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Started car this morning, idled @ 2k RPM

Atty

Atty

Golden Member
Normally my car idles around 900rpm, maybe a few jumps above 1k. Today I started it, had to walk back in the house for 30 seconds to grab my sunglasses off the entry table, and when I got back out I could hear the engine running a lot higher than usual.

It was at 2k, I turned it off, and back on a few minutes later, did its initial RPM jump, settled down for a few seconds, and instantly started revving to 2k and wasn't stopping. Put it into gear and it dropped back of to its usual idle area.

Two hours later when I got out of class it did the same thing, in park it jumped up, but in gear it stayed fine.

What is going on? Lately the engine has been sounding a bit rough, like something is lose or something, but I haven't had a chance to look or figure it out.

Maintence:
Oil changed recently
Spark plugs changed @105k (cables were't tho)
Water pump & timing belt changed & 96k miles
transmission fully serviced @ 110k miles
Had the entire car looked over mechanically about 4k miles ago, nothing out of usual for its age.
1999 Camry 114k miles 2.2L 4cyl.
 
How cold is it where you live?

Its not uncommon to see cars idle much higher than normal when its very cold (though 2k sounds way too high)
 
I live in central Florida, I think the low for my area was 60F this morning. It was at 10:30am and the sun was out in full force so I doubt it was even close to that temp.
 
Atty said:
I live in central Florida, I think the low for my area was 60F this morning. It was at 10:30am and the sun was out in full force so I doubt it was even close to that temp.
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<<In Daytona.

Yeah it definitely shouldn't have been cold enough to cause that. That was my guess, i'm sure some more knowledgeable people will chime in soon.
 
You sure the car usually idles at 900rpm cold? My mother's 98 Camry 4cyl idles in the mid 1k range after a cold start. Not sure exactly how far or close from 2k, but it definitely isn't 900rpm.

2007 Ford focus 2.0L idles at something like 1800-1900 rpm when cold.

edit: this is in Southern California so it isn't as if these are freezing temperatures.
 
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coxmaster said:
How cold is it where you live?

Its not uncommon to see cars idle much higher than normal when its very cold (though 2k sounds way too high)
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my genesis coupe has gotten as high as ~2500rpm. it dies down in a few seconds though.

but yeah, that was starting in like..single digit temps 😛
 
Fenixgoon said:
my genesis coupe has gotten as high as ~2500rpm. it dies down in a few seconds though.

but yeah, that was starting in like..single digit temps 😛
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Heh, a friend of mine has a beater CRX that idles at 1400 warm, and as high as 3k when cold. Its hilarious and obnoxious at the same time
 
Heh, my RX-8 idled at 4000rpm the other day when it dropped to the teens here. Stood there for a good 5 seconds then slowly settled down after about a minute or so.

Smelled a lot of fuel too. Must have been running super rich.
 
Vacuum leak, or open idle air/throttle path. There is air getting into the intake somehow, there is nothing else that would cause it to go to 2000 RPM. Shouldn't idle more than 900-1100 even on cold start even with the AC on and 850 normal idle. That's a 5SFE engine, I know those blind folded.

Try popping the hood when it happens, grab ahold of the throttle "pulley" where the cable is attached and twist it towards the end of the cable such that it's pulling on the cable (in other words, forcing the throttle closed more), and see if it moves the lightest bit and drops the idle and feel for grit or resistance in the process.

There is also a throttle opener diaphragm that acts like a dynamic throttle stop. Rev it and snap the throttle shut quickly. Verify that it only activates briefly when the throttle slaps shut, then returns. You'll see a little boot/plunger kick out at the throttle linkage delaying it's sudden closing for a second, then return. When idling, there should be a visible gap between this plunger and the throttle linkage, with the linkage being stopped by a physical stop screw instead. It's for emissions control to keep the engine from spiking rich when the throttle is suddenly snapped shut, but if it's faulty it can hold the throttle off it's normal stop and raise idle.

Some easy things to check before hunting for vacuum leaks and faulty parts.

As for the noise and looseness, it's probably the dogbone mount on the passenger side, if not all your mounts. The main motor mounts are hydraulic and are probably shot with 114k. These engines are very noisy and vibration prone with age.
 
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My car, a 2005 Subaru Legacy GT, does basically the same thing when it's cold out... I will often go out to the garage and start it up before I have to leave for work when it's cold out, and it will idle at around 2000 RPM until it warms up... I assumed it did this in order to warm up a little faster.

It's actually somewhat of an indicator to me when i'm not in the vehicle to tell me that it's warm; because the exhaust note at normal idle (or once it's warm) which is about 800 RPM is a much deeper tone. So, once it starts to rumble with a nice smooth, deep tone, I know the cabin will be warm and I can head out and drive to work in comfort without needing to wear my coat. (it's a manual trans. and i don't like driving & shifting while wearing my leather coat).

Hopefully I helped a little bit.... I wouldn't worry about it much, however, i would suggest getting your hands on an OBD2 code reader to check and see if there are any trouble codes present...
 
900 seems low, especially given the other responses. I don't drive a camry, but my car idles at 1800.
 
Mine idles at ~1500 for a bit if it's cold out, and 850 normally. Just had an inspection and the warm idle was 852.
 
exdeath said:
Vacuum leak, or open idle air/throttle path. There is air getting into the intake somehow, there is nothing else that would cause it to go to 2000 RPM. Shouldn't idle more than 900-1100 even on cold start even with the AC on and 850 normal idle. That's a 5SFE engine, I know those blind folded.

Try popping the hood when it happens, grab ahold of the throttle "pulley" where the cable is attached and twist it towards the end of the cable such that it's pulling on the cable (in other words, forcing the throttle closed more), and see if it moves the lightest bit and drops the idle and feel for grit or resistance in the process.
Click to expand...

Let's say you have this problem on a 5VZ-FE and you're fairly certain it's throttle body related issue, then what? I had the throttle body rebored with a new butterfly valve but still have this issue. When the engine is fully warmed up, if I slowly let off the throttle, it will idle fast. But if I snap the throttle open and closed, it will return to a normal idle.
 
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