My first post is a long one:
I have a 2004 XT (auto) with 70K miles. I was on a road trip and moving along the highway when the fuel light clicked on. Within 30 seconds the engine died and I was coasting to the shoulder to call AAA. I tried to restart the car with no luck, and given the temperature (low teens) I didn't want to keep working the battery.
I swear at myself for not stopping at the last service station and call AAA to tell them I'm out of gas... they bring me some (5 gal) and the car starts up just fine. But now the 'check engine' light is on and the cruise control light is flashing. I fill it up with gas (<8 gal) and finish off my trip. When I get to my destination I take it to a Subaru dealer, they tell me I have to replace my transmission because my torque converter is failing (error code 0715) to the tune of $4,000. He also says the check engine light won't go out until the tranny is replaced.
It'll take at least 3 days to get a replacement transmission in. Given the time constraints on my trip (I had to be back home for a plane flight in 2 days), I ask if he thinks I can make it home (300 miles). He says "yes, as long as you baby it." Alarm bells start ringing.
I call around to some other tranny shops and get the same timeline. I do some research on this board and see some trouble with the 4EAT but none with my symptoms. I find it weird that a tranny problem would lead to an engine stall. Halfway home I start the car after a fuel refill and the check engine light is off, cruise control is available.
I make it home, drop the car off at a highly-rated tranny shop (they look at it for free too) and catch my flight. The tranny shop tells me the tranny is fine and in perfect working order. When I ask about the error code, they say there is a 0700 code in memory but that doesn't necessarily mean the transmission needs to be replaced.
Looking back on the trip, I was running low on fuel at the beginning of the trip and put a few gallons of 89 octane in the tank to get me to the next station with premium (checked the user manual first). My fuel light typically illuminates when I have 3-4 gallons left and I've never put more than 12 gallons of fuel at a time into the car. After looking at the receipts from AAA and my subsequent fuel purchase, I count at most 13 gallons of fuel missing from the tank when the engine stalled. This really seems like a fuel problem.
So a few days ago I tried to recreate the situation (minus the 89 octane) and ran the car on the highway until the fuel light came on. This time the fuel light didn't even illuminate (it was just under the 1/4 tank mark) before the car died. I pulled over, gave the car about 2 minutes of rest, and then it started right up again.
I've also noticed that the car has a little bit of shake while idling, hardly noticeable unless you rest your leg on the center console while sitting in the car at idle. It's so slight that I doubt I would have noticed it had I not been suspicious of the fuel system.
So I'm figuring it's a fuel pump, fuel line, or fuel filter problem. Anyone else have similar symptoms? I'm hoping I can get some independent feedback before I take it to another shop that insists on replacing my transmission.
** Other note - My MPG hovers between 17-21. 21 is the best I've been able to get on the highway doing 65 the whole way.
I have a 2004 XT (auto) with 70K miles. I was on a road trip and moving along the highway when the fuel light clicked on. Within 30 seconds the engine died and I was coasting to the shoulder to call AAA. I tried to restart the car with no luck, and given the temperature (low teens) I didn't want to keep working the battery.
I swear at myself for not stopping at the last service station and call AAA to tell them I'm out of gas... they bring me some (5 gal) and the car starts up just fine. But now the 'check engine' light is on and the cruise control light is flashing. I fill it up with gas (<8 gal) and finish off my trip. When I get to my destination I take it to a Subaru dealer, they tell me I have to replace my transmission because my torque converter is failing (error code 0715) to the tune of $4,000. He also says the check engine light won't go out until the tranny is replaced.
It'll take at least 3 days to get a replacement transmission in. Given the time constraints on my trip (I had to be back home for a plane flight in 2 days), I ask if he thinks I can make it home (300 miles). He says "yes, as long as you baby it." Alarm bells start ringing.
I call around to some other tranny shops and get the same timeline. I do some research on this board and see some trouble with the 4EAT but none with my symptoms. I find it weird that a tranny problem would lead to an engine stall. Halfway home I start the car after a fuel refill and the check engine light is off, cruise control is available.
I make it home, drop the car off at a highly-rated tranny shop (they look at it for free too) and catch my flight. The tranny shop tells me the tranny is fine and in perfect working order. When I ask about the error code, they say there is a 0700 code in memory but that doesn't necessarily mean the transmission needs to be replaced.
Looking back on the trip, I was running low on fuel at the beginning of the trip and put a few gallons of 89 octane in the tank to get me to the next station with premium (checked the user manual first). My fuel light typically illuminates when I have 3-4 gallons left and I've never put more than 12 gallons of fuel at a time into the car. After looking at the receipts from AAA and my subsequent fuel purchase, I count at most 13 gallons of fuel missing from the tank when the engine stalled. This really seems like a fuel problem.
So a few days ago I tried to recreate the situation (minus the 89 octane) and ran the car on the highway until the fuel light came on. This time the fuel light didn't even illuminate (it was just under the 1/4 tank mark) before the car died. I pulled over, gave the car about 2 minutes of rest, and then it started right up again.
I've also noticed that the car has a little bit of shake while idling, hardly noticeable unless you rest your leg on the center console while sitting in the car at idle. It's so slight that I doubt I would have noticed it had I not been suspicious of the fuel system.
So I'm figuring it's a fuel pump, fuel line, or fuel filter problem. Anyone else have similar symptoms? I'm hoping I can get some independent feedback before I take it to another shop that insists on replacing my transmission.
** Other note - My MPG hovers between 17-21. 21 is the best I've been able to get on the highway doing 65 the whole way.