It's relatively normal. Especially if the car has been sitting overnight, Most of us on here wait about 30 seconds till the revs drop down before driving off.

 

Hi Kjzoe123, thanks for the reply. Over here in in Scotland it could be the ambient temperature is lower, upon start up it takes 3-5 mins for the revs to get down to around 1000rpm. The frustrating thing is that if you select D or R and the rpm is above 1000 the drivetrain slightly lunges (there’s no clunking). We understand the reasons behind the high revs (1800-2000).

 

I think it is part of the PZEV setup. The car idles high when cold to try and warm the engine and convertor quickly which helps lower emissions. Not much you can do to change things.

For a short time after the engine has started, the engine speed is kept high.
When the warm-up is completed, the engine speed lowers automatically.

 

Thanks for the reply subyrubroo. Can be frustrating waiting for the revs to drop from 2000 to 1000. Can be 5 mins before it’s below 1000 rpm especially if you have to reverse as any revs above 1000 can cause a slight lung from the drivetrain. We just wondered if there was a software update that would stop the high revs.

 

What sort of RPM number is "high revs" in this case?

Is this a new thing for your car, or a long-term thing that's bothering you more as time goes on?

 

Hi KJ, the car revs to 1800-2000 upon start up. It’s for emissions (heating engine and Cat). I’m not sure when Subaru started this (ours is a 2021). It can take up to 5 mins for the revs to drop to 1000 or the blue temp indicator going off. We just wondered if there was a software update to cancel it but probably not.

 

I've adjusted mine a bit via tuning. It calms down to 1500 very quickly now like other cars.

 

Octal... can you explain " tuning"?
What is involved 🤔?edit: ok i just read your rev/ hang/delete post.
Oopsies

 

https://www.subaruxvforum.com/threads/high-idle-on-cold-start-when-it-is-safe-to-put-the-car-into-gear-and-drive.186967/?post_id=2174811#post-2174811

Can't do anything about it, but if you put in neutral after the start, the time that is revving higher is significantly reduced.
I always do that trick, I just pay attention on the warm up during driving.

 

Hi Silver Fox24, we have just realised the same by putting the shifter in to N. If you don’t wait for the revs to drop below 1000 and have to reverse do you get a slight lung from the drivetrain? We’re used to it now after a year of ownership.

 

You don't have to wait till the RPM drops or especially till the blue light is gone to drive the car.

Since startup RPM profile is part of emission controls and engine warm-up procedure, this isn't something I would tamper with..

 

Hi Bluefoton, thanks for the reply. We wait until the rpm is down to 1000 then drive off.

 

So the bank robbers come and jump into the back seat. Let's GO!!!
Getaway drivers says: nope, gotta wait for the revs to go down first.

 

😆

 

You need SubaruEdit Lite or Personal and a Tactrix Openport 2.0. I can apply the changes for you if you want (in addition to some other tweaks if you'd like).

 

Had an idiot neighbor who would start his motorcycle and rev the piss out of it (at 5:30!). He would tear out of his driveway like it was the Le Mans start of the 60's. He eventually blew it up. High revs on cold engines are bad though my '13 crosstrek had 130K on it and ran like a clock.

 

"high" revs here are between 1500 and 1800 for 2 , max 3 minutes.

 

Putting it into neutral speeds up the process for me.
The blue light will stay on for a while longer but the engine revs will drop down to normal a lot quicker.
From memory it doesn't "lunge" at this point.
Just take it easy on the engine until the oil temps get a bit higher.

I believe the longest part of the normal high engine rev process is the heating up of the catalytic converter to working temperatures. Putting it into neutral possibly only warms the engine oil and skips the catalytic converter part.... If you're bored you can plugin an OBD scanner and read the temperatures.

 

OK guys, here is how it works:
This table (or similar) is used for the first roughly 60 seconds after engine start.

Then it switches to this table after roughly 60 seconds after starting:

This is why even on a warm start, it idles at 1200rpm and then drops down a bit after.

 

If the 1800-2000 RPMs bother you that much, start the engine, put the tranny in Reverse, back down your driveway about 8 feet, and put it back in Park. The RPMs will drop to 1500 or less. Don't know why this works, but it does, and it's especially handy to know in cold weather, where the initial high RPM stage can last 5+ minutes.

Now, would I drive off without the engine and fluids being fully warmed? Not in the New England winter I wouldn't, but you'll find that there are several threads here based on "When is my engine sufficiently warmed up to drive off".

 

With a surprising number of people who believe that you must drive off immediately, because according to some internet video there's no oil circulation in a motor until you're moving...

shrug