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2009 Legacy uneven and high idle at start


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I just picked up a 2009 Legacy with 8K miles on it. I'm not a fanatic so I don't know the technical specs, but it's the base engine. It's the one that is 2.5 liters and not Turbo. I browsed the forum and read about others having engine failures and I although I don't think my particular problem is like some of these severe failures, I still want to describe my problem just to make sure.

 

Now, on to my issue... I didn't test drive this particular car and when I picked it up, it was brought out to me from the lot so the engine running.

 

The next morning, after the car sat cold over night, I started the engine and noticed the rev go a bit higher than I'm used to hearing on other cars. Not only that, it was somewhat irratic, fluctuating from 1500 to 2000 rpms (I think rmps are in units of 1000). When I give it a little gas, then the idle calmed down to around 1000 rpms and became more smooth.

 

Other than this, the car drives fine. I asked about this to the service department and they said this is a known issue, but not really a long term problem. The service person said, "yeah, that happens when the car is cold, but give it a bit of gas and the idle will come down." He also said this happens to all Legacies, which I was surprised to hear.

 

Have others experienced this and is this in fact something that I should not be concerned about?

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Is your 09 a PZEV model? Just curious. As mentioned before, the high idle at startup is normal. Mine sounds raspy and very course, but if i blip the throttle, it will settle at 1000 rpm and be very quiet.

 

Mine is a PZEV and I'm sure it is to heat the cats up quickly to reduce emissions.

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My 07 does it, and it is a PITA.

It also does it (5mt anyway) when the car is cold, and you go to take off, then stop within about 5ft, the idle will skyrocket and then eventually simmer down.

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http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=107152&highlight=idle&page=5

 

start post #72 same issue is discussed. you can flip back to page 1 to refer to more erratic idle issues. but as i said in that thread:

 

"that's pretty normal, almost all cars these days will idle slightly higher at initial start up. i believe at initial start up it burns richer to overcome the higher oil viscosity at low temps to prevent stalling."

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Sounds normal. I have an 08 2.5i PZEV and noticed the same behavior when new. It kind of bothered me at first because as it fluctuated there seemed to be a little bit of shake - but I think I've gotten used to it, don't really notice it anymore.

 

I was in the same situation when I test drove it... dealer started it up and drove it out before I got in -- I'm starting to think that was intentional.

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Is your 09 a PZEV model? Just curious. As mentioned before, the high idle at startup is normal. Mine sounds raspy and very course, but if i blip the throttle, it will settle at 1000 rpm and be very quiet.

 

Mine is a PZEV and I'm sure it is to heat the cats up quickly to reduce emissions.

 

Yes. It is pzev. And reading thru the other posts, it doesn't sound like I need to worry about this. Although, it bothers me that no one at the dealership told me about this when I was buying the car.

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PZEV cars are tuned a little differently, but as a whole almost EVERY new car has a cold-start-high-idle.

 

Being a PZEV car, you'll hear a lot of funny/loud noises on startup and shut down that you think may be odd. I'll tell you now, for a PZEV, they are normal.

 

Subaru has been doing it since 1989, so their lack of telling you is probably because they don't think about it anymore. I actually can't think of ANY current generation car that doesn't have a cold-start high idle.

 

If you want to be REALLY annoyed, switch to the instant MPG function of your digital display when driving the car cold. Get moving, then let off the gas. Unlike when warm, you won't be getting 99.9mpg, but a lowly 50 or 60.

 

All cars need to be warmed up in order to be as efficient as they can be. It's par for course. The RPM's will drop after 2 or 3 minutes.

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