How rough at idle before I should worry?

[chooke]

I just noticed yesterday that my 03 EX CRV was idling a little rough at idle, for example, at a traffic light. Not a huge vibration, but it was rattling a little bit. I could feel it through the steering wheel-you know, you get slightly blurry fingers? It was more rough than I recall for the first couple of months driving it? It seemed to be worse when I had my foot resting firmly on the brakes-if I let it up a little it seemed to lessen a bit?

I have nearly 5k on and am getting ready to take it in for its' first oil change. It's been cold here but not freezing during the day, and my car is garaged all night.

How rough should the idle be before I talk to the dealer about it, since it will be going in soon for the oil change anyway? Most dealers don't volunteer to work on things, so if I would love to find out if/what the problem might be so I know what questions to ask them. Or if it even is a problem?

What do you think-how rough does the idle need to be before it's a problem? My former car (camry) did the same thing and I just lived with it for the six years I drove it. Is it the weather? The gas? the oil?

[roadster]

have you noticed if the fan kicked in, it will feel like what you decribed?

[Skavatar]

in cold weather when you first start it up it'll idle a little rougher and idle at a higher rpm. but once you driven a few miles and the engine warms up there shouldn't be too much vibrations. roadster is right if the fan is on there will be slightly more vibrations.

and if you have an auto, try throwing it into neutral when stopped at a red light, the vibrations should cease or atleast decrease a bunch. hope this helps :)

[Icyelle]

I have the same experience.. Is there no solution to this rough vibration during idle? Should it be worth it to get checked out by the dealer? :|

[bracky]

He gave the example of a traffic light. That means his engine is heated up when he is feeling this vibration. I suspect its idling a little slow. If you give her some gas does it go away?

[roadster]

today iwas told my car was quiet, could not be heard, and that went for the 1st vee as well, people placeing hands on car? getting shockd to see me inside?
now do you notice if you are just warming it up or on your garage or street in park does it run rough all the time?
inspect the air filter open up the cover see if any dirt or blockage there look at the throttle cables or the selinoid around there, see if they are engaged.
I say air filter b/c you may never know. or a hose might be loose, a possability

[Icyelle]

I will check my air filter and see if that's the problem.

In my situation, I have an 03 CRV LX, with approximately 19k on it and even after I have driven my car for awhile when stopped at a traffic light I get a lot of vibration (no rattling or anything just vibrates). My fiance experience the same vibration in his '03 civic. So I am not sure if this is normal on Hondas. I don't feel this type of vibration with my sister's car which is a Ford Explorer. :?

[02CR-V]

All 4 cylinders will have some vibration. Having said that my idle was glass smooth untill they disconnected the battery for one of the recalls or something else they did and now it's too rough. I tried doing the idle learn but that didn't help. It seems variable though----one day good, the next six bad.

[pro00]

check the sparkplugs too

that (IMO) is what it is
my protege too did that and i changed it in the summer, and now, it is resurfacing a little
the CRV i currently have is not doing that
but as many has suggested before
throw it in neutral and it should subside

[Einstein]

I have an 03 element, which has the same drivetrain. I experience NO vibrations at idle with the automatic transmission in gear.

I would have the dealer look at it under warranty. They should check your spark plugs torque and idle speed first. If these things don't check out, they may suggest a valve adjustment. Depending how many miles are on your vehicle, they may do it at no charge. Valves should not be out of adjustment enough to cause bad idling before 15,000 miles in my opinion.

I know on our 1st gen CR-V, a valve adjustment made a noticeable difference in idling and acceleration smoothness after adjusting them at 30,000 miles.

But then again, to someone else who isn't used to driving 4-cylinder transmissions it might seem a little rough.

[chooke]

Thanks everyone-when I take it in for it's oil change I will ask the dealer to check out the things you recommended. I appreciate having a list to take to them. In the past I've run into the "we can't re-create the problem" problem.
This is my second 4 cyl in a row, so it was enough of a vibration at idle to notice. I don't notice the same vibration through the wheel when I'm rolling, course that could be because I still have those clunky duelers on and am used to it being bumpy! :0

[02CR-V]

I have an 03 element, which has the same drivetrain.


They are similar but not the same.

[Einstein]

That could be, I'm no expert on the differences.

However, if there was one of the two vehicles designed for smoother operations, I would expect the CR-V to be better.

I have an 03 element, which has the same drivetrain.


They are similar but not the same.

[grinvald]

I just noticed yesterday that my 03 EX CRV was idling a little rough at idle, for example, at a traffic light. Not a huge vibration, but it was rattling a little bit. I could feel it through the steering wheel-you know, you get slightly blurry fingers? It was more rough than I recall for the first couple of months driving it? It seemed to be worse when I had my foot resting firmly on the brakes-if I let it up a little it seemed to lessen a bit?

I have nearly 5k on and am getting ready to take it in for its' first oil change. It's been cold here but not freezing during the day, and my car is garaged all night.

How rough should the idle be before I talk to the dealer about it, since it will be going in soon for the oil change anyway? Most dealers don't volunteer to work on things, so if I would love to find out if/what the problem might be so I know what questions to ask them. Or if it even is a problem?

What do you think-how rough does the idle need to be before it's a problem? My former car (camry) did the same thing and I just lived with it for the six years I drove it. Is it the weather? The gas? the oil?


What is the RPM at which this occures? If it's below the spec (not sure what it is for G2), the idile engine speed needs to be adjusted.

[chooke]

Thanks! Do you know whether the idle speed spec should be in the owners' manual? Or is that technical enough that I need to ask the dealer?

[02CR-V]

I think it is 750 rpm. It is listed in the manual.

[Icyelle]

I observed my idle speed today when I was stopped at an intersection and I saw that the idle was around 700 +/-50. Is this normal? I thought the idle speed should be around 1k? :?

[Einstein]

Hey, I was just using my Helm manual for the Element and came across something interesting.

After replacing or resetting the computer, there is a procedure for "teaching" your computer about the idle characteristics of your vehicle. It's at the very end of the Idle Control System part of chapter 11.

Don't know if it might help, but I thought I would mention it.