Idle issue?

[Chewie4299]

Originally Posted by zelix

my jeep with 14k on it does the same thing on occasion.. never worried about it.

My Jeep's never done it but my Evo did.

When I'd pull up to a stop behind a car, truck, or bike with loud throaty exhaust the revs would drop and the engine would sputter like it was going to die for a second or 2 when they gave it some gas. I felt that it had something to do with the harmonics.....

It was a really weird problem and I never got to the bottom of it. The close the source of the sound to my intercooler the greater the effect was.

[whiteout fr-s]

alright guys,

As I am the first person to actually let Toyobaru technicians fully diagnose my car, Subaru and Toyota sent 2 technicians each from Japan too actually diagnose my engine and these issues we are experiencing.

So, to begin, the issues are NOT normal and need to be fixed. The technicians fixed some valves, readjusted cam angles etc.. but I will get the full repair specs Monday. They are also tracking my car tomorrow and Sunday to get full engine read outs for future FR-S owners. So as of Monday any of you experiencing this problem will have a fix, and a quick one at that.

I have not had my car for a month now because of this but I can tell you that as long as I know that future owners will not experience these problems it was well worth it. Good luck to everyone who has had this issue and if you are still experiencing this please take your cars to the dealership over the next month and your problems should be addressed a lot sooner than mine!

[b.e]

So today I'm sitting in my FRS, idling with the A/C running while I watch a mountain fire, and I think, "Where is my rear window defroster?" I find it and actuate it, and there's the dip. Drops 200 rpm, waits a second, then jumps up to about 900 rpm. "Hmmmm," time to test.

I listen for the electric engine fan. When it switches on, there's the dip.

I turn on the all lights, there's the dip.

I think it's just alternator load, and the engine responding in its own quirky way.

Other things to check (all high-amperage items): steering, cabin fans, seat heaters, ???

EDIT: I just went out to play with it at cold idle: the engine keeps the idle RPM higher when it's cold, and the effect on RPM when electrical load is added is very small. The effect become "the dip" only at warm idle.

[Hawaiian]

Originally Posted by b.e

So today I'm sitting in my FRS, idling with the A/C running while I watch a mountain fire, and I think, "Where is my rear window defroster?" I find it and actuate it, and there's the dip. Drops 200 rpm, waits a second, then jumps up to about 900 rpm. "Hmmmm," time to test.

I listen for the electric engine fan. When it switches on, there's the dip.

I turn on the all lights, there's the dip.

I think it's just alternator load, and the engine responding in its own quirky way.

Other things to check (all high-amperage items): steering, cabin fans, seat heaters, ???

The problem is, it happens both with and without a load on the alternator for me.

[Hawaiian]

Originally Posted by whiteout fr-s

alright guys,

As I am the first person to actually let Toyobaru technicians fully diagnose my car, Subaru and Toyota sent 2 technicians each from Japan too actually diagnose my engine and these issues we are experiencing.

So, to begin, the issues are NOT normal and need to be fixed. The technicians fixed some valves, readjusted cam angles etc.. but I will get the full repair specs Monday. They are also tracking my car tomorrow and Sunday to get full engine read outs for future FR-S owners. So as of Monday any of you experiencing this problem will have a fix, and a quick one at that.

I have not had my car for a month now because of this but I can tell you that as long as I know that future owners will not experience these problems it was well worth it. Good luck to everyone who has had this issue and if you are still experiencing this please take your cars to the dealership over the next month and your problems should be addressed a lot sooner than mine!

Everyone, please sing with me.

[ame="http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq0llrCYtCQ"]YouTube - Bette Midler- Wind Beneath My Wings - Lyrics[/ame]

[Stu L Tissimus]

Originally Posted by whiteout fr-s

The technicians fixed some valves, readjusted cam angles etc.. but I will get the full repair specs Monday.

This is the exact same thing they did to my BRZ today. Sounds like between the two of us they've zeroed in on the problem. Let's just hope this hasn't messed up the break-in period too much...

[Lonewolf]

Originally Posted by Stu L Tissimus

This is the exact same thing they did to my BRZ today. Sounds like between the two of us they've zeroed in on the problem. Let's just hope this hasn't messed up the break-in period too much...

Please let us know how the car behaves once you've driven it for a bit...

[Hanzo]

Originally Posted by whiteout fr-s

alright guys,

As I am the first person to actually let Toyobaru technicians fully diagnose my car, Subaru and Toyota sent 2 technicians each from Japan too actually diagnose my engine and these issues we are experiencing.

So, to begin, the issues are NOT normal and need to be fixed. The technicians fixed some valves, readjusted cam angles etc.. but I will get the full repair specs Monday. They are also tracking my car tomorrow and Sunday to get full engine read outs for future FR-S owners. So as of Monday any of you experiencing this problem will have a fix, and a quick one at that.

I have not had my car for a month now because of this but I can tell you that as long as I know that future owners will not experience these problems it was well worth it. Good luck to everyone who has had this issue and if you are still experiencing this please take your cars to the dealership over the next month and your problems should be addressed a lot sooner than mine!

Can you find out from Subaru if we should stop driving our car? Will keep driving it before the fix damage anything?

[Hanzo]

Wonder if the chirping noise during idle is related to the rpm dip issue. http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8678

whiteout-frs, can you let us know if the chirping noise goes away?

[AshWilliams]

Why wouldn't this be normal, and the AC compressor coming on and sucking power from the engine?

Every car I've owned has done this at idle when the AC comes on. My larger trucks also have a dip when the engine fans kick in on very hot days.

And it doesn't matter if it's a 2.5 boxer Subaru, V6 Toyota, or small block pushrod V8, they all drop RPM's and shudder. It's always at idle, always at intersections...

I could even post a cell phone video of my three-year-old GMC doing it in my driveway.

[Hawaiian]

Originally Posted by AshWilliams

Why wouldn't this be normal, and the AC compressor coming on and sucking power from the engine?

Every car I've owned has done this at idle when the AC comes on. My larger trucks also have a dip when the engine fans kick in on very hot days.

And it doesn't matter if it's a 2.5 boxer Subaru, V6 Toyota, or small block pushrod V8, they all drop RPM's and shudder. It's always at idle, always at intersections...

I could even post a cell phone video of my three-year-old GMC doing it in my driveway.

It's not a rpm dip from the ac but a rpm "bounce" that is intermittent and happens when the compressor is on or off. The issue appears to be cam and valve related, not the compressor as we have stated several times throughout this thread.

[Boosted2.0]

Originally Posted by whiteout fr-s

alright guys,

As I am the first person to actually let Toyobaru technicians fully diagnose my car, Subaru and Toyota sent 2 technicians each from Japan too actually diagnose my engine and these issues we are experiencing.

So, to begin, the issues are NOT normal and need to be fixed. The technicians fixed some valves, readjusted cam angles etc.. but I will get the full repair specs Monday. They are also tracking my car tomorrow and Sunday to get full engine read outs for future FR-S owners. So as of Monday any of you experiencing this problem will have a fix, and a quick one at that.

I have not had my car for a month now because of this but I can tell you that as long as I know that future owners will not experience these problems it was well worth it. Good luck to everyone who has had this issue and if you are still experiencing this please take your cars to the dealership over the next month and your problems should be addressed a lot sooner than mine!

Was your check engine light ever on?

[AshWilliams]

Originally Posted by Hawaiian

It's not a rpm dip from the ac but a rpm "bounce" that is intermittent and happens when the compressor is on or off. The issue appears to be cam and valve related, not the compressor as we have stated several times throughout this thread.

Even when the AC is off, the compressor can be on, ABS and the master cylinder, the power steering pump, and a handful of other things can all strain an engine like that at idle and cause a "shudder." That can be both a dip and a resultant bounce in RPM's.

My experience with "professional factory techs" in a lemon law case against Ford is that they have no damn clue about the car and insinuating that this cam and valve related and not software, fuel mixture, or accessory is a pretty grandiose claim.

I can imagine these morons overhauling your engine only to have it be something else. The most dangerous thing you can do is bring up a vague problem with a brand new car to factory techs that aren't used to dealing with the engine architecture (Toyota, boxer).

[Brimford]

That is my only concern with this car, are the technicians at Toyota going to be able to handle issues with the FRS' engine?