When I push the clutch in at idle, nothing changes. But, when I put it in gear the idle drops almost to zero. What engages or takes place when you put the car in gear that doesn't happen with just the clutch engaged?

 

is it difficult to put into gear?

 

You need a new clutch switch. Your idle speed shouldnt change when moving thru the gears.

 

Neutral switch.

 

Thanks guys.
The car goes in to gear easily. Doesn't act like worn clutch.

 

The switch is above the clutch pedal, behind the dash and is activated when push in the clutch. It tells the ecu the car is in neutral. There's a switch in the tranny that does the same thing (when your not in gear).

Right now, when you're not in gear and the clutch is out, the ecu sees you're in neutral (hence the nice idle). When you push the clutch and shift into gear, the ecu isnt seeing the neutral signal from the clutch so it thinks you're actually in gear and changes to driving maps, which obviously will affect idle etc.

It's a 5 minute job to replace. You can most likely take the switch appart and fix it... usually it's the spring inside that breaks.

 

Except it idles fine with the clutch in, it only changes when I actually shift in to gear.

 

You need to check your 1st & 2nd switch on the passenger rear side of the transmission.

 

Thanks again

 

That's because there's another switch in the transmition that senses "neutral" and "in gear" (which is obviously working fine). The ecu is seeing, clutch out (because your switch is dead and it cant tell youre pressing it) and in gear... which is why your idle is being affected. This condition usually only happens when the car is actually moving (ie. clutch out and in gear).

Normally, the ecu would get the neutral signal from the clutch swith when it's depressed and ignore the gear lever position. That's why normaly, your idle doesnt change while changing gears.

 

How hard is it to get to the switch. The manual says to remove the extension housing. Which means dropping the tranny in other RX's. PITA!

 

The clutch switch is on top/front of the clutch pedal inside the car. It takes a minute to take it out... unplug the connector and unscrew the switch. If you pulll the switch appart you'll most likely see that the spring inside has broken. You can stetch out what's left of one side of the spring and put the switch back together, or replace it. If you want to test if it is the switch without removing it, simply unplug it and start your car. If it acts exactly the same, it's the switch.

 

I am thinking it is the first/second gear switch on the tranny, and not the clutch switch.