viking89

I've got a 2000 SE with 157k on it and whenever I initially start up the car after it's been sitting for an hour or more and has had a chance to cool off, the car drives like garbage for the first 5 mins.

When I first start up it idles around 1300rpm, and driving in 2nd is extremely chuggy and jerky at slow speeds, as if the car is about to stall or something, but it never does. The only way to not feel this is to constantly be cruising around in neutral.

After the car 'warms up' it idles around 900rpm and this issue goes away. My mechanic says this is somewhat normal, but everyone I ask says theyve never heard of a car doing this.

What's the deal here, is it just cause its a 12 year old car and needs to get going? Or is there some common issue I've missed

Thanks for the help!

2damax

Manual or auto? I ask cuz u said you drive around in neutral. Either way the idle is a littl high. Very high if manual, IMO. Cleaning the MAF won't hurt. I bet it helps in fact.

Also, set your alarm for 5am. When it goes off immediately go for a couple mile run. See where I am going with this? Let that bish warm up a bit before you drive it. And if it is a manual the tranny can be notchy for a little on cold days until you warm it up through a few shifts. If it is automatic... STOP DRVING IN NEUTRAL!

user name001

my car kinda has a light jerk to it at low throttle, it doesnt run rough though, but it does have an unusual jerky take off. it pretty much completley dissapears once its warmed up though.

ive tried figuring it out and cant. i have checked/cleaned/replaced so many things ive givin up and just deal with it now. let that bish warm up like 2damax said. its better to wait out the 5 mins of it warmin up anyways for me bein an auto and sufferin from the 2-3 shift flair

eric96se

Same thing with mine and if you are careful with the throttle toy can peddle it a bit annoying none the less. I have a manual so when the car is cold temp wise it'll run very jerky on power say about 30-40 mph sometimes so bad the I have to push the clutch in, neutral, and then put it back in. After the car warms on acceleration I can feel it slightly jerking but eventually goes away.

I thought that maybe it's the idle air control but I would think that if it were the issue that at idle if revved it would run like crap which it doesn't.

MaxxedOutt

iTrader: (1)

I fully agree with 2DaMax. The only way (until you fix it) is to warm up the car a few minutes before you go anywhere. Yeah, it's a pain, but you won't look likw a rookie stickshift driver going down the street. This used to happen to my 2000 as well. I still warm it up in the mornings out of habit, because I live like 30 seconds from the fwy, and I don't like to go fwy speeds on a cold engine/tranny.

Ok, now I went through the frustrating battle of figuring this out. You're all gonna have to check your iacv, although this was not a problem with mine. Check for vacuum leaks. I changed all my vacuum lines and checked everything! The culprit? Intake manifold gaskets. When they're cold, they're hard, and it gives just enough of a vacuum leak to make the car run rough until the gaskets warm up, expand and seal. If you have a VQ30, be ready for some heavy duty knuckle-bruising and bleeding, and lots and lots of cussing!!!! I promise you that! Oh, and if you decide to undertake this endeavor, change out the knock sensor, belieeeve me, you are NOT gonna want to do this again anytime soon!
Oh, and a cleaned/or new maf does wonders! And, don't forget to do an idle relearn, that does magic too.
Hope this helps!

Oh, I forgot, the first vacuum leak I found on my car, was a torn throttle body hose, the corrugated one that looks like a multi-layered michelin man, it was torn on the bottom, so I never saw it until I disassembled everything to clean my tb. It must be common, because it also happenned to both my brothers.
Good luck!

Danimal94

Owner of a 2000 SE 5 speed here. Up in the upper peninsula of Michigan where it is common to have temps in the single digits for 4 to 5 months of the year. Ive only put my car through a cold romp up the highway once and that is the last time i did THAT! Every time i get ready to drive the max, i go out, key in the ignition, then pray it starts, and let it warm up for at least 5 minutes.

A friend of mine has a 99 audi a4 with the 2.8 liter v6 30 valve that believes a motor is running at its best when its frozen cold. Hes already in gear before the oil even gets to the head! (Guess who has valve seal issues now)

When i first felt the jerking even at half of the normal running temp, i though i had injector issues or something. Maybe dropping cylinder? It frustrated the heck outta me. So i decided to never again drive it until full temp. No problems, even 70 degree weather i have become accustom to starting her for a few minutes.

Also, high idle when cold is roughly 1300. Once the engine and tranny rise to temp she purrs at 600 rpms, does that sound low to anyone?

2damax

Des not sound to low. Im usually 625-700. I think autos are more like 750-800.

Danimal94

It would be much smoother if it was raised to 700. Im thinking plugs, wires unless they ohm test, and might break into a cleaning battle with my MAF and throttle body! Garage project!! Thanks!

2damax

Mine is the MAF. I will clean it one day. If I remember correctly I got a ghost code p1800.

Montego Murph

iTrader: (1)

My rule for the past 25 years of driving has been to keep the RPM's under 2000 until it reaches operating temperature.