Occasional Low Idle When Warm
Occasional Low Idle When Warm
I just picked up an all stock IX MR with 43k miles on it. During the test drive I never had a problem, during the 3 hour drive home I never had a problem. Now that I have it home I've found the problem
When the car is cold it runs perfect, no issues at all. Boosts to 20psi on the factory gauge set. When the oil temp gauge says 50C it still runs fine, but when it warms up to 70C the car will have trouble idling. It will run just fine at speed, but as soon as I start to stop for a stoplight or to turn the idle will dip down to 500-600 rpm and the oil light will flicker. I can keep the idle up by revving the car so the oil light doesn't come on, but this obviously isn't a full fix.
One thing to note, I can shut the car off, turn it right back on and it will idle correctly till the next stop light. If I turn the car off and let it sit for a few minutes and cool down it will idle correctly until it warms up all the way again.
The car is 100% stock. I recently cleaned the MAF, changed the oil, checked all intake and vacum hoses for leaks, and replaced the factory air filter. I have new spark plugs on order since it seems no one stocks ILFR7H plugs in Columbus OH.
So far, I'm thinking it's a sensor somewhere that's getting warm and affecting idle somehow. Problem is, I don't get any Check Engine Lights or codes to tell me what's wrong. Has anyone seen anything like this so far, any sensors I could troubleshoot?
When the car is cold it runs perfect, no issues at all. Boosts to 20psi on the factory gauge set. When the oil temp gauge says 50C it still runs fine, but when it warms up to 70C the car will have trouble idling. It will run just fine at speed, but as soon as I start to stop for a stoplight or to turn the idle will dip down to 500-600 rpm and the oil light will flicker. I can keep the idle up by revving the car so the oil light doesn't come on, but this obviously isn't a full fix.
One thing to note, I can shut the car off, turn it right back on and it will idle correctly till the next stop light. If I turn the car off and let it sit for a few minutes and cool down it will idle correctly until it warms up all the way again.
The car is 100% stock. I recently cleaned the MAF, changed the oil, checked all intake and vacum hoses for leaks, and replaced the factory air filter. I have new spark plugs on order since it seems no one stocks ILFR7H plugs in Columbus OH.
So far, I'm thinking it's a sensor somewhere that's getting warm and affecting idle somehow. Problem is, I don't get any Check Engine Lights or codes to tell me what's wrong. Has anyone seen anything like this so far, any sensors I could troubleshoot?
Its still under warranty 5/50K. You might want to take it in. Occassionaly my IX will dip to lower rpm and recover when the engine is warm, I just figured that it was the fans or somethign kicking on and putting more load on the electrical system which with the original battery maybe taking more juice to keep up especially with lights/heater/wipers etc all going right now....
Welcome to the CBus Evo owners! This is definitely a subi town.
Welcome to the CBus Evo owners! This is definitely a subi town.
Its still under warranty 5/50K. You might want to take it in. Occassionaly my IX will dip to lower rpm and recover when the engine is warm, I just figured that it was the fans or somethign kicking on and putting more load on the electrical system which with the original battery maybe taking more juice to keep up especially with lights/heater/wipers etc all going right now....
Welcome to the CBus Evo owners! This is definitely a subi town.
Welcome to the CBus Evo owners! This is definitely a subi town.
I've had the engine hesitate for a split second when the fans kicked on as well, but this is completely different. The car would just sit and idle low for 5 seconds or more. I never let it sit that low for longer than 5 sec as I don't like the oil light coming on
. Come to think of it, all the times this has happened was when the lights were on (I think). I'll try and get it that warm tonight on the way home from work and see if it does it without the lights as well.Considering I own a Subaru as well I'm a dual member now
You've even ridden in my car at the OVR autox's, and I've ridden in yours (IIRC you're Gary with the silver MR). I'm the blond headed kid with the white Subaru in SMS
lol Hey Tim! Coming to the darkside eh ?
I am not sure who to take it too as far as dealers go. I too have trust issues with any dealers. I think Dennis seamed ok and they are lot closer to me. But they are oriented towards low end buyers in the sales department if you know what I mean.
I liked Ryobi but they are gone but they made a couple of mistakes
I would just take it in for the few nano seconds that it remains stock!
Thats like 2 more evo's at the club at least if you decide to race it. Adminittedly I am not focusing on Autox as much. I am focusing on seat time. And Autox is a really crappy trade for seat time. Plus the cars + racing linings are wonderful on a track right out of the box.
I am talking to the guysat slow motion about some mods that will probably boot myself into SMS. I am really not interested in having class rules govern my fun, because there is always going to be someone more hardcore, The biggest PITA for me is going to be the cost for new decals!!! The Evo is the Mod Monster of this generation and not much can touch it once the seal is broken
I am not sure who to take it too as far as dealers go. I too have trust issues with any dealers. I think Dennis seamed ok and they are lot closer to me. But they are oriented towards low end buyers in the sales department if you know what I mean.
I liked Ryobi but they are gone but they made a couple of mistakes
I would just take it in for the few nano seconds that it remains stock!
Thats like 2 more evo's at the club at least if you decide to race it. Adminittedly I am not focusing on Autox as much. I am focusing on seat time. And Autox is a really crappy trade for seat time. Plus the cars + racing linings are wonderful on a track right out of the box.
I am talking to the guysat slow motion about some mods that will probably boot myself into SMS. I am really not interested in having class rules govern my fun, because there is always going to be someone more hardcore, The biggest PITA for me is going to be the cost for new decals!!! The Evo is the Mod Monster of this generation and not much can touch it once the seal is broken
Quick update: After cleaning the MAF, changing the air filter/oil/oil filter, and tightening all the intake hoses down the problem has not come back. I've tested with the lights on, the radio on, everything off, but nothing seems to really incur the problem again. I have noticed the oil pressure light flicker that's noted elsewhere on the boards, so I will be replacing the factory oil pressure sending unit to make sure that goes away.
lol Hey Tim! Coming to the darkside eh ?
I am not sure who to take it too as far as dealers go. I too have trust issues with any dealers. I think Dennis seamed ok and they are lot closer to me. But they are oriented towards low end buyers in the sales department if you know what I mean.
I liked Ryobi but they are gone but they made a couple of mistakes
I would just take it in for the few nano seconds that it remains stock!
Thats like 2 more evo's at the club at least if you decide to race it. Adminittedly I am not focusing on Autox as much. I am focusing on seat time. And Autox is a really crappy trade for seat time. Plus the cars + racing linings are wonderful on a track right out of the box.
I am talking to the guysat slow motion about some mods that will probably boot myself into SMS. I am really not interested in having class rules govern my fun, because there is always going to be someone more hardcore, The biggest PITA for me is going to be the cost for new decals!!! The Evo is the Mod Monster of this generation and not much can touch it once the seal is broken
I am not sure who to take it too as far as dealers go. I too have trust issues with any dealers. I think Dennis seamed ok and they are lot closer to me. But they are oriented towards low end buyers in the sales department if you know what I mean.
I liked Ryobi but they are gone but they made a couple of mistakes
I would just take it in for the few nano seconds that it remains stock!
Thats like 2 more evo's at the club at least if you decide to race it. Adminittedly I am not focusing on Autox as much. I am focusing on seat time. And Autox is a really crappy trade for seat time. Plus the cars + racing linings are wonderful on a track right out of the box.
I am talking to the guysat slow motion about some mods that will probably boot myself into SMS. I am really not interested in having class rules govern my fun, because there is always going to be someone more hardcore, The biggest PITA for me is going to be the cost for new decals!!! The Evo is the Mod Monster of this generation and not much can touch it once the seal is broken
I know Jamie suggested going to Ricart, but we'll see. I'm cautiously optomistic that the problem is fixed so will wait before taking it in. Now I need to order wheel bearings and some underbody plastic. After that, the (minor) modding can begin
I am looking forward to taking this to a track day. A little worried about 4th gear at Mid-Ohio, but if it breaks I'll throw a 5-speed in for good luck. So far the car has been a blast and I can only imagine how good it will be on a full track!
Good luck in SMS. Since Jamie and I will be full bore in SM this year it's pretty open in terms of who might win it. I know Kyle Adams will be back, Brian Robertson from STS is in a super secret, ultra unknown factory flyer now, and a few of the BMW's will be back. Should be a fun class. I might have to come back for an event or two just to get some competition
Last edited by mr. happy; Feb 25, 2010 at 09:16 AM.
Trending Topics
Bumping this back up. Today on my way home from lunch it did the low rpm, rough idle. Once again the oil temp was 70C and it only did it when I pulled into the driveway at an angle. I've cleaned the MAF, so next up is spark plugs. Any other thoughts on what could make the idle low when the car is "fully" warmed up?
Changed the plugs tonight and it seemed to make an improvement. I haven't had a full chance to test it other than a trip around the block, but I can say that I used to have a small misfire at idle and it seems to be gone. Now for another trip tomorrow and we'll see if there's any real change.
I am going for a maximum seat versus maximum stand time.
I hope to hit at least 2 pdx's and am goign to the evo/mckammey challenge day in cinci. That should be about 100 minutes of racing or 2x autox seasons right there. Maybe hit about 5 ax's to say 'hi', but prolly wont even qualify for points.
prolly need the blue tape this season for numbers as I dont think I will be able to stay in stu long (if at all).
I hope to hit at least 2 pdx's and am goign to the evo/mckammey challenge day in cinci. That should be about 100 minutes of racing or 2x autox seasons right there. Maybe hit about 5 ax's to say 'hi', but prolly wont even qualify for points.
prolly need the blue tape this season for numbers as I dont think I will be able to stay in stu long (if at all).