Surging idle when cold?

[O_Positive]

I know most problems with a cold engine aren't considered "problems," but I'm curious if anyone else has experienced this, and how it might be fixed.When cold (under 25 degrees), my Vibe will warm up for 30 seconds at regular start up RPM. Then, it will drop down, surge up, drop down, surge up, about 5-8 times; then it will drop down into lower idle speed. Obviously, this happens when I am outside the car cleaning off snow and ice in the morning.This will also happen (very cold weather) after my first acceleration when slowing at a red light or stop sign--depress the clutch, and the engine starts revving, dropping, revving. In this situation, I can stop the cycle by slightly letting up on the clutch.Has this happened to you, and does anyone know a owner-user way of stopping it? I've searched the archives for this problem and haven't seen it anywhere else.

[joatmon]

some of us have this problem, and we don't yet know what to do about itSee http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=15929

[ToolGuy]

If it did not do this when new and just started, obviously there is an issue...Have you ever had the fuel injectors cleaned? If not go by a bottle of Chevron Techron Fuel System cleaner, DO NOT use anything else!! This stuff works... And depending on if and how bad they are clogged, you may need to run another bottle of the stuff in your tank. If all else fails, it is a cheap way to start looking. If you are handy enough, clean the throttle body out as well. You can buy the spray cleaner and do it in your driveway. I am speculating injectors... The vehicles idle will be very different when really cold than on a just cold day and thus the engine calls for fuel differently. Let us know!

[O_Positive]

I haven't seen this yet, and I couldn't find any other instances in my searches.When cold (yes, nothing is ever a problem when cold!), my Vibe will warm up to about 2000 rpm, then drop to 1000, up to 2000, down to 1000...it will repeat this 5-8 times, then stay at warm-up revolutions. Obviously, this is normally happening as I brush snow/ice off the car.Anyone else see this, and is there a way to fix it short of a course in automechanics or a trip to the dealier (first)?

[Mavrik]

http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=15929This might help you.

[joatmon]

deja vuhttp://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=20667

[O_Positive]

Thank you joatmon and Mavrik for finding these (and sharing). I, too, thought the car was going nuts, but I cannot find any reduction in performance. MPG, acceleration, everything else works as expected. I have found that even after accelerating on a cold day, if I put in the clutch at the first stop, it can start revving again (it has only done this twice)--HOWEVER--I found the second time that the revving stopped when I let the clutch out about a half-inch.And, of course, it only happens when the car is cold and has been left cold for at least 9-10 hours. If I drive the car to work and come out after 8-9 hours, it never surges. It also does not seem to happen above 35-40 degrees.I like the car so much, I think I can live with it.Thank you once again for helping me understand my new (used) car is not possessed!

[O_Positive]

Overnight, below 30 degrees, surged while I scraped off the ice left by freezing rain this morning. After letting the car go through its surging, it settled down into normal idle...and it hadn't surged for the previous 2 weeks while temperatures were abnormally high here (35-44 degree daytime highs).I love this danged car though. I really thought I would have to give up on having a lot of space in the back with great gas mileage, and was going to give up and either get a sedan (no versatility), a Subaru (average MPG), or a used Civic hatchback (and continue to be the slave of one of the worst dealership service departments in the area). I had to remind this bunch of folks that their mechanic left his tester, light, and tools in the back of my ex-Accord....And the Vibe is still getting over 30mpg in the winter. My Accord couldn't do that.

[zionzr2]

Quote, originally posted by O_Positive »Overnight, below 30 degrees, surged while I scraped off the ice left by freezing rain this morning. After letting the car go through its surging, it settled down into normal idle...and it hadn't surged for the previous 2 weeks while temperatures were abnormally high here (35-44 degree daytime highs).I love this danged car though. I really thought I would have to give up on having a lot of space in the back with great gas mileage, and was going to give up and either get a sedan (no versatility), a Subaru (average MPG), or a used Civic hatchback (and continue to be the slave of one of the worst dealership service departments in the area). I had to remind this bunch of folks that their mechanic left his tester, light, and tools in the back of my ex-Accord....And the Vibe is still getting over 30mpg in the winter. My Accord couldn't do that.You mean you went to the dealer and they gave you free tools!?!?!?!?!?

[jennifer0801]

my 03 does the same thing; just started at around 34,000 miles. my dad thinks it's probably the air filter, which I have never changed (embarassed). I will change it and see if this fixes.

[O_Positive]

Call me stupid, but I told the repair personnel that the tools were in the car so they could retrieve them. Had I been less honest, I probably could have fenced them on eBay for $50-$100. However, to me that is called "stealing tools and fencing them illegally."

[O_Positive]

If it's the air filter, I'll eat the air filter. In my mind, there is no way a clogged or old air filter is going to know the difference between 35 degrees and 30 degrees. Either it would happen most of the time, or not at all, regardless of the temperature.Now, I know a lot of things that go wrong in cars are temperature related, but I would think a fabric/paper air filter would be one of the few things that depended least on temperature.

[joatmon]

an air filter is easy to replace, and something that needs to be done periodically anyway, however, replacing the air filter on my Vibe had no effect on the cold idle hunting problem. Only had it hapen once so far this winter though, been a mild winter here so far.

[montreal]

Quote, originally posted by O_Positive »HOWEVER--I found the second time that the revving stopped when I let the clutch out about a half-inch.The reason the revving (pulsing) stops when you feather the clutch by a half-inch is that by doing so, you drop the peak idle rpms below 2300. I believe that the engine computer does not like to see the rpms going above a critical level given what the computer predicts is reasonable for the amount of air and fuel that is being measured.If there was ever going to be a breakage in the motor or transmission, the immediate result might be a sudden rise in rpms. The computer software wants to protect the motor by temporarily shutting down whenever something looks abnormal.This is my theory and the solution to our problem may lie in discovering what causes the peak cold idle rpm to progressivly increase from 1800 to 2300 in increments of 200 rpms for each time the car is restarted over two days that follow a computer reset (pulled computer fuse).