Just hot weather? Or do I got problems?

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PocketRocket

Member
What up everyone, I live in Las Vegas where the past couple weeks it's been over 110°F. Well, for about the last week or so, everytime I drive my car it has major trouble accelerating. The car literally feels like it's completely losing power at around 2k rpm. And if I have to haul ass while getting on the freeway or something, as it revs up, it feels like it's either missing or dropping all boost pressure over and over throughout acceleration. My question is, could it be as simple as crazy hot weather? I know turbo cars get very unhappy in 115° heat. But my car has 92,000 miles and I've never encountered this problem any other summer. By the way, my car is completely stock. 2013 1.4t LT.
 
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PocketRocket

Member
No that's the thing. I don't get any codes or lights or anything. It's the weirdest thing. I'm on the verge of trading the car in. I'm officially the slowest car on the road now that I can't accelerate at all.
 
RMinNJ

RMinNJ

Active member
Did you check for pending codes
.it sounds like it's in limp mode which is 4 lbs of boost max.
 
L

LTZ ICE

New member
For sure with turbos. Heat soak is common ground with turbos. I have the same engine and when the temps get up there, it's like a different motor.
 
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L

LTZ ICE

New member
From Garrett...

"Heat soak is when the intercooler can't dissipate the heat that it absorbs from the turbo fast enough. When an intercooler can't cool the charge air by removing the heat from it, it loses its effectiveness. This explains why turbo cars tend to run slower or have slightly less power when the weather is warm."
 
acamacho104

acamacho104

Member
PocketRocket said:
If it could in fact be in limp mode, how would I get it out? Or is that something only a dealer could do?
Click to expand...

You need to hook it up to a code reader. I know there isn't a CEL on right now, but it could be pending and the car is still trying to sort it out. If there is no pending code, and there is no CEL, I would chalk it up to the temperature. But that isn't exactly scientific.

The other thing I noticed about these cars is the AC compressor really sucks the life out of the motor when it's engaged. It's especially annoying on completely stock cars.
 
LorbeerTLC

LorbeerTLC

Member
When it's HOT...

I have a 2012 Sonic LTZ Hatch 1.4L 6spd manual with A/C and when it's hot (especially lately in Arizona and Nevada), yes, you certainly do lose power. Especially when your A/C is on. I've been through 110 heat and it was in stop-in-go heavy traffic. The A/C quit working (uh-oh... warning sign), during this time so I turned it off and opened my windows. I found when I started moving I had to rev-up my engine much higher than normal and ease the clutch out in order to keep my torque from slipping too low. I couldn't believe how much power I was loosing. It's like the heat just sucked it right out! A Smart Car fortwo would have blown me away if we were racing!

I did listen for the engine cooling fan and it was working. But that stop-in-go traffic is a killer when it gets really HOT! Once we started to stay above 40mph for a while I tried the A/C and it started working again. The coolant light never came on but I bet it was pretty hot. Best thing to do is test your car extremely early in the morning (just before sunrise) when your temperature is at 80F or below and see if there's a difference in the way it accelerates as oppose to your 110F experience (I know in Las Vegas it can stay pretty warm overnight during the summer). Check your coolant and make sure it's full. If your car has never had the coolant changed, now would be a good time to do it. And make sure you have at least a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and distilled water (at least that's what I use). Since then I invested in some gauges (Coolant Temp, Oil Pressure, and Voltmeter).

Hope that helps.
-Tom
 
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PocketRocket

Member
Well I drove it at 6am this morning and it accelerated fine. So apparently anything above 110°f or so is too much for the 1.4t. especially with the a/c blasting.
 
RMinNJ

RMinNJ

Active member
If you dont have an ultraguage or scanner to read codes next time it happens pull over or wait until your stopped at a light and stop/start the car... see if it accelerates ok (for a while).. that will tell you if it had gone into limp mode.
 
acamacho104

acamacho104

Member
You don't notice it as much on a tuned engine. That could be a good place to start. I've seen someone spray water/meth on their intercooler as opposed to in the engine. I think I saw someone had that on this forum, actually.
 
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PocketRocket

Member
What if I were to mount an electric fan to the intercooler so it would always be getting air forced through it? Cause an electric fan has to push more air through the intercooler than driving on the freeway would, right?
It would be perfect in stop and go traffic.
 
LorbeerTLC

LorbeerTLC

Member
Interesting!

PocketRocket, that's pretty cool!

However, I would really like some statistics on, "How much cooler will this lower the air temperature?" "Will this eliminate [or how much will this reduce] engine lag in temperatures in excess of 110F?" before I would invest into this. Yes, a larger intercooler would make you assume that this should fix the problem but I would like to see figures to support that. It could be (like air conditioning), that when the air gets this hot outside [110F] that the air can't sufficiently be cooled enough through an intercooler to perform like it would when it's 80F. I but honestly don't know. :confused:

If this IS the answer, this should be a Chevy Option for those living in the hot Southwest Deserts! :cool:
 
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