Rough Idle at start-up (cold weather)

mmm

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2003 LS V6

How's it going,

:confused: Was wondering if anyone else has experienced this issue described below:


On Cold mornings, at startup, my LS has really rough idle. It starts out as a high rough idle and then after about a minute or two (dependent on how cold it is outside) it will drop to a low sputtering idle, almost as if it it wants to die out. I can let it sit warming up for 10-15 mins even, and it will still be "sputter" idling. If i put in gear to take off, it hesitates for a few seconds then goes. A high pitch whining noise can be heard coming from the car as I accelerate and increases in sound as the rpm's increase. This occurs only from switching from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd gears. Once it has gotten past the 3rd gear, the whining pretty much ceases and the car runs fine after that. Even if I stop at a light within less than a minute after hitting that 3rd gear, the whining still does not return and the car still runs fine.

Once driven even if less than 5 miles, the car will startup and run just fine without bad idle or sputtering.

I started seeing this issue last December / January or so when the weather was in the 40's or less. The colder the outside temp the rougher the idle. The issue went away as soon as the weather warmed up. Not one issue all spring or summer. Just the other day we had a cold front and the overnight temp dropped to about 55F and yup, the issue returned in the morning.

Has anyone experienced this issue and if so what are the likely causes and/or fixes??

I am planning on taking to the shop, but kinda want to get an idea of things it could be, so maybe I can do them myself. Plus you guys might be more knowledgable than most mechanics are with an LS, besides the dealer, of course, but I don't really want to take to a dealer.

Thanks in advance for any help and/or comments. :)
 
vacuum leak

if your car has the PCV setup like my 01, then I would look there first.
 
if your car has the PCV setup like my 01, then I would look there first.



Thanks for the reply.

I believe mine does. I've been searching these threads for a couple days now and have read about issues with PCV valve and hose on the 2003 V6's. The problems seem to be with idling as well, but wasn't sure if cold or hot weather would be a factor with this issue as well.....

Can't seem to find a diagram or pic showing the exact location though.

I believe that it is located under the manifold cover, maybe?? You wouldn't happen to know would you??...Have you changed yours before and if so how much of a job was it??....

thanks again.... :)
 
im fixing the same problem on monday, i have a vacuum leak you can check it by spraying carb cleaner all over your manifold and valves, if RPMS change you have a leak. im changing all the gaskets, the pcv and the pcv hose. i havent changed my pcv bu i know where it is, if you want until monday i can upload some pics. Good luck!
 
im fixing the same problem on monday, i have a vacuum leak you can check it by spraying carb cleaner all over your manifold and valves, if RPMS change you have a leak. im changing all the gaskets, the pcv and the pcv hose. i havent changed my pcv bu i know where it is, if you want until monday i can upload some pics. Good luck!

That would be great if you have pics!!

The weather was great this weekend, so didn't have an issue at all. It's so weird. I would figure that a vacuum leak would cause constant idle issues. Well, that's assuming that i have a vacuum leak.

I am going to pick up some carb cleaner and try this out this week when I can get some time.

Thanks
 
Could also be low fuel presssure, lets not forget that. Leaky injectors never idle well either.


I added fuel injector cleaner to my tank this weekend, not sure if it will help or has helped, since the weather was great this weekend and no issues, but it couldn't hurt.

I did notice that my gas mileage was a bit worse last week (cold weather) than prior weeks. I've had a couple of fuel injectors replaced before, but the issue I had with them was kind of a missing / stutter during acceleration around 50mph. This happened year 'round though. This "only in the cold" issue is kinda throwing me for a loop.

thanks for the reply.
 
Lincoln LS

Hey, im new to this site just used it to look for a specific issue with my lincoln ls I was reading your post back in Nov. about the rough cold start. My car is experiencing the same issue I spent 1000 doing coils, gasket covers, that didn't fix it then another 500 for what the dealer said they knew would fix it which was a power brake booster or something along those lines. Car is still experiencing the rough idle shaking really bad and then almost wants to die out. I just want to sell the car but am now to far into it to the point where I just want it totally fixed and drive it into the ground considering ill never get back what I put into it so far. If there is any advice you had for me I would greatly appreciate it, If you ever ended up getting the problem fixed. Thanks for your time my
2003 LS V6

How's it going,

:confused: Was wondering if anyone else has experienced this issue described below:


On Cold mornings, at startup, my LS has really rough idle. It starts out as a high rough idle and then after about a minute or two (dependent on how cold it is outside) it will drop to a low sputtering idle, almost as if it it wants to die out. I can let it sit warming up for 10-15 mins even, and it will still be "sputter" idling. If i put in gear to take off, it hesitates for a few seconds then goes. A high pitch whining noise can be heard coming from the car as I accelerate and increases in sound as the rpm's increase. This occurs only from switching from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd gears. Once it has gotten past the 3rd gear, the whining pretty much ceases and the car runs fine after that. Even if I stop at a light within less than a minute after hitting that 3rd gear, the whining still does not return and the car still runs fine.

Once driven even if less than 5 miles, the car will startup and run just fine without bad idle or sputtering.

I started seeing this issue last December / January or so when the weather was in the 40's or less. The colder the outside temp the rougher the idle. The issue went away as soon as the weather warmed up. Not one issue all spring or summer. Just the other day we had a cold front and the overnight temp dropped to about 55F and yup, the issue returned in the morning.

Has anyone experienced this issue and if so what are the likely causes and/or fixes??

I am planning on taking to the shop, but kinda want to get an idea of things it could be, so maybe I can do them myself. Plus you guys might be more knowledgable than most mechanics are with an LS, besides the dealer, of course, but I don't really want to take to a dealer.

Thanks in advance for any help and/or comments. :)
 
Hey, im new to this site just used it to look for a specific issue with my lincoln ls I was reading your post back in Nov. about the rough cold start. My car is experiencing the same issue I spent 1000 doing coils, gasket covers, that didn't fix it then another 500 for what the dealer said they knew would fix it which was a power brake booster or something along those lines. Car is still experiencing the rough idle shaking really bad and then almost wants to die out. I just want to sell the car but am now to far into it to the point where I just want it totally fixed and drive it into the ground considering ill never get back what I put into it so far. If there is any advice you had for me I would greatly appreciate it, If you ever ended up getting the problem fixed. Thanks for your time my

Need to know which generation you have, or the year. Also need to know if its a V8 or V6.

If it's a gen II V6, then the PCV system is the best suspect.
 
Ls

It's an 03 v6 w/ 108k I have been reading up that it could be a leaking PVC i was just looking for some insight if someone had done this and it resolved the shaking and rough start.
 
It's an 03 v6 w/ 108k I have been reading up that it could be a leaking PVC i was just looking for some insight if someone had done this and it resolved the shaking and rough start.

I don't have a V6, but I read of a few members here having this problem and fixing it. I've also read of several on another car forum. It sounds like you have a pretty bad dealer. It's not difficult to rule out the vacuum booster before replacing it.
 
Ls

I agree very much the dealer is making no attempt to resatisfy me even after spending almost 2,000 in the matter of a week at there business. The exact part that they said would "deffinatley" fix it was the Brake Booster. I don't see how i'm not entitled to anything my money or the actual problem resolved. My check engine light kept coming on as well giving codes ive never had come up before. And all the dealer says is well bring it in when the code pops back up and well diagnose the code at your expense. Either way I appreciate the insight do you have any idea how expensive a job it is for the PCV to be replaced?
 
I agree very much the dealer is making no attempt to resatisfy me even after spending almost 2,000 in the matter of a week at there business. The exact part that they said would "deffinatley" fix it was the Brake Booster. I don't see how i'm not entitled to anything my money or the actual problem resolved. My check engine light kept coming on as well giving codes ive never had come up before. And all the dealer says is well bring it in when the code pops back up and well diagnose the code at your expense. Either way I appreciate the insight do you have any idea how expensive a job it is for the PCV to be replaced?

It's a little bit of a pain. The top half of the intake manifold has to be removed.
 

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