Idle issue?

[F1point4]

Originally Posted by WithNolock

Sorry for the crappy iPhone vid but here's what I'm seeing...

That is pretty much spot on for what my car does. Except I can only produce if I'm stopping starting around 45-50mph in neutral.

[Asphaltfrs1]

Today was the first time I noticed the idle drop to about 400, I was in traffic with a/c on. I turned off the a/c and it didn't do it again. Will keep an eye on it though.

[ahausheer]

If this low idle issue is not in the manual, did not happen on the test drive and was not addressed at the time of sale, take it to the dealer. At least get a statement saying it is either normal or abnormal. Subaru needs to figure this out.

[Thunderchicken]

Originally Posted by WithNolock

Sorry for the crappy iPhone vid but here's what I'm seeing...

To me it looks normal, but you only let it possibly do it once then you hit the gas which to me doesn't make any sense. Let the car try to stall on it's own cause to me it's just like my '08 STi.

If it's a concern take it to the dealership, but make sure that it does it all the time and is repeatable or you will just get the answer "No Fault Found".

If this is your 1st tank fill up at your favorite station with 91/93 at 1/3 tank left who know what the dealership put it.

[WithNolock]

Originally Posted by Thunderchicken

To me it looks normal, but you only let it possibly do it once then you hit the gas which to me doesn't make any sense. Let the car try to stall on it's own cause to me it's just like my '08 STi.

If it's a concern take it to the dealership, but make sure that it does it all the time and is repeatable or you will just get the answer "No Fault Found".

If this is your 1st tank fill up at your favorite station with 91/93 at 1/3 tank left who know what the dealership put it.

I didnt hit the gas right after the rpm's dropped. That was the engine recovering itself. Couple seconds after that the light turned green. This doesn't happen every time but it's fairly consistent. I have over 700 miles so I've been through a couple tanks of gas.

[ahausheer]

Originally Posted by WithNolock

I didnt hit the gas right after the rpm's dropped. That was the engine recovering itself. Couple seconds after that the light turned green. This doesn't happen every time but it's fairly consistent. I have over 700 miles so I've been through a couple tanks of gas.

If the rpms are recovering that high there is something seriously wrong. Almost like an intermittent vacuum leak or faulty idle control valve or worse. At idle the tack should not be jumping that much. In my opinion something is wrong and you should take it in and show the dealer your video.

[Thunderchicken]

Originally Posted by WithNolock

I didnt hit the gas right after the rpm's dropped. That was the engine recovering itself. Couple seconds after that the light turned green. This doesn't happen every time but it's fairly consistent. I have over 700 miles so I've been through a couple tanks of gas.

unfortunately I can't see what you are seeing. However the best thing to do is when you get your oil changed or if the concern is that great head to the dealership and drive the adviser or tech around and show him what you are seeing and let him tell you if it's normal or an issue.

[Username]

Do we know how many documented cases there are of this issue (on the forum or otherwise)?

I have a deposit down on an FRS that should be here any day now and this issue has me worried. People who are planning on buying soon, is this a deal breaker for you? Enough to wait for the kinks to be worked out?

EDIT: I know that this issue will be covered by warranty, but it is my experience that a newer engine is never really the same once it has been cracked open. Not to mention some reservations I have about some dealership's service departments.

[07stealth350z]

Originally Posted by civicdrivr

When my engine is cold, it idles at ~1500rpms for a few minutes. Not sure if thats normal or not though. All of my previous cars would idle at 1k while cold then drop down to 750-800rpms.

Isn't that a lil low to begin with for a high compression engine? My Z idles at around 2000rpms & sometimes a little higher on a cold start, and I know that the FR-S/BRZ is a much higher compression engine than that of the VQ35HR.

[yayforaddison]

Mine was dropping a little further down then that video at its worst (sometimes under 400rpm), then bouncing up to 1,200 at times, then back to idle (600-650ish). I haven't seen it for about 5 days tho. I called the number and reported it, but have been way to busy to take my car in. I'm at roughly 350 miles now, my second tank, and have just began letting my RPM go to 5,000 about 3 times since 300 miles (I am doing my break-in a little different, by gradually letting my rpms increase every few hundred miles).

I havent noticed this idle issue since my new tank of gas (93 oct), or with my rpm increase. May just be a coincidence tho.

The only reason I have done this slow rev increase, is partially because of how bad my idle issue was, nor do believe in keeping it under 4k for 1,000 miles then BAM redline! Slowly increasing the RPMs may help the engine slowly build up for redline. Just my idea tho.

[Dadhawk]

"Olivia" is rock steady on idle, I've had no issue with this. 6AT.

[Jayde]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

"Olivia" is rock steady on idle, I've had no issue with this. 6AT.

Named yours Olivia huh? I named mine Emma.

I haven't experienced the idle drops during normal driving. It seems the engine revs up a bit when it's put into gear with the clutch in. Now if that damn chirp would go away...

[davisk6]

Originally Posted by Jayde

Now if that damn chirp would go away...

Not going to happen. It's part of the DI system, so unless you modify that, you'll have to deal with it.

I think there is a lot of FUD being thrown around in this thread. Both videos posted show nothing out of the ordinary. The engine is supposed to idle around 650 RPM. As for it dropping below that when putting the car into neutral while driving, that is also expected. The physics of the rotating mass of the crankshaft and the delay between the TPS sensor and ECU will allow the motor to spin down below normal idle. Once that situation is discovered by the ECU, the throttle will open and correct.

You really shouldn't be cruising to a stop from 45 - 50 mph with the clutch in anyway. Let the inertia of the car and the engine slow you down. In fact, you can slow down much faster with the car in gear instead of in neutral.

Simply put, if there is a problem with the engine at idle, it will present itself when the car is stationary. Any presumed RPM drop when driving can be attributed to a number of things, including driver technique. If you experience a CEL when stationary, that's a problem and must be addressed, but most of the evidence presented here does not indicate a wide spread issue with the vehicle.

[Stu L Tissimus]

Followup: dropped off my BRZ at the dealer again, they're gonna take a look at it for two days and send some data back to Subaru HQ and see what's up. At the very least, my case appears to be under control.

I've noticed that mine is reproducible if you drive on the highway, get off at an exit ramp, roll up to a stop sign and put it in neutral. Anecdotal, but it's happened thrice to me. (It did not occur at all during about 30 minutes of street driving yesterday.)