Yeah it was 20 this morning, started the car for a couple mins from the passenger door and shoveled my way to the drivers side and jumped in.. just a tiny jerk.. But again, I think it might be something you just get used to in this car.. I definitely remember at first how noticable it was to me but its just not anymore.

 

How many miles on the car and have you ever changed the tranny fluid?

 

do you park your car on a slope. Mines does the same thing if its cold and i park on a slope. If i i let the car completely warm up it will not happen. I live in FL too.

 

Just be sure to hold the brake in firmly while shifting and even a second after the shift until the engine revs down. When I start mine on cold days the revs shoot up to about 2.1k then come down quickly to ~1.2k and I wont put it into gear until it gets under 1k. My car (38k, a/t, no recent trans work) does jump quite a bit if I try to get going before letting it idle down or do not hold in the brake firmly while shifting.

 

Eh, since this thread, i've started to pay attention now and notice the initial cold start, put in D 1 min after starting does in fact make the car jump a bit.

I think it's more due to the cold-idle strategy during initial warmup.

 

it is your idle speed at the current moment that affects it. Also I really don't know what kind of choke for cold start our cars have, but that can really affect that 'jump'.

sorry, my only knowledge on this stuff comes from driving my granpa's old pontiac parisieene in -40. That thing was a beast. The lurch went away a little when the fuel pump was replaced.

 

You should let your car warm up for at least 15 sec when its cold..and most days really. In those first 15 seconds or so the engine is batch firing. Also, your O2 sensors aren't warmed up until about that time.

I always let my car warm up til the rpms drop to about 1100 or 1200. I try not to go over 2500 rpms until the needle is at or near normal operating temperature. Your car will always warm up faster under load, ie: while driving. Just don't push it too hard to fast since the oil is not up to its optimal operating temperature and will not lubricate the cylinder walls like you want it to.