diff --git a/backend/main.py b/backend/main.py
index d4baeafc..864ffc4d 100644
--- a/backend/main.py
+++ b/backend/main.py
@@ -688,8 +688,20 @@ async def lifespan(app: FastAPI):
     # (still importing, not yet mid weight-download) finish cleanly before we
     # report done; a load that's genuinely deep into a multi-GB download still
     # times out — _reset_gpu_pool() below abandons it either way.
+    #
+    # 20s, not the original 3s (code-review finding post-merge): a cold
+    # transformers import alone can take longer than 3s on a slow disk or a
+    # first-ever launch, so the original bound left a real residual window —
+    # cancellation detaches the asyncio task, but the underlying OS thread
+    # keeps running past it, and shutdown could still report "done" while
+    # that thread was alive. Python cannot forcibly kill a running thread, so
+    # no finite bound eliminates this outright — 20s just shrinks the window
+    # from "any preload" to "an unusually slow cold-import," which is the
+    # practical ceiling before a longer shutdown itself becomes the
+    # complaint. A thread that's still running past 20s was never going to
+    # finish in a shutdown-appropriate timeframe regardless.
     await _cancel_and_await_tasks(
-        idle_task, worker_task, preload_task, capture_preload_task, timeout=3.0,
+        idle_task, worker_task, preload_task, capture_preload_task, timeout=20.0,
     )
     # Unload the model and free GPU memory
     try:
diff --git a/tests/test_engines.py b/tests/test_engines.py
index c0ecdc72..16e962d6 100644
--- a/tests/test_engines.py
+++ b/tests/test_engines.py
@@ -400,6 +400,27 @@ def test_mlx_audio_generate_omits_ref_text_without_ref_audio():
     assert "ref_text" not in captured
 
 
+def test_mlx_audio_generate_design_path_unaffected_without_any_ref():
+    # Absorbed from community PR #1015 (MahdiHedhli) — the design/instruct
+    # path (no ref_audio, no ref_text at all) must stay untouched by the
+    # ref_text forwarding fix; neither kwarg may leak into the model call.
+    pytest.importorskip("mlx_audio", reason="mlx-audio is Apple-Silicon-only")
+    backend = tts_backend.MLXAudioBackend()
+    backend._ensure_loaded = lambda: None
+
+    captured = {}
+
+    def _fake_generate(**kw):
+        captured.update(kw)
+        return iter([types.SimpleNamespace(audio=__import__("numpy").zeros(4))])
+
+    backend._model = types.SimpleNamespace(generate=_fake_generate)
+    backend.generate("hello")
+
+    assert "ref_text" not in captured
+    assert "ref_audio" not in captured
+
+
 def test_mlx_audio_generate_auto_language_skips_lang_code_entirely():
     # Matches the "Auto" convention other engines in this file use
     # (OmniVoiceBackend.generate(), _run_backend_inference) — never resolved,
diff --git a/tests/test_shutdown_preload_race_1000.py b/tests/test_shutdown_preload_race_1000.py
index ab3e2d05..301afa9d 100644
--- a/tests/test_shutdown_preload_race_1000.py
+++ b/tests/test_shutdown_preload_race_1000.py
@@ -110,3 +110,34 @@ def test_multiple_tasks_are_all_cancelled_before_any_await():
 
     _run(_scenario())
     assert set(cancelled_order) == {"slow", "fast"}
+
+
+def test_production_shutdown_wait_is_generous_enough_for_a_cold_import():
+    """Post-merge code-review finding (Greptile, PR #1002): the original 3s
+    bound left a real residual window — cancelling the asyncio task doesn't
+    stop the underlying OS thread, so a cold transformers import taking
+    longer than the bound could still let shutdown report "done" while that
+    thread was alive, the exact #1000 class again just with lower odds.
+    Python can't forcibly kill a running thread, so no finite bound
+    eliminates this outright — this pins the production call site to a
+    materially more generous wait (20s, not 3s) rather than letting a future
+    edit quietly shrink it back down without deliberate consideration.
+
+    Source-level guard, not a live-timing test: driving an actual >3s cold
+    import through this suite would make it slow and environment-dependent
+    for no real benefit.
+    """
+    import re
+
+    src = open(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))),
+                             "backend", "main.py")).read()
+    call = re.search(
+        r"await _cancel_and_await_tasks\(\s*idle_task,\s*worker_task,\s*preload_task,"
+        r"\s*capture_preload_task,\s*timeout=([\d.]+),?\s*\)",
+        src,
+    )
+    assert call, "production shutdown call site not found in main.py"
+    assert float(call.group(1)) >= 15.0, (
+        f"shutdown wait bound regressed to {call.group(1)}s — see PR #1002 review history "
+        "before shrinking this"
+    )