I noticed a slight hesitation in acceleration after stopping ever since I got my truck. It wasn’t a big deal at first, but today it got much worse. It hesitates for a long time before accelerating, like it’s thinking too hard. I’m really worried it might be the cam phasers.
I’ve tried a few things—fresh oil change (5W-20), new spark plugs, and added Seafoam to the tank and crankcase (by the way, do I need to drain oil if I add it there?). Has anyone else dealt with this? What worked for you? This is my favorite vehicle, and I want to keep it running great.
It might be a transmission issue. Be careful with Seafoam in the crankcase—some vehicles handle it fine, but others don’t. You might want to check with a mechanic to see if it’s safe for your truck.
I had a similar problem with my ‘16. It started with a small lag, then one day while towing my boat, it wouldn’t go past 3000 RPMs. Restarting the engine fixed it temporarily. A few weeks later, I got an underboost code (P0299). Mechanic couldn’t find anything wrong, but I still feel the lag sometimes, even though no one else seems to notice.
Here’s some info from a technical service bulletin:
Some trucks built before December 2022 may have issues with harsh or delayed engagement and shifting. This can be due to software or mechanical problems in the transmission. The service bulletin outlines fixes for certain models and years. You might want to look into this if it applies to your vehicle.
This sounds like a transmission issue to me. My cam phasers are going bad, but they only make a terrible noise when starting the engine—they haven’t affected how the car drives.
Ciel said:
This sounds like a transmission issue to me. My cam phasers are going bad, but they only make a terrible noise when starting the engine—they haven’t affected how the car drives.
Oh no! I have an OBD2 reader, but it’s not showing any error codes.
@Wylie
When my transmission first started failing, it didn’t throw codes either. The dealership initially said everything was fine. A few months later, they told me I needed a new transmission. How many miles does your truck have?