2020 Limited Almost No Acceleration when Cold

[Lghtspeedz]

Hi Everyone,
I have a 2020 Limited 4x4 sitting right at 62,500 miles. Over the past few months the truck has developed this strange issue. It only happens after the car has sat for a while. The shortest time frame I have noticed it is four hours. I get in the car, start it up, usually idle for 5-20 seconds while I get everything situated (buckle up kids, etc.), then head out. Sometimes I'll do a reverse before putting it in Drive. Other times I am pulling straight forward. The car will move forward and I will hit the accelerator but it just starts to move very slowly. I have watched the turbo gauge and the gauge moves but the car doesn't really accelerate all that much. Anywhere from 5-20 seconds later the power will all of a sudden surge. It's not smooth and almost a bit jerky. Sometimes if I'm turning during this period I swear I hear a grinding or resistance noise at takeoff. I can't pinpoint it and it's very subtle.

Any thoughts on what this is? I'm struggling with how I'll even direct the shop to look at this. Oddly enough, I had just started looking at ordering a '24 to get the last of this model. I like this generation a lot and don't love the screens I've seen on prototype 2025's.

Thanks for any insight!

 

[Hellwig]

Apparently, it is a transmission issue.

 

[TheDoug]

I have this issue as well... almost feels like you are being held back by something and then all of sudden its fine. I also think its a transmission issue.

For me, I start the car and pull out of garage (i back in so just pull straight out) and then it will take from my garage to about my first left turn which is about a block and then its fine the rest of the time. There are some days I remote start and let it sit for a few minutes and it drives fine.

Quality is job 1

 

[2020-MAX-Limited]

Yea, there's a delay when putting in D. I usually wait until I feel the tranny engage (the engine RPM drops slightly) before hitting the gas pedal. I don't expect this heavy truck to respond like a sports car, so I'm just patient with it.

 

[Mr Big]

When you are accelerating, is the rpm going up drastically or just no power like a dragging E-brake?
I ask because it's one thing if the tranny is slipping and another if it is not? Very well may be sensor tied to temperature, as when it warms up the symptom is gone.
I found this list: COMMON CAUSES OF POOR ACCELERATION
I have an EV that will not move until the key is on for 30 seconds in warm weather and 3 minutes in cold weather. I have not been able to pinpoint it, but am sure something has to warm up to make a connection. So, to me your issue sounds like something, (a sensor connection) has to get warm before making contact. But I could be way off base as well.

 

[Lghtspeedz]

I have this issue as well... almost feels like you are being held back by something and then all of sudden its fine. I also think its a transmission issue.

For me, I start the car and pull out of garage (i back in so just pull straight out) and then it will take from my garage to about my first left turn which is about a block and then its fine the rest of the time. There are some days I remote start and let it sit for a few minutes and it drives fine.

Quality is job 1

This is exactly what I experience. I tried remote starting the car this morning for about 30 seconds and it seemed to be better. The truck behaved better the whole morning if driving around too. Very interesting.

Yea, there's a delay when putting in D. I usually wait until I feel the tranny engage (the engine RPM drops slightly) before hitting the gas pedal. I don't expect this heavy truck to respond like a sports car, so I'm just patient with it.

Yes, I’ve learned to time that shift delay. In this case it’s once you’re actually driving.

When you are accelerating, is the rpm going up drastically or just no power like a dragging E-brake?
I ask because it's one thing if the tranny is slipping and another if it is not? Very well may be sensor tied to temperature, as when it warms up the symptom is gone.
I found this list: COMMON CAUSES OF POOR ACCELERATION
I have an EV that will not move until the key is on for 30 seconds in warm weather and 3 minutes in cold weather. I have not been able to pinpoint it, but am sure something has to warm up to make a connection. So, to me your issue sounds like something, (a sensor connection) has to get warm before making contact. But I could be way off base as well.

I get what you are saying. The RPM’s don’t shoot up like the transmission is slipping. It’s like the car has no power and it just accelerates really slowly. Like TheDoug said, maybe 10-30 seconds later it just surges and all the power comes back. I’m just not even sure how to have it diagnosed. I’ll have to bring the car in overnight (inconvenient) and hope they diagnose it on the first shot in the morning. I was hoping I could pinpoint the issue and tell them what the problem is.

 

[Alwaysthinkin]

Have any of you tried using Sport setting? I ask because I used to have a hesitation which seems to be gone since I started using Sport mode pretty regularly. Also, do you have the visual on dash showing which gear you are in when these hesitations happen?

 

[duneslider]

I haven't noticed this in my expedition but in my jeep after it sits the fluid drains out of the torque converter and fluid isn't pumped when in park, so even sitting and idling the torque converter isn't filled. So, when I put it in drive or reverse it takes a little bit for the fluid to get pumped around before it will drive. I don't know why it does this on my jeep but its been doing it for a long freaking time and nothing else is wrong. The jeep has 230k miles and has probably been doing this for at least half that time or more.

I am not an auto transmission expert but I suspect there is some sort of anti-drain back that isn't working. In the nearly 18 years I have had my jeep and been on forums nobody has ever said this issue with the jeeps is an issue to be worried about. Not sure if that is the case with this ford transmission or not.

 

[bmpcamry09]

Lots of speculation here from other posters but none of these answers are actually helping you.

From my testing of tunes and data logging over the years, I got curious as to what caused this and figured it out.

There is nothing wrong with your vehicle. What you are feeling is the engine going from what is essentially warm up mode to normal operation mode. All gen 2 ecoboosts do it, some are more noticeable than others. More noticeable when vehicle has sat for long periods and in cold weather.

When you first start your vehicle cold, it relays on solely the direct injectors to fuel the engine instead of an DI/PI split like during normal warm operation. This cold start mode essentially floods the engine with rich amounts of fuel. The high pressure fuel pump is activated and is doing all the fuel flow in this mode, which can be easily heard with the engine cover off. Combined with heavily retarded ignition timing (usually -5 to -20), this heats up the catalytic converters quickly. On most Expeditions, this mode will stay engaged until the coolant temp hits about 111 degrees. There is a very audible change in the engine when this mode shuts off that can be easily heard with the hood open after cold start. This is a strategy that newer direct injected vehicles use to help the engines warm up faster and to keep the EPA happy.

If you drive off when the engine is still in this warm up mode, it will feel very very sluggish until it clicks out of that mode. The retarded ignition timing and rich fueling strategy is causing the bog that you feel. The sudden surge and change in the way the engine sounds you are experiencing is the cylinder head temperatures reaching the threshold of the engine going into normal operation, which at lower RPM, is port injection with the high pressure fuel pump deactivated. The louder turbo noises you are hearing at the same time are because the engine is having to force more volume of air into the engine during the warm up mode due to the extra rich fuel settings while in said mode.

Hope this helps. I am not sure anyone has actually explained this on this forum or not so hope this helps people. There is a excellent detailed NHTSA article on the 2017 F150 3.5 ecoboost, which was the first year for the gen 2 (which started in 2018 for the Expyy), that dives into all these details as well.

Drove me crazy too until I dove into it. I actually built a custom tune one time that disabled this cold start feature to confirm my findings. Don’t waste your money or stress over it. It’s normal!

If you have access to Forscan or a quality scan tool, watch the spark advance PID during your cold start and you should see a direct correlation between the sensation and spark advance when the engine comes out of cold start mode. Timing will instantly go positive or over 0, your HPFP will shut off, and it’ll feel normal.

 

[5280tunage]

Lots of speculation here from other posters but none of these answers are actually helping you.

From my testing of tunes and data logging over the years, I got curious as to what caused this and figured it out.

There is nothing wrong with your vehicle. What you are feeling is the engine going from what is essentially warm up mode to normal operation mode. All gen 2 ecoboosts do it, some are more noticeable than others. More noticeable when vehicle has sat for long periods and in cold weather.

When you first start your vehicle cold, it relays on solely the direct injectors to fuel the engine instead of an DI/PI split like during normal warm operation. This cold start mode essentially floods the engine with rich amounts of fuel. The high pressure fuel pump is activated and is doing all the fuel flow in this mode, which can be easily heard with the engine cover off. Combined with heavily retarded ignition timing (usually -5 to -20), this heats up the catalytic converters quickly. On most Expeditions, this mode will stay engaged until the coolant temp hits about 111 degrees. There is a very audible change in the engine when this mode shuts off that can be easily heard with the hood open after cold start.

If you drive off when the engine is still in this warm up mode, it will feel very very sluggish until it clicks out of that mode. The retarded ignition timing and rich fueling strategy is causing the bog that you feel. The sudden surge and change in the way the engine sounds you are experiencing is the cylinder head temperatures reaching the threshold of the engine going into normal operation, which at lower RPM, is port injection with the high pressure fuel pump deactivated. The louder turbo noises you are hearing at the same time are because the engine is having to force more volume of air into the engine during the warm up mode due to the extra rich fuel settings while in said mode.

Hope this helps. I am not sure anyone has actually explained this on this forum or not so hope this helps people. There is a excellent detailed NHTSA article on the 2017 F150 3.5 ecoboost, which was the first year for the gen 2 (which started in 2018 for the Expyy), that dives into all these details as well.

Drove me crazy too until I dove into it. I actually built a custom tune one time that disabled this cold start feature to confirm my findings. Don’t waste your money or stress over it. It’s normal!

Super cool response, thanks for this.

 

[bmpcamry09]

No problem. Just like to get the proper information out there for people! When I got into tuning I learned all kinds of random off the wall stuff about these things and like to share the info.

 

[Lghtspeedz]

Have any of you tried using Sport setting? I ask because I used to have a hesitation which seems to be gone since I started using Sport mode pretty regularly. Also, do you have the visual on dash showing which gear you are in when these hesitations happen?

I have, though not necessarily in that instance. It's usually in the 1st to 3rd gear jump. It's always low speed. It's usually when I'm first pulling out of the parking lot at work or from the garage in the morning. It's usually very brief.

Lots of speculation here from other posters but none of these answers are actually helping you.

From my testing of tunes and data logging over the years, I got curious as to what caused this and figured it out.

There is nothing wrong with your vehicle. What you are feeling is the engine going from what is essentially warm up mode to normal operation mode. All gen 2 ecoboosts do it, some are more noticeable than others. More noticeable when vehicle has sat for long periods and in cold weather.

When you first start your vehicle cold, it relays on solely the direct injectors to fuel the engine instead of an DI/PI split like during normal warm operation. This cold start mode essentially floods the engine with rich amounts of fuel. The high pressure fuel pump is activated and is doing all the fuel flow in this mode, which can be easily heard with the engine cover off. Combined with heavily retarded ignition timing (usually -5 to -20), this heats up the catalytic converters quickly. On most Expeditions, this mode will stay engaged until the coolant temp hits about 111 degrees. There is a very audible change in the engine when this mode shuts off that can be easily heard with the hood open after cold start. This is a strategy that newer direct injected vehicles use to help the engines warm up faster and to keep the EPA happy.

If you drive off when the engine is still in this warm up mode, it will feel very very sluggish until it clicks out of that mode. The retarded ignition timing and rich fueling strategy is causing the bog that you feel. The sudden surge and change in the way the engine sounds you are experiencing is the cylinder head temperatures reaching the threshold of the engine going into normal operation, which at lower RPM, is port injection with the high pressure fuel pump deactivated. The louder turbo noises you are hearing at the same time are because the engine is having to force more volume of air into the engine during the warm up mode due to the extra rich fuel settings while in said mode.

Hope this helps. I am not sure anyone has actually explained this on this forum or not so hope this helps people. There is a excellent detailed NHTSA article on the 2017 F150 3.5 ecoboost, which was the first year for the gen 2 (which started in 2018 for the Expyy), that dives into all these details as well.

Drove me crazy too until I dove into it. I actually built a custom tune one time that disabled this cold start feature to confirm my findings. Don’t waste your money or stress over it. It’s normal!

If you have access to Forscan or a quality scan tool, watch the spark advance PID during your cold start and you should see a direct correlation between the sensation and spark advance when the engine comes out of cold start mode. Timing will instantly go positive or over 0, your HPFP will shut off, and it’ll feel normal.

Thank you so much! This explanation makes a lot of sense, except I'm wondering I'm only noticing this now and not years go. But... maybe my get in and go drive style has changed. I am certainly more on the go than I was. It makes sense and it does feel like the motor is holding back than all of a sudden goes.

I love this truck. It is honestly my favorite car I've ever owned and has been rock solid for the time I've had it. It has the perfect amount of technology and capability. I've been toying around with trying to keep it for a really long time and buying a daily driver or ordering a '24 as close to the way I'd ideally get it (Ford doesn't make one the way I'd want it). I see that you used MPT to tune your car and changed the thermostat. What can you tell me about the tuning? If I keep the car I want to go for a tune to smooth out the transmission a bit. It might be nice to have effortless power if I can keep the reliability. Did you do anything else to mod the car for these tunes? Seems like some guys do other upgrades too. Keep in mind, I know very little about it other than people get good results.

I will say this about the '24 I test drove: it was clear to me that Ford had done a lot to refine the powertrain on the car. The shifts were smooth and the power delivery was top notch. The car felt much lighter and smaller to drive because of it. It also did not skip gears like mind does, which I think really helped. There were a few changes I didn't love but it seemed like they had really dialed in the powertrain.

 

[bmpcamry09]

I have, though not necessarily in that instance. It's usually in the 1st to 3rd gear jump. It's always low speed. It's usually when I'm first pulling out of the parking lot at work or from the garage in the morning. It's usually very brief.

Thank you so much! This explanation makes a lot of sense, except I'm wondering I'm only noticing this now and not years go. But... maybe my get in and go drive style has changed. I am certainly more on the go than I was. It makes sense and it does feel like the motor is holding back than all of a sudden goes.

I love this truck. It is honestly my favorite car I've ever owned and has been rock solid for the time I've had it. It has the perfect amount of technology and capability. I've been toying around with trying to keep it for a really long time and buying a daily driver or ordering a '24 as close to the way I'd ideally get it (Ford doesn't make one the way I'd want it). I see that you used MPT to tune your car and changed the thermostat. What can you tell me about the tuning? If I keep the car I want to go for a tune to smooth out the transmission a bit. It might be nice to have effortless power if I can keep the reliability. Did you do anything else to mod the car for these tunes? Seems like some guys do other upgrades too. Keep in mind, I know very little about it other than people get good results.

I will say this about the '24 I test drove: it was clear to me that Ford had done a lot to refine the powertrain on the car. The shifts were smooth and the power delivery was top notch. The car felt much lighter and smaller to drive because of it. It also did not skip gears like mind does, which I think really helped. There were a few changes I didn't love but it seemed like they had really dialed in the powertrain.

I am a huge supporter of tuning. Professional tuning fixes everything the factory fell short on without sacrificing reliability. Basically all the current tuning companies build reliable tunes especially if you’re just running normal pump gas. A good 91 octane or 93 octane tune will blow you away.

Ford has done away with the 3-5 skip shift in all their newer stuff. Still an occasional 1-3 shift at light throttle on their newer stuff, but for the most part, skip shifting is a thing of the past on their new stuff.

I have used all the big companies with the exception of Livernois. All have pros and cons. ZFG, MPT, Boostking, and Gearhead are my favorite.

Adam at ZFG Racing is probably the most “custom” but he’s also the most expensive. He gives huge power and a snappy transmission. I run a 91 tune from him and I can break under 5 seconds on 0-60 no sweat. He really knows his stuff and keeps things safe.

MPT makes a silky buttery smooth engine and transmission with diesel like power throughout the power band. They work some magic. Hard to explain but their stuff feels a lot different than the others. My MPT tunes lean pretty hard on boost and feel very stout around town. I think they tweak fueling and cam scheduling more than some others. Their customer service is the best in the game by far.

Gearhead makes probably the “safest” tune as he lets his tunes run up more in RPM with less dramatic boost. Matt’s tunes pull extremely hard high in the RPM range. He also allows any octane in all his tuning. His transmission is also very snappy and always in the right gear. His tunes feel a lot like ZFG in a lot of ways. Matt is probably the biggest wealth of knowledge in the ecoboost world and he is very OCD about having a perfect file for you without needing revisions.

Boostking is also great. Very custom and his stuff is very similar to ZFG in feel and how he likes to do multiple revisions until you’re happy. Brett is an instructor for the tuning school and is one of the OG SCT tuners who has mentored a lot of other professionals. Very knowledgeable and very strong tunes.

I am way over the top in checking my stuff to make sure it’s healthy and I have thoroughly logged all 4 and have complete faith in all 4 companies and can vouch that they are all safe.

5 Star is talked about a lot, but overrated in my opinion. I am not a fan of how they manage temperature protection and LSPI tables. Their transmission tuning really only touches shift scheduling and torque converter settings but they don’t dig deep into the trans to make improvements like the others do. Their tow files feel good with a trailer hooked up, but their stuff doesn’t feel nearly as refined as the other 4.

Just take about $1200 from the coffee can. Get an intercooler, a 170 thermostat, and a tune from any of the 4 I mentioned, and you’ll fall in love again and won’t want a 24.

 

[bmpcamry09]

As far as my engine mods go, I run 91 and 93 octane tunes from those companies, usually just ZFG and MPT. I also have the 170 thermostat, CVF Titan v2 intercooler, step colder spark plugs, grill shutters deleted and engine cover removed. The summers in my area are 100 plus and I tow. With shutters removed, engine cover off, and the intercooler, I never see over 200 degrees coolant or trans temps now.

Other stuff is Bilstein 5100 suspension all the way around, and upgraded LT tires. All combined made my Expy perfect for what I want and need it for.

 

[cmurphy2]

Hi Everyone,
I have a 2020 Limited 4x4 sitting right at 62,500 miles. Over the past few months the truck has developed this strange issue. It only happens after the car has sat for a while. The shortest time frame I have noticed it is four hours. I get in the car, start it up, usually idle for 5-20 seconds while I get everything situated (buckle up kids, etc.), then head out. Sometimes I'll do a reverse before putting it in Drive. Other times I am pulling straight forward. The car will move forward and I will hit the accelerator but it just starts to move very slowly. I have watched the turbo gauge and the gauge moves but the car doesn't really accelerate all that much. Anywhere from 5-20 seconds later the power will all of a sudden surge. It's not smooth and almost a bit jerky. Sometimes if I'm turning during this period I swear I hear a grinding or resistance noise at takeoff. I can't pinpoint it and it's very subtle.

Any thoughts on what this is? I'm struggling with how I'll even direct the shop to look at this. Oddly enough, I had just started looking at ordering a '24 to get the last of this model. I like this generation a lot and don't love the screens I've seen on prototype 2025's.

Thanks for any insight!

What gear displays on the dash? Push the plus button on the shifter to get the gears to display

Hi Everyone,
I have a 2020 Limited 4x4 sitting right at 62,500 miles. Over the past few months the truck has developed this strange issue. It only happens after the car has sat for a while. The shortest time frame I have noticed it is four hours. I get in the car, start it up, usually idle for 5-20 seconds while I get everything situated (buckle up kids, etc.), then head out. Sometimes I'll do a reverse before putting it in Drive. Other times I am pulling straight forward. The car will move forward and I will hit the accelerator but it just starts to move very slowly. I have watched the turbo gauge and the gauge moves but the car doesn't really accelerate all that much. Anywhere from 5-20 seconds later the power will all of a sudden surge. It's not smooth and almost a bit jerky. Sometimes if I'm turning during this period I swear I hear a grinding or resistance noise at takeoff. I can't pinpoint it and it's very subtle.

Any thoughts on what this is? I'm struggling with how I'll even direct the shop to look at this. Oddly enough, I had just started looking at ordering a '24 to get the last of this model. I like this generation a lot and don't love the screens I've seen on prototype 2025's.

Thanks for any insight!

I had this symptom and it was the transmission had to be rebuilt. Push the plus button below the shifter knob. That will display your gears to the right of the RPM gauge on the dash. Watch to see what gear it’s in. Mine would get stuck in a high gear (5th/7th) till it warmed up making the throttle non-responsive.

 

[Deadman]

My wife's Navigator did that exact same thing. Dealer couldn't resolve it after multiple attempts, so we dumped it.
When it upshifted it threw you back in the seat and then had no power again until it upshifted. But it revved up like normal.

 

[Lghtspeedz]

I am a huge supporter of tuning. Professional tuning fixes everything the factory fell short on without sacrificing reliability. Basically all the current tuning companies build reliable tunes especially if you’re just running normal pump gas. A good 91 octane or 93 octane tune will blow you away.

Ford has done away with the 3-5 skip shift in all their newer stuff. Still an occasional 1-3 shift at light throttle on their newer stuff, but for the most part, skip shifting is a thing of the past on their new stuff.

I have used all the big companies with the exception of Livernois. All have pros and cons. ZFG, MPT, Boostking, and Gearhead are my favorite.

Adam at ZFG Racing is probably the most “custom” but he’s also the most expensive. He gives huge power and a snappy transmission. I run a 91 tune from him and I can break under 5 seconds on 0-60 no sweat. He really knows his stuff and keeps things safe.

MPT makes a silky buttery smooth engine and transmission with diesel like power throughout the power band. They work some magic. Hard to explain but their stuff feels a lot different than the others. My MPT tunes lean pretty hard on boost and feel very stout around town. I think they tweak fueling and cam scheduling more than some others. Their customer service is the best in the game by far.

Gearhead makes probably the “safest” tune as he lets his tunes run up more in RPM with less dramatic boost. Matt’s tunes pull extremely hard high in the RPM range. He also allows any octane in all his tuning. His transmission is also very snappy and always in the right gear. His tunes feel a lot like ZFG in a lot of ways. Matt is probably the biggest wealth of knowledge in the ecoboost world and he is very OCD about having a perfect file for you without needing revisions.

Boostking is also great. Very custom and his stuff is very similar to ZFG in feel and how he likes to do multiple revisions until you’re happy. Brett is an instructor for the tuning school and is one of the OG SCT tuners who has mentored a lot of other professionals. Very knowledgeable and very strong tunes.

I am way over the top in checking my stuff to make sure it’s healthy and I have thoroughly logged all 4 and have complete faith in all 4 companies and can vouch that they are all safe.

5 Star is talked about a lot, but overrated in my opinion. I am not a fan of how they manage temperature protection and LSPI tables. Their transmission tuning really only touches shift scheduling and torque converter settings but they don’t dig deep into the trans to make improvements like the others do. Their tow files feel good with a trailer hooked up, but their stuff doesn’t feel nearly as refined as the other 4.

Just take about $1200 from the coffee can. Get an intercooler, a 170 thermostat, and a tune from any of the 4 I mentioned, and you’ll fall in love again and won’t want a 24.

So, I just wanted to tell you that I ended up pulling the trigger on a GearHead tune. I've been driving it for a couple of months and it absolutely changed the driving dynamics of the car. He even applied the "normal" tune to "Sport mode" so that now I get the better suspension settings but it is highly drivable around town. The shifting improved dramatically, only occasionally, do I get some rough shifts, usually when it's very cold. I'm a huge fan of this and I have a lot more confidence in the car. I also dropped in the lower temp thermostat and instead of running 215F-230F it's not running 165F-180F. The transmission temp is much cooler too. It's also much more smoother moving from Park to Drive or Reverse - no more clunk into gear. Overall, I'm glad I did this. I hope it all holds up, but it definitely made the car much more livable. Thank you for the recommendation!

 

[Mr Big]

So, I just wanted to tell you that I ended up pulling the trigger on a GearHead tune. I've been driving it for a couple of months and it absolutely changed the driving dynamics of the car. He even applied the "normal" tune to "Sport mode" so that now I get the better suspension settings but it is highly drivable around town. The shifting improved dramatically, only occasionally, do I get some rough shifts, usually when it's very cold. I'm a huge fan of this and I have a lot more confidence in the car. I also dropped in the lower temp thermostat and instead of running 215F-230F it's not running 165F-180F. The transmission temp is much cooler too. It's also much more smoother moving from Park to Drive or Reverse - no more clunk into gear. Overall, I'm glad I did this. I hope it all holds up, but it definitely made the car much more livable. Thank you for the recommendation!

I routinely reset in Forscan and it gets similar results. My vehicle shifts and accelerates perfectly, suspension ride is better, performance is off the chain, etc. This will last me a couple of months, then I start noticing a different feeling and do it again.
I'm sure the custom tune turns off the learn function, otherwise the vehicle will calibrate itself to your driving habits.
Here are some possible drawbacks to lowering the vehicles temp, which is why I leave mine at the factory setting:
Running at a lower temperature can cause incomplete combustion, potentially increasing emissions and reducing fuel efficiency
causes the car to take longer to warm up causing more engine wear
potential issues with oil lubrication due to lower temperatures.

 

[Lghtspeedz]

I routinely reset in Forscan and it gets similar results. My vehicle shifts and accelerates perfectly, suspension ride is better, performance is off the chain, etc. This will last me a couple of months, then I start noticing a different feeling and do it again.
I'm sure the custom tune turns off the learn function, otherwise the vehicle will calibrate itself to your driving habits.
Here are some possible drawbacks to lowering the vehicles temp, which is why I leave mine at the factory setting:
Running at a lower temperature can cause incomplete combustion, potentially increasing emissions and reducing fuel efficiency
causes the car to take longer to warm up causing more engine wear
potential issues with oil lubrication due to lower temperatures.

I live in the Northeast so I was very nervous about changing the thermostat of the car for similar reasons. I have to say the car gets up to temperature just as quickly. I was also worried about losing HVAC heat output but that proved to be unfounded. I can't really speak to the oil operating at lower temps except to say that I believe the oil chosen is designed to work with the engine in a variety of temperatures. My I/O boat runs at 155F-165F. While it is an entirely different motor, the oil works in that range. My thinking is/was that having the car run at 165-180F is better in the long run for the engine and motor. I was routinely seeing temps in the 220F-230+ range. It also meant the transmission was seeing those temperatures too. It's worth noting, I think, that when I first bought this truck it ran closer to 200F and the transmission was about 190F. Overtime, I noticed it creeping up. Now I end up running 175F-180F and the transmission cooler runs cooler too. I personally hated seeing the engine and transmission temps in the 230F range.

Too each their own. Sounds like you found a good way to preserve smooth shifting too. I hope both are transmissions remain smooth and healthy!