High Idle on 1.9 TDI sport when cold

[SS247]

Hi guys, I'm a newbie here came across this excellent site after trawling google for my little problem.
Basically I have a '06 Ibiza 1.9tdi sport and up until now I have been happy with it. However recently with the cold weather, I have noticed an annoying issue, when starting up from cold, the engine idles very high, between 1500-2500 rpm, which makes driving quite difficult! This doesn't settle down even when warmed up, but if I turn it off and start it again when its warmed up then its fine.

I contacted Seat and they took it and had a look and said its normal! I'm sure this isn't the case , just wondering if anyone else has had this problem??

Any feedback/experiences appreciated,

Many thanks,

S

 

[Topsey]

Can't help as to whether it's normal or not but my 07 1.9TDi Sport is doing exactly the same and has been since the start of the cold snap in December. Very annoying and makes it sound like I'm doing granny revs at the junction!!

Be interesting to see other replies.

 

[Mal]

I have a 2004 TDI SE (100hp). There seem to be a couple of rather erratic electrical glitches when the temp falls below around 5 degrees.

I haven't had trouble with idling revs but my power steering light warning light comes on sometimes when its cold, leading to a loss of power steering. I reckon this happens maybe 1 in every 15 or 20 start ups in the cold. It is easy to cure like you say, switch the ignition on and off, but it is annoying, especially if it goes dead after you've pulled away and then have to pull over.

Mine is out of warranty and SEAT won't do anything about it, and its not that troublesome.
However, if mine was still under warranty i'd push SEAT hard to fix it. I wish I had done rather than letting them fob me off 2 years ago.

Your problem isn't normal, they may not know exactly what it is but they are lying through their teeth suggesting its ok. I would try the garage again and say you are very unhappy with it and want it sorted. Failing that contact SEAT customer care and get on their case - although I dare say they will deny any knowledge of a problem.

I don't know where you are based but some SEAT dealers are much better than others in my experience. I've found Westerham SEAT in Kent to be good and fairly straight talking.

 

[Mal]

In not an expert by a long way but I wondered about 2 things.

I wonder if its an electrical glitch with the ECU, adding too much fuel.

Other thing - maybe of no relevance at all but where do you normally fill up? - supermarket or petrol station? I know in the past some people (more so with petrol) reckon that the supermarket buy the cheapest stuff they can, and that the quality is debatable. I don't know how relevant it is with the lower sulpher diesel these days but winter diesel is meant to get mixed with something to stop it waxing / thickening - has it been a recent or on going problem? That might give you an answer to this one.

 

[kriso]

Try blipping the throttle when it does it, or put your foot underneath it and pull it up as sticky acclerator position sensors have been known to cause this.

 

[chris4500uk]

It should sit below 1k. 2,5k idle is not 'normal' !

Would a vacuum leak cause this? As these can cause high idle problems.

Maybe worth getting vag commed?

 

[muddyboots]

If you had access to vag-com, it would be worthwhile to check the outputs of various temp sensors (coolant, fuel, etc) before you start up from cold, to see if any of those are giving incorrect readings. Dodgy coolant temp sensors (common on VAG engines) can lead to erratic / high idle speeds.

Mal - with regards to your power steering issue, have a search round on here for it, I think it's a common problem in freezing conditions. Can't remember the exact cause, though I think it was something to do with electrical connections to the PS pump, maybe getting damp/corroded.

 

[SS247]

I did ask the seat service department if it could be the coolant temp sensor and he said it couldnt be this as the car had not logged a fault and it would if it was an issue with a sensor. Not sure if this is correct or not?

 

[muddyboots]

Ahh don't you love dealers these days - "It hasn't flagged a fault, therefore there is nothing wrong" which really means "we don't know what to do".

It depends on the nature of the fault with the sensor.

If it was giving no output, was shorted, or saying your coolant is at 300ºC etc etc then yes it would flag a fault.

However, if it was just giving readings that were incorrect but still within a valid range (for example, it might say coolant was at 70ºC when it's actually only 20ºC) then it wouldn't necessarily show as a fault, but could cause odd effects (such as over/under fuelling, odd idle speeds etc).

With vag-com, you could check the readings of various temp sensors before you start the engine up first time in the morning. If the car has been stood overnight, then everything (fuel, water etc) should be roughly at the same temp. You can also monitor the outputs as the engine warms up and see if all looks as you expect.

 

[Matty.]

Can't help as to whether it's normal or not but my 07 1.9TDi Sport is doing exactly the same and has been since the start of the cold snap in December. Very annoying and makes it sound like I'm doing granny revs at the junction!!

Be interesting to see other replies.

Yeah my 1.2 is doing the exact same, makes it murder to reverse! lol
After a few minutes of driving its fine but just annoying for the first couple of minutes, stalling if i dont keep the revs up etc

 

[SS247]

Hi Guys, thanks for the replies, a bit of an update, there are no faults when the dealer connected up , I took it back to the dealers and they are mystified, however they have serviced the Air intake flap motor and
Exhaust gas recirculation valve as they were both ‘Gunked up’

Started it again this morning and same thing, I did try the lifting the throttle someone suggested and that bizarrely did seem to help!

Rang the dealer again, and they are still saying that 1500-2500 rpm on cold start is normal!!! I have told them its dangerous to drive as basically I'm riding the clutch some of the time, and they are taking it back in again, I will also try and get a video of what its doing, as I'm sure it isn't normal, will let you know how I get on, if anyone else can post their experiences of this problem that would be great!

Thanks

S

 

[kriso]

Started it again this morning and same thing, I did try the lifting the throttle someone suggested and that bizarrely did seem to help!

As I said above mate, it's quite common. Just blip it or lift it..2500k idle isn't normal - 1500k max I would say and even that is high on a diesel. If the wategate wasn't open, you'd be boosting the turbo at those revs on a cold start lol

 

[Yella Beeza]

I put my foot under the accelerator pedal once before starting it to make sure it idles correctly. Otherwise it has a habit of idling too fast on start up. That's cured mine