I'm getting smoke from the catalytic converter area on my 2001 Subaru Forester. The smoke smells of rubber or oil. I've only noticed it after the car has been driven up a long, steep incline of at least a couple of miles. I've never seen it happen after normal highway driving. The car runs fine, gas mileage is good, CE light is not on, 85K miles, regularly serviced.
View 2 RepliesOn my 2002 Subaru Forester (137,000 m), the check engine light came on. They diagnosed and repaired O2 sensor. About 300 miles later it came on again, this time they said the catalytic converter was cooked, and they blamed whatever caused the O2 sensor to fail (or the O2 sensor failure itself). After the repair (about $1300 and 30 miles later), I discovered that the engine oil was so low that it was not showing up on the dipstick (tho the oil light was not yet on). The shop (after admitting that they did not check the oil while it was in there) said it was related to catalytic converter failure. Does this make sense? I have only gone another 60 miles since the oil was refilled, but so far it looks OK. Should I be on the look-out for anything else?
View 16 Replies2001 sub forrester. In 2009 it was intermittently stuttering: tuneup, new coil, finally O2 sensor (both) replaced which fixed it. In Oct started to do the same thing. First the back then the front sensor replaced but they commented the flow was low on the catalytic converter but wouldn't say it could be the cause of the sensor issue. Now the O2 sensors are on either end of the converter and the car is starting with early signs already. Is is reasonable that it is the catalytic converter? I am wrestling with just having them do the full tuneup and replace the converter or am I crazy?
View 7 RepliesMy 2000 Forester has 96,000 miles on it. A few months ago, the CEL came on. At first it would turn off every couple of days but would eventually pop back on. I first thought it was tied to putting gas in the car, now I think it was just a coincidence.
Over the past two months, I have replaced the catalytic converter with a aftermarket piece (done by a mom and pop muffler shop) and replaced the front o2 sensor three times. The first two times, I used Bosch sensors from an auto parts store and had the code cleared. After about 50 miles the CEL came back on. Just yesterday, I picked my car up from the dealership where they installed a Subaru fron o2. After about 30 miles, the light is back on again. Code is P0133 - heated oxygen sensor, bank 1 sensor 1, circuit slow response.
Now, the dealership is suggesting I need to replace the catalytic converter with a Subaru converter before they can source the issue.
We have a 2006 impreza, that we've been told the Catalytic converter is going out. We cannot seem to determine if there are one or two converters on this car, and want to know if this is something that we could do ourselves once we find out where everything is at?
View 18 RepliesSo I am trying to figure out where my AC system has failed in my car.
The back story is: While I was on a road trip down to southern Utah in the middle of summer (you know, painfully hot desert area), my whole AC system felt the need to blow up in my face.
It all started when I pulled over for gas and noticed a giant puddle of water under my car. Then when I got back on the road, the system was still blowing air, but it was no longer cold (yes the AC was still on). A few miles later the fan stopped blowing all together. Then windows down, riding through the desert, a passerby shouted through my window that my car was smoking, I pulled over to find my AC compressor belt lying on the road under my car.
Now I would love to repair it but I don't know where to start. I have replaced the fuses to no avail (at least the interior ones labeled "blower", but they also seemed to be intact upon a visual inspection).
I have noticed that while on the highway the vents will produce air (not blow it though) of the temperature the gauge is set on (I assume that matters). Also, the AC button under the vent control (air speed) does not appear to light up.
Heard a funny intermittent rattle and my mechanic told me that my check engine light should be going on any time now as my cat converter is bad. The part is about a thousand bucks! Looked on line and see some aftermarket ones from walker and some other retailers. My car has 103K miles on it,.
View 17 Repliesengine light and flashing cruise control switch--computer says replace bank one---so I replace with factory catalytic converter----six months later light comes back on with flashing cruise control switch and computer asking me to replace bank one---So I use computer to shut light off----four weeks later light comes back on----called dealer they said "we usually replace both banks"---I found it most painful paying for dealer supplied catalytic converter even when I was under the impression that it would keep light off.---This is my wife's car and she is not really buying the piece of black electrical tape I placed on dash over check engine light.---Am I dealing with a bad oxygen sensor ?
View 5 RepliesJust picked my 2010 Subaru Forester up from getting an oil change. Drove about 3 miles. Car began smoking at a busy red light. Smoke in driver compartment and coming from engine compartment; oil light came on. Luckily, I was less than a block from my mechanic's garage and drove straight there. He said the oil filter "didn't seat" (did they put a little oil on the gasket??). At least 1/2 quart of oil leaked out after I stopped vehicle. What should I expect in terms of damage?
View 17 RepliesMy exhaust on my 01 was rattling. It was coming from the catalytic converter, I assumed it was the heat shield. Put it up on the lift and lo and behold it was something in the cat that was rattling. I was popping a code for the cat anyways so figured I'd just swap it out. Fast forward to tonight. I get the car back up on the lift and I wiggle the cat but no rattling? I go farther back to the first muffler/resonator now it's rattling. It's not a hanger or a heat shield or metal to metal on the outside, there is obviously something of substantial mass inside of it I can almost feel where it is by wiggling around. I chose to wait and cut the exhaust up a different night because I plan on taking that section out as well now, hoping to get out whatever is rattling. If not I'll just have some spare pipe on hand to replace it.
View 6 RepliesCar is a 2001 MK4 Jetta with 2.0 Auto Tranny and 120k miles, stock exhaust
A little over a year ago I was getting a cel and the code that was being thrown was a DTC 16804. I changed the cat and both o2 sensors and the light went away for almost a year. The other day I was driving and the light came on again. Scanned the car and its the same 16804 code. I replaced the front o2 sensor thinking it was bank 1 but it didn't solve the problem. I clear the code and it comes back the next day. I'm finding it hard to believe that the cat is bad after only a year. I checked for vacuum leaks, faulty MAF and nothing under the hood looks out of whack. My mission is up next month and the car won't pass with this code.
I have a 2012 Subaru Forester with 27,000 miles on it. It has a rattle that started out in the glovebox area, and has migrated to areas around the dash, center console, liner by the sunroof control etc...I have had the car in the shop 5+ times, the last time being a week and a half. Everyone is baffled by this rattle. It seems to come and go. The glovebox liner was replaced, and other areas insulated, yet it still rattles, although it is not consistent.
View 3 RepliesThis is my first Subaru, and I absolutely love the vehicle; however, because of it, I'm very new to its mechanics. I bought it used from a friend, and I've been driving it for three weeks now, now this noise has come up and I want to verify what needs to be fixed before I start taking things apart. Perhaps you all know what noise this is coming from the compressor/ac idler pulley area?Here are a couple of videos.
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In case it does somehow matter, one of my knowledgeable friends asked me if it makes more noise when I turn, and the answer is no. Also, the noise does not come through the speakers, and from what I understand, that eliminates an alternator problem.
Well, we let my son take our 2009 Subaru Forester across the country to college, and of course, the car seems to be having issues now. He says he is hearing a "sloshing" sound under the car towards the rear (cargo area) whenever he stops or goes over speed bumps. He insists that he has looked under seats and in crevices for loose items with liquid in them, and nothing. He also hasn't noticed (yet) any spots on the ground under the car.
View 6 RepliesWhere do I start. I have a 2001 Nissan Sentra. 128,000 miles. In Aug. of last year, the engine detonated, so I had it replaced along with other parts. Shortly after that, I noticed a burning plastic smell coming from the car after driving it for a while. I confirmed that that the smell wasn't coming from a plastic bag. Fast forward to Dec 2011, my check engine light comes on. I go to Autozone, have the code read; it's the dreaded 420 code. I go to have it checked out, was told my cat went bad and probably because of the old engine and that the smell is probably coming from that.
The check engine light went off on Christmas day. Fast forward to last month, the light comes on again and I pony up the cash to have the cat replaced since inspection is coming up in June. Now, I had an engine diagnostic run right before I got the cat replaced and it came up fine. The cat was replaced on 4/20. Everything seemed fine. The burning plastic smell went a way, but lo and behold, it came back this week. I don't know what to do. I did a little search on the net and it seems that burning plastic smell indicates there is something going on with engine and possible misfire.
After hearing some loud noise coming from my exhaust system, it was determined that there is a hole (from rust) in part of the cat. assembly. Three shops advised for replacement, there are no aftermarket products for this unit. I have NOT gotten any error codes, the only problem is the noise. What to do? The car is 10 years old with 86000 miles. I have been reading about some of you getting just the one piece and having it welded on, but I do not believe any of the shops here will do that, and indicated that it would be a very temporary fix.
View 17 RepliesWhat is causing this strange noise. I have an old 1998 Subaru Impreza that runs well but has this mystery squeaking noise coming from the area near the front left of the car. It seems to happen most on cold, dry days, and I can hear it when the car shakes, but only when it is driving, never at rest. I can usually make the noise if I let up on the gas while still in gear, and it happens sometimes while going over bumps, but typically only if the bump only affects one side of the car. If I am accelerating quickly or braking, the noise usually doesn't happen. It also usually only happens when I am in gear and have the gas pedal pressed, but it can still happens on bumps even if the car is in neutral, the noise is usually much quieter if the car isn't in gear.
I can't tell if the noise is coming from inside or outside of the car, but it seems to be louder inside and I can't hear anything from outside when driving through a parking garage with my windows down.Now this noise first appeared a few days after I got my clutch plate, fly wheel and axles replaced several months ago but I haven't been able to find anything on my own and the shop said they didn't see anything that could be causing it.I have included a recording I took while driving, if you listen its the high pitched squeaking. So far the only thing I have done is checked the sway bar and bushings and those are all in good condition and covered in lube.
Both seats stopped heating at the same time. The lights on the switches don't light up anymore either. Winter is coming to Colorado- where do I start to try to figure out the problem?
View 2 RepliesRecently had a quickie oil change on my Forester (manual, 118K, blue) and have just noticed an unusual noise. After I drive a bit and the engine warms I hear a whir or whine even though the RPMs are normal. What I've learned is that the whir/whine isn't heard when I first drive the car (when it's cold), it increases in pitch with increased speed, and is most noticeable at 35/40 mph and above. The noise remains upon deceleration but decreases in pitch, and then goes away altogether when the car comes to a stop and idle.
View 3 RepliesMy son has a 2001 Subaru Forester that has a 5 speed manual transmission (transaxle) that is leaking from the drive axles . The question is how difficult is it to change these seals?
View 2 RepliesMy son has a 2001 Forester that's engine will from time to time suddenly rev up while driving on the highway as if the clutch was suddenly disengaged. The clutch only has about 20,000 miles on it and there is no burned clutch smell. What else could this be?
View 7 Replies