[magnum440]

Hello, I posted this in the Transmission and Driveline section with no luck. Maybe I'll have better luck here. I have an '04 X model 5 speed. I have not had this happen to me yet, so this is going off of my wife and daughters account. About a month ago when I was out of town, my wife was driving it and stopped for a red light. When she was going to pull off, the car acted like it was stuck in two gears or the trans was locked up. The engine was running but when she released the clutch it would stall the engine. They had to put on a roll back and haul it away. When they were loading it on the roll back, it was sliding the front wheels but the rear were rolling. When the roll back driver unloaded it at the house, it rolled off like nothing was wrong. He cranked it and drove it to park it in the drive way with no problems. When I got home, I drove it for a while with no issues. Considered it a fluke. When I was gone again, my daughter drove it to work one day and had it happen to her. She was parked in a lot eating lunch and went to leave and it did the same thing again. This time in a hurry to get back to work she left it in neutral and left the park brake off. When she came back after lunch, it had rolled away about 40 feet against a curb. If this is a mechanical trans problem, would it free up that easy. I could see something in the trans freeing up when they slid the wheels loading it on the roll back, maybe making it jump out of gear. But what about just sitting in a parking lot. I have thought maybe it might have something to do with the hill hold but can't find much info on it except how to adjust it. Also, it is relatively flat in this area (eastern NC), so not sure about the hill hold idea.

 

[Kevin]

@magnum440 until the problem is identified I have moved your post here.

Perhaps a read of these threads may shed some light on the issue:

stuck hill holder - Updated!

Hill holder locking brakes?

Hill holder problem - anyone else with these symtoms?

Front Caliper Locks up randomly

 

[UhOh]

Sounds brake related rather than tranny to me.
My car doesn't have 'hill hold,' but I'd physically disconnect that function (or have the dealer do it) and get along without that bell and whistle.

 

[magnum440]

Thanks @Kevin and @UhOh. I am finally able to get back home and just drove the car for about 20 miles. Seems to me there is something causing a drag. Car just feels like it is having to pull harder than normal. Maybe weather permitting I can get it up on jack stands and do some investigating, make sure none of the brakes are dragging. I am going to try disconnecting the Hill Hold and drive it again first to see if this makes a difference. Again, thanks for the help

 

[smiffy6four]

Have a look at post #7, for a really explanation of the Hill Holder and how to service it.

https://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f89/hill-hold-feature-1611/