Low idle with AC on

[CRcivic]

Hey all,

So 2016 civic with 50,000ish miles. I rarely use the AC but when I do I notice the idle becomes low when stopping completely.

It almost feels like the engine would stall for a brief moment. It just shakes a little and goes back to totally smooth. Seems to do it ever single time the car comes to a complete stop with the AC on otherwise it's perfectly fine.

Is this a 4 cylinder engine thing? Is it a problem or is it "normal"?

Just wondering if anyone else experiences this.

Thanks and happy driving!!

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[CRcivic]

Hey all,

So 2016 civic with 50,000ish miles. I rarely use the AC but when I do I notice the idle becomes low when stopping completely.

It almost feels like the engine would stall for a brief moment. It just shakes a little and goes back to totally smooth. Seems to do it ever single time the car comes to a complete stop with the AC on otherwise it's perfectly fine.

Is this a 4 cylinder engine thing? Is it a problem or is it "normal"?

Just wondering if anyone else experiences this.

Thanks and happy driving!!

Seems like it might be a 4 cylinder engine thing. It's happened since I can remember and im petty sure it's happened with all the 4 cylinders I've owned. I never notice it on trucks or bigger engine vehicles though.

 

[dellyjoughnut]

700 rpm is where my FK7 runs with the AC on.

 

[shoegazer]

In my '76 Chevette (manual); I had to manually turn the AC off before pressing in the clutch to avoid a stall. My '92 Eclipse had a mechanical idle speed control motor that used to just press the throttle open a bit more when the AC was on (and probably during cold starts too). In my old RSX... the AC on/off button was my 'push to pass' button in the Summer months. And IIRC... the 'idle learn procedure' with our cars calls for running the AC on full as one of the steps. To me... all that translates to yes... AC is a real drag on a smaller motor.

 

[Gruber]

Hey all,

So 2016 civic with 50,000ish miles. I rarely use the AC but when I do I notice the idle becomes low when stopping completely.

It almost feels like the engine would stall for a brief moment. It just shakes a little and goes back to totally smooth. Seems to do it ever single time the car comes to a complete stop with the AC on otherwise it's perfectly fine.

Is this a 4 cylinder engine thing? Is it a problem or is it "normal"?

Just wondering if anyone else experiences this.

Thanks and happy driving!!

I don't see this at <14 kmiles. Unlike some other cars I drove, the AC seems to burden the engine very little. I don't notice if it's on or off. If it decreases the idle rpm, it's only a bit and no symptoms. (I will check how much it actually drops) In some cars, I would turn off the AC when going uphill or passing, and the car would obviously jump forward.

The idle speed with no mechanical load is specified as 750 ±50 rpm for 2.0L, 720 ±50 rpm for 1.5T and 780 ± 50 rpm for 2.0T.

 

[Hajidub]

It happens, hell even having non-ac fan running burdens this little engine some. The way I know is my aftermarket exhaust note lowers, sounds better with fan or ac on.

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