2009 Corolla s idle

[SoccerGirl]

We just bought a 2009 Corolla S, five speed and the first two weeks I kept stalling it in first gear. Thought it was me, had my mechanic look at it and he says it's definitly idling low at stop signs. Took it in to Toyota and they say 600-800 rpm is normal, but it still shudders. Anyone else having this problem?

[mcdawgg]

Originally Posted by SoccerGirl

We just bought a 2009 Corolla S, five speed and the first two weeks I kept stalling it in first gear. Thought it was me, had my mechanic look at it and he says it's definitly idling low at stop signs. Took it in to Toyota and they say 600-800 rpm is normal, but it still shudders. Anyone else having this problem?

Idle speeds are not adjustable anymore. I'd say it's you.

[SoccerGirl]

ok mr I say it's you, do you actually have one of these cars and are driving it? Or what?

[mattleegee]

Soccergirl, he meant to say its electronic and something in the map would have to be adjusted to change the idle RPM, as in... it doesnt have a cable with a adjustable point like older cars/carbuated cars

You say it shudders, like a stall at idle? You might be to low on your RPM, or maybe there is a load on you car like A/C perhaps? that is bringing it down, i have a identical car to yours, and i will say i stalled the crap out of mine... well i still do because i havent adjusted to the clucth yet (200 miles) compared to my race clutch/fly on my last ride

Temperature, fans, A/C, load, are things you can look at

Feed some more information, shoot a video or something then people can help you out more

[John Mo]

Mine kind of shudders at low idle sometimes too. As for stalling it, I have to admit that I'm ever so slightly out of practice. My last manual transmission daily driver was my '90 4Runner nine years ago (R.I.P.). But it's always been like riding a bike for me. I've always jumped right back into driving a stick whenever I've had the opportunity.

I stalled my Corolla twice just today -- and not the typical starting on a hill pressure situations, but just not paying enough attention. And that's the thing that bugs me. Driving a stick was second nature to me for many, many years. I'm not supposed to have to think about it.

I think the culprit is the drive-by-wire throttle. The engine doesn't quite spin up as quickly as my internal timer thinks it will and I end up with too much clutch and too little throttle. It doesn't chatter and get jerky, but it either dies or I catch it and put my right foot down and save it.

Try this some time if you have a long hill to go down: Get going down the hill in gear up to 60 or 70 MPH, take your foot off the accelerator, watch the tach, and drop it into neutral. It doesn't drop quickly or evenly from 3k RPM to idle. I think they've programmed the computer to anticipate that you're going to go to another gear and it keeps the RPMs up in a range near what might be needed for another gear. Mine drops down to 2k RPM almost right away, and then hovers for a split second before slowly dropping some more and then finally decides that you wanted idle after all.

The other thing I've noticed is that the accelerator lags on gear changes. Normally you start to back off the throttle just a little before putting the clutch in if you're trying for a smooth-feeling shift. Unless I back off earlier than my years of experience say I need to back off, the engine revs a little over where it was running when I put the clutch in even though I was backing off the throttle. I always thought that was something that n00bs did when they were first learning, but it's happening to me unless I think about it start backing off earlier than I normally would.

I think the drive-by-wire throttle is trying to do some of our thinking and driving for us. If they'd just rigged it to communicate the throttle position immediately and accurately (which I'm quite sure is possible), it would be a good system.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

[mattleegee]

drive by wire is different a little if you never used it before, and i see what your saying JohnMo, i think that is what has bother me... is the shifting part, it seems i can make it smooth because i was used to a faster let out push in gas combo on a different set up that was drive by wire itself
maybe we have like a 50 pound flywheel and its messing us all up

[Dragon877]

even on the automatic everything is weird compared to the older cars we're used to lol the car doesnt do what we want, it does what IT THINKS we want...i am guessing this 10th gen rolla isnt exactly a good car to learn driving stick in right lol im seriously thinking bout learning stick then trade this baby in a few years down for a stick XRS

[SoccerGirl]

So I have 800 miles now on my car and this is really bugging me, the almost stalling. So have any of you taken it in to have the dealer see the problem or are you willing to live with it? I've taken it in once already that's when they told me about the idling parameters of 600-800 are normal. I have another appt. tomorrow.

[John Mo]

Yeah, I've noticed that if I just mash the throttle and pop the clutch -- faster like you said -- that it works out pretty well. It's almost like the car prefers or expects to be driven hard. But I always took some pride in the fact that I could manage a light touch and execute smooth shifts that didn't jerk passengers around, so I'm having to do some relearning. I hate it because I feel like a total amateur when I stall it or slip it too much because I put in too much throttle.

[mattleegee]

To get the smooth shift you must

Press clutch in all the way
Select gear
Let out clutch to 80%
Start the slow acceleration
Accellerate and let out the last part of the clutch

Its hard to explain but that has somewhat worked sometimes, other times it would work better with a quick snap and draw example
Shifting takes time to get how you want it on a car but then the complaining will stop


Soccergirl, i dont think anything is wrong well mine is usually around the 700-800 range, i really think that its not a commen occurance for you, maybe the fan is kicked over, maybe the wheel is turned enough to draw... it has to be something, or maybe you got a car built on a Friday and a bad mount ::
Let us know what happens at the dealer though!

[John Mo]

I noticed some other posts last night about the 600 RPM idle and paid attention to mine today. It looks like 600 RPM is normal idle. I think the shuddering may be the cooling fan. I haven't been using the A/C much and when I have used it I haven't noticed the engine revving to compensate or anything. I think they've made some progress with A/C compressors to improve efficiency and reduce the load.

Funny story about stick shifts and A/C. I learned on an '81 Chevette. I had gotten the hang of it, but was still pretty young. My dad was pretty cool about riding along but liked to play with the buttons he could still reach from the passenger seat. I remember one time I went to start out from a stoplight and totally killed it -- not even close. Dad had switched on the A/C and the compressor kicked in right as I tried to launch. Back in the day you could feel the compressor cycling on those little cars while moving at highway speed. And in low-speed residential areas, it would almost pull the car along without a foot on the gas when the engine idled up for the compressor. Good times.

[SoccerGirl]

Well it's not the ac because when I turn on the ac the rpms jump a little to compensate so I don't have the stall problem as bad when the ac is on. So has anyone taken this to the dealer or toyota itself, so the problem can be corrected? Or will we just have to learn a new technique for driving the new-no-cable-clutch car? I too take pride in not jerking my passengers around in a stick shift. It feels really lame when I do.

[mattleegee]

You will have to learn or get a different fly/clutch set up most likely

[ZenithTheTV]

Ive got an 09 XRS, 5spd. Idles around 700 when its warm and I haven't had any problems.

I can get it to start up on flat road without any gas, a bit of shudder is normal but you shouldn't be stalling it. If it cuts out on you, try letting the clutch out a little slower or just add a bit of gas when you start up. Shouldn't be too much of a problem Soccergirl.

What part of the idle or clutch is bothering you really? Could you provide some details? Cause I want to say that the idle is normal and its not really the problem you're looking for, but I dont know the situation well enough to cast blame right now.

[bond220]

>>Took it in to Toyota and they say 600-800 rpm is normal, but it still shudders. Anyone else having this problem?<<

I'm glad to hear that others are having this problem as I thought it was due to the fact that I haven't driven a stick shift for so long. What I am finding is that in order to be sure I can start without stalling I have to get it to 1200-1500 rpm before releasing the clutch and then give it the gas gently to keep it there (or higher) as the car starts to move. Th thing that I'm finding different from before is that I can't rely on the engine sound to tell me how the shifts are going. I have to rely on taking my eyes off the road and looking at the tach a lot more than before. I'm having an especially hard time getting started from a really noisy place like a turnpike toll booth where I can't hear what the engine is doing.