When I turn on my car, stop at a light, or just have it in park it hovers around 750 rpm (my older car sat at like 1-1.2k rpm). But why? It’s not moving the car or anything. I know some modern cars turn off the engine if it idles for too long but that doesn’t really explain why. Also when I coast on the highway it will idle at even higher rpm’s. I would have expected the automatic transmission to shift down when it’s not applying any acceleration.
Furthermore, do electric engines idle at a rpm? If not does this make electric cars more energy efficient?
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I’ve always had gas cars and they have all had an idle RPM at around 750-800.
Older cars idle higher at startup because the engine is warming up; once the engine temperature is optimal, they return to under 1000.
Unless the car is modified (camshafts, timing, etc), a high idle RPM is an indication that something could be wrong with the car. It could be a sensor, a fuse, or even a torn gasket or vacuum line.
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