hey guys,
i'm a little new to this thing. i just bought a 98 2.3 cl and had the same idle problems i found in the other threads. it idles funny from start but normal when i'm driving. twice it continuously revved itself between 1 and 2k, but once again normal after i tapped the brake and put it in gear. i'm certain it's not a transmission problem, since it was never in gear when this happens. i had it diagnosed and it came back with no error codes, just a little trapped carbon. the dealer made a guess and said it was either a iac or fast idle valve. of course they pushed for the fast idle valve, since it was $100 more, but i wasn't about to change anything on a hunch. i did get the fuel injection and intake cleaned and that helped, but it still happened once after. based on what i've read here, im thinking it's the iac, but i don't know what a fast idle valve is? is there a difference?

and assuming it is a iac, what could go wrong if i left it, since it is occurring infrequently? would it lead to other damages? i was thinking of holding off until i got my timing belt changed in a few months, but don't want to risk having it cause other problems.

thanks

 

My CL seems to be doing this sometimes too. I think it might have something to do with the engine warming up, because it only seems to idle high when i first start up the car when it's cold out.

 

that's what i first thought, since it is getting colder and it usually happens early or after a short drive, park for 20 minutes and then restart. i had all the fluids changed and it's a great ride, really smooth. i just wanted to know if i can get away without changing the iac for a little bit, without doing any damage elsewhere. i got about 10 km before i have to change the timing belt and figured i could wait to have everything done at once.

 

ur obviously an automatic if u think its running ok when ur driving. it could burn out ur clutch packs.. its like driving two footed, and ur giving gas as u slow down. lots of strain on the tranny. u will get horrible gas milage. it is the iac that is bad. u could clean it. which is free.

 

That sounds like a problem I had on my 90 integra and my brother had on his 96 accord(same engine as ours). It was the fast idle valve, it was sticking. I can't recall where it is, but you can take it out anc clean it and that should do the trick.

 

i guess i should get those parts cleaned first and see how things go. it happens so infrequently that cleaning might just do the trick. thanks.