Always high idle RPMs when starting cold car... is this normal?

jhokie

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I'm always hitting high idle RPMs (1400-1500) when starting the car in the morning, then after about a minute it's down to typical 750-800. Is everyone seeing this or should I have it checked out? BTW, I live in Florida so it's not cold.
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Same for most cars. My '99 Miata does the same.
 


simply_the_best

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Completely normal and actually loud with an exhaust due to the overlap to help quickly warm the catalytic converter to help further reduce emissions right away.
 

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Normal for any car. I wait until 30-45 seconds until the RPMs drop below 1500 RPM before driving off. And even on a warm start, on every car I've ever owned, I wait ~15 seconds or so before driving off. That's because I want to give the oil a chance to get at least somewhat circulating before driving. Anal retentive and a little silly, perhaps... I'm strange that way.
 
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jhokie

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Thanks for all the replies. I really hadn't noticed this to this extent before in previous vehicles.
 

SpoolAndGo

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Normal for any car. I wait until 30-45 seconds until the RPMs drop below 1500 RPM before driving off. And even on a warm start, on every car I've ever owned, I wait ~15 seconds or so before driving off. That's because I want to give the oil a chance to get at least somewhat circulating before driving. Anal retentive and a little silly, perhaps... I'm strange that way.
Good to know I'm not the only one who does this. When I have people riding with me, they always say "what are you waiting for?".
 


Luckyarmpit

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Good to know I'm not the only one who does this. When I have people riding with me, they always say "what are you waiting for?".
Same here, and they all give me a funny look when I explain why. I figured it can't hurt, and what's another 30 seconds of my life if it means longevity of my engine?
 

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I'm always hitting high idle RPMs (1400-1500) when starting the car in the morning, then after about a minute it's down to typical 750-800. Is everyone seeing this or should I have it checked out? BTW, I live in Florida so it's not cold.
My 2017 Civic 'Prestige' (UK Spec 1.5T hatchback with the CVT) does _exactly_ the same thing, and always has since I picked it up from the dealer with only 9 miles on the clock. I've often wondered whether to let it warm up until the revs die down closer to 1000, or whether to drop it into 'D' and go (gently, of course).

I also wonder whether Honda did this to warm up the cylinder walls more quickly, to avoid the fuel/air mixture condensing on the cold metal and thereby ending up in the sump. There's a lot noise on the Interwebs currently about oil dilution problems with this engine - mostly on CR-Vs, it has to be said but it's the same engine.
 

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Its your cars logical permissive. Its trying to reach its oil flow and temps before lowering rpm. If it doesn't see what its looking for within a certain time frame it will start flashing codes.
 


 


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