Cold Hesitation

redright9 · February 16, 2010

I have a 2000 Silverado with the 5.3l 4x4. When I drive it from my house in the morning to the corner store (about a mile or so), turn it off, go inside, the restart my truck and leave it hesitates. Has no power, almost like it is running low on fuel. No fault codes have come up. I have heard it needs a new mass air flow, an ect sensor and reprogram to a new fuel pump module. Any suggestions?

redright9 · February 22, 2010

No ideas..?? Well, I am thinking of replacing the mass air flow sensor to start and see from there. Has anyone had one go bad without a check engine light come on?

Nytemare · February 22, 2010

No ideas..?? Well, I am thinking of replacing the mass air flow sensor to start and see from there. Has anyone had one go bad without a check engine light come on?

If the MAF goes bad it will throw a code...without a doubt. Sounds like its condensation related. try letting your truck warm up until the needle lifts off the cold peg, or you start blowing some luke warm air out...see if you have the same symptoms.

I would also replace the fuel filter, air filter, wires and plugs and do an intake cleaning with some seafoam before I started changing out any sensors without a CEL on.

Start with the basics....Air Fuel Spark...basics are often overlooked and generally a very cheap fix.

redright9 · February 23, 2010

Thanks for the reply. The temp gauge gets just off the cold mark by the time I am at the store. I have also replaced the spark plugs, fuel filter, cleaned the k&n air filter and installed new plug wires. I live in sothern California, so we dont get much condensation/moisture. I have also performed a throttle body clean ( I know its not the same as the seafoam clean you are talking about)...But what made me think of the mass air flow is a friend of mine had a vehicle that the sensor went bad but did not set a code. I am just tired of the hesitation and am about ready to start throwing parts at it....

kgrigsby · February 24, 2010

Thanks for the reply. The temp gauge gets just off the cold mark by the time I am at the store. I have also replaced the spark plugs, fuel filter, cleaned the k&n air filter and installed new plug wires. I live in sothern California, so we dont get much condensation/moisture. I have also performed a throttle body clean ( I know its not the same as the seafoam clean you are talking about)...But what made me think of the mass air flow is a friend of mine had a vehicle that the sensor went bad but did not set a code. I am just tired of the hesitation and am about ready to start throwing parts at it....

I had the same issue with my 1999 4.8l sierra. There is a service bulletin regarding getting a pcm update to fix this. What I did was just rebooted the pcm by pulling the ground cable off the battery, waited a couple of minutes then reinstalled. No problem since. Do the easy, cheap things first, these trucks are expensive enough to operate. good luck

redright9 · August 8, 2010

Here is an update for you... I replaced the Mass air flow sensor.. runs great now, no hesitation, fuel mileage went up, and has better power.. Weird it did not throw any codes but I am glad the first part I threw at it fixed it!