Subaru - Legacy :: 1998 Wagon Not Starting Sporadically
Jul 26, 2013
I jumped in my car, started her up, and drove the 10 miles or so to meet up with her on the other side of town. And hour and a half later, I jumped back in my car and tried to turn her over....and nothing happened. I got the normal lights on the dash but no sounds at all - not even the usual "click".
I tried a couple more times before I went back inside and retrieved my brother-in-law, who is a retired truck mechanic, and asked him to take a look at it. He found nothing wrong and even he couldn't get it to start up.
I finally relented and called AAA to tow me to my fav mechanic. Before the dispatcher sent someone out, she offered to run through some troubleshooting stuff with me. She tells me, "Jump in, make sure the car is in park and your foot is on the brake, and give it one more try." And guess what? YES! THE CAR STARTED! It wasn't the normal start - it was silent for about three seconds before it finally roared to life - but at least it started.
So, I rush to my mechanic's place and ask them to give it a check over and make sure everything is okay. (I'm heading up to the high desert tomorrow and don't want to get stuck out there.) They came back a couple hours later saying everything looked fine - the battery, starter, and alternator were all fine. The advised me to keep an eye on it and come back when it "finally dies".
In the past year, I've replaced the fuel pump, battery, tie rods, and a boot. The alternator was replaced about 5 years ago and I've never had the starter worked on.
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I have a 98 Subaru Legacy wagon and have replaced alternator FIVE times in last 7 months or so -- originally my mechanic (who has been awesome & doing all the replacements for free) thought the parts were defective, but last one came from a different supplier and only a month or so after installing, my car just died at a light this morning. Battery not drained, and mechanic was able to start it after had it towed there. What can it be?
FYI, bought the car used two years ago, so don't know whole history, but was fine for first year or so. The first time I lost power, I think it really was the alternator (and snapped belt), so I don't know if something happened or something was not reconnected correctly. (First time it broke was on a Saturday and my regular mechanic was closed to went to someone not very good -- and if this is useful info beyond just complaining, when this guy put in the new alternator, he didn't connect it to the battery, so I stalled out within hours of the "repair.")
My mechanic is stumped and I am at a loss -- don't want to sink a bunch of money in if this is the beginning of the end of the car (mileage is just over 100k, though, so seems to young to die), but need a bit more reliability.
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'98 Subaru Legacy L, Automatic Tran., 2.2 L, ~140,000 mi. (a youngster)
My issue is with intermittent/delayed starting. What happens is that when I turn the key, the starter solenoid will click once. Eventually after several tries of turning the switch, it starts, usually with some hesitance. When I try to start, I don't hear anything laboring like the starter Bendix grinding against the flywheel, just click and nothing. I did have the CEL come on once for like 40 minutes and then go out. Once started, however, the car tends to run well and once warm starting is still hesitant, but is quicker. Did conk out on me once at an intersection, was able to restart. Luckily I can walk to school, so I have been keeping it off the road.
As far as troubleshooting goes, the car has the same difficulty starting in neutral as well as park. Within the past year I have replaced the alternator (died), timing belt (routine maint.) as well as the battery (bad). I have also reseated all the ground wires and coated them with dielectric grease. A few months ago, I took the starter out and had it bench tested as good at a "popular auto parts store" in my region - it tested good (starter readily turned over and the Bendix deployed and retracted). Funny thing, when I pulled the starter and replaced it after being checked, the car started flawlessly for a month or so, so I chocked it up to a bad connection. Guess not.
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Ok. I replace my alternator on my 1995 Subaru Legacy Ls. Everything went great. Last thing I did was to connect the positive cable on the battery. When I did it sparked alittle. Well when I got into the car to start it nothing. Turn the key nothing. The knob on the shifter won't go in to get out of park. Neighbor checked my battery said it was fine. But nothing will come on. Nothing.No lights. I had problems with my ignition before. Do you think my ignition went out? Honestly don't know what to think. Some one told me that these cars have a secondary security system. If it goes on you cannot move the knob on the shifter and when you turn the key on nothing?
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My husband has a 2013 Subaru Legacy, and we have noticed that on days where the temperature is below 35 degrees Fahrenheit or so, it is having trouble starting. It cranks for about 7-10 seconds prior to starting, or will not start until after a few attempts. We have owned the car for about a year, and did not notice this problem last winter.
So far, we have taken it back to the Subaru Dealer twice. The first time, they told us they found nothing wrong with the car. The second time, they tried draining and recharging the battery. Our car is still having issues starting, and we are not sure where to turn to next. Is this a known issue with Subaru Legacy? Our car is still under warranty.
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problem is the my 1998 Legacy (142K) overheated this past weekend. It shut off and I had it towed to a "new" mechanic around the corner from my house. He diagnosed the problem as being a faulty thermostat. He replaced the thermostat and returned the vehicle to me. Two days later my wife was driving home and the car had a major overheating incident with resulting serious mechanical failure. I did a little research and within about five minutes found that this problem is quite common for this car and is more commonly related to a head gasket issue. My question is should this mechanic be held responsible in any way for the misdiagnosed problem? If so, what would be the best course of action? The car was otherwise running fine and in fact I recently had the transmission rebuilt.
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I have a 2010 Subaru Forester 2.5x, and I've been struggling with the air conditioner for over a year.
The AC works amazingly when the car has been shaded / in a garage (even if the garage is not air conditioned - so the garage temp is probably still 90 degrees). The problem is when I've parked the car outside in a sunny area. Then, it takes about 25 minutes for the AC to blow cold air consistently. In this case, the fan w blow hot air with tiny spurts of cool-ish air, but nothing that meaningfully cools my car. I live in Texas, so the car is HOT; I'm not expecting instantaneous cooling, but after 3-5 minutes of driving, I would hope it would be getting cooler in the car.
I park in full sun at work, and then drive to pick my kids up from daycare. The car is hot and stays hot until we are home. Of course, I roll down the windows, but I'm always pulling the kids out of the car sweaty and overheated. Lately, it's turned super-warm, so this is getting more miserable and dangerous for the kids.
Coolant was replaced seven months ago with little effect. What could be causing this, although I suspect it's something related to overheating / a sensor or thermostat since it only happens when the car has been parked in the sun. Internet sleuthing reveals everything from o-rings, compressor, compressor clutch, oiling the bearings or clutch plate, cylinder head gasket, etc.
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Over the past 3 years or so, my 1993 Honda Civic began not starting at very random times. Everything would appear to be working but the engine wouldn't fire up, until after a few tries or minutes. I got the fuel pump relay replaced last March and that worked for a bit but then my car acted up again in June and an electrical connector to the fuel pump was replaced. My car had been starting every time since, until last week. This is the worst it has ever been; my engine took about 3 hours (re-trying it here and there) to decide to turn over and start on its own, worked great for 3 days and then again just would not start. On a whim, I jumped it that time and it worked. This seems strange to me because all the electricity in the car was working when it wouldn't start, and my battery checked out fine when it was tested recently.
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I am looking at purchasing a 1999 f250 Crew Cab Long bed with the V10. It has 120,000 miles on it and has been very well taken care of and maintained. The current owner says that over the last couple of weeks it has started to start sporadically. The first time it did it was after a 30 minute drive. Parked the truck outside his garage and a hour later when he went to pull it in the garage, it wouldn't start. He called a mechanic friend that told him to trip the inertia switch.
Pressed the switch, it clicked, and then the truck fired right up. Since then it has done it twice more but now instead of tripping the inertia switch he turns the key on and off 10 times and then it starts right up. What this would be? I would normally think fuel pump since cycling the key on and off would be building pressure in the system if the pump was just starting to die but the inertia switch being tripped has me confused.
The owner thinks or was told that quickly turning the key off and on is resetting the computer and after turning the key 8 times the locks lock and unlock and the lights flash once. Is this what it is doing? I thought turning the key on and off in multiple succession let you manually read the codes...
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THE FREQUENCY: This is a condition that has become progressively worse over the last six months. Initially it occurred once a week and now it is happening almost every day, lasts longer and is more acute.
THE SYMPTOMS: Initially and randomly, while driving at any speed, the car would begin to hesitate as if it might stall but did not- The hesitation was much like a shudder or power loss. At this time the check engine light would blink and stay on for a couple of days. This whole event would last less than a minute and the car would return to normal until the next one.
Now, six months later, it is occurring almost every day. At startup, at low speeds, at stop lights.... A LOT!
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE SO FAR: After frequent and unsuccessful visits to the Volvo Dealer all the plugs, the wires, the cap, and the rotor have been replaced with no luck.
The dealer says the code indicates a misfire on the #3 cylinder.
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I have a 1998 Explorer XLT with the 5.0L V8. My check engine light has been on and off sporadically for the past two months. Lately, it has been on more than off. I brought it to a local place to diagnose the problem. Both upper O2 sensors are shot. What kind of difficulty level am I looking at if I tackle this myself?
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Bought a used '96 Subaru Outback Wagon w/ 175k miles a few months ago and I'm having trouble. The car always starts when it's cold. However, sometimes when it's hot, it won't start. Then wait 10 minutes or so and it starts right up.
I'll make a short stop somewhere (like to pick up milk) and when I get back to the car everything seems to work fine: fuel pump, radio, AC, lights, instrument cluster, etc all turn on. Then, when I turn the ignition switch to start, I hear the click behind the dash (starter relay?) and the solenoid clicks but the starter does not turn on at all. Then I wait a little while and it will (almost always) start with no problem. This happens ~25% of the time when the car is hot.
I replaced the starter with a new one (not rebuilt) but that doesn't fix the problem. I tried hitting the new starter with a mallet but no luck. Battery, alternator and starter checked out OK at the Autozone. Haven't been to the mechanic because that would probably end up costing more than the car is worth.
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My 1993 Toyota Corolla station wagon is not starting. The starter tries but the car does not start. It was fine yesterday but just won't start today.
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One of my headlights has stopped working on my 1999 Subaru. Do I need to replace the entire headlight assembly or is it just a bulb? Approximately how much should it cost to fix? 1999 Subaru Legacy sedan
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I drive a 2000 Subaru Legacy and the radiator fan does not always come on. This sometimes makes the car run hot but has not (yet) put it into the "danger zone" overheating. It seems to happen if the car is in stop and go traffic and it's hot outside. If I'm driving down the highway or the weather is cool it doesn't happen.
I checked the fuses (yes, even the ones under the hood) and they are all fine. I am just curious if there is a sensor that could be the problem or if it is more likely the thermostat. It didn't quite fit the descriptions I found for thermostat but I'm a broke college student trying to keep an old car on the road, not a Subaru mechanic
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I need to lube the speedo cable on my Suburu legacy 1993 does the cable come out from the speedometer end.?Also what the best lube to use for the cable,also any pitfalls to avoid.
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My Subaru was violently shuddering. I think the cold weather has made it worse. It seems to just be when I accelerate. I'm not sure if it's the CV joints or the rack and pinion.
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The timing belts keep slipping on my car. I replaced the belts but it keeps happening. I went to readjust the belts today and noticed the pulley looks off. I know it needs to be replaced but given that it's the bott one under the radiator hose I'm not sure if it's one that I can easily do myself or if it would be better to have a mechanic do it.
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I own a 1996 Subaru Legacy (2.2L), and when I was almost home, my car died. I was going about 30 mph, and without any warning, I lost power to my headlights, my gauges, my power steering - everything. I lost all power to my car. When trying to start it again, nothing happens when I turn the key - no lights, no fuel pump...nothing. It has to be something electrical (obviously), but I would like to know what it is before I send it off to the mechanic.
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The other day while putting on some highway miles on a smooth road I experienced some new vibrations. Not good vibrations, unfortunately. She is an 02 Leg Wagon with 115,000 miles. The vibration was low amplitude and relatively high frequency and was most noticeable at 65 mph or above. Although pronounced at the steering column, the vibration seemed to be throughout the car. Struts? Motor mounts? Imagination? I cant handle the truth?
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every 2 to 3 weeks the car will stall while driving and acts like it's out of gas. 3 tows and no mechanic can figure out what the problem is and the car starts the next day.
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