Frigid cold- Ram 1500 impresses me!

[1500V8]

Okay, I am in the South and we are experiencing frigid temperatures with snow and ice. Usually we do not have weather like this, but we got lucky- NOT! Anyway, I am impressed with my Ram 1500 DT Big Horn. She is starting up in temperatures of -12 (0 degrees with wind chill) without any problems. I use the remote start from my house and she starts purring as soon as I hit the remote. I was afraid with temperatures this cold, I would have issues. I read on this forum where a member was having starting issues in the cold but I believe it turned out to be a weak battery. This is the first Ram I have owned- I traded a Ford F-150 for this Ram and will never look back- very impressed. The Ram 1500 is an awesome truck!!

 

[BigD]

Here in MN it's-18 below zero. -40 below windchill. My Ram truck is fully warmed up in about 5 minutes! Amazing heat in this bad boy. I love it !

 

[TxAg98]

OKC here. -6 with a -26 wind chill. She runs pretty good. Only thing Ive noticed is the steering feels kind of heavy after she's cold soaked but seems to go away.

 

[MayhemMOORE]

Fired the truck up this morning at about 1 degree after it sat for 3 days in Breckenridge while I was snowboarding. I was tempted to start it daily, but I don't like starting a vehicle and not driving it to get everything up to temp, so I let it sit. I was kind of worried as it's new and this was its first real test in the cold since it's garaged, as well as its first extended trip. While she definitely cranked slower than normal, she fired up. The etorque generator didn't sound too happy for the first 10 seconds or so, but after that it quieted down and all I heard was a little more injector noise than usual, which I'm not surprised by given the temps and altitude.

 

[mikeru82]

Fired the truck up this morning at about 1 degree after it sat for 3 days in Breckenridge while I was snowboarding. I was tempted to start it daily, but I don't like starting a vehicle and not driving it to get everything up to temp, so I let it sit. I was kind of worried as it's new and this was its first real test in the cold since it's garaged, as well as its first extended trip. While she definitely cranked slower than normal, she fired up. The etorque generator didn't sound too happy for the first 10 seconds or so, but after that it quieted down and all I heard was a little more injector noise than usual, which I'm not surprised by given the temps and altitude.

Interesting that you heard noise from the gen. Just curious...what did it sound like, and how do you know that's what the sound came from? I can't ever remember hearing any noise that I could attribute to the etorque generator on my truck. I live in an area that gets fairly cold in winter. But not normally below zero. I think it was in the upper teens this morning. My truck has always started right up in the cold. Which doesn't surprise me since it's practically brand new.

 

[JDBob35a]

I've had noise at startup since during the cold snap as well. I haven't investigated it, I assumed it was likely the belt???? Oddly enough it's only happened using the remote start. Maybe it just has to sit all night in the cold to trigger the noise? I haven't been too concerned about it, hell, I squeal when it's this cold. LOL
FYI, my truck is NON E-torque.

 

[Captain Obvious]

This thread is adorable. It hasn't been above 5 degrees all week in Iowa. I never even thought twice about any of my cars starting in the cold. Silly southerners.

Wind chill affects ambulatory meatbags, not machinery; it's just a way of expressing how cold it feels as opposed to how cold it actually is.

(PS, Dear way-too-serious people: This is a joke. No need to flame me, I'm just messing around.)

 

[MayhemMOORE]

Interesting that you heard noise from the gen. Just curious...what did it sound like, and how do you know that's what the sound came from? I can't ever remember hearing any noise that I could attribute to the etorque generator on my truck. I live in an area that gets fairly cold in winter. But not normally below zero. I think it was in the upper teens this morning. My truck has always started right up in the cold. Which doesn't surprise me since it's practically brand new.

It sounded similar to a cold or worn out power steering pump, a very pronounced groaning which was rpm dependent, which obviously isn't the case on these trucks as the power steering isn't driven off a belt. It did it again today after the truck sat for some time and was cold, granted it struggled to reach zero here most of the day. I don't see what else the sound could be since I've never heard a water pump sound like that, and I don't think the compressor would cycle on the instant the truck starts, even if it called for defrost. I'll have to make sure the climate control is set to off next start and see if I still hear it. I'm not too worried about it, just haven't heard it before, but it also hasn't been -14 like it was this morning.

 

[Willwork4truck]

Ha. I walked by ours (in the garage) when it was maybe 26F outside so probably 32 inside and kinda' thought about taking it out... I heard it whisper: "Don't even think about touching me until it's 50F or higher..."

 

[Rexx]

You usually won’t start seeing problems till it stays below -40ish for a few days. I would definitely expect any newer vehicle to start without issues at the temperatures the OP is mentioning.