I think we've gotten off to a bit of a bad start and since you are new, please allow me to ask you a few questions so we can "try" to address your concerns.
Describe what you mean by "rough" (without bringing another type of car into the equation). At what high and low rpm does the idle exist? If it's "rough" as you say, it should fluctuate. Does the engine almost die? Does it do this after a cold start? A hot start? Does it do this every time it comes to idle regardless of how long the engine's been running? Does it do it when you've been driving it for a while? For a short time? What were you doing immediately before you notice this "rough idle"? Is your A/C on or off? Do you tend to "blip" the throttle a lot when you are just sitting there? What grade of fuel have you been using? Have you been using any additives? Have you altered anything on the engine? What's the ambient temps been like where you live? Humidity?

 

I bought my car 10 days ago. I have the same issue with my car it seems. The engine will idle erratically from time to time. I can only say this happens with the A/C on as I have not turned it off to test.

When cold , the engine idle will drop so low the car seems like it's about to stall and then it recovers. The engine also seems to "stumble" so to speak during shut down. It will shake when you close the ignition.

Once it is warm, the engine will still stumble at idle but not as badly as when started for the first time in the morning.

I must say that this is the first car I've owned to do this and while it may seem "normal" to some veteran owners here, it is far from desirable characteristic of a new car.

I am planning on having the dealer take a look at it as it does not seem proper that it be this way. Everyone who has seen my new car do this ask what's wrong with it.

 

Lol, I was a little worried when I got mine and the gearshift moved when I drove.. then i did some research (before posting) and found out its quite normal.

 

Stupid question, but while we are on the topic of idling (not trying to jack a thread) but would a slight bouncing/hanging idle be considered bad enough to take back to the dealer?

 

-the erratic idle with the AC can be explained most likely by the AC being on.

-the engine dropping so low as if it's going to stall and then recovers is completely normal. we have a dynamic ECU that constantly "learns" its environment around it. the most common cause of this is sudden changes in temp or humidity, or other environmental conditions. this COULD be caused by a bad map sensor, but doubtful since it's a brand new car.

-Whether you deem this desirable or not, this is a charachteristic of the car. If it continues to do this for more than a week or so, without much change in the temp/weather, then you could have a map sensor issue or something along that line. Or even a bad ECU.


However, this is a no-frills enthusiast's car. Compromises are the name of the game with the S2000, and you seem, IMO, to be someone that would be better off with something less compromising, more practical, and more suited to your desire to have a nice quiet luxury-like "sports" car.

The only thing I can say is you need to get used to the compromises this car brings if you want to enjoy owning it. If you're going to pick at every little thing as a "negative" or "undesireable" thing to have in a car you own, then this isn't the car for you. This is just my .02.

 

Wisconsin. The first part of your post was quite informative. Thank you.
And I believe you may be onto something there.

However, you don't know anything at all about my expectations of a car so please keep your assesment to yourself. I bought this car for all the caracteristics it does and should have. I own a new german luxury car for moments when I want something like you describe.

A brand new car with 500mi on it that sits at a traffic light and stumbles to the point of almost shutting down is not normal. This could never be normal or acceptable in any car regardless if it's intended use, caracter or whatever. I don't believe a new car needs more than a day or two to acclimate itself to the local environment.

 

I think I know what Gabe means. I have an '05 RSX S that sounds like a sewing machine at idle. Typical Honda engine. Almost silent and silky smooth. Hard to tell if it's running sometimes. The S is just the opposite. It's a little loud and there's a bit of vibration, the timing chain makes some noise, and it can't decide exactly what rpm it likes. These are some of the things I love about this car. Sounds normal to me. Just enjoy it!

 

I appreciate everyone's feedback confirming this is normal and not something to worry about.

XVIPER, I agree we do not need to argue about this since most importantly we both love the S. I bought this car to get away from working on old cars after just having my first baby (this is my new toy, used to have 4). I think you can understand that I would be apprehensive if there was a problem after such a big purchase and life change. I got the feedback I wanted and hope there is no animosity. Thanks

 

If my assessment was incorrect then that's fine. It was not an attack, merely an observation.

I know that so far, you don't expect a car like the S2000 to behave the way it's doing, even though it's perfectly normal.

[QUOTE]
A brand new car with 500mi on it that sits at a traffic light and stumbles to the point of almost shutting down is not normal.

 

The explanation that Wisconsin gave you is correct. If you don't accept that this car does what it does because it's simply what it is, you should stick to your "german luxury car" and get your money back for your S, because you will never fully comprehend exactly what it is you have and why it does what it does. S2000s have been doing this low idle "near death" thing since the first one got delivered. This has also been explained "ad nauseum" over and over again. Accept it or don't accept it but at the very least try to understand it. If you have the "german luxury car" mentality with this car, then it is entirely possible that your own driving habits are aggravating this situation (because you just don't know any better). Oh, and I'm not going to explain it to you for the umpteenth time over so many years because I don't think you'll understand it anyway.
Sorry for being so blunt, but your "stand offishness" and slight arrogance was quite noteworthy.