Idle Fluctuates; Temperature

[sporthatch141]

IDLE

O.K ... Once a week (at least) I have a situation where the car sudenly starts to idle strangely (car is stationary). Idle suddenly starts to fluctuate between 100 - 1000 rpm, up and down. Sometimes it does it with the AC on othertimes when the AC is off. The fuel gauge is over 3/4 of a tank full.

Anyone had this and had it explained by the boys at Toyota? I have been noticing that the car seems to be more and more sluggish. Oil/Water levels are nominal -- the car has done 15000k's. Frustratingly the boys at South Side Toyota Tested the ECU and all was normal. I obviously indicated that performance issues can be caused by more than just the ECU but they said there appeard to be nothing obvious.

TEMPERATURE GAUGE

The temperature gauge of the car (when it is warmed up) sits at between 8 and nine bars (includes counting the bar where the letter C sits). Obviously wheather and environment play a part. Can QLD drivers let me know where the average temperature gauge sits when their car is warm please?

Any advice or info would be appreciated guys and gals...

[CAP]

Mine does this on occassion in any temperature - Revs fluctuate between 500 and 700 rpm at idle - Racecar style.

Thought it was the airfilter / air intake leaking somewhere but had all that checked.

Doesn't seem to effect the way the car runs though.

[Cooley]

IDLE

O.K ... Once a week (at least) I have a situation where the car sudenly starts to idle strangely (car is stationary).  Idle suddenly starts to fluctuate between 100 - 1000 rpm, up and down.  Sometimes it does it with the AC on othertimes when the AC is off.  The fuel gauge is over 3/4 of a tank full.

Anyone had this and had it explained by the boys at Toyota?  I have been noticing that the car seems to be more and more sluggish.  Oil/Water levels are nominal -- the car has done 15000k's. Frustratingly the boys at South Side Toyota Tested the ECU and all was normal.  I obviously indicated that performance issues can be caused by more than just the ECU but they said there appeard to be nothing obvious.

←

My car had the same situation with you before when the car is startionary and sometimes there some strange sound underhood, but when I step on the clutch the sound goes. I had asked my friend and he may just be the A/C. Other than that, there was no problem with normal driving. So, I think that is normal and not actually a PROBLEM ~

Anyone??

Edited February 4, 2005 by Cooley

[qkslvr]

Hi guys. Idle problems are usually the most difficult to deal with. if you have the CIA, check to see your intake rubber pipes are not split or cracked. check that all vissible vacuum hoses are all connected. Another thing that could be causing it is a dodgey idle control motor (i'm not sure if there is one on the 2zz). If your car is out of warranty, run some throttle body cleaner through it. when was your last service?

[Northy]

also check the airflow sensor to see if its dirty cause that make a huge difference to the idle, im in QLD and my car NEVER got past half way even on the hottest days/spirited drving excursions

[Buddha]

I'm in Qld and even on those hot days we had the other weekend, with a/c on full and including a bit of spirited driving, the temp gauge sat at half-way.

I haven't noticed any idle fluctuations ... I was a bit taken aback by the initial revs when I first started the car when we picked it up, but I was ok once told that's normal! :P

My wagon is also an auto, where most cars on the forum are manual ... not sure if that means anything, but worth a mention.

Edited February 4, 2005 by Buddha

[Sport1vo]

<POST REMOVED>

Edited May 8, 2005 by sport1vo

[FoRoLLa]

I have the same problem. Car seems to idle rough intermittently since I had it from day one, it happens more often during winter though.

The rev can drops down to 100rpm and slowly increases back to normal at around 800rpm. Got it checked it twice by the dealer at 10K & 20K service and they say everything is fine. Once the car is being driven for about 15-20 minutes it rarely happens, but still happens once in a while.

I do have after market airpod installed...Just wondering if any of you that are experiencing the problem have a modified air intake system of some sort?

[Zr240]

I get the same problem on my 1zzfe manual wagon.

I always just thought it was due to the fact I thrash the crap out of it without warming it up etc.

*nice to know it's a factory standard feature:D

[Buddha]

*nice to know it's a factory standard feature:D

←

Thankfully, not all Rollas got it as standard ... and no, I don't need to find someone who can retro-fit it for me! :P

[CHA54]

New Cars are fitted with an electronic "choke", while old car are manually operated.

Having variations of up to 200-300rpm is normal.  Having higher variations with the AC is normal.

←

Modern toyota's use an Idle Speed Control Valve to regulate the idle speed. A variation of 200-300rpm on a modern toyota is not normal, that's a problem. With the AC on, the ISCV open's more to compensate for the extra load on the car to bring the idle back up to it's normal speed. Toyota states a range from 650-750rpm for the idle speed, anything outside this is not normal.

For very large fluctuations like the ones mentioned here could be caused by a number of things...

Hotwire AFM coated in aftermarket airfilter oil, incorrectly adjusted TPS, fouled plugs, etc etc.

[jade]

my car is stock standard and the same thing happens to mine when i stop at traffic lights..... it idles so low that i think its going to stall..... at first i thought that my clutch was doing it, but it does the same thing in neutral as well...

took it to my local toyota dealer under warranty, and they couldnt find anything wrong with it, mind you all they wanted to do was stick a scan tool on it and get some codes, as soon as none came up, they didnt want to know me...

took it to an efi specialist and he suggested that it may be due to a dud vvti controller but toyota didnt want to know about it.... dont blame them, a vvti controller takes about 6 -8 hours to replace and costs about $1000.

if anyone does find out what the prob is, let us know..... i just want my new car to run right and toyota dont wanna know about it cos now its out of warranty!!!

[Cougs]

hi, i just want to add that I have this problem as well. It feels as if the car is struggly and is about to die/stall

when it happens, i just rev the car to 2000rpm or so. i dont know what else to do with it lol

[grimlock]

hey change your fuel

i found on my SC corolla that it happens,

but when i use BP Ultimate from the BP in Fairfield on the horseley drive. The idle problem is gone

When i use other fuels, my idle is stuffed, ie synergy from Lansvale, Vortex 98 on the M4, Shell optimax from Fairfield. I tested each fuel for a period of 2 weeks and BP ultimate has provided me with the best results.

Secondly, according to BP, they don't have sulfur in their fuels so it's good for the environment> It doesn't produce sulfuric acid in the atmosphere.

so give it ago and see what happens

[rox45s]

I had the same problem as soon as i put in my CAI. But since then i've been letting it warm up before i drive and i reset my ECU and it hasn't happened ever since. Maybe this will help?

[Azza]

The car idle fluctuating in large margins, ie 400/500rpm to about 2000rpm is known as hunting.

I have experienced this previously on my 04 Sportivo, but I have discovered it is only when I screw up. On all three occasions, the common denominator was when I stopped the car to get out, I accidentally stalled. When the car was resstarted, it hunted. Giving the juice-boost a good stabbing to lift the rpm to about 5000 made it all disappear.

Can't say I have ever had any temp issues...

Cheers

Aaron

[Pippy]

There's a couple reasons for it, (we have discussed about it before on a previous thread too if you want to have a look at what was said)

- CAI generally freaks the ECU out for the first couple of minutes, generally as Northy would suggest too is to reset your ECU anyway.

- Temperature wise, never had my temp bar go beyond halfway even on a VERY hot day at the track, besides, the temp gauge on our car suck anyway, not very accurate (shao will back me up on this one)

- ECU / Aircond, as i have personally discovered is that when the weather is pretty hot, and you had the A/C on and then when you sit the car at the lights or restart it from a slight stop, the idle would once in a while bounce up and down. I have discovered that the ECU or something seems to upset the idle ESPECIALLY when the A/C is turned OFF.

Blip the throttle, once if not a couple of times... it always works for me.

also, after hard driving, please don't just stop your car. Be nice to it, do a couple laps around the block slowly and blip the throttle before killing it, that'll help you start easier the next morning!

cheers.

[DANZZT231]

Warm it up properly. If you have intake, wait until the hissing is gone, then drive off.

[BlackRolla]

For the first time I experienced this problem today. I was so scared it was going to stall in peak hour traffic. How come I seem to get all the problems around here??? Idle drops below 500RPM and shakes a bit and goes back up above 1000RPM and then drops again. The needle just rocks up and down several times. There also seems to be a very strong burning eggy smell as well and I didn't drive it hard. I've never had this problem before!!! This car is driving me nuts!!!

Has anyone got it fixed yet and what did Toyota say?

[DANZZT231]

For the first time I experienced this problem today. I was so scared it was going to stall in peak hour traffic. How come I seem to get all the problems around here??? Idle drops below 500RPM and shakes a bit and goes back up above 1000RPM and then drops again. The needle just rocks up and down several times. There also seems to be a very strong burning eggy smell as well and I didn't drive it hard. I've never had this problem before!!! This car is driving me nuts!!! 

Has anyone got it fixed yet and what did Toyota say?

←

speak to obsezzion, he got his fixed by adjusting the throttle body butterfly pin

[xoom]

the one and only way to prove this to your dealership service centre because it doesnt happen all the time is to record it by video on ur phone if u have a video capable handset.....

Then see what they say. as it doesnt appear to me from everything u r all saying that it is a consistent issue/problem

cheers

Bill

[StylinBlackRollA]

the one and only way to prove this to your dealership service centre because it doesnt happen all the time is to record it by video on ur phone if u have a video capable handset.....

Then see what they say. as it doesnt appear to me from everything u r all saying that it is a consistent issue/problem

cheers

Bill

←

yeah i experienced this problem at a set of lights about 1hr after CAI was installed.

The problem only occured when clutched in and in 1st gear. but as soon as i put it in neutral and clutched out the problem was gone. I gave the car a bit of a thrash and problem was fixed. I think the problem is caused in the a/c control unit that connects with the MAF sensor. The ecu is trying to adjust air variations and not used to it. Maybe its only the people that have CAI installed. After removing the air resovoir maybe that could be it?

I'll see how i go its only been a day since i've had my CAI but i've had plenty of time to idle with and without a/c and the problem hasn't come back yet (knock on wood)

[jade]

<_< i have dont have cai and my car does the same thing... it idles that low and shakes that i am sure that it is going to stall..

my engine is stock and i dont have any bolt on mods.... so if someone can work out why this is happening and how to fix it (apart from playing with the throttle body settings, cos they are set like that for a reason and shouldnt be played with) let me know...

B)

[obsessionz]

I have this problem too taken my car to toyota like 6 times!! toyota is ****** they cant find wats wrong wit it ... they lifted my idle up manually ... but when its cold it will still drop an start shakin under 500 idunno why it does this ... its ****** i hate it ... makes me so angry ...

I think we should all do something about this problem .... Its a common problem with the corolla an toyota know it.. But they won't admit to it ...

if more an more people complain they have to find the problem and fix it! print this thread out an take it to toyota show them that its not only u wit this problem ....

Edited June 5, 2005 by obsessionz

[jade]

funnily enough, my car runs fine when it is cold, but once up to running temp it farts and idles funny and shakes...... took it to toyota and they reckon they cant make it play up... probably cos they started it at 7 in the morning and ran it for about 30 seconds and then turned it off..... such a comprehensive service department....

the running temperature nature of this problem is making me think that it may be an o2 sensor somewhere or something like that playing up.... but the toyota computer doesnt pick it up and neither does my bf's diagnostic computer at his workshop <_<

damn evil toyota, they are in a giant conspiracy against us