1999 Honda CR-V no RPM's in cold weather

When the temperature is 40 F degrees or less there are no RPM’s when we start the car. We have to warm the car up for 20+ minutes and then re-start…sometimes we have to shut it off a couple of times because we never know when we will have RPM’s. We usually wait until the car rumbles at a low frequency or the ‘roof starts to rattle’ before we re-start the car…we only have this problem in cold weather…bought the car used and this has been the only issue…car was a one owner from Colorado…we are in Wisconsin

Are you talking about the RPM gauge just not showing anything but the car does run ? Also can you explain roof rattle ?

If the engine is running – which you imply – then you have rpms. rpms == revolutions per minute of the crankshaft, which you obviously have if the engine is running. Do you mean the rpm guage is showing a lower than normal reading at idle? That could be interpreted to mean “no rpms” I guess if the gauge is all the way to the low side. I’m assuming that’s what you mean.

You don’t say what model year your car is, but electronic fuel injected cars which I presume yours is often have a electrical-motor-operated gadget that controls the idle speed. Useful in cold weather so you don’t have to constantly be pressing on the gas pedal until the engine warms up. That gadget might be called the idle air control (IAC) , or the electronic throttle actuator. Both tend to be common failure items with this symptom. Sometimes they just need a thorough cleaning , other times they need to be replaced. Other things can cause this same symptom, but most any good inde shop should have no difficulty diagnosing this for you.

What kind of race were you in there in your photo Jessica?

when we start the car the gauge indicates 0 rpms…and it idles very high…if put into gear with ‘no rpms’ showing we hear/ feel a clunk… if we proceed to drive it at this point there is very little power yet it feels like it is reving at a very high rpm…when we let the car warm up (up to 1 hour and 15 minutes depending on how cold it is) we shut it off and turn it back on the gauge will then indicate that we have ‘rpms’ and the car will run normally…this does not happen when the temp is above 40 F…it is a 1999 Honda CRV

About the race…I participated in the Birkie Trek in Hayward/ Cable, WI