GM 1.5 liter engines melting themselves.

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Not sure if this was posted already. Sorry if it was. Have a friend that works at a chevy dealership and said that they have had 4 vehicles in so far with pistons that have cracked or broken ring lands.

1.5 engine issues
 
Mom just bought a 15 cruze. I was amazed they don't spec premium fuel for this vehicle.

They must be doing a lot with the tuning to keep the motor alive (or maybe not) on 87 octane.
 
Originally Posted By: A_Harman
I'm just sitting here smiling smugly...


Any particular reason other than looking goofy?
 
Originally Posted By: PimTac
Being this is BITOG, what oil does Chevy require for these engines?


My best guess is 5W-30 Dexos, used in the more proven 2.0L Turbo...
 
This isn't an oil problem. This is too cheap engineering. Hey bean counters, how much did you save when you de-contented the marque's reputation? Did they exceed the limits of how small a piston skirt can be? Or switch to a lower grade piston? This isn't a particular dig on GM. All car makers are subject to too much drive to the bottom.
 
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Originally Posted By: andyd
This isn't an oil problem. This is too cheap engineering. Hey bean counters, how much did you save when you de-contented the marque's reputation? Did they exceed the limits of how small a piston skirt can be? Or switch to a lower grade piston? This isn't a particular dig on GM. All car makers are subject to too much drive to the bottom.


Yep!

They need a bigger engine in the cruze's.
 
Old article, software update corrected this issue. Get used to tiny turbo engines, all manufacturers are going there. 2018 Accord will have the same powertrain options, 1.5T or 2.0T.
 
Have no fear of these newfangled turbo motors - this new oil will save the day.
It even comes in a new style package
(I could only find in quarts) ...


 
I enjoyed my turbo engines when the vehicle didn't rely much on the turbo during normal driving. The turbo was used for passing. Today the turbo must be used just to give a vehicle decent acceleration so it can keep up with the traffic flow, which may not be a good thing for the long haul. Ed
 
Originally Posted By: JustinH
Mom just bought a 15 cruze. I was amazed they don't spec premium fuel for this vehicle.

They must be doing a lot with the tuning to keep the motor alive (or maybe not) on 87 octane.


The port-injected 1.4T will run pretty poorly on regular, made worse in hot weather and moreso if the A/C is on. The engine has a very pronounced power curve and has to he coaxed to really move the car, but it can. Every time I put regular fuel in mine (maybe 5 times its whole life?) I regret it - some swear by premium but I find 89 octane to be the best compromise.

Chevy had a batch of bad pistons in the '11 (and maybe '12) Cruze 1.4T, but I believe that was a manufacturing defect rather than design.

I'm glad I bought my '13 when I did - I can trust a turbo, to a point, but currently DI is just more than I care to be responsible for maintaining/fixing over the long haul.
 
Our 2013 Cruze 1.4T is at 90k and doing fine with Exxon or Shell mid grade - we run a bottle of Techron in the tank before oil change time ...
 
Our 2015 Chevy Sonic has the 1.8l N/A engine . I am glad it does not have the 1.4l turbo .

But that is just me .
 
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I'm not a huge fan of where a turbo makes most of it's power on a tiny engine. There's nothing wrong with turboing a decently sized engine to make decent power but creating a high strung engine is gonna pose issues for the average consumer.

Yeah I don't like that either, dreading the idea of having to go car shopping in the future for this reason. Pretty soon every car is going to have that and a CVT. I felt the same about electric power steering too.
 
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