Hey guys. I just ordered my new truck and it should be here by the end of the month. I am looking very forward to my first diesel! I have heard people talking about having their trucks reprogrammed for a high idle. What does that mean/do for the truck? Thanks for your help.

The manual recommends that you not idle the truck for more than 5 minutes, primarily in cold weather. High idle helps raise the idle RPM from 750 RPM to about 1100 RPM (depending on how it is set up). This keeps the engine warmer and the oil flowing better.


A high idle kit can (according to my warranty-voiding-happy dealer) void the warranty. But, the automatic trucks can be programmed by the dealer at no cost to include a high idle feature.


Once you have the updated programming, here's how I think I remember it working: The truck has to be in park/neutral and the brake and throttle must not be depressed. Press the cruise button to turn the cruise on. Then, press the set button to activate the high idle for 1100 RPM. Seems like pressing the accelerate button one time will change the high idle to 1500 RPM. Putting the truck in gear, applying the brake, etc all turn the high idle off and it returns to 750 RPM.


Seems like the program update is a TSB and can be installed for free. For those of you with automatics without cruise, you can add cruise easily. Just buy the buttons and install them on the steering wheel. The functionality and programming should already be there. The option on a new truck is like a couple hundred $$, but adding the buttons to a truck without the option is only about $15. Go figure.

But you do have automatic high idle when the temps get cold. You don't
need the manual setup. You new truck comes setup to automatically idle
at around 1000 when it needs to.