Rough Start/Idle Problem

[billdo]

I have been having this problem with my 3.0 X5 the last few times I started it. The car is now a garage queen. It is not a daily driver and I drive about once a week. It is in great shape.

When I start it for the first time in awhile, it is real rough for about 2-3 seconds. Occasionally it will die. Then it idles at about 1200 for a few seconds, and then it is normal. I drive it and it warms up and the problem does not show again until the next time I start after sitting for a week.

Anybody seen this before? My thoughts are it may be fuel related. I have never changed the fuel filter. I rebuilt my DISA only a few thousand miles ago, so I doubt that is it. Is there an idle control valve on these? I know the throttle body is it second.

[bcredliner]

It is normal for the engine to initially idle higher. Assuming it is higher than normal it could be an issue with the idle control control valve but I wouldn't be buying parts yet. If you have a way to check codes there may be an error code that helps finds the problem. As you have described the problem, it doesn't sound like a low fuel pressure issue to me. Are there any other symptoms such as loss of power, missing or fluctuating idle?

[billdo]

The high idle doens't bother me, it is really the low sputter and almost die for the first 2 seconds. Once the engine is running there are no other problems and I have no codes.

[upallnight]

If it does this after the engine has been sitting for a while, you could have a leaky injector(s). That cylinder(s) could be flooded and it take a while for it to clear up. You could attach a fuel gauge to the fuel rail and observe how long it takes for the pressure to go down.

If it is a leaky injector(s), get it fix or else you will be replacing the CATS when they melt due to the extra gas.