[slimskater]

Sometimes my car will rev to 1800-2000 RPM immediately after I start the engine and won't settle down until I put it in drive. Why does it do this??

 

[kewlkoup]

does it only happen when the car has sat for long periods (overnight for example) and are the temperatures low outside??
i have a manual and when my car is cold is revs up to the same rpm when first started, then drops to bout 1500rpm for 3-5 min before it settles back around 1000rpm (depending how cold it was the night before)

 

[ecko]

My car has been doing this since the the temps have dropped outside...All my other cars did this in late fall and winter as well. I believe that is typical until the engine warms up.

 

[ForteGT2]

Sometimes my car will rev to 1800-2000 RPM immediately after I start the engine and won't settle down until I put it in drive. Why does it do this??

Is this only when the engine is cold or does it do this everytime you start it? Even when started cold it should begin to reduce the idle speed within minutes of starting. Take it to the dealer if you are unsure of the proper operation to let them take a look at it.

 

[corytate]

it might be normal and it's only dropping down when in drive because you aren't giving it enough time to idle down on it's own.

 

[slimskater]

Thanks for the responses. Yes, it's only after it has been sitting all night.

 

[ForteGT2]

All engines "race" at start up when they are cold -- it's due to the fact that the fuel-air ratio has to be very rich to keep the engine going until it warms up (and the emissions are higher when the engine is cold too). Today's cars are WAY better than the carbureted cars of yesteryear! All you have to do is turn the key and start the engine...back then you had to set the choke by pushing the throttle to the floor before you cranked it...and if you did it wrong you could "flood" the engine and not be able to get it started...LoL! My, how times have changed!

 

[iluvs13s]

The high rev is pretty much always present with a cold start. It is normally a combination of the idle air control valve and enrichment maps in the ecu. Once the coolant temp sensor reads that the engine is heating properly, the ecu lowers the amount of fuel it sends to the engine and the iacv closes.