[Pulse382]

Hey all, long time listener first time caller...

So I am at my wits end, can't find anything on the web at all about this. Back in November, I had check engine, traction control, and a blinking cruise light come on. Now this happened in the past, shortly after the purchase of the car in Jan of '13, I figured possibly oil pressure because being a used car I didn't have the oil changed yet, and had no clue as to how long it was since it was changed, I changed the oil, disconnected the negative terminal and presto, good.

Well fast forward to Nov. '13, same thing happens, and yes this time I hadn't changed the oil for about 5k, my bad but I literally didn't think about it. Same light came on, but the car to this point still drove perfectly. Changed the oil, disconnected the battery to clear the lights, but this time when I drove the car it would not engage into gear and rev up the lurch forward, and sloppily shifted into second tho was smooth the rest of the way.

Highway driving was fine, and the lurching wasn't constant. I tried disconnecting the battery a couple more times because I had read that the ECU needs to learn it's shift points. Well it didn't, and the local Subaru dealer seems to always be booked 2-3 weeks out, so I'd either forget about the appointment, or was unable to get a ride being that its roughly 30 miles from my house. So basically I have just been dealing with it. **Oh and also, occasionally it'll stall when stopping at a light or stop sign, and when backing out of a parking spot and coming to a stop.

OK so hate me for being an irresponsible Subaru owner, but now this just baffles me. This past Saturday, I was going into work and it was cold, as it has been here in Northeast PA, and all of a sudden the damn lights came on. I continued on my 42 mile trek to work, and climbing a hill a few miles to my destination, started hearing this whine from the engine, and no real acceleration when I gassed it to go up the hill.

Being the weekend, I couldn't call the dealer til today, which I worked also, but on my way this morning, boom...climbing a hill leaving my hometown, something popped...limping to work, I checked and it was my serpentine belt, it had split down the middle and partially broke. After work got a new belt at a local Autozone, installed it, and proceeded to head home.

Now, my car has almost no acceleration, does not achieve boost, basically crawls...I don't know whats going on and the damn dealer can't get me in til the 24th! I apologize for all this info and the long post but I don't know what to do and have not the foggiest as to what could be going on. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!!

***forgot to mention, when it's hella cold out, my car wont even move...when I apply gas it just revs up...all symptoms can be best likened to a **** clutch I guess, but all only stared after that battery disconnect.

 

[devildogsubie]

Hey all, long time listener first time caller...

So I am at my wits end, can't find anything on the web at all about this. Back in November, I had check engine, traction control, and a blinking cruise light come on. Now this happened in the past, shortly after the purchase of the car in Jan of '13, I figured possibly oil pressure because being a used car I didn't have the oil changed yet, and had no clue as to how long it was since it was changed, I changed the oil, disconnected the negative terminal and presto, good.

Well fast forward to Nov. '13, same thing happens, and yes this time I hadn't changed the oil for about 5k, my bad but I literally didn't think about it. Same light came on, but the car to this point still drove perfectly. Changed the oil, disconnected the battery to clear the lights, but this time when I drove the car it would not engage into gear and rev up the lurch forward, and sloppily shifted into second tho was smooth the rest of the way.

Highway driving was fine, and the lurching wasn't constant. I tried disconnecting the battery a couple more times because I had read that the ECU needs to learn it's shift points. Well it didn't, and the local Subaru dealer seems to always be booked 2-3 weeks out, so I'd either forget about the appointment, or was unable to get a ride being that its roughly 30 miles from my house. So basically I have just been dealing with it. **Oh and also, occasionally it'll stall when stopping at a light or stop sign, and when backing out of a parking spot and coming to a stop.

OK so hate me for being an irresponsible Subaru owner, but now this just baffles me. This past Saturday, I was going into work and it was cold, as it has been here in Northeast PA, and all of a sudden the damn lights came on. I continued on my 42 mile trek to work, and climbing a hill a few miles to my destination, started hearing this whine from the engine, and no real acceleration when I gassed it to go up the hill.

Being the weekend, I couldn't call the dealer til today, which I worked also, but on my way this morning, boom...climbing a hill leaving my hometown, something popped...limping to work, I checked and it was my serpentine belt, it had split down the middle and partially broke. After work got a new belt at a local Autozone, installed it, and proceeded to head home.

Now, my car has almost no acceleration, does not achieve boost, basically crawls...I don't know whats going on and the damn dealer can't get me in til the 24th! I apologize for all this info and the long post but I don't know what to do and have not the foggiest as to what could be going on. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!!

***forgot to mention, when it's hella cold out, my car wont even move...when I apply gas it just revs up...all symptoms can be best likened to a **** clutch I guess, but all only stared after that battery disconnect.

First of all, leave the damn battery alone. Resetting the computer dose not make the problems go away. How many miles are on it? Has the transmission ever had a fluid change? Have you checked the boots/clamps associated with the Intake/Turbo/Intercooler for tears or loose fittings?
Set a reminder for your dealer appointment and either ask for a loner or arrange for a cheap rental. In the mean time try taking it to a local autoparts chain that may offer free code readings to help us out.

 

[trailangel]

poor car. bad owner. possible troll.

 

[crewzer]

...Back in November, I had check engine, traction control, and a blinking cruise light come on. Now this happened in the past, shortly after the purchase of the car in Jan of '13, .

Well fast forward to Nov. '13, same thing happens, and yes this time I hadn't changed the oil for about 5k, my bad but I literally didn't think about it. Same light came on...

Take your car to Auto Zone, Advance, O'Reilly, etc. and ask them to plug in an OBD II reader and read the diagnotic trouble codes (DTC's) stored in the car's computer. The car's OBD II port is under the steering wheel, and this is normally a free service from a major auto parts store.

Come back, tell us the codes, and we'll see what we can do.

HTH,
Jim / crewzer

 

[Pulse382]

poor car. bad owner. possible troll.

Seriously? Have you read around this forum?! "Bad owner" "Troll"...I'm a saint compared to many...I didn't post this to have people talk ****, I posted it to get some insight before I can get it to the dealer.

 

[Pulse382]

First of all, leave the damn battery alone. Resetting the computer dose not make the problems go away. How many miles are on it? Has the transmission ever had a fluid change? Have you checked the boots/clamps associated with the Intake/Turbo/Intercooler for tears or loose fittings?
Set a reminder for your dealer appointment and either ask for a loner or arrange for a cheap rental. In the mean time try taking it to a local autoparts chain that may offer free code readings to help us out.

I'm with you on the battery, just didn't know what was going on and when I checked the forums and google, battery disconnect seemed to work. Vehicale has just over 50k on it, tranny fluid has never been changed since I've had it, as far as all the fittings for the turbo, I didnt have a chance to check them this weekend...I'll try to take look today, tho I don't think thats the issue. Thanks tho.

 

[Pulse382]

Take your car to Auto Zone, Advance, O'Reilly, etc. and ask them to plug in an OBD II reader and read the diagnotic trouble codes (DTC's) stored in the car's computer. The car's OBD II port is under the steering wheel, and this is normally a free service from a major auto parts store.

Come back, tell us the codes, and we'll see what we can do.

HTH,
Jim / crewzer

I will take it today and see if any codes come up, I know the first time these lights came on I did that and no codes came up at all. It's weird. I'll have the diagnostic hooked up today and if anything comes up I will let you guys know and go from there. Thanks

 

[crewzer]

I know the first time these lights came on I did that and no codes came up at all. It's weird.

Odd... the ECU is supposed to store DTC's, even after the CEL and other indicators turn off.

An option might be to buy your own OBD-II DTC ocde reader... I bought one from Amazon for ~$20... The benefit is that you can read the code(s) quickly and locally...it reads and clears codes, but you still need to look up ther DTC "translations" on-line or in the service manual.

Best of luck!
Jim / crewzer

 

[JAGU]

"check engine, traction control, and a blinking cruise light come on"
I've had the same issue, 6 months ago. Took it to diagnostic reader and turns out error code P0420 - catalytic converter low efficiency or rear CO2 sensor.
They just cleaned the error code and that's it. The cat is working fine, but I think the quality of the fuel here is bad, combine that with mostly urban driving and there you go - you have clogged cat or CO2 sensor bad measures I think.

 

[Rescuer]

Odd... the ECU is supposed to store DTC's, even after the CEL and other indicators turn off.

for some reason, every now and then it won't store the code
i threw up all the lights (limp mode) the other day when i turned my car on, cold start. my AP said no code, so i just reset it and went on my way. normally i got it from overboost, but this time was a cold start in my garage. very weird.

 

[Philistine]

those lights can also mean an overboost

 

[crewzer]

"check engine, traction control, and a blinking cruise light come on"

For U.S. models, this combination of indicators has no specific fault meaning. Instead, it's a generic message that one or more faults (diagnostic trouble codes; DTC's) are pending and/or have occured. A DTC reader must then be plugged into the OBD-II port to retrieve the specific code(s).

HTH,
Jim / crewzer

 

[devildogsubie]

Odd... the ECU is supposed to store DTC's, even after the CEL and other indicators turn off.

An option might be to buy your own OBD-II DTC ocde reader... I bought one from Amazon for ~$20... The benefit is that you can read the code(s) quickly and locally...it reads and clears codes, but you still need to look up ther DTC "translations" on-line or in the service manual.

Best of luck!
Jim / crewzer

Unless the battery is repeated disconnected.

 

[Pulse382]

So I haven't been able to get my car to any Subaru dealer yet, dash lights are still on and here in Northeast PA we're getting a blizzard.

I was wondering last night, the cat comment kinda makes sense because last night I ran my car and def did notice a strong exhaust odor, someone mentioned "limp mode", is this something Subaru does? I've owned a WRX and a Forester in the past and have never ran into so much ****...

 

[Pulse382]

For U.S. models, this combination of indicators has no specific fault meaning. Instead, it's a generic message that one or more faults (diagnostic trouble codes; DTC's) are pending and/or have occured. A DTC reader must then be plugged into the OBD-II port to retrieve the specific code(s).

HTH,
Jim / crewzer

I'm hoping to get to Advanced Auto today to have a reader plugged in and see if anything comes up. I want to just get it to Subaru, but according the the local dealer they're dealing with a recall and they are swamped...

 

[Pulse382]

"check engine, traction control, and a blinking cruise light come on"
I've had the same issue, 6 months ago. Took it to diagnostic reader and turns out error code P0420 - catalytic converter low efficiency or rear CO2 sensor.
They just cleaned the error code and that's it. The cat is working fine, but I think the quality of the fuel here is bad, combine that with mostly urban driving and there you go - you have clogged cat or CO2 sensor bad measures I think.

I was thinking fuel, but weird that the hesitation started directly after resetting ECU, also, I only use Sunoco 93 octane, from multiple Sunoco's, I don't know that they'd all have poor gas quality. Tho, my commute to work is roughly 40 miles one way all back roads.

 

[JAGU]

Here we have 95; 98 and 100 octane only, but some of those are not so good, as they suppose to be.

Anyway, I'm curious to know what was in yor case! BTW, I've heard that cruise control and traction are coming on the dash every time, when check engine light pop up. There is no particular reason to be the cat or CO2 sensor, it's just Subaru's precaution.

 

[Pulse382]

Here we have 95; 98 and 100 octane only, but some of those are not so good, as they suppose to be.

Anyway, I'm curious to know what was in yor case! BTW, I've heard that cruise control and traction are coming on the dash every time, when check engine light pop up. There is no particular reason to be the cat or CO2 sensor, it's just Subaru's precaution.

So finally was able to get my car to Subaru today after having to wait two weeks. Literally got a call back in an hour telling me that it needed an oil change and there was no tranny fluid. Needless to say I was relieved cause I was expecting the worse...

then I get another call an hour after that, "well I have good new and I have bad news. Your turbo is blown, but it's covered under your 6 year powertrain warranty"...they said that my car was consuming/burning oil at a rapid rate which they need to look into further, also, there was a very slight transmission fluid leak, supposedly been overlooked every time ive had it serviced...

long story short, hopefully in a few days ill have my baby back and good as new!

 

[lfdal]

If the "slight" leak was enough to run the AT low on fluid, it doesn't sounds so slight. Running with no AT fluid is a great way to cook the AT. I wouldn't be surprised if it's had some time taken off the back end of its life, although with luck the leak will be bad enough to replace the entire unit. The 4EAT is a pretty robust unit, but once the leak is fixed you probably should check the fluid for a tendency to turn color and or smell bad fairly soon. In other words, be prepared for a fluid refresh in a few thousand miles.

Rare for an XT to burn oil. I've had two of them and never used any to speak of. I'm not counting my 2.0 DIT as that's a different engine.

It's good your under warranty for this stuff. You might save yourself some money after warranty by being more attentive to the dipsticks, there's only 3 of them. An out of warranty reman AT is over 4K. The dealer is doing you a favor IMO by dealing with the AT as a warranty item. Mine would tell me I neglected it.

In any event, hope it comes back good as new.

 

[JAGU]

"In any event, hope it comes back good as new. "
Same from here!