Subaru Outback 2003 4 cylinder runs ok first several minutes then starts to skip. Appears to be maybe EGR related? Plugs/wires/dist ignition are ok. The car was double filled with oil the started, smoked. Could that affect the ECR or PVC? Could this damage the fuel injectors?
View 5 RepliesI have a 2001 Subaru Outback Limited with 135K miles on it. In the last year, I had two complete head jobs (the second because the new water pump failed while on the highway). In addition, I have had multiple water pumps, lots of thermostats and a new radiator installed. The last thermostat is an OEM. The car had been running fine for about a month and now overheats after about 30-40 minutes of combined, but mostly highway driving. At first, the gauge would rise to about 3/4 and then drop after about ten seconds, but now it goes to almost red and drops to 3/4. If I blast the heat, it will drop pretty fast. My mechanic told me that while diagnosing an earlier overheat issue (just before the good period), he noticed that the gauge would rise, but the computer temp would remain stable. He tried a new sensor, but said it made no difference, so he returned it. What is left to replace?
View 12 RepliesI brought my Outback to one mechanic due to overheating and a strange skipping feeling when accelerating. First mechanic said head gaskets needed to be replaced, I wasn't surprised since I have about 142k miles on it and it has been leaking oil, quoted between $1800 and $2000. I took it to another shop, recommended by a friend, and they agreed the gaskets needed to be replaced and there was also a misfire due to the spark plugs. This shop quoted me at $2200-2600 for the head gaskets, spark plugs, all wires and timing belt, all other engine gaskets, thermostat, engine oil and coolant. I still owe a good bit on this car (parents bought on the fly from a less than stellar used lot and now it is my problem), and my thinking is I do not want to bring on more debt by attempting to trade this one in and go for a new car. My question is, do I go with the second mechanic that wants to basically rebuild to top of my engine, or would I be ok limiting the repairs to the head gaskets and spark plugs?
View 11 RepliesMy 98 Subaru only overheats when going above 60 mph for more than 10-15 minutes. When it does and I pull over,the cap has blown off of the coolant tank. After letting it cool off and adding a bit of coolant - it doesn't occur again and I can drive for hours at high speeds. I drive the car every day, up and over mountain passes and up to the ski hill and never have a problem any other time. I know subarus have a tendency to blow head gaskets, but wouldn't there be other warning signs?
View 1 RepliesOur Air conditioner keeps on for about 5 minutes then cuts off. If we turn the car off and immediately back on it comes back on for another 5 minutes. we have taken it to the dealer twice at ca. 200 a pop and they say they have fixed it each time but they haven't.
View 7 RepliesWhile driving my 2000 Subaru Outback (197,000 miles) the speedometer, tachometer stopped working but the fuel and temp gauges were working fine. The transmission felt like it was slipping. When I used the brakes they were grabby, jerky and made a loud clunk. The engine began sputtering and I was barely able to keep it going as I tried to get home. At stop lights I had to put the car in neutral and rev the engine. We also noticed that while the engine was running the power windows were very slow to open and close and the turn signals and emergency flashers did not work at all. Now the car is in the driveway dead as a doornail and the key stuck in the ignition.
The battery is one year old and the alternator is the original. The fuel tank is 3/4 full. I bought the car new in 2000. What the problem could be?
Misfire when driving just after warm up and either stoping or slowing down to turn feels like 2 cyls drop off .if turn of key then restart will run fine the rest of the day. changed the coil, ignitor, map sensor front o2 engine has a new timing belt and head gaskets, spark plugs were changed about 200 miles ago wires seem ok I ran a can of bg 44k through the fuel system not sure what to do now,, also it will not through a code of any kind bummer.
View 4 RepliesSubie was driving fine...drove it on highway and went to park and NO reverse. At first, I couldn't shift into park either, but then I was able to shift in park. I can move the gear to reverse, but nothing happens (engine just revs and car wants to roll forward as it is on slight incline. Hubby checked trans fluid and it was a bit low, added fluid, but still no reverse.
View 3 RepliesWe have a new 2010 Subaru Outback and all is well except an issue with the passenger airbag. It cycles ON -OFF - ON - OFF - - - while driving. The Subaru dealer has checked it twice & says it is properly operating. We contacted Subaru, they contacted the dealer and responded, per dealer it is OK. The cycling makes us uncomfortable with the saftey of the system. She weighs right at 100 Lbs, if we hit a bump in the road the airbag status changes, if she shifts her position in the seat the status changes, it may change without any outside influence, etc. If it would maintain it's status it would seem more reliable.
View 4 RepliesMy Subaru just had the thermostat replaced, and it seemed to work until the wife took it she said it over heats when not driving the fans are working, it's over flowing out the reserve tank the fluid looked good when changed the thermostat so I don't think it's the head gasket my next guess would be either the water pump... After I last changed the thermostat and test drove it I felt the upper radiator hose it was hot but the bottom one was cool/warm.
View 8 RepliesI have a 2002 Subaru Outback that has started overheating only when I try to go up into the mountains. It starts within a few miles of starting up a steep grade and cools down the instant you start down the mountain. I have had no problems with regular driving conditions. The only pertinent info might be that it did have a coolant leak last summer and overheated then.
View 8 Replies3 weeks after having my brakes replaced. At 60 mph yesterday.
The garage has the car now and is saying it was a freak accident and not something they caused. I call foul to that. It's a 2007 Subaru Outback.
What should I say to them to make sure this gets repaired properly? And what unseen damage should I be looking out for? The wheel run has a groove from where the bolt rubbed. That's all I could see. And I could lift up and wiggle the caliper.
It was only the pad replaced on the front brakes. It was pads and rotors on the back.
A new issue has cropped up with my 2001 H6 Subaru Outback (which I believe is technically a Legacy). We've put so much work into this thing to keep it running and this might be the last nail in the coffin. However, what's going on...
My wife reported to me yesterday that the vehicle was turning itself off while driving. I was not in the car to verify any of this, so this part is anecdotal. After 45 minutes of driving, she said the engine was "hiccuping" and the gages were dropping to zero and then bringing themselves right back up to the current RPM and speed. She said the ABS light came on. The first time the vehicle did this, she reports that it did it many times in rapid succession. She described it as "the gages were going crazy". After turning around to come back home this happened once more, though not in rapid succession. It was a single occurrence of turning off and back on again. She indicated that the vehicle did not require a restart with the key. I suspect that this was because she was driving at highway speed at the time.
She brought it right to the mechanic and - as is the case with all intermittent issues - they were not able to repeat the failure in any way. So, being an engineer, I decided I wanted to experience it for myself and do a few tests.
Today I drove 45 minutes to work, 10 minutes of small town driving, 25 minutes of highway driving, 10 minutes of small town driving. Lucky for me (!), in the first five minutes of driving, the radio cut out, power steering died, and I heard fuses or relays clicking as I was gently braking and gently taking a right turn. I continued the right turn off into a parking spot on the side of the road and stopped the car. I turned the key to the off position, put it into park and restarted the vehicle right away. No problems. All was fine.
The vehicle did not do this again for the entire trip. However, I did perform some tests to see if I could repeat a similar failure with the ignition alone.
1) Turning the ignition off and quickly back on again by hand while rolling at highway speed (~55 mph) will cause the vehicle to kick back into a normal running mode.
2) Turning the ignition off and quickly back on again by hand while rolling at lower speed (~30 mph) will require a restart by turning the key all the way to the "start" position and not just the "on" position.
3) Turning the ignition off with the key (as in 1 and 2) DOES NOT cut out the radio. Note that when the intermittent defect occurs, the radio will cut out and then come back along with the engine and instrument panel.
4) Wiggling and stressing the keys to put strain on the ignition switch doesn't seem to cause anything to happen.
5) The battery is only a few months old and a general inspection of the battery terminals, cabling, and fuses indicates that everything appears to be in tact and clean.
I'm not the most experienced car person, so my terminology is probably a little off and that's all I have for now. I feel like this is a common ground issue and if I could only identify which ground services the instrument panel and radio and spark plugs I could inspect it and clean or replace a connection. My limited research reveals that there are many grounds throughout the engine compartment, though.
What would cause the vechile to die randomly, while driving? have check all ground wires, coolant, spark plugs, air filter, and changed fuel filter. no check engine lights come on.
View 2 RepliesHave a 1997 Subaru Legacy 2.2 liter. Having stalling issues after 20-25 minutes of driving. Will restart but gets shorter and ashorter intervals between stalls and then stalls right after start every time until in has sat a while and cools down. Changer ECU.
View 4 RepliesI own a 2003 subaru outback. Tonight when I took my keys out of the ignition my car kept running. It took several turns to get my car to shut off. I don't know if this is related but about a month ago a friend of mine started my car after dropping my keys in the snow and the next morning I found ice in the ignition. What caused my car to run without keys in it? Or how to fix it?
View 18 RepliesI sold my older 03' Subaru Outback a few months ago and bought a 2013 Outback, 2.5 premium model. I really like a lot about the car, everything, except....the seats. When I test drove it, I noticed right away, that the seats were different, harder, a bit shorter. I thought, well, I'll get used to it. I haven't. I am always playing with the buttons to adjust the seat, and there are lots of ways to do so. I just don't feel comfortable.
I drove it for about 2 hours straight, and came out with a cramp down my entire driver leg. I am quite frustrated, I feel like maybe I should just sell the car, and get something else, but there is no guarantee that the new car will feel better. Is there anything that I can do to make the seat more comfortable. It's hard, and short, and I feel if there was not this hard cushion behind me, and the seat was about an inch longer, I could live with it.
I have a Subaru Outback '03 wagon. About 4 months ago, I had a new driver side front axle installed. Right after that, when my car was stopped at a light, and my foot was on the brake, the car would have a vibration from the front end, I took the car back to the place that did the work, they checked the work don, and also the engine mounts, and bearings, and anything else they could check. They couldn't find anything wroing at that time with the car. I then took the car to another dealer who said the same thing, although he did not do a thorough inspection of the care.
I just had my oil changed, and took the car back to the orignal mechanic, and he checked the car out again as a courtesy, with the same outcome. They can't find anything wrong. The care still vibrates when I am stopped and in drive, but when I take my foot off the brake, the vibration dissipates a littel, and when I put the car in neutral or park, it goes away completely . I am hesitant to take it to the dealer and spend lots and lots of money to diagnose. The previous two mechanics said I should not be worried about the car's drivability, just wait and see what happens, although this vibration bothers me.
1998 Forester, 233,000 miles.. Two years ago it started running hot after 15 minutes of either driving or idling. Coolant seemed to vanish into thin air. The Subaru Dealership said that I either had a bad head gasket or a cracked cylinder wall. They said if the head gasket was bad then need to replace the head gaskets. They said if the cylinder wall was cracked, then we would need a new engine.
View 4 RepliesI have an "03 subaru Outback, with 164,000 miles on it. I have had a bad cat convertor for one and a half years, but up until a week ago, the car ran fine. My mechanic(s) said not to fix it until inspection, and then decide whether to ditch the car, or repair it. One week ago, the car was very infrequently lugging and missing, but only for a few seconds. It only for about 6 times, smelled like gas coming out the rear of the car.
I don't know what to do about it. I took it to the mechanic, who said it could be many different things, but not the convertor causing symptoms . He said: fuel injectors, gas coils, plugs, all sorts of stuff. I am concerned now, because I just put a lot of money into it, and would like to keep it, but don't want to spend tons more on it. I LOVE my subby, but maybe enough is enough? Also the smell. I am concerned driving it because of the missing.
I'm looking for a car that is cheap to maintain. I have to have something that allows for interior cargo space.So far, I can find either of these two models for under $8k in clean condition.
I like the Subaru Outback (H6 engine), but I know that more parts can likely equal higher priced maintenance. AWD involves a front and rear differential and a transfer case that can go bad anytime and it has a more complex set up than a basic truck. Then, there's the computery crap that can go wrong.
The Xterra, if I can get a basic 2 wheel drive should, I'd guess, be fairly cheap to maintain, no? Sure, I loose out on the driving advantages offered by the Subaru Outback and gas will cost more.
I love driving the Subaru, but I'm guessing that once a bunch of rattles, leaks, and other issues start cropping up that I might not be so happy with it. The vehicles in my price range are all sitting at 100k - 120k miles. The Nissan Xterra is a truck. It drives like a truck. I might be happier with it, knowing I won't have to pay for high priced repairs. I drive rather conservatively with the intention of keeping my vehicle in good condition. It would be a daily driver for the next 18 months.
Even with higher fuel costs (Xterra will likely get 16-19 mpg), I'm thinking I'd be better off buying the Xterra than the Subaru, yes or no?