Chevrolet Cruze estate
Discussion
This won't be the most exciting reader's cars, but in case anyone is curious, here goes.
Needed a cheapish family runaround following expiry of our focus tdci. Must haves were 5 doors, remote locking, air con and be reasonably tidy < 10 years. £3k later and this Cruze 1.7 cdti ltz was ours
Initial thoughts were
- 130bhp turbo diesel engine goes well enough on the motorway, but under 2500 (where the turbo kicks in) it's very flat indeed
- steering is overlight
- handling is perfectly acceptable for a family car
- the inside feels small and gloomy. Tinted don't help I guess
- front seats are very narrow, with back and thigh bolters giving little space..god knows how Americans cope
The car itself was a bit messy, but for £3k it's got plenty of life in it.
Needed a cheapish family runaround following expiry of our focus tdci. Must haves were 5 doors, remote locking, air con and be reasonably tidy < 10 years. £3k later and this Cruze 1.7 cdti ltz was ours
Initial thoughts were
- 130bhp turbo diesel engine goes well enough on the motorway, but under 2500 (where the turbo kicks in) it's very flat indeed
- steering is overlight
- handling is perfectly acceptable for a family car
- the inside feels small and gloomy. Tinted don't help I guess
- front seats are very narrow, with back and thigh bolters giving little space..god knows how Americans cope
The car itself was a bit messy, but for £3k it's got plenty of life in it.
Issue 1 - damp.
In winter, loads of condensation was forming overnight, and freezing on the inside of the car.
My wife, who commutes in it daily, made it known that this was not satisfactory.
I checked around the door seals and the air con drain pipe, but found no leaks. So where was the moisture coming from?
The HVAC system, or specifically the scuttle drain.
Basically, Chevrolet's crap design involved the scuttle cover being pressed against the windscreen, forcing water to drain "over" it into the scuttle, and out under the car.
Unfortunately, they forgot to tell the water this, which simply ran between the scuttle drain cover and windscreen, falling directly into the HVAC inlet.
So the pollen filter was basically sitting in a puddle. No wonder there was so much moisture inside the car.
Taking off the scuttle covers (after removing the wipers) revealed a huge plug of silicone. Someone had tried (and failed) to fix this before.
But I was not going to follow them.
After googling, it seems a usa service bulletin requires a plastic cowling/ shield to be fitted over the HVAC intake, protecting it from water ingress.
It was only $30 or so, but shipping costs were stupid.
So I simply fashioned my own out of a sheet of aluminium from Wickes, fitted with gorilla tape
A test with the watering can made me put a lip on it, and after that it directed rainwater correctly into the scuttle, which drains under the car.
Success - no more floods of condensation each morning.
In winter, loads of condensation was forming overnight, and freezing on the inside of the car.
My wife, who commutes in it daily, made it known that this was not satisfactory.
I checked around the door seals and the air con drain pipe, but found no leaks. So where was the moisture coming from?
The HVAC system, or specifically the scuttle drain.
Basically, Chevrolet's crap design involved the scuttle cover being pressed against the windscreen, forcing water to drain "over" it into the scuttle, and out under the car.
Unfortunately, they forgot to tell the water this, which simply ran between the scuttle drain cover and windscreen, falling directly into the HVAC inlet.
So the pollen filter was basically sitting in a puddle. No wonder there was so much moisture inside the car.
Taking off the scuttle covers (after removing the wipers) revealed a huge plug of silicone. Someone had tried (and failed) to fix this before.
But I was not going to follow them.
After googling, it seems a usa service bulletin requires a plastic cowling/ shield to be fitted over the HVAC intake, protecting it from water ingress.
It was only $30 or so, but shipping costs were stupid.
So I simply fashioned my own out of a sheet of aluminium from Wickes, fitted with gorilla tape
A test with the watering can made me put a lip on it, and after that it directed rainwater correctly into the scuttle, which drains under the car.
Success - no more floods of condensation each morning.
Issue 2 - lights
The Chevrolet Cruze is basically an Astra J. Despite being "top spec" ltz, the spec is poor.
An annoyance when getting into the gloomy interior in winter was the lack of light.
The driver overhead console had 2 map lights, but no courtesy or interior light.
There was a dome light in the rear, but it was useless to help locate the keyhole, for instance.
This is the console
The fact it's in my garage probably gives a clue what's coming.
Googling USA boards showed some Americans swap in an overhead console from a Chrysler malibu, or a Buick Verano.
Unsurprisingly, I couldn't find one of those going in the UK.
What I could find however is the overhead console from an Astra J Elite. This comes equipped with the 2 map lights, but also a central dome light, and a small ambient light that shines on the gearstick.
£20 later and it's mine - it's even the same colour.
To wire it up was a matte of running some 3 core wire from the existing dome light in the rear through to the front console.
These were spliced into the power source for the main dome light which is operated by the doors opening, plus a permanent feed for the ambient light.
There is a way to use standard GM clips so that wires can be clipped into the standard GM plug. These prongs are about 80 cents from a USA dealer.
Again though, I couldn't find anything this side of the pond, so used some generic crimp clips in the plug to wire it up.
Result?
Well, it works. The front half of the car now has light as well as the rear when opening the door, and the map lights both still work.
The only annoyance is the ambient light is red, which matches the Astra elite's red colour scheme. Unfortunately, cruzes came with a cyan blue colour scheme, which is slightly incongruous with the red.
But I simply CBA to hack apart the overhead console to unsolder a red led, and solder in a cyan blue one (which I can't find anywhere anyway)
I just tell myself red is more soothing for night time driving.
The Chevrolet Cruze is basically an Astra J. Despite being "top spec" ltz, the spec is poor.
An annoyance when getting into the gloomy interior in winter was the lack of light.
The driver overhead console had 2 map lights, but no courtesy or interior light.
There was a dome light in the rear, but it was useless to help locate the keyhole, for instance.
This is the console
The fact it's in my garage probably gives a clue what's coming.
Googling USA boards showed some Americans swap in an overhead console from a Chrysler malibu, or a Buick Verano.
Unsurprisingly, I couldn't find one of those going in the UK.
What I could find however is the overhead console from an Astra J Elite. This comes equipped with the 2 map lights, but also a central dome light, and a small ambient light that shines on the gearstick.
£20 later and it's mine - it's even the same colour.
To wire it up was a matte of running some 3 core wire from the existing dome light in the rear through to the front console.
These were spliced into the power source for the main dome light which is operated by the doors opening, plus a permanent feed for the ambient light.
There is a way to use standard GM clips so that wires can be clipped into the standard GM plug. These prongs are about 80 cents from a USA dealer.
Again though, I couldn't find anything this side of the pond, so used some generic crimp clips in the plug to wire it up.
Result?
Well, it works. The front half of the car now has light as well as the rear when opening the door, and the map lights both still work.
The only annoyance is the ambient light is red, which matches the Astra elite's red colour scheme. Unfortunately, cruzes came with a cyan blue colour scheme, which is slightly incongruous with the red.
But I simply CBA to hack apart the overhead console to unsolder a red led, and solder in a cyan blue one (which I can't find anywhere anyway)
I just tell myself red is more soothing for night time driving.
Issue 3 - (different) lights
The headlights are poor. Yes, in the world of laser like LEDs it's relative. But they were bad.
So, I have a poke around inside the lamp units, and found this
Some very sorry looking ring bulbs.
Finally, I have found a part that doesn't need to come from the USA. I had some spare H4 osram nightbreakers in the garage already, so with them fitted, there was a noticeable improvement.
The headlights are poor. Yes, in the world of laser like LEDs it's relative. But they were bad.
So, I have a poke around inside the lamp units, and found this
Some very sorry looking ring bulbs.
Finally, I have found a part that doesn't need to come from the USA. I had some spare H4 osram nightbreakers in the garage already, so with them fitted, there was a noticeable improvement.
Next job - Oil change
I tend to change oil around summer time. But no, the car has decided the oil needs changing "now". Service messages were coming up in the car, to eventually be replaced with "service overdue", making me bump this up my to-do list.
My bmw uses 5w30 oil, and checking out the 20 litre drum I had for it, the stuff was dexos2 compliant.
Great stuff, as I can use it in both cars. Chevrolet Cruze also use the element type oil filter rather than the cassette type filter, which was straight forward to get from eBay
So it's all going well so far - I didn't even need to take the undertray off.
I had already googled how to reset the oil service messages, with some American chap saying you just select the oil menu, and hold down the stork.
Ok, so I get in the car after changing the oil, and look in vain for this menu.
To spoil the surprise, the UK car didn't get this option. There are simply less menu screens in the UK car software, meaning you can't reset the oil life with the control stalk in a UK diesel (not sure of that extends to petrols, but probably does)
So it can just be ignored? No. Apparently, the car won't do a dpf regeneration if the oil life has been exceeded.
My wife has had the odd amber dpf regeneration warning light, but it's always been resolved by me just taking it out for a longer run instead of using my car.
But no regenerations at all is going to be a problem, I think.
So, more googling led me to a Cruze forum with some sensible people on it for a change, and they suggested buying a scan tool to do this.
One autel diaglink and £75 later, I had managed to reset the oil service life myself, after probably only 45 mins of looking at random menus and trying to find out what code my car engine is.
£75 seems steep, but it would cost more for Vauxhall to do, and I can do it forever now (or sell the tool second hand)
I tend to change oil around summer time. But no, the car has decided the oil needs changing "now". Service messages were coming up in the car, to eventually be replaced with "service overdue", making me bump this up my to-do list.
My bmw uses 5w30 oil, and checking out the 20 litre drum I had for it, the stuff was dexos2 compliant.
Great stuff, as I can use it in both cars. Chevrolet Cruze also use the element type oil filter rather than the cassette type filter, which was straight forward to get from eBay
So it's all going well so far - I didn't even need to take the undertray off.
I had already googled how to reset the oil service messages, with some American chap saying you just select the oil menu, and hold down the stork.
Ok, so I get in the car after changing the oil, and look in vain for this menu.
To spoil the surprise, the UK car didn't get this option. There are simply less menu screens in the UK car software, meaning you can't reset the oil life with the control stalk in a UK diesel (not sure of that extends to petrols, but probably does)
So it can just be ignored? No. Apparently, the car won't do a dpf regeneration if the oil life has been exceeded.
My wife has had the odd amber dpf regeneration warning light, but it's always been resolved by me just taking it out for a longer run instead of using my car.
But no regenerations at all is going to be a problem, I think.
So, more googling led me to a Cruze forum with some sensible people on it for a change, and they suggested buying a scan tool to do this.
One autel diaglink and £75 later, I had managed to reset the oil service life myself, after probably only 45 mins of looking at random menus and trying to find out what code my car engine is.
£75 seems steep, but it would cost more for Vauxhall to do, and I can do it forever now (or sell the tool second hand)
Issue 4 - keys
The car was cheap, and had some downsides. One was a missing tonneau cover (impossible to find). The other was a missing spare key. Having just one key was a pita, but also quite risky.
My local vauxhall dealer ignored my messages about getting a key made, so I decided to do it myself.
Getting a 2 button fob was straight forward - they're used in loads of GM cars. The important bit was getting the right frequency (not the USA one), and the transponder bit inside, which the Americans don't seem to have
However, unlike my old faithful MK1.5 focus, there is no way to code a key yourself it seems.
Much as I like buying tools, it was obviously impractical for me to buy the kit for this. So I called in at a local locksmith place, who could fit me in that day (southern lock & safe co - recommended).
For about £60, they cut the new key, and coded it to the Cruze in under an hour.
With batteries, I had a new key for under £80. Not bad imo.
The car was cheap, and had some downsides. One was a missing tonneau cover (impossible to find). The other was a missing spare key. Having just one key was a pita, but also quite risky.
My local vauxhall dealer ignored my messages about getting a key made, so I decided to do it myself.
Getting a 2 button fob was straight forward - they're used in loads of GM cars. The important bit was getting the right frequency (not the USA one), and the transponder bit inside, which the Americans don't seem to have
However, unlike my old faithful MK1.5 focus, there is no way to code a key yourself it seems.
Much as I like buying tools, it was obviously impractical for me to buy the kit for this. So I called in at a local locksmith place, who could fit me in that day (southern lock & safe co - recommended).
For about £60, they cut the new key, and coded it to the Cruze in under an hour.
With batteries, I had a new key for under £80. Not bad imo.
Issue 5 - broken wheel nut
To come up to date, the tyre shop twisted off the end of the wheel nut, which had obviously been over tightened in the past.
After some advice from the mechanics section, I purchased myself a set of bolt extractors, and a new wheel nut (£16 and £5 respectively).
Hammering on the extractor, then applying some leverage soon saw it undone.
Shame the tyre shop didn't think of this, as I have to take the wheel back to get the final tyre fitted.
Still, I have aquired some new tools. I think I will put in my will that I want all my tools to be buried alongside me when I die. They might get used twice that way, by whatever future generation digs them up.
(Ps not wasn't me that pushed the wing in, though I did scrape the mudguard with the extension bar like a complete noob )
To come up to date, the tyre shop twisted off the end of the wheel nut, which had obviously been over tightened in the past.
After some advice from the mechanics section, I purchased myself a set of bolt extractors, and a new wheel nut (£16 and £5 respectively).
Hammering on the extractor, then applying some leverage soon saw it undone.
Shame the tyre shop didn't think of this, as I have to take the wheel back to get the final tyre fitted.
Still, I have aquired some new tools. I think I will put in my will that I want all my tools to be buried alongside me when I die. They might get used twice that way, by whatever future generation digs them up.
(Ps not wasn't me that pushed the wing in, though I did scrape the mudguard with the extension bar like a complete noob )
threespires said:
Looks like it's got all the disadvantages of a classic car and none of the advantages of a modern car. All wrapped in an unexceptional body. Good choice...
HeheYeah, I've had my share of older cars and bikes. I've had 40 min jobs turn into weekends of trying to extract broken studs etc.
I'm getting to the age where I don't look forward to a weekend of spannering, but still get enough satisfaction from fixing something at 1/10th the cost of taking ot to a garage.
What I might not have conveyed is that day after day, week after week, the car has performed without fault.
The body is a bit uninspiring perhaps, but I prefer it to the Astra, the Tipo, Kia's, or any number of similarly cheap bland 2010 cars.
It gets treated as a modern car, because basically it is one. These niggles are mostly routine servicing, consumables or just making the experience slightly better.
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