Alright, this topic has popped up a few times, worthy of its own post and discussion. Last comment came from cata_o and mwrx in the 1 year review post
Here are the comments:
“Just wanted to ask you a question about the engine at idle. Mine trembles occasionaly. Not all the time, here and there, there are some little shakes. This is not new, I felt it from the day 1. The dealer told me everything is fine. Did you experience this?”
and
“My 2010 wrx idles rough when I first start it and it does shake every once in a while like when sitting at a red light. Its has about 1,100 miles on it. I also noticed somtimes when I go to pull in my driveway or a parking spot it almost stalls out. It only happens in low speeds and when its in first gear. I hit the gas to go then push in the clutch an almost stalls out.
Anyone had any stalling problems?”
Comments?
The rough idle at start is normal, after like 20 seconds everything is fine. The rpms stay a little higher until the engine gets warmer. By the way, it is important to avoid high rpms (I never pass 3000 rpm) until the engine gets fully warmed – the temperature needle gets in the middle of the scale.
I’ve experienced the stall thing a couple of times in the beginning until I got used with the clutch’s engagement point (drove before a very forgiving manual mazda). However, my wife did it regularly for a while, especially uphill. I’ve heard it is quite common for high powered engines with manual transmissions. You need some practice to master the clutch at low rpms.
Comment by cata_o — November 10, 2009 @ 10:23 am
After I re-read my post, a little clarification, if I may. I got the stalling issue after the break in period when I drove like a grandma bringing home eggs from the grocery store. Every shifting took like 3 seconds
. My wife didn’t drive the car during that period. Mazda has a very hard clutch but doesn’t seem to bother with a very precise engagement point.
Comment by cata_o — November 10, 2009 @ 10:53 am
I haven’t had this issue, but it could be that I haven’t been paying attention. I will keep my eyes open.
It is common for a car of this set up to be a tad finicky when moving slowly. The turbo is really not doing much at low engine speed therefore putting all the force of moving and a AWD drive train on a small 2.5 L 4 cyl. My guess is a smooth foot, and try not to overload the engine with out the right amount of throttle.
I will talk to my service manager friend when I am in next.
Comment by jt83 — November 10, 2009 @ 2:15 pm
>”Just wanted to ask you a question about the engine at idle.
>Mine trembles occasionaly. Not all the time, here and there,
>there are some little shakes. This is not new, I felt it from
>the day 1. The dealer told me everything is fine. Did you
>experience this?”
This is a normal boxer engine characteristic. Nothing to worry about.
Comment by Geoff — November 17, 2009 @ 11:28 am
Thank you, Geoff!
Comment by cata_o — November 17, 2009 @ 1:33 pm
My engine revs up to 3k rpms when I pull into the driveway on occasion as well.
No stalling issues, however.
Comment by P.I. — January 4, 2010 @ 8:46 pm
Shift to neutral and release the clutch. The high revs will go away. For some reason ECU is keeping sometimes the revs up when you want to shift into the second gear. Some say it is a bug, others say it is a protection against stalling. But at least it is predictable.
Comment by cata_o — January 12, 2010 @ 10:56 am
Sounds like ECU needs to be remapped or there is a problem in with the throttle body…check them first.
Comment by GTOTwinTurbo — April 14, 2010 @ 3:25 pm
I haven’t heard of a new version for the ECU software for the 2009MY. So a reflash will write the same program into ECU with the same behaviour.
Comment by cata_o — April 19, 2010 @ 8:22 pm
Sorry, Just found this blog and seem to be commenting on every post!
The rough idle is normal, the rev hang (revs to 3k pulling in the driveway) is normal, if annoying.
Comment by BG — May 11, 2010 @ 7:23 am
My 2010 WRX does the same thing during cold starts.
On a different note, when shifting into reverse, the WRX appears to have a load gear engagement if that is the best way to word it. It is just a lot loader engagement then shifting into first for example. Is this normal?
Comment by enrapture6 — August 16, 2010 @ 9:44 pm
I have a 2009 wrx with 17K miles on it. All of a sudden at idle it sounds and feels like it is missing. I read about changing the plugs but not sure if it is the right solution. I am hesitant to take it to the dealer b/c of aftermarket DP and Cobb AP. I have messed around with the idle rpm and timing but nothing is helping. I have had the Cobb and DP on for 10K+ miles with no problems. Anyone else experiencing this?
Comment by Madison — September 1, 2010 @ 4:55 pm