Truck Runs Horrible When Cold

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Jeff-Ohio

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Mine's going to the dealer on Monday for the same issue. But what I'm more concerned with is the 5-3 downshift on deceleration. Doesn't matter if the truck is warmed up or not, that shift can be quite harsh.

Do you have a 2019? Let me know what they say.
 

Cribz

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I had a 2011 SRT Challenger that was just like that. You couldn't choose second gear until you had traveled at least a mile. Hold on to your ******* when you hit mile 2 though....:D
 

CigarPundit

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It never hurts to let a hi-po motor warm up. They're not like your regular get in and go Toyota. I'd say give it at least 3-5 minutes.

Not necessarily. I haven’t read the manual cover to cover, but I don’t see any recommendations regarding warm up. My BMW manual specifically recommends that you start off driving straight away, but take it easy until the engine warms up. The reason is that driving will get the oil circulating and parts warmed up faster than idling. Thus, less wear on the engine than would be produced by idling and prolonging the warm up process.
 

FastEddie

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My 2019 is very sluggish when cold. Wouldn't necessarily call it embarrassing but it is sluggish for about a block or two after a cold start.
 

onthebrake

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Thanks to all for the responses. If I let the truck warm up, the issues pretty much go away. I haven't timed how long of a warm up is required, but generally several minutes will drastically change how she drives in a good way. I don't mind doing this, but every other car/truck that I have ever owned drove fairly normal when cold. I guess I just added another temperamental lady to my life who needs warmed up before she is good to go :).
EXACTLY.
 

RotorHead695

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Not necessarily. I haven’t read the manual cover to cover, but I don’t see any recommendations regarding warm up. My BMW manual specifically recommends that you start off driving straight away, but take it easy until the engine warms up. The reason is that driving will get the oil circulating and parts warmed up faster than idling. Thus, less wear on the engine than would be produced by idling and prolonging the warm up process.

^^^^This! Taking it easy while it warms up is way better on the engine than idling for a warm up. I used to own a car in the past that had a rev limiter kick in until the engine was sufficiently warm.
 

CigarPundit

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^^^^This! Taking it easy while it warms up is way better on the engine than idling for a warm up. I used to own a car in the past that had a rev limiter kick in until the engine was sufficiently warm.

That’s exactly how my M3 works. The red/yellow lines on the tach start lower and increase as the engine gets to full operating temp.
 

xrocket21

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I use my remote start like 90% of the time, starting it even as I am walking over to it. The truck seems to have a complex startup cycle and it needs to get through that before it will run proper.
 
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