View Full Version : increasing engine idle speed ?
Is there any way to increase the idle speed on my 2011 yaris. It is a 5 speed and idles at app.500 rpm when hot. Since these cars have very little low end torque this makes it real easy to stall when taking off, especially in 1st and reverse.
47_MasoN_47
06-04-2013, 03:32 PM
I could be wrong but I think the idle speed on these is controlled electronically.
Why not just give it more gas?
esse10
06-05-2013, 01:10 PM
It helps when taking off from a stand still if the idle is a little high. On manual cars the idles should be around 800-900 rpm. All my previous manual cars were set high rpm. My new beetle idles at around 850-900. This yaris idles at around 400-450....too low i think. It's just for driving convenience. I think it has to be done Electronically at the dealer I just don't feel like forking out the $$ just for that.
UberSilver
06-05-2013, 02:12 PM
It helps when taking off from a stand still if the idle is a little high. On manual cars the idles should be around 800-900 rpm. All my previous manual cars were set high rpm. My new beetle idles at around 850-900. This yaris idles at around 400-450....too low i think. It's just for driving convenience. I think it has to be done Electronically at the dealer I just don't feel like forking out the $$ just for that.
Also keep the oil pressure up. There's a little tiny screw on the TB that can be adjusted(with the engine off), it's hard to see because it's capped with epoxy from the factory.:thumbsup:
esse10
06-05-2013, 04:05 PM
Also keep the oil pressure up. There's a little tiny screw on the TB that can be adjusted(with the engine off), it's hard to see because it's capped with epoxy from the factory.:thumbsup:
by TB you mean throttle body? so i guess you have done this before? why with the engine off? I would think you'd want to listen to the idle as you adjust the screw. adjusting the throttle body would give it more air which would run too lean, unless the ECU would detect that and compensate. :iono:
I asked the toyota service advisor today and was told it could not be adjusted. He said to just give it more gas. He also said that the reason the motors stalled and shuttered badly at take off was because they had very little low end torque.
47_MasoN_47
06-05-2013, 10:31 PM
Poor little Yaris definitely doesn't have a lot of torque.
If you feel like throwing some money at the problem, you could get a light weight crank pulley (it makes quite a difference IMO) and a 1zz throttle body/intake.
mazilla
06-05-2013, 11:47 PM
I asked the toyota service advisor today and was told it could not be adjusted. He said to just give it more gas. He also said that the reason the motors stalled and shuttered badly at take off was because they had very little low end torque.
The service adviser is completely wrong.
You will need to remove the TB from the vehicle and then locate the small blob of epoxy covering the adjustment screw. Using a torch and pick burn the epoxy and pick enough of it away to free up the screw. It sould take all of 45min-1 hour to get the TB off, epoxy cleared and the TB back on to begin adjustment.
Mark the original location with a paint pen(or whatever you have handy), give the screw 1 complete turn clockwise and then reconnect the battery, turn the key to ignition, pump the gas pedal a couple of times(to manipulate the butterfly into it's new position) then start it up. Give it a few minutes if you feel the idle is correct just to be sure it stays where you want it when warm/hot...obviously if the idle is sky high you'll want to go back 50% towards the original location, so on and so forth.
It's best if you start the process with a warm engine, you'll want to be as close to normal operating temp as you can. I wait until I'm at 185 degrees or so...which means I have to be careful of hot coolant and hot parts, but it's not an issue really. The biggest pain is the TB coolant lines, they will spew hot coolant when you drop them below a certain level/ It would be best to block them off until you are certain the idle is where you want it, then reconnect, top off coolant and go.
No amount of money(short of standalone and wired throttle) will change that shit idle, you'll have to take matters into your own hands.
The stock ECU doesn't like an idle that stays above 750ish very long, in order to get that 1K idle I have to deal with the check engine light. Also, the damned ECU will do it's best to compensate for the idle after a while, it may eventually get you back down to 750ish, I'm not sure exactly what it does to get you there but it may end up in the occasional coasting stall.
Even after going back to the 1nz TB for some time this week I noticed the ECU driving me back down to 750ish rpm, which resulted in a stall a couple of times as I would shift from 3rd under power to neutral and coasting to a stop. The rpm's drop down to 500, freeze, try to jump up but end up falling all the way off and stalling out.
If a dealer service adviser was to do it or even tell you how to do it, he would probably be in violation of state law.
From the BAR website:
"An engine change may not be performed if it degrades the effectiveness of a vehicle's emission control system."
That epoxy is there for a reason.
tooter
06-06-2013, 02:25 AM
I asked the toyota service advisor today and was told it could not be adjusted. He said to just give it more gas. He also said that the reason the motors stalled and shuttered badly at take off was because they had very little low end torque.
It most certainly can be adjusted by chipping away the epoxy and using an allen wrench that fits the tiny screw really tight so that it won't strip the head.
(top center)
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b90/compost_bin/car/IMG_6637_zpsa7d61541.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b90/compost_bin/car/IMG_6626_zps678af55a.jpg
...but you might want to first see if you can find out why it idles so low first before you turn it up. A weak dying battery can make a slow idle as the alternator isn't turning fast enough to carry the electrical load without the battery's help.
How old is your battery? Test the voltage under load and see if it's on the way out. Start it up at night and turn on the headlights. How is your idle then. Do the lights go dim?
edmscan
06-06-2013, 02:36 AM
Since these cars have very little low end torque this makes it real easy to stall when taking off, especially in 1st and reverse.
I had the same problem when I first got my Yaris, and I have been driving a stick for over 30 years. Never had any problems with my other Toyota or Honda vehicles I have had in the past, just the Yaris.
47_MasoN_47
06-06-2013, 10:11 AM
No amount of money(short of standalone and wired throttle) will change that shit idle, you'll have to take matters into your own hands.
It may idle low but a replacement TB and whatnot will increase throttle response, which should negate any stall problems. That's what I was referring to.
I don't have a manual Yaris, but my old pickup idles anywhere from 500-2k depending on what mood it's in. I don't ever have problems stalling.
esse10
06-06-2013, 11:56 AM
The service adviser is completely wrong.
You will need to remove the TB from the vehicle and then locate the small blob of epoxy covering the adjustment screw. Using a torch and pick burn the epoxy and pick enough of it away to free up the screw. It sould take all of 45min-1 hour to get the TB off, epoxy cleared and the TB back on to begin adjustment.
Mark the original location with a paint pen(or whatever you have handy), give the screw 1 complete turn clockwise and then reconnect the battery, turn the key to ignition, pump the gas pedal a couple of times(to manipulate the butterfly into it's new position) then start it up. Give it a few minutes if you feel the idle is correct just to be sure it stays where you want it when warm/hot...obviously if the idle is sky high you'll want to go back 50% towards the original location, so on and so forth.
It's best if you start the process with a warm engine, you'll want to be as close to normal operating temp as you can. I wait until I'm at 185 degrees or so...which means I have to be careful of hot coolant and hot parts, but it's not an issue really. The biggest pain is the TB coolant lines, they will spew hot coolant when you drop them below a certain level/ It would be best to block them off until you are certain the idle is where you want it, then reconnect, top off coolant and go.
No amount of money(short of standalone and wired throttle) will change that shit idle, you'll have to take matters into your own hands.
The stock ECU doesn't like an idle that stays above 750ish very long, in order to get that 1K idle I have to deal with the check engine light. Also, the damned ECU will do it's best to compensate for the idle after a while, it may eventually get you back down to 750ish, I'm not sure exactly what it does to get you there but it may end up in the occasional coasting stall.
Even after going back to the 1nz TB for some time this week I noticed the ECU driving me back down to 750ish rpm, which resulted in a stall a couple of times as I would shift from 3rd under power to neutral and coasting to a stop. The rpm's drop down to 500, freeze, try to jump up but end up falling all the way off and stalling out.
I think you got the check engine light because the car was running too lean or too rich since you adjusted the TB. I know that in some cars everytime you do work with the TB you need to re-calibrate the TB so the ECU and TB are in synch for proper fuel to air ratio. I would be okay with 750 rpm, it's the 450-500 rpm that I have a problem with. mine does not stall it's just for driving convenience. let us know if your's went back down (rpm) after you made the adjustments, and how low.
I was told by a really good friend of mine{ who is also a Honda mechanic} to remove the neg. battery cable for a few minutes then reconnect it. To my amazement that seemed to help the problem. He said it reset the computer.
RedRide
06-06-2013, 01:45 PM
Yes that will rest the ECU.
It sometimes helps to reset it due to things such as a dirty air filter or a dirty MAFS, etc.
It also should be rest after installing things such as a ram air intake, etc .
This suggests a possible problem the can cause a low and/or eratic idle........a dirty MAFS.
A dirty MAFS can do some strange things at times and is often overlooked. Often, instead of just treating the the symptoms by just resetting the ECU to work around a problem that necessitated resetting the ECU, you should actually fix the cause of the problem (such as cleaning the MAFS, etc) while preserving performance .
BTW, here's a pretty good tutorial I found on cleaning the MAFS.
The important thing to remember is never touch the sensors inside the MAFS as they are delicate. Other than that, it's very easy to do.
http://youtu.be/_TO7ZC5N-aA
Many dealers will just charge big bucks to replace a (dirty) MAFS for customers who don't know it's just dirty and how easy it is to remove and clean it.
In any event, I have owned only manual trans cars all my life (including some cars with little low end torque) and the Yaris has about the worst clutch of all of them.
I have just gotten used to it and give it an extra bit of "gas" at times . :smile:
I think my problem was that the car is driven very little. It is 2 years old and just clicked over on 13k miles. and most of them were put on the first year. At an rate taking the neg, battery lose for a few minutes certainly made the driveabilty much better.
nookandcrannycar
06-06-2013, 06:25 PM
I was told by a really good friend of mine{ who is also a Honda mechanic} to remove the neg. battery cable for a few minutes then reconnect it. To my amazement that seemed to help the problem. He said it reset the computer.
Yep. As RedRide added, it resets the ECU (for some reason your mechanic didn't use that term). After replacing my battery, my Yaris was running a bit rough. CTScott replied to give it a few more miles, that the ECU needed to relearn the fuel trims. CT was right, later that day my Yaris was running just fine.
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