Has anyone experienced this problem before?:

The CEL light turns on when first starting car every single morning (when cold). After starting, the car idles very roughly. The CEL light stays light until the car is warmed up, then turns off after gas cap is loosened, then tightened again. The CEL light and rough idling has been occuring every day.

My car is stock (except KartBoy SS and Boost/Volt gauges). I want to bring it into the dealer, but none that I called (WC, Livermore, Albany, Fairfield) are open on Saturdays. Actually, Albany said they are open Saturday, but wouldn't look at a CEL problem on the weekend, only M-F. I have to work M-F and it would be difficult to take a weekday off.

 

go down to autozone and rent a obd2 reader check the code in the morning.. and come back and tell is it...

edgar,

 

Yes GR8-WRX, i got my problem fixed. As you have read in my other post about my CEL problem, the CEL went away when i got my car to the dealer. I soon figured out that after a while of driving, the problem will disappear. But when the car cools down and i start it up again, CEL will come on. Well, the dealer pulled a code (forgot wut it was but its somewhere on this forum), and it was basically a faulty air idle control sensor. They replaced it and the problem never came back again. So it may be that. Yes, it is a pain in the *** to find time to get ur car fixed, i was driving my car for two weeks like that before i got it fixed by the dealer (they had to order the part). Messed up idle control will really mess up your clutching and gassing as my RPM needle never dropped below 1.5k while at red lites or brief stops and it will rev itself. But keep me updated on how it goes because your CEL problem sounds very much like mines.

 

Thanks, mike626. My friend pulled my CEL code and it is the same code as what you had (P0508). My idle is exactly as you described in your thread: rough idle when first starting in the morning (cold), hard to drive in lower RPM due to high idle, etc.

I wish Subaru had a TSB on this problem as it would make explaining it to the dealer easier. I have a feeling I'll have a tough time with the dealer because it will be hard to replicate. I'm thinking they may have to keep the car overnight to duplicate the problem.

 

Oddly enough, the dealership kept my car overnight to try to duplicate the problem and they claimed that they couldnt, which i thought was a lie because it ALWAYS happened when the engine was cold, but they chose to replace my sensor anyways. The code shuld be still in your ECU so tell the dealership to pull it and remedy the problem. I still have my warranty and they did it for free. Hope your dealership can do the same for you.

 

I'm bringing it in Monday to the dealer. I've made printouts of a few of the P0508 threads and even made a video documenting the problem. Wish me luck!

 

Hhaha, good luck man.

 

Thanks again, Mike626!

Just got it back from the dealer on Wednesday. So far, so good (started good without CEL on Thursday morning and this morning). Just like with the others, they replaced my Idle Control Valve and the problem has not reappeared thus far.

The service manager was very cool about it when I explained the problem to him and showed him the printouts of the P0508 threads. They had the car for about 3 days because they had to order the part.

 

Glad to hear everything went smooth with the repairs!

 

hey thanks for updating your thread, that helps others in the future.

cause there is nothing i hate most then unfinished threads....

edgar,

 

Sorry to bring back an old thread, but my car is currently going through the same symptoms: rough idle that doesn't drop below 1100 rpm, car constantly revs on its own, and is difficult to drive smoothly in the lower rpms. In my case, I have a P1507 and misfires in cylinders 3 & 4.

I took it to a local mechanic and he said that he needed to do a little research because he had never seen a car come in with two working cylinders at idle yet four cylinders in the upper rpm band. I then took it to the dealership, and they swapped a test IAC valve and my car ran fine. Seems like I need an IAC valve replacement like the rest of us in here. The price is anything cheap, it costs $336 for a new IAC valve. I may have to look for one on a WRX in a junkyard, but I don't know if this is a common problem with the MY02 WRX's.

 

I have this same problem. Just threw a CEL today. Any updates?