 ·
I was never expecting power out of this car, just a smooth running engine, and I got neither. Sorry i'm venting so much at you, just agitated.
Lack of power is one thing, but "rough" is another. Under what conditions is it running rough? While it can lack power and make you nervous about passing or on-ramps, it should never give you doubts about being able to make a road trip and get you back home.

I notice looking at your posts that the car's been in a accident. It might be worth looking at the Service Tech, know it all = fail thread - his intercooler pipe popped off leaving him with no boost. But the ECM did a good job of compensating for it. So I'm wondering if when your car was fixed they failed to get it connected properly and you're running a 1.4NA instead of the 1.4T you bought.
 
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#53 ·
Bones, do what jblackburn suggested. I have run both of those plugs in my 2012 ECO MT in the Denver high altitude heat and there's a big difference. The OEM plugs are designed for longevity, not for drivability.
 
#55 ·
I would agree that something els is wrong. We have temps in the 80s and 90s, and I run 89 octane on the stock plugs. I get the slow response when trying to dart across an intersection, but after about a 1 second delay the turbo kicks in and not too many people would consider the acceleration that takes place as dangerous.
 
#56 ·
I get the slow response when trying to dart across an intersection, but after about a 1 second delay the turbo kicks in and not too many people would consider the acceleration that takes place as dangerous.
Yeah, my experience has been that when you hit the accelerator, it seems like the ECM tries to ask for more torque, doesn't get it, and finally gives up and commands a downshift and you're on your way. The driver's impression is that the car ignores you for that one second. It's dangerous only if your driving habits are tuned for a muscle car that will leap on command.

Some have referred to spark blow out that can happen under some conditions - but that's a clue to switch plugs.
 
#57 · (Edited)
As for the repair, I've double checked it, (dealership didn't want to look at it without charging me, so screw that) but nothing looks out of place. Everything looks like it's holding. as for the rough running, it shifts hard as **** and shakes a bit when you have the accelerator all the way down(only way to make that car merge onto the freeway) With all of that, it feels like it's a ticking time bomb waiting to destroy itself. Again, the people at the dealership said it's functioning like every other cruze on the lot(he even said that i'm lucky i don't have the sonic, because it's even worse.) at about 94 outside, it's just slow, bogged down, and unresponsive in the acceleration department. all this week we started getting up a little higher (today is about 98ish) and it pulls the extra rough stuff then. Feels like when it shifts that it's trying to reach the right RPM to hit the shift point the computer wants and just can't quite make it till it finally gets over the hump. During the time of the appointment it was high 80s out, so it wasn't as severe, and i tried to get an appointment around noon, but they just couldn't make it happen. At this point, i've pretty much decided to quit worrying about it, and drive it till it breaks. If it dies mid merge on the freeway, hopefully all those airbags that are in this thing will work. I'm more than done with this car. Last time I had a car that acted up like this, the dealerships fleeced me anyways, didn't find the issue, and I eventually got it sorted out myself.


Edit: Keep in mind, the terms Rough, Sluggish etc are all in relation to how it drove in October when I got it, Both before and after the accident.(ran the same at that point) For the Shifting issue that's developed, Hard as **** is not an exaggeration in relation to how every other automatic i've ever been in has shifted. Feels like a little version of when you stomp the gas in a car with a large engine with high torque and you get that seat slam action. Sorry had to add a bit of explanation, because sometimes my language gets a bit colourful.


Edit again: the drive it till it breaks comment is entirely just me being mad. Sorry about that, but this thing has me all kinds of worked up. If it wasn't my only car, I probably would have it all taken apart right now,sold it, or shot it out of anger. more than likely I'll just have to keep driving it till I can afford something else, or until it starts throwing codes. Even my old Dynasty ran better than this, and it was a $500 car with a bunch of parts missing or rigged on.

Again, sorry for the aggravation/anger towards the car.
 
#60 ·
This is why GM's marketing division insisted that Chevy's engineers figure out how to make an engine designed for 91 octane (KRD code) safely run on 87 octane. However, I suspect your problem isn't related so much to octane as it is heat soak and spark plugs that don't dissipate heat very well. There's nothing you can do about the heat soak but you can go with a better spark plug.
 
#61 ·
ordering up some BKR8EIX-2668 this week, going to just go for it and see how it goes. Tried 6 autoparts stores today, and they didn't have anything better than the stock ones. and almost every clerk said "well, the OE plugs here are listed as iridium, doubt you'll do much better than that". That's probably a part of why i dropped so many angry post in here.
 
#62 ·
Make sure they're gapped at 0.029" and put them in.
 
#64 ·
Just a suggestion. I would think about finding another dealer. If your car is still under bumper to bumper warranty, any suggestion of charging you is just nonsense. I would drive a new Cruze and compare how it drives in the extreme heat vs your car. I have 14 Eco 6 speed and just drove to Chicago from Indy and the car got almost 45 mpg but it was no warmer than 75 out and rain. My only complaint is the lack of better lumbar support. Love the car and how it performs.

Keep at it and hope the new plugs help.
 
#66 ·
Bones, anytime you take the ignition rail off you need to verify the springs aren't stuck against the boots.
 
#69 ·
Man, I think I'm glad I live in MI and that I have a '14. Hasn't hit 90F this year and I have zero issues like this. I also find it interesting that the Cruze has come with 7 heat range iridium plugs and people seem to think the 8 heat range (colder plugs) are better. The owners manual for the '14 says to use AC Delco 41-122 plugs which are actually NGK IFR6Z7G (a hotter plug). Mine came with the 7 heat range despite what the manual said. I switched to the 6 heat range like the manual says and haven't noticed any difference. Running too hot a plug can lead to pre-detonation (knock) and I certainly haven't noticed that. Running too cold a plug causes carbon buildup, but I've heard no one running BKR8EIX plugs say they've noticed carbon buildup. Perhaps the 1.4T is fairly forgiving to spark plug heat range.
 
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