Rough starting & idle
 

Perhaps one out of every three starts on my tC is a little rougher than how she normally starts. Normally I turn the key and she instantly fires up, but sometimes she still fires almost instantly but the whole car seems to shudder slightly when she fires up. I thought it was related to a bad tank of gas but it hasn't gone away over several tanks although it has gotten slightly better.

Also, I know others have seen the idle fluctuate but on my car it occasionally dips down to ~500 RPM, and when it does, the car has a slight but noticeable shake. It then quickly pops back up to ~600 RPM. Turning on the A/C also makes the idle noticeably rougher.

Has anyone else experienced anything like these issues? I'm used to driving a more "refined" automobile so I don't know if what I'm experiencing constitutes a problem or not.

Not normal. I'd have the dealer take a look at it.

check your battery. it may be low on charge. or drive for a while and let the alternator kick in.

i seem to have the same issues but mine started mostly after i installed the cat-back. as you said the starting only seems to struggle once in a while and other times starts up right away. i havn't noticed any shaking when the idle drops to 500 since i always have the stereo on but i have noticed that it does that where it goes to 500 and bounces back up to 600. hasn't gotten warm enough yet to turn on A/C here so no idea on that one. i don't think it's battery related since i drive a good 1 hr each day going to and from work.

I have the rough start on my car too! but mine happens more frequently. Im glad im not the only one with this problem...

I just test drove a manual tC2 and it ran fine, no issues there, but the battery died when it stalled out (happens at a dealership) but the auto that I drove, it had the idle fluctuate... other than the fact I don't want an auto I totally wouldn't have bought that car with the idle problem.

Seeing this post, makes me wonder if there is an issue with these cars...

My car has a rough start every once and awhile.. Not terrible, just something to notice.. I just figured it was because I turned the key too fast and didn't give the fuel pump enough time to prime.. No clue though if everyone is having problems..

I've never had a rough start while I had this car for 4 1/2 months now. It's so smooth at idle too. Some of my friends actually told me that they are amazed with how smooth/quiet the engine is at idle.

My car is starting roughly more frequently as of late. The whole engine really jerks when it starts roughly which is definitely not good for the mounts' longevity. Has anyone mentioned the issue to his/her dealer? I had mine in recently for an unrelated service but forgot to mention this particular issue. I'll be back in a few months for my next service but I'd like to hear from others first.

Great, now mine is starting to act funny. No weird gas fillups (like, not doing 93 then 87 etc) but it's been starting rougher...

AND the idle is fluctuating after it gets to temp and sits at traffic lights.

Of course, my xB1 does the same crap, but it's due to have the TB/IAC cleaned.

So going to take this back to a dealer and start yelling.

thank good ness for these cars being new, check dealer :)

So let's see here. Car has 913 miles on it. 2 fill ups that I've done, both at Sunoco stations with 87 octane.

Mods: DDM Tuning 4300k 35w HIDs, PIAA 55w fog light bulbs. LEDs in all dome/map lights.

If this has ANYTHING to do with the lights/LEDs i'm going to flip. This can can NOT be that sensitive to gas or lights messing with the electrical system.

...So yeah, if you have noticed rough starting, or your idle fluctuating (in neutral/no clutch engagement for me) post something.

If you've taken to it the dealer or plan to, post up what happened.

I wonder if it has something to do with the amount of ethanol in the gas. The gas here contains 10% ethanol and I have no problem with my car.

Virtually all gas sold today is 10% ethanol (gasohol) so I don't see that having anything to do with it.

Ok so is this normal? Sitting in a parking lot, vents on, no A/C, radio on (no mods/subs etc), just sitting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cruj3vM0p6U

WTF really?!

Your video is private. No one but you can view it.

Sheesh, settings on my phone auto upload to private lol

Mine does the exact same thing as in the video. Glad I'm not the only one experiencing this. Was planning on going to dealer to ask. Anyone asked dealer about this issue yet?

I'm actually at my local dealership right now waiting for them to look at my car. It's also developed a rattle on start-up after sitting overnight. They don't make 'em like they used to. :|

Quick update: The technician looking at my car did not see anything wrong with it. He said the rattle at start-up is most likely the timing chain (a common "non-issue") but to tell for sure I would have to leave my car overnight. Has anyone else heard his/her car rattle when starting it after it had been sitting overnight?