My car makes a high chatter sound when I shift from neutral to either first or reverse but no other time. what does that mean? should I stop driving it until I can get it looked at? it's not slipping or grinding at all, just makes a noise as I let the clutch out and engage the gear.
View 4 RepliesWhen I started my car and put it in reverse, it didn't move. It felt like my front, right wheel was in a divet or was being blocked somehow (intuitively it seemed like if I accelerated enough, it would eventually move, but since there was nothing physically stopping it - that I could see - I didn't want to break something by doing that). I tried putting it in drive and neutral and the same issue was still there. I put the car up on a jack and checked one wheel at a time - I could move each wheel completely around in both directions.
I could move the steering wheel all the way to the right and to the left. I tried turning off the 4-wheel drive and that didn't do anything. At this point I'm concerned it could be the transmission or the drive shaft, but I'm not sure what to look for in order to know if I need to get it towed to a shop (hoping I can avoid this) or if there's a simple test I can do, or a way to "reset" something if it may be locked. I haven't had anything happen to the car that would have been of concern.
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.
View 1 RepliesNoticing a somewhat regular sort of light tapping noise from Subaru CVT Outback, when slowing to stop or starting out?
Some days it's noticeable only for about a second after the clunk from shifting, often you can hear it a bit longer.
You can hear it best at about 1 min, and last 40 seconds of this short trip audio-clip.
2005 Subaru Outback Wagon just had 60,000 mi service, O-ring replaced. running fineran out of gas on HWY. CHP arrived 2 min before AAA and insisted on pushing me to next exit, at least 5 mi. Per copper's instructions, automatic transmission in neutral, brakes off. Now there is a steady new high-pitch to the background engine noise that doesn't change with speed. What happened and do I need to take it to the shop?
View 8 RepliesNeed 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.
Sometimes my car, a 2000 Subaru Outback Wagon with 115k miles, when stopped in drive will slip into neutral. It is an automatic and is still in drive when this happens. It does not happen on a consistent basis. It seems to happen more often when it is either wet outside or after it has rained. However, it does happen when the sun is shining brightly too. Sometimes when I am driving, there does feel as though there is a delay when I press on the gas almost as though it needed to kick itself into gear. Any thoughts on what this might be and why this is happening? It has been happening since last fall.
View 5 Repliesmy 2000 Subaru Outback Manual Transmission is stuck in neutral. I thought it might be the clutch so I pulled it out of the car and checked the clutch linkage etc. With the transmission fully removed from the car the shift lever does not move at all. My question is, if the transmission is fully removed from the engine should the shift lever function?
View 6 RepliesTransmission issues...2000 Subaru Outback AWD Automatic. Decelerate to a complete stop, and it just shifts to neutral...have to give it some gas before it pops into 1st gear again. Only seeing the issue when I decelerate all the way to a complete stop, or very near a complete stop. No issues with shifting from reverse into drive. Any solution beyond the $1800 for a new transmission?
View 2 RepliesMy 2004 Outback Wagon started making a loud whining sound the other day - but only in reverse. I've been told that it's the brakes.
View 2 RepliesSubie was driving fine...drove it on highway and went to park and NO reverse. At first, I couldn't shift into park either, but then I was able to shift in park. I can move the gear to reverse, but nothing happens (engine just revs and car wants to roll forward as it is on slight incline. Hubby checked trans fluid and it was a bit low, added fluid, but still no reverse.
View 3 RepliesYesterday I reversed my 1996 Subaru Outback (manual transmission) out of a perpendicular parking place on a hill, swung around forward and coasted down the hill. Near the bottom, I let out the clutch out without realizing I was still in reverse gear. It made a not-so-awful noise (sounding rather like engine braking) and I very quickly put it in neutral. I immediately smelled a fairly strong gasoline/exhaust aroma and the engine stalled.
The Subaru restarted without trouble, but the check engine light was on. Everything appears to function normally now, and I've reset the engine light by disconnecting the negative terminal of the battery for a few minutes.
Have I likely damaged anything? Is there anything I should check? Should I have tried to read the diagnostic code?
We bought a 2007 Outback in April of 2012 (~75,000 mi.). After a couple of oil changes I noticed that the oil consumption seemed high. The dealer looked for leaks and replaced the head gaskets under warranty. Oil consumption still seemed high. The dealer started monitoring the oil consumption checking it every 1000 miles for six months or so. Consumption was about 1 qt. for 1200 miles. Reluctantly they agreed to look at the rings (98,000 mi.). They found burnt oil rings and replaced them.
Oil consumption went down to 1 quart in 1800 miles (improvement of 600 miles). The engine was still under an extended warranty when this happened. I was claiming that the cylinder bores must have been out of spec to see such a small increase in oil consumption and that they should have given me a new short block or rebored the old one with new pistons to match. My question is, what kind of a result I should expect from a ring job? Am I correct in thinking that something else must be wrong with the engine if the oil consumption improved so little?
2002 Subaru Outback 4cyl auto trans 166.8K miles
Hearing a "clunk" lately when switching into reverse in the AM after starting the car. The transmission seems to drive completely normal otherwise. So I checked the trans fluid and it's fine. Then I started looking at mounts. Upper engine mount has about 1mm of play, lower mounts don't budge. Then I went to the transaxle mount and found that there seemed to be almost 2cm of space (can easily fit my fingers in there) between the stopper and the transaxle crossmember (picture attached). When I have someone put the car in reverse while I am underneath (obviously we have the brake / parking brake engaged so I don't get run over) I see this stopper move upward and can see the entire drive shaft move upwards also. Not just a few mm, but on the order of centimeters. I could not get the clunk to occur to see if I can hear where it comes from.
Is this space and movement in the stopper and drivetrain normal?
If it's not normal, could this cause the clunk to happen?
It it's not normal, should I have it repaired on this vehicle? Is it hurting anything / worth it long term?
If it's normal, any other advice on sorting out the clunk? It does it about 75% of the time I shift into reverse, but seems less likely when the car is warm.
My 1998 Ford Explorer XLT v6 with about 233,000 miles on it has a bit of a problem. Infrequently, when I shift into reverse from park or neutral the engine dies. It restarts without issue. There are no strange noises or smells when this happens.
The transmission was rebuilt 10,000 miles ago by a reputable mechanic. Almost all of the 230k+ miles are highway miles. Each trip around 40 miles.
About 2 months ago, I noticed a high pitched whine on my 2005 Subaru Outback. It honestly sounds like a siren and is very noticeable. It occurs more often when the car is cold (1st thing in the morning) and around 20 mph. It sounds like it is coming from the rear of my car. It occurs whether or not I am pressing on the gas pedal. Once I get above about 30-40 mph, I don't notice it anymore (don't know if this is because other engine noises are drowning it out or what). It does not change or get worse when I turn. It seems to subside once my car is warm. Other people have heard it and some describe it like an airplane taking off.
I took it to the Subaru dealership and they said it was my alternator. Lo and behold a few hundred dollars later, it was still making the noise. A few days later, my CAM sensor went bad and I was back in the shop. Of course, I tried to get my car to make the noise for the mechanic, but it wouldn't cooperate. They didn't see anything wrong, but it is still making the noise. I have taken it to the dealership and they couldn't get it to make the noise. My rear wheel bearings were going bad and so I replaced those - under warranty, but it still makes the noise. I keep up with all my oil changes, services, etc. I just had the fluids checked and the power steering fluid is normal. The power steering pump has also been checked and it is normal. What this might be?
I had a problem with the CV Axle and the Wheel Bearings. I replaced them already and I ran into another issue with the Wheel Studs and the Ball Joint, so I ended up replacing them as well. Yesterday I put everything back together after replacing all the parts mentioned before and I made sure everything was bolted down and tightened, and then the tire back on and lowered the jack. I started up my car expecting it to drive just fine and it was harder to get into gear than before and it wouldn't move in reverse, neutral, or drive. I called a Monroe Muffler around here and they told me that the CV Joint is probably not seated all the way inside the Transfer Case.
So later the same day I took everything back apart and made sure that I put the CV Joint back into the Transfer Case and I put the pin back in and made sure that both CV Axles would turn at the same time, which they did. I figured it was good so I put it all back together again and went through the same process as before, making sure everything was tightened down, all the bolts and nuts and pins were where they needed to be. Everything seemed to be good. I put the tire back on again, lowered the jack, started the car and attempted to drive it again. It still won't move. Why this is happening.
When I have the clutch depressed and start to let out as I'm either in reverse or in first gear it makes a clatter/chatter noise. It also occurs when I have the clutch depressed and just rev the engine and it's in neutral. Some days it's louder than others. It doesn't matter if the engine is cool or at normal temp.
View 7 RepliesMy 2003 subaru outback wagon, manual transmission, starting revving about 1500-2000 rpms higher than normal today. When I put the car in neutral, the car revs high sometimes increasing in rpms. Also when i left off the gas the car doesn't decrease in speed or rpms almost like the gas pedal is sticking. I revved the engine while in neutral a few times to try to see if I could get the rpms to drop but that didn't work. I had two belts changed yesterday (excluding the timing belt) and everything was fine with car until today, after driving 70 miles.
View 2 RepliesMy 2001 Outback has a jumpy thumping problem when making a 45 degree turn and when going in reverse. My mechanic has been unable to figure out what the problem is. It only happens once the car has been driven for a while
View 1 RepliesThis 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 ?