Subaru - Outback - Fuel-economy :: What Is Causing MPG Drop And Power Loss
Feb 8, 2011
My 2001 L.L.Bean Edition H6-3.0 is losing power & MPG on the fwy. Sometimes it will feel like something is holding it back or dragging. I've checked the brake calipers and they're not sticking, changed the air filter, oil & filter, transmission fluid, and still cannot find the problem. I've overfilled the gas tank and read this can damage the charcoal canister. Will a saturated charcoal canister cause a drop in power and MPG? What should I check out next?
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Our 2010 Prius just had the brake booster recall done and I also installed new pads and rotors. The car now has issues with the front brakes dragging excessively causing lack of power and poor fuel economy. There are no codes and everything else checks out okay, the brakes function fine. Is there anything on these cars that would cause brake drag after a new brake install? I just want to ensure there isn't something I can do before I bring it to the Toyota dealer.
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I have a 97' hyundai tiburon, I have multiple misfires that are p301 302 304 and rich airflow. I have changed the coil pack, spark plugs and wires, and the MAF sensor. Basically my car doesn't accelerate fast or go over 40(max), it putters when i try to accelerate.
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I have a 2008 prius. Usually it gets me around 52-55mpg, I've had it since January. Since a couple of days ago its not giving me anything above 49. I know thats a normal number, but considering the fact that its usually quite a bit higher I'm wondering what the cause of the drop is. Also around the same time, when I pull out of my driveway I notice what appears to be a bit of water leakage. Its under the vehicle in the front center, and it only happens when I start the car for the day and pull out of my driveway (its on an incline).
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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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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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1999 Outback 2.5, idles fine but bogs or loss of power when stepping on throttle. Can "feather" or tease to get going and will hold rpm once it gets there...
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2006 gen II base w/ about 90k miles. Jump in, big scare triangle with multiple other dash lights. POA80 and PO319 codes. Traction battery fail. Fortunately, I was just under the warranty limit (8yrs).
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So, I had a catback Magnaflow exhaust put on my Tiguan a while back and ever since then my mileage has gone from a steady 28 highway to 15!!! its a crazy loss in fuel, and I brought it to the shop and they said there is nothing they can find....
My first thoughts are that the turbo is under boosting because of the amount of carbon build up on the exhaust tips....
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Noticed a loss in fuel economy after a CAI install??
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I have an '06 Subaru Forester (4 cyl, automatic) with about 97,000 miles on it. For the past 5 years I've had the car, it's been getting roughly 26-28 mpg on average. Within the past 3-4 months, though, the fuel economy has dramatically decreased. Now, I'm lucky if I get 21 mpg. (I used to be able to get almost 350 miles per tank, and now if I make it to 275 I'm jumping for joy!)
I took my car to the shop for the 90K service, and they didn't change the fuel filter as a part of that service. (They did replace the coolant, replace oil & filter, replace spark plugs, replace differential fluid front & rear, replace brake fluid, replace auto transaxle fluid, and then they did a bunch of inspections on belts, hoses, brakes, etc.)
I took the car back to the shop after this service so they could change the fuel filter, and they told me that because of the type of fuel filter I have, it should last the lifetime of the car. This sounded a little fishy to me, so is this true?
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After my electric water pump was replaced under the recall my mileage went from 45 mpg to about 30 mpg. Part of this might be due to new tires and cold snowy weather (CT !) but I have never seen such a drastic drop in performance (2005 Prius).
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I have a 2002 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS with about 151,000 miles on it. And it's an auto. I recently took it to about 5.3K rpms on a stretch and it occurred to me that I might be pushing the engine a little too hard. My oil was all fine, and the engine was plenty warm, I had been driving for about 10 minutes but still. I also don't do this too much maybe like 1-2 times/month but I sort of get paranoid about these things.
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I have a 2000 Subaru Legacy Outback with 208,000 miles. Last Oct I had a complete tune up done on it: fluids, filters, spark plugs, etc. Ever since then, the gas mileage has dropped from getting around 390-400 miles off a full tank to 290-300 miles off a full tank. I have tried carburetor and fuel injector cleaners and nothing is working. At this same time, it also started idling at 1750 rpms every time I start it, dropping down to around 750-900 rpms after I put it in gear. The timing system was replaced about 7 months earlier. So far the repair shops can't find anything wrong. I also just had the transmission rebuilt and it's still idling fast.
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I have a 2004 Suburu Outback with a throttle positioning sensor (TPS) instead of a cable. Intermittently, I lose my throttle. At the same time my check engine light goes on and my cruise control button has a flashing light and my cruise control does not function.. I coast off the road, place the transmission in park, turn "OFF" the engine, wait 15 seconds and restart the engine. The throttle control works and I go on my merry way. After a few hours of driving, the check engine light goes out and the cruise control functions again. This incident occurs about once a week. I have 145,000 on the engine.
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Over the last 6 months I've have to add at least a couple quarts of oil between oil changes but I can't figure out where it's going. it's not burning oil (as far as I can tell) nor can I detect any leaks. I thought it might be a head gasket but I would have assumed I would see some oil residue around the crank case but it looks relatively clean. the car has 174K miles and is otherwise in good running condition. Why I can to add so much oil? I'm also using high-mileage oil for each oil change.
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One of the fuel lines on our 2007 Subaru Outback needed to be replaced (rodent damage). Now the car reeks of gasoline. The dealer said it will take time to dissipate. How we can speed up the process?
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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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115,000 miles, adult driven. Hard cranking, took into dealer. Replaced 4 injectors - cylinder 2 misfiring. Showed me return gas line clogged with brownish material. Dealer stymied.
Now, Subaru headquarters diagnoses replacing all steel fuel lines, fuel rails, fuel pump...full of rust from inside. Tank looks Ok, as does filler neck. Premium gas used always, added Drygas seasonally as needed.
Question: where the heck would rust come from? What can I do to prevent this problem again? Love the car...would like to get 200,000 from it.
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About 2 months ago, I needed to test my engine cooling fan motor. Was using two lead test wires with alligator clips and stupidly connected the battery ends first and then the wind blew the other connection ends together creating a spark. That may or may not have anything to do with what has happened since then. About 3 days after that, I started to notice that my lights were dimming and ac fan motor was slowing when the engine was under load as in 1st or 2nd gear or going uphill.
After about a week, the ALT/BAT light came on and I replaced my alternator. The problem with that was that getting the belt back on the new ALT nearly killed me and I got several pretty bad injuries and ended up having to get it done. The old alternator tested bad so I figured my problem was solved. But ever since then, I am still getting the same problem - a voltage drop or loss of electrical power causing the lights to dim and the fan to slow - except this time is doesn't happen under load - it happens while driving and just after I have come to a stop at a light or stop sign. I have had the battery and alternator tested several times and they always show up as being fine.
I checked all the cables and connections and changed the positive battery cable bolt. I get no codes thrown. I cant just take the alternator out and change it because of what I went through with the last one - not to mention it tests OK so I can't use the warranty as long as that is the case anyway. So I am left with this troubling, annoying problem and don't know what the cause or solution is. I am guessing the list of options has to have the alternator, battery, connections, belt (though I have no sounds or evidence there is a problem with the belt - I suppose if the tensioner was damaged with the belt fiasco that it might cause such a problem). What to do? It is the biggest problem at night because my headlights are affected.
2001 Cavalier 5-speed manual 2.2
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I recently had the high and low pressure tubes on my power steering fail causing a total loss of fluid. After about a week of living with manual steering, I brought it in and had the tubing replaced. Everything worked fine, though the steering felt a bit sloppy to me. Today, on my way home from a 100 mile trip, the car decided that turning left just wasn't something it wanted to do.
So to turn left, I would have to back up and turn the wheels to the right. Not exactly an efficient way to drive in traffic. Do I try to get the car back into my mechanics place to see if he can fix it for a reasonable amount, or should just bite the bullet and look for a newer car? BTW when I had brought the car in for the tubing replacement, they showed me where the bracket holding the strut on the left had begun to crack, probably from driving without the power steering. 1998 Malibu LS ....
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