Subaru - Outback :: 2004 - Growling And Squealing / No Power Steering At Slow Speeds
Sep 28, 2014
My 2004 Outback power steering was growling and squealing, but it was working ok at the time. I decided to replace the power steering pump before it completely failed and 3 hours later I was done. the growling and squealing was gone. However, when I backed the car out it was hard to steer at first. When I got going it all worked great, until I turned at the corner... hard steering again. When I got around the corner and up to speed everything is great again. The problem did not go away with time. Every time I turn at idle there seems to be no power steering. What is going on?
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This has been happening for the past 6 months or so. I recently had new ball joints, 4 wheel alignment, and 4 wheel balance. Even with this I'm noticing a very slight high frequency vibration at highway speeds. I noticed on one of the front wheels that a weight fell off, so this might explain the high speed vibration.
However - When I'm starting at 0mph, and accelerate to say 50mph for example, the car vibrates rather substantially as the speedometer moves from around 25mph to just past 30mph. After those speeds it goes away.
I've also noticed that it tends to be worse if I'm going up hill, which, according to the laws of physics, would tell me that going uphill would put more pressure on the front end, given it's heavier with the engine there. If I'm going downhill it vibrates much less.
When I drive I tend to not accelerate quickly, meaning, I don't 'punch' it, and accelerate gradually instead. If I'm driving on a level, well-paved road, and accelerate quicker than regular, the vibration seems to not be as heavy.
Any other tests for this? Struts, control arm, steering knuckle, drive shaft ?
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I bought my outback a few months ago from a dealer/mechanic who had fixed the car after it was totaled. So it has a reconstructed title, but it was hit in the back, so all the engine parts were unaffected by the crash. Since I have had the car I have experienced intermittent loss of power steering ability. Sometimes it's nearly impossible to parallel park or turn a corner gracefully, and other times, within the same short trip, the steering will be completely fine and smooth. I have had the issue looked at about three times now by different mechanics. Each time they have either replaced or tightened the belt, which temporarily fixes the problem. But within a few weeks it always comes back. Is there something not keeping the belt tight, or could the issue actually be in the power steering pump?
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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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A new issue has cropped up with my 2001 H6 Subaru Outback (which I believe is technically a Legacy). We've put so much work into this thing to keep it running and this might be the last nail in the coffin. However, what's going on...
My wife reported to me yesterday that the vehicle was turning itself off while driving. I was not in the car to verify any of this, so this part is anecdotal. After 45 minutes of driving, she said the engine was "hiccuping" and the gages were dropping to zero and then bringing themselves right back up to the current RPM and speed. She said the ABS light came on. The first time the vehicle did this, she reports that it did it many times in rapid succession. She described it as "the gages were going crazy". After turning around to come back home this happened once more, though not in rapid succession. It was a single occurrence of turning off and back on again. She indicated that the vehicle did not require a restart with the key. I suspect that this was because she was driving at highway speed at the time.
She brought it right to the mechanic and - as is the case with all intermittent issues - they were not able to repeat the failure in any way. So, being an engineer, I decided I wanted to experience it for myself and do a few tests.
Today I drove 45 minutes to work, 10 minutes of small town driving, 25 minutes of highway driving, 10 minutes of small town driving. Lucky for me (!), in the first five minutes of driving, the radio cut out, power steering died, and I heard fuses or relays clicking as I was gently braking and gently taking a right turn. I continued the right turn off into a parking spot on the side of the road and stopped the car. I turned the key to the off position, put it into park and restarted the vehicle right away. No problems. All was fine.
The vehicle did not do this again for the entire trip. However, I did perform some tests to see if I could repeat a similar failure with the ignition alone.
1) Turning the ignition off and quickly back on again by hand while rolling at highway speed (~55 mph) will cause the vehicle to kick back into a normal running mode.
2) Turning the ignition off and quickly back on again by hand while rolling at lower speed (~30 mph) will require a restart by turning the key all the way to the "start" position and not just the "on" position.
3) Turning the ignition off with the key (as in 1 and 2) DOES NOT cut out the radio. Note that when the intermittent defect occurs, the radio will cut out and then come back along with the engine and instrument panel.
4) Wiggling and stressing the keys to put strain on the ignition switch doesn't seem to cause anything to happen.
5) The battery is only a few months old and a general inspection of the battery terminals, cabling, and fuses indicates that everything appears to be in tact and clean.
I'm not the most experienced car person, so my terminology is probably a little off and that's all I have for now. I feel like this is a common ground issue and if I could only identify which ground services the instrument panel and radio and spark plugs I could inspect it and clean or replace a connection. My limited research reveals that there are many grounds throughout the engine compartment, though.
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I have a 98 Subaru Legacy Outback with 133K miles. It was leaking from the power steering pump and valve cover gaskets. My husband replaced the passenger-side valve cover gasket (which involved removing the air box) and the power steering pump (which required removing the alternator). When we put the car back together and reconnected the battery, it no longer starts! It "clicks" once but won't turn-over. The car does not have an alarm system (but it was an option on this model). We've tried jumping it. The battery is about 14 months old. The alternator is about 10 months old and the starter was replaced about 10 months ago too. We've double checked the wires that were disconnected and don't think we've missed anything.
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I'm about to replace my 2008 Subaru Outback's power steering pump. Only question is: How do I adjust the belt tension? Looks like the pump is stationary, and I suspect the alternator is the key, since the belt turns that as well.
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Need to determine the cause of a strange high-pitched squealing noise coming from the engine compartment of my 2008 Subaru Outback 2.5l automatic. The squeal happens only when the temperature is cold (below 32 degrees) AND I hit a bump. It happens more often the colder it is outside. The noise is definitely coming from the front of the car and seems like the passenger side but I can't be sure. It happens with the blower fan/AC both on and off so I don't think it is caused by that. It happens when the car is cold or driven for a while and warmed up.
It occurs at both high & low speeds. I checked all my fluids under the hood and everything is filled as it should be. There are no lights (check engine or ABS) on. Recommend any troubleshooting that I can try? I have not taken it to a mechanic yet as they might have a hard time reproducing the noise since it has to be below freezing and hit a decent bump. I attach a video that I took while driving last week on a 16 degree day and heard the squeal when I hit a bump. I had been driving for about 30 min when it occurred. I have more videos of the noise if needed.
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I have a 2002 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport with ~140,000 miles on it. Recently, it's started having a problem, where when I make a right hand turn, it fails to accelerate until the wheel is straight...as if it's revving but not catching/accelerating until I've straightened the wheel and am headed straight onto whatever road I've just turned onto...does that make sense?
It tends to happen more at 1st start up in the morning...and then, once its warmed up it's not as bad, but still present. Left hand turns I don't notice it...maybe because they aren't as sharp? Also, fyi, the check engine light has been on for a while, but I know this is due to the catalytic converter..and am saving up to get that replaced.
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97 Outback, 143 K, auto. 2.2. When in a tight turn in a parking lot or doing a U turn, the car lurches, like my p.u. does when in 4 wheel drive. Not as strongly, but it does not feel right. There is no CV joint noise, tires seem equally worn. The seller says it is tires, my experience with 5 different soobs says no and I never carefully match tire wear, ( I do not replace all 4)If it is not tires, what might it be?
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I have a 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX and recently it started making a squealing noise while the clutch is depressed at low speeds. I've researched that it's likely the pilot bearing or bushing? My questions are: should I have the entire clutch replaced? How much should it cost? And will I cause more problems if I wait too long to do anything? How long can I wait?
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I just bought this car (2000 miles) and I have noticed that it shifts gears oddly (hard to describe) and I get thumps and jolts in the transmission at low speeds, parking lot driving, going from reverse to drive.
Any knowledge of this transmission and it is possible there is something wrong?
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Three days ago my Outback started making this grinding/rattling (hard to describe) noise when shifting and cruising at low speeds. Is this the clutch or the transmission? No trouble shifting though. I got rear-ended by a big Lexus SUV last week, but wouldn't think that would have anything to do with it. Just damaged the bumper a little.
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My 2004 Subaru Outback has had the head gasket replaced, the O2 sensor replaced, spark plugs replaced. Still I cannot go up big hills anywhere near the speed limit. I think it may be the catalytic converter is bad from driving it with a leaky head gasket.
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I have a 2005 Subaru forester. It's got 127k and when I turn at slow speeds (like from a stop sign onto a main road) it shakes/vibrates. I called into Vox Pop when a mechanic was on the air last week and he said to check the serpentine belt. We did and it isn't loose/rotting, etc. What this might be?
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Is this dangerous? just started: subaru outback 2003...
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I have a 2003 Subaru outback and sometimes when I go to back into a parking space or straighten out after pulling into a parking space my steering wheel becomes incredibly difficult to turn. It used to only do this when I was backing into a space but now it has started doing it when I pull forward into a space as well. This happens most often when I am driving to multiple places and have to park several times over a period of a few hours. I've monitored my power steering fluid and the power steering pump was replaced not too long ago. What's causing this?
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My Outback gets the DTs in the steering wheel. 2003 with 300K highway miles. New tie-rods, brakes, brake master cylinder, alignment & balance (all from great shop with great rep) have failed to eliminate the problem. It comes on suddenly at highway speeds, usually in cold weather (below 20); but not necessarily in snowy conditions. Slowing down to 30/20 mph does not stop the shudder (though it slows and reveals itself as a fierce twitch to the right). Eventually the shudder is accompanied by a rhythmic scraping sound somewhere in the left front wheel well, which maybe is there all along but inaudible at higher speeds.
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Our 2000 Subaru Outback has just over 200k. We want a vehicle that is safe, but do not want to put a lot of money into this. At the last service the dealership said the left ball joint boot and power steering rack boots need to be replaced and the rear differential bushings are broken or loose. All of this would be > $1000 to repair. They said that the ball joint could get dirty and fail catastrophically and be a safety issue. Is that right or will the steering start to feel rough beforehand? Can we drive it safely?
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I have a 2009 Subaru Outback with 60K miles and this problem has been present since I purchased with 30K miles. When turning left or right over uneven surfaces (like washboard dirt road, potholes, or strips of Botts' dots in a parking garage) there is a loud, audible rattle coming from the front end. It sounds like to metal pipes hitting together. The noise does not happen when driving straight.
Subaru and another garage have inspected. Front struts and sway bar links have been replaced with no effect. CV joints, ball joints have all been inspected with no issues found.
I read on a forum that it may have something to do with the power steering fluid, that when turning there is uneven pressure on both sides and it results in the noise. Possible at the steering column universal joint.
I assume since it only happens to some Subarus that replacing the correct parts will resolve the issue.
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My outback has 57k miles on it and already needs the front struts and rack replaced (diagnosed today at the Subaru dealership). The car has been making a whining noise in the engine and has been clunking when making turns for the past week. I have also noticed it hasn't been taking bumps as smoothly. They told me that both ends of the rack are leaking and both front struts are leaking. My husband did admit to hitting the curb on the driver side front tire pretty hard while making a u-turn about a month ago, but all other driving is pretty standard. Yes, we drive on dirt roads in the mountains a few times a year for hiking, but don't drive in a manner that I consider wrong. Did the u-turn incident cause this? (hard to believe that would affect both sides of the rack and struts).
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