Subaru - Outback :: 1992 - No AC Until Engine Warms Up
Jun 21, 2012
Recurring intermittent problem with the AC. It has been in and out of the shop three times in the past year. First time, a basic checkup with service to specs. Worked okay for six weeks or so. Second time, revolution sensor replaced. Worked okay for a little over six months. Next time, revolution sensor replaced under warranty. No change - problem still there. Dealer shop wants to replace compressor/clutch assembly. I'm not convinced. The problem only occurs in the morning after the engine has been at rest overnight .
No AC until the engine warms up and the engine is switched off and then on again. You can check it after a few minutes and no AC. Shut down the engine after 20 minutes or so, turn it back on, AC is good and will be good for the rest of the day, even if the engine is at rest for a few hours. Next morning, same drill. There is a three wire connector at the clutch with one black wire running to the clutch. I am unsure what voltage I can check there to see if the system is calling for clutch engagement. How I can narrow it down to clutch/compressor malfunction or some other sensor problem?
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Have an '03 Subaru Outback Ltd. 184k miles. Great car all in all. Has been burning 3-4 qts oil between changes every 3-4k miles. Stated idling rough after warms up [intermittently], slight 'shimmy' at stoplights. Check engine light on always, flashes at times when warms up but even then doesn't flash all the time. Took it to dealer for upcoming smog check, have a bad oxygen censor and possibly bad catalytic converter, but also said low compression no.2 cylinder--which is what I'm wondering about.
Without further diagnostics they're talking about perhaps new pistons, and/or valve job and/or short block rebuild. My questions are 1-is there any more diagnostics possible to narrow it down without pulling it apart? and 2-is it worth a rebuild or should I sell? Great car otherwise, they're talking 3-5k range for repairs, blue book on the car is 4-6k rough estimate? Been a great car all in all, aside from clutch replacement this is the first major repair issue.
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What are reason for the check engine light to come on and off and when a different person drives it. When it comes on? I guess I am looking for other opinions when I drive it I drive it respectfully but the owner bit of a speed lover.
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Riding on the highway to the summit of Vail Pass, car loses power, check engine light goes on, by the time I maneuver it past huge trucks to right shoulder, BAM!!!! White steam radiator fluid explosion dead car....mechanic says "small block" (I think) broken, need new engine. Towing it back to my guys who sold me the car about 2 months ago with reconditioned engine & brand new head gaskets.
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I have an 09 Subaru Outback. I filled up the tank at the gas station I usually goto. Drove about 30 miles on the tank to the airport where the car was parked for 5 days in an airport gated pay lot. Left the airport, I got about 10 miles and then the car would no longer accelerate. I pressed on the gas and could hear the engine rev, but the car would not move. I had to be towed to the Subaru dealer, where they said they could find nothing wrong with my car and they think I got some bad gasoline. They drained the tank and filled it up 1/2 way and the car runs fine. It still starts a little sluggish though. It sounds like it is laboring/revving when I first start the car after it has been sitting awhile, but once it is in gear it's fine. Is there anything I can do to fix the engine struggling when I first start the car?
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I just purchased a 2017 Outback. I noticed a rattling noise (like marbles) coming from the engine upon startup in the morning only. The noise goes away after a few seconds. To me it sounds like bearings rattling due to low oil pressure, but the dealer says that every Outback and Legacy does this. It has a timing chain and the engines use 0-20 synthetic oil. Is this normal.
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I have a 2008 Subaru Outback that is telling me that it is overheating, the gauge is showing me that the engine is as hot as it could possibly get. However, its not actually overheating. It happened after a 15 hour day of driving from Cali to Colorado on 2 lane highways. In the morning it took 6 tries to get started, just sounded like maybe there wasn't enough gas or something to get it going and if I fluttered the gas pedal the car threatened to quit on me. Since that moment the temperature gauge has been stuck on high, the check engine light is on, the cruise control is disabled and flashing on the dash, and the AC doesn't work. I have turned the car off several times since the incident and it starts up just fine so far but the gauge and lights are still on. ......
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2009 Subraru Impreza Outback Sport (60K miles).. I'm trying to figure out what's wrong with my clutch. When I start my car I hear a squealing noise from the engine that sticks around until my car is warmed up. If I depress the clutch while it's warming up (and squealing), it goes away. Bearing?
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My otherwise fine-driving 2003 Subaru Outback with 155,000 miles offers an odd, rapid, click, click, click, click directly from the engine while idling. It goes away once you drive off and then returns when you go back to idle. Not loud, not knocking, just click, click, click, click...My mechanic had no idea...and while it hasn't overheated yet (knock wood!) the engine always smells like its threatening to whenever I idle for more than few minutes, even on a cold day.
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I have a 2000 Subaru Outback. The check engine light has been coming off and on for the past couple weeks, but today the light started flashing. The car is running a little funny - not accelerating well and shaking when I start it. What's wrong with it?
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Every once in a while in heavy traffic the engine overheats. I can't get out to check on the highway bit I suspect a an isn't on. I can drop the temp in the usual way of blasting the heat but I can also drop it precipitously by turning on the AC! It seems to stay down even if I turn the AC off - at least for a while. The radiator is new and it has plenty of fluid.
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2007 Subaru Outback, 110 K mile sI drive 200 miles each way, once a week to DC on Sunday and back home to the mountains of Western MD on Friday. All problems happen on that long drive, not on local trips. Only happens when I'm driving in the mountains.
Symptoms: Sometimes overheats (needle gets close to red area, but not quite into it). I pull off and stop the engine for 5 minutes, start the engine, and needle goes to normal area. This happens only after driving about 2 hours. Continue the trip without problem. Never had to stop more than once.
A/C sometimes doesn't cool. Harder to tell now that it's cooler outside, but it put out only warm air one day two weeks ago. The next morning, it worked fine. Heat does not work very well. Set at max (85), the air coming out is barely warm. Also, the passenger side is colder than the driver (dual controls, both set at 85).
May not be related, but I can hear a sound like water gurgling when the engine is running. It's very soft and seems to be inside the dashboard behind the steering wheel. There are no apparent leaks anywhere. Seems to only do it when I am pressing on the accelerator.
My mechanic checked the A/C gas, flushed and filled the cooling system, looked at the temp sensor inside the car, and doesn't know what to try next. Could this be a computer problem, or is it mechanical?
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Just purchased a 2008 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport with <60K miles for my son. The car is in great shape (body/interior) EXCEPT it probably needs a "new"/rebuilt engine. It started making a tap-tap-tap noise and the mechanic that looked at it said it was an internal engine noise; that they would not tear apart the engine to determine the cause, but install a rebuilt engine ...
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My wife's Subaru just died on us. 98 Outback Legacy with quite a bit of miles on it. It was running fine, she took it to the store and then it would not start. It would crank but not fire. Internet searches led me to believe that it was a cam or crankshaft sensor. I go to pull the plug off and the weather beaten wires just snapped....
Turns out my option is splicing a new plug on or replacing the wiring harness. Now, SHOULD we decide to just replace the wiring harness. Is that a rip off?
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I just recently brought my 2006 subaru outback (v6) to the shop. The men, whom I've know and trust, told me there's too much carbon in the engine - it's got 80k on it - and that I should use Super the next two times I fill the tank. I went to an Irving station and put in Premium Octane. I only put in 3 gallons, and now the gas jerks upon pressing the gas. The check engine light came on, the SPORTS light is blinking fast and the CRUISE light is blinking as well. It sounds bad and when I put it in/out of park, I hear a little bit of grinding. Is this common for putting in new higher quality gas? Am I destroying something?? Should I not have put in premium?
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I'm 1st time owner of a Subaru. This is an automatic 2013 Outback 2.5i Premium with 9,600 miles.
Last Friday and last night (Sun) when the car was parked with no key in the ignition, there was a continuous sound coming from behind the rear left wheel. It sounded like a fuel pump was on.
To stop it, I put the key in the ignition and turned it until all the lights come on without actually cranking the engine. When the key was removed, the sound stopped. The sound seemed to start a couple hours after I parked the car. Both occurred in the evening and there was less than 1/4 tank of gas in the tank.
Since there are 2 commonalities here, I'll fill up the tank and monitor every 30 min (may not be able to do this when I sleep!). Since it is intermittent, there's not much the local shop could do except to check if there is any Subaru service bulletin.
I am concerned it was draining the battery last night but this morning it started right away.
I don't know if this has been happening without my noticing. So is this normal?
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The Subaru as 260k miles on it and I live in Georgia. When I attempt to start the car, it turns over and sounds like the engine catches and then dies out without getting over 200 rpms or so. Its a manual and I made sure the floor mat isn't impeding the clutchsensor.
The car has been doing this the past three days and finally today after driving around for a few hours and multiple times shutting the engine off with at least two start attempts before it fires, I get home and shut off the car.
I then attempt to restart it about two hours later and after 7 tries, all with the car sounding like the the engine has fired but not yet fully running , then the engine dies. I would push start it but am parked on an uphill slope.
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I bought this Subaru outback with 100,000 miles- clean car fax, etc, did the timing belt, water pump, thermostat at 102,000. Now at 116,000, the head gasket is leaking ($2,200 estimate) so the repair shop is working on that and they called today to say the #2 cylinder is scored and the engine needs to be rebuilt. ($4,000 estimate). I'm not sure if I should have them proceed with he work- that's a bunch of money or look for another engine, or what to do !! Its a great little car- but geez- what to do-
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The car had no accelerating power and it was well overdue for new spark plugs and wires. I just replaced them and it's doing much better, however, the engine seems to be shaking a bit when I start it/idling, which is making the entire car shake some too ( the seats, car shifter, etc ) . It's been awhile since I've also replaced the air filter too, which I obviously should have checked but haven't yet. When I replaced the spark plugs, I noticed there was a minor amount of engine oil on the spark plug wires, where they connect to the spark plugs; more notably the front 2(of 4), left and right. I also just changed the oil and there was no oil loss really, other than any minor amounts that get burned off through the miles.
The exhaust manifolds ( y-split ) are okay, but one of the nuts seems to loosen over time, causing a minor air leak there and makes it a tad noisy. Near the back half of the exhaust system, there some water dripping at one of the connections, and at the tail pipe the exhaust smoke is chugging and isn't consistent sounding.
What is still causing this engine shaking and the chugging noises from the exhaust system. The 'Check Engine' light is on, due to other repairs I know I need to make, such as an 02 sensor and fuel level sensor; however, lately it has started blinking too.
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I noticed a low humming noise lately on my wife's 2007 Outback which started at around 40 MPH or so. I thought it might be something with the added roof rack attachment or tires which are Michellen Rain Force tires installed about a year ago. It sounds like an aerodynamic issue to me. Nothing has changed on the roof racks and the tires show no sings at all of unusual wear.
I looked in front of the vehicle and underneath to see if I could see something and noticed the cowling immediately under the exhaust manifold and where I removed the small door for frequent oil changes is bowed down in the rear creating a scoop which I think is the humming noise. I am trying to find the darn door in the garage so I can re-install it, but it got me thinking, is the whole cowling even necessary to have under there?
I know it can prevent rocks and things from hitting the underside of the engine, but is it really more for simply aerodynamics? It is a pain sometimes working underneath because it blocks access to everything. I was thinking of simply removing the entire contraption.
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When I use my automatic transmission to slow my vehicle on steep downhills, the RPMs are much higher than when the engine idles because I use my brakes. The pistons are firing many more times per minute - so am i using more gas? Is the answer different for a standard transmission?
My "mystery vehicle" is a 2011..... outback...
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