[Surferdude]

This is an issue I've noticed in a lot of new cars these days. Do others have it?
When I start my car cold (remember I'm in Queensland and in summer it can be 20C air temp, the engine starts and races momentarily at around or just above 2000rpm. In any case there's no noticeable difference between summer and winter.
Now I understand there must be some electronic form of a "choke" being applied here but does it really need to be that high? And surely it can't be good for a cold engine?
My wife's Corolla is the same but probably a fraction higher - maybe up to 2500rpm.

[Shambles]

Our last 3 (and current) RAV4s all did/do that; the revs start up around 2300rpm and stay there for at least 5 seconds. As you say, it must be "by design" but it sure doesn't feel right.

[2i30s]

both of our 2.0 petrol i30s only hit around  1,200rpm for 5 or so seconds and then drop back to about 900rpm till they warm up. the wife's cw used to do what your car is doing and the dealer found that the throttle position sensor [tps]was faulty and changed it. get the dealer to check it out,its free. 

[Lorian]

Get dealer to check you have the latest ECU code, they might clean the idle control valve too.

[Myowni30]

My i30, Volvo C30 and Corrola TSport did it. The TSport being awful, stayed about 1300rpm for the first mile or so.

[agentr31]

my other car does it bad... o inital start up its revs its tits off!!

[Surferdude]

So. Are we all calm about this?
No worries about excessive engine wear?
My Subie wasn't as bad but it did it too.

[agentr31]

i can make a video of it for you on my other car! infact ill do it now, partly because its raining and im bored!

[Surferdude]

i can make a video of it for you on my other car! infact ill do it now, partly because its raining and im bored!

A video of what???????????????

[agentr31]

*starts striping off* a video of me...

no im just kidding, a video of my car reving its head off on start up!

[agentr31]

i really hate photobucket...

[Lune]

my silvia was doing this, the throttle position sensor was out, was never actually idling as far as the ecu was concerned, had it adjusted and it came good

[agentr31]

yer there is only a bees dick of movement for that TPS to be out and throw the computer off aye! i learnt that on  my old skyline...

[swiss_i30cw]

both of our 2.0 petrol i30s only hit around  1,200rpm for 5 or so seconds and then drop back to about 900rpm till they warm up. the wife's cw used to do what your car is doing and the dealer found that the throttle position sensor [tps]was faulty and changed it. get the dealer to check it out,its free. 

The elevated idle RPM at low temperature is aimed to speed up the warm up of the catalytic converter and decrease the unburnt product during that transition time. This feature exists since the EURO 2 standards for emission.
I have the 1.6l gamma engine and the idle speed is more or less like follow:
20°C  :  1200 RPM
50°C  :  1000 RPM
>80°C:  700 RPM

[Surferdude]

Hi swiss. Thanks for your feedback.
I understand why it happens, I just don't like it happening at startup when the engine is cold and the oil doesn't pump through all the areas need ing lubrication quickly enough because it's so cold itself.
Pre- EFI days, you'd just adjust the spring on the choke.