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2014 - CEL, ABS, vehicle dynamics, hill assist lights on with low rpms and stalling? - Updated!

('14-'18) 
10K views 20 replies 9 participants last post by  Remedi 
#1 ·
I’m having an odd issue with my 14 Forester. I replace both front CV axleS and both front hub assemblies. During the process I left the key on and the car battery died. I had to jump the car off afterwards to be able to test it out. When I first turned it on it was complaining about a check engine light, vehicle dynamics, Hill assist, and ABS. I had removed the sensors off the steering knuckle when I did the work but I had put some grease on the axle splines to help with removal later so I took everything back apart double checked it and cleaned the grease out of there to make sure there was nothing interfering with the sensor that reads the magnetic ring on the back of the hub assembly. During idle and in park if I give the car gas and then let off it would stall with the engine shutting off. It also was dead when I came out to work on it. A check at autozone said the alternator was bad. I took the alternator and had it rebuilt. I’m still having the same issues. Tried a known good battery, no dice. The car will run for over an hour in idle (albeit idling too low) and the battery isn’t dead so I’d say the alternator is probably good now. I’m at a complete loss. Check out my video below please. Thanks!


 
#3 ·
@Dogs I tried to clear the codes but they are permanent.

I took the car to O’Reilly and had the battery and alternator checked. It’s showing a bad voltage regulator, same as it was at Autozone before the alternator rebuild. The guy that did it told me when I called and asked about it that he’d replaced the voltage regulator, that it could be an issue with the wires going to it. It cut off one me at 2 red lights driving to the auto parts place and back. Any thoughts on the wiring on these things? Terminals are nice and tight. Battery is just over a year old Duracell.
 
#4 ·
What is the resting battery voltage, when left over night?

What is the voltage across the battery terminals, with engine running?

What did you use to clear the fault codes?

When you say, you left the key on, what position did you leave it in? ‘Accessories’ or ‘On’ position?

What was wrong with original voltage regulator in the alternator? What was diagnosed as the cause of the problem with the regulator?
 
#5 ·
I’m getting a multimeter later this evening but did experience craziness with the car today.

To clear the fault codes I have a device that connects to OBDII via WiFi and use OBS Fusion on iPhone. Also tried with Autozone scanner.

I had just left the key on accessory so I could keep the wheel unlocked to turn it while doing the front end work.

Today I cranked it and walked inside to see how it’d be running after 15 minutes. When I went back out this is what I found- all the dash lights and inside lights flickering



seems the alternator still has to be hoses? It died and won’t crank, inside locks won’t work, etc. Seems battery is dead again. I fully charged the battery yesterday before going on a 10 minute drive to the auto parts store to do the scans I mentioned where it died on me twice.

The person who rebuilt the alternator said it can’t be the alternator, perhaps wires, and wants me to drive the car to him to check it but I can’t even get it there like this.
 
#7 ·
When you try to clear the codes, do they clear momentarily, and then come back on after a little while? Or will they not clear at all?

What does the scantool or reader say, once it’s attempted to clear codes? Does it say ‘successful’, ‘unsuccessful’, or something else?

Are the tools at the auto parts shop, a ‘tablet’ style scantool, or a small handheld unit? Do you know what brand they were?
 
#8 ·
I think I found the cause and it's not the alternator but I don't know what I need to do to resolve it.

I was able to take the car back to the place where the alternator was rebuilt and all checked out good with the alternator. The low RPMs (200 or so) at idle are the cause for things not charging. Apparently the sensor issues put the engine in limp mode.

Back home I pulled the front tires again to check the speed sensor. Now after driving it I can see that the dust shield on the new cv axles has actually been touching the speed sensor and has rubbed into them. Surely this has to be why it is complaining but I do not know why the cv axles would be that way. It's that way on both sides. I checked it against one of the rear sensors to validate and removed the axle bolt and verified the cv axle is hitting the sensor. There seems to be a pretty good space between the encoder ring on the back of the hub and the sensor and no space between the dust shield of the cv axle and the sensor. I'm wondering if these are bad cv axles? That doesn't seem like it'd be the case since they match and should work with my VIN according to RockAuto.

I made another video to show this as well as the gap:

2014 Subaru Forester CV Axle Rubbing Speed Sensor

I called the cv axle manufacturer and was surprised to get a real person in less than 2 min total. Unfortunately they said the part was the right one but must be defective. They suggested I do a return and possibly try their other model or remove the dust shield. They also said the dust shield didn’t have to be perfect so I could bend it back. I opted to try that first. I still had to take the brake caliper and mount off but was able to slide the entire shield back 1/4” or so on each side. I’m thinking they didn’t press it on fully at the factory. I cleared the codes but after I started the car the lights came back on pretty quickly and the codes showed back up. I’m assuming this is from the damage the dust shields caused. I think I’ll order new front speed sensors and go from there. What a nightmare this has been.

Replaced both front speed sensors and still getting a P0500 after clearing codes. I’m so done with this car.
 
#9 ·
This may be an odd question - did you get the brake light switch done? And if so, it MAY be that you have a bad switch or that the new switch is mis-aligned.

The signal from the bls impacts all of those other systems - causing all the lights to go nuts and create havoc.

I had the bls replaced (back in Feb, I think) and then sometime over the summer, all the lights came on when I was leaving a store. Called the dealer and headed right over. Monday - they called me and said it was that the switch they'd replaced was misaligned and when they moved/fixed that - all the lights went off and all was corrected.

Also a 2014 Forester (Limited, non-XT).
 
#12 ·
I ended up taking the car to a local shop to get it looked at. They found that the speed sensors were not receiving any data and suggested replacement of both front hub assemblies. My Forester was built on 1/13/14. I got in touch with Timken since the hubs I ordered said 'thru 1/13/14' to make sure it was the correct part and they validated it was indeed the correct part. I've always used Timken hubs on all my other vehicles over the years with no issues and even put Timken hubs on the rear with no issues. At this point I can either drop the $1100 to have the shop do the work or do a warranty claim and try a second set of hubs. For the $$ I'm going to go ahead and start a claim.
 
#14 ·
I replaced both hub assemblies again today using the replacements from Timken. These units were made in China whereas the others were made in Korea, same part #s and they look identical.

After replacement I still have all the lights. I cleared the codes and within 5 seconds the speed sensor code was back pending.

At this point either it is like the above post and I’ll have to go with Subaru hubs or maybe there’s something weird with the speed sensors. I’m perplexed. It’s been over 2 months now with not being able to use the car. Taking it to the Subaru dealer is my only other thought now for diagnosis unless I just replace the hubs a third time with Subaru ones. Frustrating.

I might add that I do have Timken hubs on the rear and they have worked fine, so it’s odd the front ones do not.
 
#15 ·
I put the original speed sensors back on.. same issue. I don’t appear to be getting any speed data out of either of them. I used an app called ‘Car Scanner’ and it shows front and rear wheel speed. It was only showing front - even when I unplugged both front- so I assume it has the front and rear swapped in the app. I can’t get to the rear connectors to unplug them. I sent an email to Timken to at this point request a refund on the hubs. I’ll also send an email to Rockauto. I’ll purchase OEM hubs and replace a final time. If it’s still not working after that then I’m at a loss and it’s off to the dealer.
 
#17 ·
Interesting… My 2014 Forester was built 1/13/2013, purchased April of 2013 as 2014 model.
Worst piece of sh*t new car I ever owned.
I needed to replace all 4 hub bearings (Timken HA590522 rears, and HA590315 fronts), front control arms due to wiped out bushings, steering knuckles (pinch bolts were rusted solid) and one dust shield.(Among other things)
I never had a car that had so much rust and corrosion on bolts fasteners and undercarriage surfaces at only 7 years old.

The fast blinking of the dash seems like a possible grounding issue, I would check the battery terminals on both ends. Even a bad battery with a shorting cell……
Do you have – can you get a multimeter? You can check the wheel speed sensors.. I had one go bad and I got every warning code in the menu, and my car would idle extremely slowly…
 
#20 ·
Hi Remedi,
Any updates? Same issues for me on my 2014 XT. Replaced both front control arms, sway bar links, knuckles, and front passenger bearing/hub. Turned it on to test drive, limp mode and Christmas tree of lights. Throwing P0500 code, so I replaced both speed sensors. Didn’t fix the issue, so I tested the old speed sensors with a multimeter and they work fine. Put the old bearing back on (which was in need of replacement but I just thought wth, I’ll give it a go) but issue persists. I’ve disconnected the battery many times after these repairs to “reset” but the issue persists.
I’m dying over here, I don’t have a second vehicle and am trying to avoid taking it to the dealership again. Btw, they had it a week ago to replace the brake light switch and rear coil springs on recall.
 
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