Hey all,

when I start my 1994 civic cx, (its winter right now, im not sure of the temp in F but it was about -2c today) which has been sitting outside for about 9 hours, it will idle wuite fast at first, and it did this until i started to drive and the engine slowed down after driving a few minutes. now i guess this is normal as it is a small engine warming up, but the other night i had it in the garage(not heated) and it was about -8c and even in sheltered parking it still idles quickly at first, is this normal for such a small engine, i cant quite remember but im not sure my old car idled as fast. Is this something to do with the smaller capacity engine(1.5L) ? I havent had a vehicle this winter until now so im not sure,

 

Any car idles fast when cold, the colder it is outside, the longer it takes for it to warm up. Your best bet is to let it sit for about fifteen minutes before driving it when its that cold to get the oil hot and flowing, once the idle drops its fine to drive. But to answer your question, its perfectly normal.

 

+1 /\

Mine idles at about 1600-1800 RPMs for about 8 minutes when the temp is anywhere from 0 to 37-8 degrees F outside. Nothing to worry about.

 

i'm about to act like a damn tree hugger right now, but i've heard that warming up your car actually does damage to the environment...
















I'm sorry, i just slapped myself for actually saying that, won't happen again, lol

 

I was told by a mechanic that the fast idle when it's cold is the engine's way of doing a 'choke' on itself, making the fuel/air mixture really rich to get it to warm up ASAP. My Civic does it, and my old Saturn did it, I think it's normal.

 

ok good but another thing i notice is when the engines cold and just started, it seems to every so often sputter, like a mini muffled backfire, but as it warms up it stops this at idle, that is also something to do with the cold starts? It seems normal when it does this, i think its ok because we have an older quad and it too sputters when idling fast in cold weather starts. qhat do u guys think?

 

i think it is just part of the car slowing down when it has these little sputters, mine does it too.

 

cool, thanks for all the replies, i was a bit worried as this is the oldest car ive ever had so im not used to things like this, but ill be able to sleep easier tonight[8D]

 

Actually, it does damage to you wallet, too, decreasing your gas mileage dramatically And it is absolutely not necessary for modern engines and oils...