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Diesel Lag

5K views 20 replies 13 participants last post by  Lifeson 
#1 ·
I had my truck at the dealer today to confirm the lag when accelerating when the engine is cold. They checked and confirmed my complaint. Technician contacted star(Chrysler Engineering Department) The technician was told that this is a normal condition when vehicle is cold. Technician was told that power is cut from the engine until the engine coolant temperature reaches 150 degrees. This is to stop Rod Bearing from being damaged. Technician found all ok at this time. Vehicle is operating as designed after recall. Recheck ok. I was told by the technician to let the truck warm up for 10 minutes before driving it. Amazing

Dave
 
#5 ·
Curious what it is with the ecodiesel specifically that makes the bearings so vulnerable till warmed up?

I almost never let the truck run for more than 20 seconds before driving unless it’s really cold and not plugged in. The UOA I had done was from my winter oil and showed very low wear metals. I Am easy on the gas till it’s warmed up but I get on a 70 mph road within a mile. Just don’t pull out in front of people.
 
#6 · (Edited)
There are some areas in this country where people can't get onto their road on the way to work without pulling out and putting the pedal to the metal. They live where I would never live. Poorly designed roads, traffic controls, and a local/state government that is too fat to care. Or they don't have enough patience. Or both.

Regardless, I'm bothered by FCA claiming this is to protect the main bearings. Is this some kind of ruse? What is this engine made with ... tinker toys?

The reality is its a design failure if this is true.
 
#8 ·
I had a problem with the particulant sensors. Took it to the dealership and also complained about the lag. The head mechanic checked it and had them replace the catalytic converter as well as the sensors. Have been drinking it s week and just hauled a load of logs (which normally sucks due to the lag). Truck ran fine. No lag. Just as preppy as new.

I hope that was the fix.
 
#9 ·
That answered the question I had on your other thread. DPF was the issue.

All diesels are slow when cold. My old 6.5, the Duramax and even my Cummins suffered when cold. I learned that even idling for a while does not heat them up enough. Then there is also a cold transmission issue if you have an automatic, as all the Ecodiesels are. Always afraid to push the engine much until it is warm. I watch my oil pressure also. When it drops below 50 it seems the coolant temperature is finally above 150*. Then I will try to accelerate to highway speeds. Before that - let the traffic pass. Once warm I just pass them back.

Never push a diesel hard when it is cold. If FCA sets up the AEM to do that they are just accelerating the learning curve for slow learners and maybe saving engines. Think they should also be publishing that to educate the owners and help them learn to adapt to road situations when cold.
 
#10 ·
My question about the FCA claiming they are purposefully derating the engine until oil temps reach 150 to protect from bearing failure. Then wouldn't that mean the GDE tuned trucks have a higher failure rate because they remove that lag out of the tune. If so why do you not hear people with the gde tuned trucks failing when it's the opposite of that. Is there something else at play with the gde tune helping from failure then ?
 
#11 ·
Was called 3 times by the dealer after third trip back to check the lag issue asking if I received it. They sent this questionnaire:

• Questionnaires (For customers);

Have you experienced any hesitation or acceleration lag on the DS 3LTD? If yes, please describe the conditions
• Have you experienced any surge? If yes please describe the conditions in your own words
• Is the Hesitation present only during cold start of the engine or is it present when the engine is warmed up?
• Is the hesitation present when pressing the accelerator pedal after a complete vehicle stop or accelerating while the vehicle is in motion
• Is the hesitation present during light acceleration or heavy acceleration
• Is the hesitation only present when starting the engine after more than 4 hours or is reproducible even when starting the engine after half an hour?
• Is there any other condition where you have experienced drivability hesitations
• How many times per day is your vehicle typically started?
• Does the condition improves after driving for a period of time
• Did you have an experience driving a diesel vehicle before?
• What was the last vehicle driven by you before driving this product?
• Would the customer be willing to have a data logger device installed in the vehicle for the engineers to collect data when the customer experiences the issue
• Additional comment you would like to make





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#12 ·
It’s all about a cold engine producing excessive soot when the engines COLD, Diesels are combustion ignition, when the combustion chamber is cold it doesn’t fire off a complete burn , creating a wet nasty soot and This is extremely amplified with a really poorly designed EGR system, GDE shuts the EGR off and cleans up the burn to stop this excessive soot production ....Now cleaning the burn through injection cycles and advancing the timing is also where you get the additional fuel economy .....
 
#13 ·
I'd agree with all that. I still question how derating the engine until up to 150 saves from bearing failure. When the gde tune eliminates the lag wouldn't that mean more people jumping on the gas on cold engines would lead to more failures of tuned engines. It seems that tuned engines have less failure rate then none tuned engines. So do you think better tune and less soot with egr shut off is the reasoning for less engine failures. So soot is to blame then ? Just asking your opinion because I personally don't understand how engine temps associated with bearing failure. Bearings are bearings whether in a gas or diesel engines. Gas engines and some diesels get started in cold climates and see some pretty harsh abuse all the time without bearing failure. So to me it seems like a design failure with the derating engine until 150 is a band aid fix without having to admit it's a failure. I am not knocking the engine I love mine and there is more then enough examples of high mileage good motors around. I just don't buy that the lag in accelerating is to limit bearing failure. If it is it's a piss poor one.
 
#17 ·
No matter what, the deception of performance after AEM is not going to fly with me. This truck does not have the power that I purchased it for, its been in the shop more times than any other of my diesel trucks combined...
Time for FCA to buy this POS back, I've had it with the lies, excuses and down right fraud FCA has committed against all of us. Settlement is a joke, 3k does nothing for diminished value.
I agreed to the settlement, but since they haven't sent a check and until I cash it, there's still time to file my own...
 
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