initial start engine idle

[sfocht]

The first start of every day the engine idles at about 1500rpm. Once the car is put in gear and then back into park the idle stays at about 600rpm, which it should be in the first place. This happens even in the summer when the engine should not have to idle that high when cold. I am concerned this is hard on the transmission. Does anyone know how to correct this problem?

[ewh442]

man, cateras are freakin' weird cars for a GM. how long will it idle high if you just let it sit? it seems like i've seen this before. i'd have to get back to work monday and look before i really said anything. by the way, how many miles are on this car? has the timing belt recall been done? fyi: i've seen these come apart at highway speeds and bend all 24 valves, bust the guides out of the heads, it's really ugly! the last valve job i did on one of these set the customer back about 4000.00. of course i love it, puts steaks on my plate, not so good for them!

[sfocht]

My car has 30,000 miles on it, barely broke in. The timing belt tensioner recall has been done. If I would wait for the car to idle all the way down it would take about 5 minutes before I could put the car in gear. I suppose I will just pretend thats the way its supposed to be like cause the dealer says, but that's just not right.

[ewh442]

no, that doesn't sound right to me either. i work for a caddy dealer and it really doesn't make sense for them to blow off a problem, i or my shop wouldn't do that. that's why we have bad rep. They probably just don't want to mess w/ a catera. they're not a typical GM in any way. I will get back to you on this.

[anttef2]

I have a '00 Catera with 86k miles on it and I just recently started having the same problem

[Chrysdriver]

Originally Posted by sfocht

The first start of every day the engine idles at about 1500rpm. Once the car is put in gear and then back into park the idle stays at about 600rpm, which it should be in the first place. This happens even in the summer when the engine should not have to idle that high when cold. I am concerned this is hard on the transmission. Does anyone know how to correct this problem?

My '99 does that too, but I don't consider it a problem because it quiets down once you put it in operation.

[cadillacatera1997]

I too am a victim ohh I mean owner of the Crapera. From what I've read the fast Idle is actually supposed to be a "feature" on Catera's to help the engine warm up quicker before driving, and when you put it in gear the sequence ends. Also, the Catera also has another "feature" that will let the rpm's run up higher in first when the engine is still warming up. BTW, it would be a good idea for anyone owning a Catera to ditch it soon because even right now we are only looking at about 4k at trade in with 65k and about 4800 on private party, all for a 97. Just for your information, my Catera's valve cover gaskets have begun to leak severly, causing the plugs and wires in 1 and 6 to be covered in oil and therefore becoming inoperable, which will then give me the optional "vibrate package" when I head down to the dealer to get it fixed. All this and she's only at 64k. Anyone know how much new valve cover gaskets, plugs, and wires for 1 and 6 will run me? Soon as I get her runnin again im heading straight off to the dealer to trade in on a Camaro RS. Which begs the question, should I just replace the plugs in 1 and 6 and just get her running good enough to make it to the dealer and then trade it in as a perfectly running automobile? God knows the dealer has screwed me out of about 1500 in repairs already.
Thanks ya'all