Here’s Why GM’s Small Turbocharged Engines’ Performance May Suffer In Winter
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Turbochargers are a great way to improve power and efficiency, and are particularly popular with lower-displacement GM engines. However, some turbocharged engines may actually suffer in performance during the wintertime.
According to GM TechLink, extremely cold weather conditions, that is, temperatures 0 degrees Fahrenheit / -18 degrees celsius or lower, may result in the charge air cooler (or CAC, otherwise known as the intercooler) to ice over, thus restricting airflow and possibly leading to power loss, including throttle hesitation and other related conditions.
For those who may not know, the CAC is designed to cool the compressed charge air coming from the turbocharger, making it more dense and increasing engine power and efficiency. However, if the CAC is iced over, engine performance could suffer.
In addition, this condition may trigger a range of DTCs (Diagnostic Trouble Codes), including P00C7 (Intake Air Pressure Measurement System), P0299 (Engine Underboost), P0234 (Engine Overboost), P0236 (Turbocharger Boost Sensor Performance), P0300 (Engine Misfire Detected), and P2227 (Barometric Pressure Sensor Performance).
A few GM engines that may experience this issue include:
- Turbocharged 1.5L I4 LYX gasoline engine (2018 through 2022 Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain)
- Turbocharged 1.2L I3 LIH gasoline engine (2020 through 2022 Buick Encore GX and Chevy Trailblazer)
- Turbocharged 1.3L I3 L3T gasoline engine (2020 through 2022 Buick Encore GX and Chevy Trailblazer)
- Turbocharged 1.4L I4 LE2 gasoline engine (2016 through 2019 Chevy Cruze)
For those GM vehicle owners that experience these issues, the conditions may only be present for the first 10 to 15 minutes of driving in cold weather, after which the condition may diminish as the vehicle and engine warm up. However, if the condition persists, owners can inspect the air induction system, including the CAC, for ice that may be restricting airflow. Ice buildup may also cover some of the related pressure sensors. Accumulated ice should be allowed to melt so that moisture can be drained from the system without causing damage to components.
Additionally, some 1.4L and 1.5L engines may have frozen oil or water contamination in the turbo wastegate regulator solenoid valve, resulting in the need to clean the component or replace it. Notably, a new ECM tune is available to address potential CTC ice buildup, enabling new transmission shift patterns that do not use overdrive as frequently during cold weather conditions.
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Lolol yet another reason to stay away from the overpriced new vehicle piles of junk.
None of my cars have this issue & never will.
Nothing says “professional grade” like watching GMC vehicles fail due to ice. GM needs to put the 2.0t back into the Terrain.
That didn’t take long to have one of the handful of 2.0t nut swingers comment. It is an intercooler issue, 2.0 could very easily have the same issue based on location or design. They tried the 2.0, no one bought them as it is a compact CUV. the standard engine performance is on par with the others, it isn’t needed, drop it…
The 2.0t made up 27% of Terrain sales. Shortly after the engine was dropped, the Terrain saw a 33% decrease in purchases. This is substantial and was preventable. Furthermore, there is no warning in the article of ice buildup for the 2.0t despite its use in the Cadillac XT4, Buick Envision, and Chevrolet Blazer. Only GM’s smaller engines are listed as experiencing problems. GM made a mistake. It’s not wrong to recognize that.
I thought the XT4 was listed for this issue as well late last year? Something about a grille cover?
That didn’t take long before the gm shills showed up to start making excuses.
It’s only 10-15 mins before you get the full power of that 3 or 4 cyl so what can go wrong in that short period of time…. LOL!
Not a common thing. I drove my turbo 10 years and never tossed a code or had a freezing condition..
>According to GM TechLink, extremely cold weather conditions, that is, temperatures 0 degrees Fahrenheit / -18 degrees celsius or lower, may result in the charge air cooler (or CAC, otherwise known as the intercooler) to ice over, thus restricting airflow and possibly leading to power loss, including throttle hesitation and other related conditions.<
Ah, no.
The intercooler only operates when the turbofan reaches a certain temperature, below that the charge bypasses the intercooler entirely.
I'm pretty sure the ECU keeps the engine from over-revving when its choking on a cold start to stop it from producing too much smoke.
Honda or Ford doesn’t have these problems with there 1.5L turbos GM needs to get it together
Honda just has oil dilution problems.
New cars are over complicated piles of junk. It’s the 2nd Malaise era.
The 1.5 L Ecoboost uses a air to water CAC, which is smaller but less efficient. The whole small Ecoboost series has severe overheating and head gasket problems, typically requiring entire short block replacements.
My 2019 Buick has the 2.0L Turbo and with short trips in the winter the oil is contaminated with fuel. So my car really is a 3 season car? I paid big bucks for a car that leaks gas into the oil? I heard that I’m not the only one wondering why all these direct injection engines are garbage and they has been no recall to fix this problem? I will drive it in to the ground and never go back to the dealer till the light comes on? Hopefully they will replace the engine under warranty? But that again is lie and deny.
Ford had a similar problem with icing when they first released their turbo V6 in the F150. All these new changes need adequate development time.
Gm small engine are pretty reliable never had any major issues with them specially with the icing problem with the turbo but I am a fan of the 2.0 l engine vrs the 1.5 engine wish they would bring back 2.0 l engine in the terrain
Someone that drove a withering and dying 2.4L Nox isn’t going to look at an even smaller displacement as appealing. They’ll see a hybrid (not plug in) as relieving load off of a small engine, and a more effective fuel saver. Still, short commute people don’t care about spending for fuel, same as regularly buying coffee/fast food. Turbos aren’t the heroes they were made out to be 20 years ago.
Don’t knock it until you’ve put 1,000 miles on a 2022 Equinox with a1.5L turbo. They’re great to drive. Super mpg….far above EPA’s 31 mpg Highway.
Nothing says “Professional Grade” like a tiny lowest output in class 1.5T that loses even more power in the real cold temps. It was also comical looking at a newly arrived 2022 Terrain with a window sticker over 35K and it had a cheap urethane steering wheel because GM decontented it last year and loads of hard cheap plastic everywhere. The perfect rental car.
I purchased a 2021 Terrain and my first winter it was in the shop 3 times to replace the charge cooler. Now just starting a second winter and it’s been in twice!! Replaced again. I was told by the dealership that is something that they can’t fix and can only put a band aid on it. They also said this is a huge problem that see daily! I’m scared to drive it now but have no choice as I drive 20 minutes on highway to work one way each day. I have lost time at work due this issue. I probably will not see my grandchildren for Christmas this year as I can’t trust this car to drive 8 hours. Had I have known that this was a 3 season car I NEVER would have made that purchase! So living in Saskatchewan that’s like 6 months of not being able to drive anywhere without fear of it freezing every time I go anywhere.
Lol…people thinking turbos are different with different logos… lmao for the ignorance.
If you live in higher elevations, turbos are better since they don’t effect them in thinner air.
So there are trade offs. No need to smash the logo of the turbo and call it trash since all of turbos are affected.
Turbo diesels are different all together.
What winter vehicle owner doesn’t let their vehicle warm up for 5-10 minutes or more when its -20°C or colder. I park in an insulated garage & still let it warm up when it’s-20.
The only problem with the 2.0 , it needs premium gas only!!!!
No it does not. It will run fine on regular or middle grade gas. However, you may experience a drop in HP & Torque but nothing significant.
Plus, you can also stuff your electric motors. I’ll buy gas for a V-8 (or even the right V-6) before I wait an hour for an 80% charge on a road trip. I prefer to shift my own gears and most importantly – have a real key. Takeaway: if the cost cutting crap of today isn’t working, go back to the old school stuff that did.
GM does need to get this fixed. Shutters were installed on the 2022 models as a fix and already have them breaking down, Live in an area where minus 30 degrees can go for 2 plus weeks in row and theses guys fill the shop with reduced speed units, its very serious issue especially hi-way drivers and causes horrible relationships with customers. the engine winter front GM came up with did not help. This has been left unresolved for far to long GM!!! Bi the way, the 2T never had this issue. Typical GM move, get something right and discontinue it!!
Had a new 2018 Buick with 2.0 turbo and the cold weather issue forced me to sell the car. I live in North Dakota and dealer could not fix the problem. Also adaptive cruise control could not be defeated and our road signs up here are far off the road for snow removal so car could not detect anything and cruise control would turn off, would drive 200 miles without cruise. Unacceptable in a new $42;000 new vehicle. Always bought GM but replaced with Ecoboost ford and have not experienced any of these issues
This is exactly the type of issue that should have been easily identifiable during cold weather testing at Kapuskasing. That’s assuming they even bother to do that anymore. Knowing GM, they probably cut that budget to save cost and this is the result.
Most of the comments here have no relation to the problem. In higher humidity with freezing temps you have condensing of water vapor when cooled in charge air cooler. Low throttle driving and cooler mounting can lead to the collected water not being blown through or evaporated. The water can freeze while parked and sometimes while being driven in sub freezing temps. Angled mounting has fixed this on some makes and transmission shift changes to build more boost, temp, and airflow can address it. Water to air CAC is not worse but it does cost more.
Chev traxes and cruises going back to 2013 with the 1.4 turbo had lots of freezing problems in the winter. It really helped to completely cover the grill part that was in front of the intercooler.
I have a 2021 1.5t Malibu, I noticed hot oil smell and ended up finding sandy brown oil mixture in my intake going into the turbo, dealer called me said it’s the intercooler, and are replacing it, not sure how oil would get to the intake from the intercooler. Guess I’m have to wait for it to blow up to get a proper diagnosis
I have the 2022 Equinox with the 1.5L turbo and I love it. Hwy mpg is rated at 31 but I religiously get 35-39 depending on terrain (traveling at 67mph in the right lane). It has plenty of power and good cargo volume. It handles very nicely and has a silky smooth powertrain.
I purchased a Captiva 2022 in Guadalajara Mexico, and any time I take this car to a cold whaether Place (San DIgo California in January by I-8 fwy 4000 ft high 35 F . It never gets the engine warm. The Temperature Icon en the dash board lights red and the check engin signal appears. I touched de exaust manifull with my bare hands, it was cold. This is not correct.