high idle at start up

[justfine]

Are other owners experiencing a high idle at about 1500 to 2000 rpm upon start up in the cold? Once warmed up it drps to a normal 600 to 800 RPM's.
Is this a normal choke level RPM?

 

[BacktoHyundaibychoice]

Are other owners experiencing a high idle at about 1500 to 2000 rpm upon start up in the cold? Once warmed up it drps to a normal 600 to 800 RPM's.
Is this a normal choke level RPM?

Mine starts about 1250-1500 the drops as you described. Almost seems I have an "interim" of 1000 before settling.
I wouldn't worry about it, see how it behaves in warmer weather.

 

[JWP77]

I have noticed the same thing on mine. It revs very high for at least 15 seconds. I live in AZ so we are not talking cold weather here.

 

[BaywayRic]

I have noticed the same thing on mine. It revs very high for at least 15 seconds. I live in AZ so we are not talking cold weather here.

Same in FL

 

[Roger]

It's normal, in the old days cars idled high at start up, got the oil pumping, warmed up and then idled down. I wouldn't worry about it. If needed and worried, check w/ the service department.

 

[Poopsicle]

My truck did that too in cold weather. I believe it's to get the oil pump flowing throughout the engine.

 

[ttsig]

I've noticed this too, but have become used to it. Certainly all cars do this to a certain extent, but the Genesis seems almost excessive during first start in the morning. I wondered if it's just more noticeable because the car is close to silent at it's normal idle.

Anyway, seems to be normal for the car so I haven't worried about it.

 

[Mark_888]

When I started my V6 this morning (parked in garage so maybe about 40-45 F) I did notice that it very briefly revved up to 2000 rpm but went down rather quickly. So what you are experiencing is nothing unusual. As soon as I hit 3000 miles I will switch to full synthetic motor oil, and I won't be at all concerned about it anymore.

 

[EdVoylesHyundai]

This is normal. All cars do this to some extent. It is an EPA thing, it helps light off the cats as quickly as possible. You may notice that the exhaust sounds louder outside the car, too. During the high idle the ignition timing is also retarded, which brings more heat to the cats and also has a side effect of a louder exhaust note because the combustion is overlapping the opening of the exhaust valves more than during full-temp operation.

 

[BacktoHyundaibychoice]

This is normal. All cars do this to some extent. It is an EPA thing, it helps light off the cats as quickly as possible. You may notice that the exhaust sounds louder outside the car, too. During the high idle the ignition timing is also retarded, which brings more heat to the cats and also has a side effect of a louder exhaust note because the combustion is overlapping the opening of the exhaust valves more than during full-temp operation.

Thank you for such an informative post. Seriously.

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[musher51]

Hear, hear! I, too, appreciate the information that Frank/EVHyundai and the other dealer guys have posted here. It's always good to get information flowing both ways between a designer/manufacturer and its customers. Sometimes I think I should try to exercise the Hyundai Think Tank a bit harder (hey, if it gets me an '11 Genesis with numerous fixes and improvements in a couple of years, why not?), but my initial interaction with the site has been sleepy and ungratifying. And frankly, as enamored of this car as I am (and I REALLY am)...at the end of the day, it's just a car and I'm approaching a point where I'm pretty much done tweaking it and it's gonna settle into a more mundane role in my day-to-day life (at least 'til I buy a new one ).

 

[Tufast]

Thank you for such an informative post. Seriously.

+1....EdVoylesHyundai

 

[ehayden1]

Same here. High idle of 1400 to 1600 even when starting up at 70 degrees in a garage. Goes down to 600 within 5 minutes of driving. When warmed up, move transmission to neutral, hits 800 rpm.

 

[Disaster]

This is normal. All cars do this to some extent. It is an EPA thing, it helps light off the cats as quickly as possible. You may notice that the exhaust sounds louder outside the car, too. During the high idle the ignition timing is also retarded, which brings more heat to the cats and also has a side effect of a louder exhaust note because the combustion is overlapping the opening of the exhaust valves more than during full-temp operation.

As an engineer that worked in the emissions department of a large automaker I can confirm Ed is spot on. All cars cars run the engine at a higher rpm on startup to, keep the engine from stalling, and to "light off" the catalytic converter, which is much more efficient at higher temperatures. One of the reasons short trip fuel economy is so poor is because unburnt fuel is purposely pushed into the exhaust, initially, to heat up the cats. The short term increase in pollution is quickly offset by the lower pollution over the ensuing miles.

 

[G-665322]

As an engineer that worked in the emissions department of a large automaker I can confirm Ed is spot on. All cars cars run the engine at a higher rpm on startup to, keep the engine from stalling, and to "light off" the catalytic converter, which is much more efficient at higher temperatures. One of the reasons short trip fuel economy is so poor is because unburnt fuel is purposely pushed into the exhaust, initially, to heat up the cats. The short term increase in pollution is quickly offset by the lower pollution over the ensuing miles.

My 2009 Genesis did not start this condition until 80000 miles. prior to that I did not notice excessive rpm at start up. At 1400 rpm I am concerned about transmission wear when put in gear. I am at 89000 miles at this point.