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subaru transmission problems
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Our local dealer wasn't able to duplicate the problem, and they gave us a Subaru technical bulletin that says the shift flare is a "unique characteristic" of our automatic transmission. But we've had the car for more than two years and it never did this until a few weeks ago. It started shifting awkwardly in the cold weather--and now it does it pretty much every morning.
So is this just a harmless quirk in our transmission? Or are we looking at a serious--and expensive--problem? And what, exactly, should I have the dealer look at the next time I bring it into the shop?
The car has less than 28,000 miles on it, so I'm a little concerned/peeved that I may need a new transmission already. Any input would be greatly appreciated...
I'm currently in the process of deciding whether or not I want to purchase a '99 Forester AWD with an automatic transmission from my aunt. She's been letting me use the car over the past 6 weeks, so I can get a feel for it before I decide to buy it.
Over the past 3 weeks I've been noticing a few problems that I've previously never had with any car. *Please keep in mind I'm not that mechanically inclined so some of my descriptions of what's happening might not make perfect sense.
So here's whats happening: Occasionally when stopped at a light or stop sign, the idle gets rough, and the rpm's dip- sometimes this corrects itself and idling smooths out at the regular rpm, but sometimes the rpms just keep falling until the car stalls. At this point, I should mention there doesn't seem to be any loss of power like with alternator problems, and there are no problem restarting.
Another issue that seems like it might be related is that the car seems "jumpy" from time to time, like the rpms spike and then fall off a few times in a row. It's done this when accelerating and decelerating and generally seems to happen around 15-20 kmph.
These problems don't seem to coincide with a hot or cold engine- it's done it on both. Also no indicator lights come on.
The car had major engine work 2 months ago, and has since been back in the shop for issues with the fuel injection.
A friend of mine said it could be something related to fuel injection, torque converter, vacuum issues or something as simple as a dirty fuel filter.
Any hints as to what might need to be checked?? I'm reluctant to purchase the car as I'm scared it might end up being something expensive.
:confuse:
No check-engine light?
Thanks for your suggestions!
I have 05 Outback XT auto (41,500 miles) and same problem especially cold weather, but not all the time. Mine's hit even more 3500 RPM then I have to get off from pedal and it goes away.
Also I have 'Click' noise from 2 gear to 1 gearbox. Someone said it's release/lock for gearbox. Maybe it's true.
One more.. when I stop on D shift, there's pretty low RPm such as less than 700RPM. Dealer said that's normal..
Anyway I went dealer to check those problems then they changed transmission oil and something for $200, but still have same problem.
Maybe it is the way it is...
:confuse:
It is not likely that he replaced all the fluid. If he drained and then refilled with the amount that came out, then 3.75 quarts was replaced out of the total capacity of 10 quarts. To replace all the fluid at one time requires flushing equipment that only a dealer or transmission shop has.
To function properly, the transmission requires one of the fluids listed on Page 11-21 of the Owners Manual, which states:
"Genuine Subaru Automatic Transmission Fluid Type-HP.
IDEMITSU ATF HP.
Castrol Transmax J.
If the recommended automatic transmission
fluid is unavailable, Dexron III
may be temporarily used. If the Dexron
III is used continuously there will be a
noticeable increase in the vibration and
noise from the automatic transmission."
However, putting in 3.75 quarts of the wrong fluid would not prevent shifting of gears. But if for some reason the transmission is very low on fluid, that could affect shifting.
That was my primary thought as well.
Any advice?
The cure is to replace the transmission.
2004 Forester XT.
This does not help his 2007 Forester, but Subaru eliminated the transmission filter on the 2008 models, beginning in mid-year 2007. For 2008 they blanked off the filter opening with a wide threaded plug, and for 2009 the opening was cast closed.
It does seem amazing that the transmission could generate enough debris to clog the big filter and affect shifting. Now there is no filtering at all. Since the AT filter was "lifetime", perhaps there is really too little stuff to be worth filtering, too little stuff to ever clog the filter, and no real need for the filter.
I guess between Jiffy Lube mistaking the AT filter for the oil filter, and the shifting problems you attribute to the AT filter, Subaru decided it only caused trouble.
The friction caused by clutches and bands causes a lot of stuff to sluff off into the fluid. The passages and orifices for the hydraulic fluid are quite small and it doesn't take much to cause issues. A single fiber between a check-ball and its seat would cause problems. I find it really hard to believe that they wouldn't use SOME filter somewhere, and Subaru should not be immune to the reality of wear and the issues it causes.
> I have pulled down many trans pans (not Subaru) and every one of them
> had lots of crap in the bottom and on the filter/screen.
No doubt the Subaru transmission always has had an internal screen like other cars. But the unique discontinued external pleated paper filter was much finer.
I had a short shift kit installed on my 98 Forester so I was able to get a good look at it. It is the 13th item shown on this page, for reference:
http://subaruproparts.com/index.php?cPath=1_24_37_48
The OP did not report any material in his drain oil, which he put back in. That and the fact that his transmission spontaneously began to into gear again point away from syncros and more toward either external linkage or internal gear shims, bushings, etc.
I have heard the manual does not take good advantage of the torque available while the automatic does. But also heard the 4 speed automatic it’s an outdated transmission and does not offer good power ratios specially downhill.
Any recommendations?
You can get an X base or Premium with a 5 speed manual, though, but that's not the turbo.
Correct that to read "For 2009+ the XT only comes with an automatic."
Any recommendations?"
For very slow speed off-road, the manual does not have a low range like some 4WDs do. The automatic works better in these situations as it avoids abuse of the clutch. Serious off-road drivers prefer the automatic.
The automatic with only 4-speeds is poorly matched to the torque of the engine for performance driving. The automatic downshifts at the least demand for power, and would do much better if it's ratios were spread over 5 gears. However the automatic is a very good match for the higher-torque turbo engine, as it does not need to downshift except when floored.
At my mechanic's suggestion I had him flush it too. That didn't work and he said I'd have to get a new transmission or get rid of the car. He said a fix or a new transmission was not practical because the replacement would eventually have the same problem..
Has anyone found a solution? I was thinking about putting some thicker fluid in the transmission. What do you think about that? I don't have much to loose. Tnx, Karl
While it is true that a rebuilt or remanufactured transmission will indeed fail eventually, that failure is many years and hundreds of thousands of miles down the road. If the rest of your Forester is good and you want to keep it, then it is practical and cost effective to repair or replace the transmission. The best transmission with the longest warranty is a remanufactured one from Subaru.
It'll probably cost you what 6 car payments would cost, though, and you'll probably keep it a lot longer than 6 months!
Thanks for any help or suggestions.
So we are heading to ride K-1 electric go carts from hell and I hop on the 210 with the unit in "D" and apply a little more throttle to merge w traffic and next thing it acts as if I went WOT spins up to 5K plus RPM and does not find a gear until I take foot off gas and re apply....
I am very hesitant to recreat this scenario as it just plain does not seem healthy and or long term...
Help...Any thoughts,suggestions,links,people with similar issues?
Thanks for any replies!
Sounds like the transmission has lost a lot of fluid. Not good to drive it like that.
On the flat it does not accelerate well, even if I try to change manually. It seems to go right to top gear. Can hold it in first, but cannot hold it in 2nd or 3rd gear.
I have checked the fluid but it is hard to do; it does not show a positive level, but seems to be reading only the fluid in the filler pipe that is draining down, not a solid red fluid level like engine oil. I have put 3 quarts in already and it still does not show a solid color, although there is oil showing way above the top mark, with gaps in the oil as shown on the stick. I don't want to overfill it. No signs of any fluid leak externally and not long since I had it checked, but am not too confident in the shop that checked it, they screwed up a few things during the oil change and lube and could have missed this part.
Do I check it when the engine is running?
The car was bought used a month or two ago.
I agree with you on the vote of no-confidence in the shop. If they did not get an oil change right, don't trust them with anything else! There should be a good independent shop in the area that can properly diagnose your car.
So I dropped the fluid and spun a new filter on and did not make a difference.So I went for the "strainer" inside the pan and it was a mess lots of little black debris that I could only describe as looking like abrasive clutch type material...This bebris had to have benn slowing the fluid flow at the least and I would guess even enough to cavitate the pump...Put it back together and still the same performance wise.She is just gonna baby it along... Any other input would be appreciated as I appreciate your previous comments...Good stuff,great resource this site is! Lawrence
I still have the problem, the engine rpm will drop and no amount of throttle will bring it up. As if the engine is losing power or the gear is too high. If I manually select first gear it runs OK, accelerates and the rpm goes up to 6000 or whatever, but when I move the lever to second gear or higher the rpm drops and the car stops accelerating, as if the gear is going to 4th immediately. Once or twice it stalled out going up the drive even with first gear selected so i am not sure of the problem. I hope it is fluid loss or low level of fluid but am afraid it is worse.
No gear noises, and engine appears to be normal.
Check after some driving to warm up the transmission. Park with engine running, shift through all the gears a few times, put in P and check the stick. The stick should show solid fluid.
The transmission holds about 10 quarts, but a simple drain only removes just under 4 quarts. If your shop drained and forgot to refill the transmission, it could account for the poor shifting, and the fact that your adding 3 quarts did not show any solid fluid on the stick. The two marks on the stick are only about 1 pint apart, so if your transmission was still 1 quart low after you added fluid, solid fluid was still below the bottom of the stick.
I have towed the car to the shop and hope they can diagnose it better than I can.
Has anyone ever considered that it might be oxidized contacts on the shifter lever switch since it is an electronic not mechanical setup?
In a purely mechanical transmission this usually occurs when there is a delay in the third gear band engaging after the second gear band has released.
But the 2001 Forester Auto Tranny is computer controlled like many automatic transmissions nowadays. So it can be a computer glitch / bad software, oxidized contacts on the gear selector switch, sticky band apply solenoids, clogged / sticky accumulator valves, leaky servo pistons, etc.
I have always heard a "clack" noise from my Forester transmissions when going from second to third gear. On my higher mileage one the engagement of third gear is rough when the tranny is cool, but smoothes out when it is warm or hot.
Has anyone had any strange transmission behavior based on which brand of transmission fluid / oil they use ?