Maybe this isn't a diesel specific item, but since I've had two Cruzen, one gas and one diesel, and the diesel A/C might be slightly different, I thought I'd post it here.
Long story short, the A/C sucks. Today was nearly 100F in Portland, the first day I've really needed A/C since owning my diesel Cruze. The car (Tungsten Metallic) sat in the sun all day, and upon startup took a solid three to four minutes to even begin to put out cool air. Even at that point, it never got even remotely "cold" until I got on the freeway and started moving at least 40 mph. As soon as I got off the freeway, the air coming out of the vents noticeably warmed up again to just barely cool. It was enough to keep the interior bearable, but just.
Just to point out a couple things for perspective:
1) I am aware there have been complaints of A/C on the Cruze over the years, most of which have been low charge from the factory. However, I felt this level of performance (or lack thereof) was notable. My gasoline Cruze, while never a freezer, was always adequate and certainly performed better than my current one. Also, I am aware that it is not necessarily the diesel that is the problem, more likely just a really poorly charged A/C.
2) With one exception (my Subaru Outback will put out cool air within 15 seconds, cold air within a minute regardless of driving conditions), every car I have owned has been very slow to cool down in extreme heat and usually required some higher speed driving to really reach full potential. That said, this one is by far the worst. Yes, my current Cruze is a dark color (Tungsten) vs. my former Cruze which was Silver, but my 2004 Impala was solid black, and while it was an oven after sitting in the sun and still didn't cool off the fastest, it was still better.
Anyway, I still love my diesel, but it's going in for a warranty check on the A/C as soon as I get a chance.
Long story short, the A/C sucks. Today was nearly 100F in Portland, the first day I've really needed A/C since owning my diesel Cruze. The car (Tungsten Metallic) sat in the sun all day, and upon startup took a solid three to four minutes to even begin to put out cool air. Even at that point, it never got even remotely "cold" until I got on the freeway and started moving at least 40 mph. As soon as I got off the freeway, the air coming out of the vents noticeably warmed up again to just barely cool. It was enough to keep the interior bearable, but just.
Just to point out a couple things for perspective:
1) I am aware there have been complaints of A/C on the Cruze over the years, most of which have been low charge from the factory. However, I felt this level of performance (or lack thereof) was notable. My gasoline Cruze, while never a freezer, was always adequate and certainly performed better than my current one. Also, I am aware that it is not necessarily the diesel that is the problem, more likely just a really poorly charged A/C.
2) With one exception (my Subaru Outback will put out cool air within 15 seconds, cold air within a minute regardless of driving conditions), every car I have owned has been very slow to cool down in extreme heat and usually required some higher speed driving to really reach full potential. That said, this one is by far the worst. Yes, my current Cruze is a dark color (Tungsten) vs. my former Cruze which was Silver, but my 2004 Impala was solid black, and while it was an oven after sitting in the sun and still didn't cool off the fastest, it was still better.
Anyway, I still love my diesel, but it's going in for a warranty check on the A/C as soon as I get a chance.