2009 Subaru Forrester over-revving on idle

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GPA
GPA
WA
2529 posts
GPA GPA
WA, 2529 posts
23 Mar 2011 11:18pm
Hi Guys,

The Missus has a manual 09 Forrester XS that seems to have a problem in that it over revs to about 2400 rpm on idle (when the clutch is in). Does it when the engine is cold or hot and with the air-con on or off - and it happens nearly every time you put the clutch in (say you are cruising through a car park looking for a bay). Car has done 44,000km and has not been abused.

It has been back to Subaru twice, but the Mrs has been told that this is normal and is supposedly meant to aid the fuel economy??!! They tweaked down the idle revs, but the problem remains...

Any ideas on what this may be??

Thanks
Dawn Patrol
Dawn Patrol
WA
1991 posts
WA, 1991 posts
24 Mar 2011 12:32am

Maybe take it to a subaru specialist (not Subaru). There are a couple of good places around perth.

Or go to www.ozfoz.com and search that site. Will be heaps of info.
Mark _australia
Mark _australia
WA
23695 posts
WA, 23695 posts
24 Mar 2011 8:33am
Before you do, check for air leaks on the throttle body and all the hoses leading off it. That would be one of the most likely causes
doggie
doggie
WA
15849 posts
WA, 15849 posts
24 Mar 2011 8:41am
Idle speed control motor usually. Im not a subaru expert but thats the usual culprit on injected cars.
NowindSurfer
NowindSurfer
WA
163 posts
WA, 163 posts
24 Mar 2011 9:31am
sound like a vacume hose mate. make sure there all on and not perforated.
Squid Lips
Squid Lips
WA
708 posts
WA, 708 posts
24 Mar 2011 10:28am
Doesn't a vacuum leak normally cause stalling? Or does that depend on whether it uses an airflow meter or MAP sensor?

Those Subaru guys sound clueless! You shouldn't really ever need to touch the idle adjustment unless things have been pulled apart and put back together.

Find out how to check error codes (usually by bridging two of the pins in the diagnostics connector then counting the flashes of the check engine light). Could be lots of things like throttle position sensor, coolant temp sensor. The guys at Subaru should have hooked up their diagnostics dealy to check that stuff but who knows.
doggie
doggie
WA
15849 posts
WA, 15849 posts
24 Mar 2011 10:36am
Go and see Simon @ Westcoast Auto Electrics ph-9328 3928
Gorgo
Gorgo
VIC
5125 posts
VIC, 5125 posts
24 Mar 2011 1:41pm
Dunno what the problem is but the response from the Subaru guys is bull. I have a 2000 Outback with over 250k on it and it purrs.

The car is still under warranty. Go and get emphatic with them and demand that they fix it. Make sure you can reproduce the problem before you go so you can show it happening, and prove that it is fixed after.
GPA
GPA
WA
2529 posts
GPA GPA
WA, 2529 posts
24 Mar 2011 12:35pm
^^^^
Thanks Guys - sounds like it is time for ME to take it in and speak with the Service Manager rather than having the Mrs being B.S'd too...

Thanks for taking the time to respond - it's at least given me some questions to ask them...
SandS
SandS
VIC
5904 posts
VIC, 5904 posts
24 Mar 2011 8:04pm
we have a suby , and the service crew at our closest dealer are absolute crap!

never again will we own one of these sh!t boxes.

after having a service it lost the flywheel off the crankshaft at 60 mile an hour and bent the crankshaft !

thousands of dollars later fixed.

omfg

I could go on and on, and probally will later after a few red cordials!

only my opinion, but is from experience .

over rated over priced lemons.
busterwa
busterwa
3782 posts
3782 posts
24 Mar 2011 5:45pm
my mate has one and has done 450,00 on clock on same motor.
i have a ford and its an absolute piece of ****. clutch was changed after 120k and it failed then it was changed and now its failed again. I was told that the clutch that FORD dealer put in was an aftermarket one and not an original ford one.
Rather own a subie than a ford.
SandS
SandS
VIC
5904 posts
VIC, 5904 posts
24 Mar 2011 8:51pm

thats funny , I was thinking of buying a ford, oh well maybe a holden ?

it probally depends on the staff at the service centers, your mate has lucked it in for good servicing maybe.
busterwa
busterwa
3782 posts
3782 posts
24 Mar 2011 5:54pm
holdens are a peice of snot aswell!
best of get a cheap hyundai with 5 year waranty then trade it in and get another 5 year waranty.
Mark _australia
Mark _australia
WA
23695 posts
WA, 23695 posts
24 Mar 2011 7:44pm
SandS said...

we have a suby , and the service crew at our closest dealer are absolute crap!

never again will we own one of these sh!t boxes.

after having a service it lost the flywheel off the crankshaft at 60 mile an hour and bent the crankshaft !

thousands of dollars later fixed.

omfg

I could go on and on, and probally will later after a few red cordials!

only my opinion, but is from experience .

over rated over priced lemons.


The general experience is that Subaru are very reliable - they crap all over Commondores and Foulcans in that respect. Ultra reliable, but parts and servicing more expensive so maybe it balances out.


Did that service involve a clutch job or flywheel machining?
If so it was the knob mechanics not doing the flywheel bolts properly, not the car.
doggie
doggie
WA
15849 posts
WA, 15849 posts
25 Mar 2011 8:53am
busterwa said...

holdens are a peice of snot aswell!
best of get a cheap hyundai with 5 year waranty then trade it in and get another 5 year waranty.


I work for Hyundai and they have the best warrenty program. Hilux for me next I think but have been looking at older forresters as well.

Holdens are ok but you need to look for good ones not ones that were built on Friday
Ben 555
Ben 555
NSW
456 posts
NSW, 456 posts
25 Mar 2011 12:27pm
SandS said...

we have a suby , and the service crew at our closest dealer are absolute crap!

never again will we own one of these sh!t boxes.

after having a service it lost the flywheel off the crankshaft at 60 mile an hour and bent the crankshaft !

thousands of dollars later fixed.

omfg

I could go on and on, and probally will later after a few red cordials!

only my opinion, but is from experience .

over rated over priced lemons.


Thats poor service - sorry to hear about that -
I confess to being a subi fan
My wife killed my beloved Liberty wagon (owned from new) at 200+K on the dial
With the exception of consumable wear items (radiator, clutch, starter, hoses) it never missed a beat despite the wifes repeated attempts to kill it
(me to wifey when I arrive home and smell disgusting white hot metal smell
"Darling you have cooked the car didnt you realise from the gauge"
wife resposnse
"well they should have a warning system to tell you"
I laughed / cried at the same time - but the subi lived on until she took out another vehicle)

exarch
exarch
50 posts
50 posts
25 Mar 2011 9:46am
I used to have a Tuned BY sti limited eddition wrx, best car i ever had.

sad once i sold it :(

anyway, i'd suggest jumping on the www.wrx.com.au forum they are not a bad bunch of people and might point you in the right direction
CMC
CMC
QLD
3954 posts
CMC CMC
QLD, 3954 posts
25 Mar 2011 1:14pm
I have said this on the SUP Forum as well but honestly buy a Toyota.

They sell twice as many cars as anyone else so if there were issues there'd be twice as many whingers.

But there's not, just more and more people buying Toyotas. #1 in Australia and the world by no accident at all.

Honestly, have you or someone close to you owned one and never had a problem and kind of regret selling it?
GPA
GPA
WA
2529 posts
GPA GPA
WA, 2529 posts
25 Mar 2011 1:41pm
busterwa said...

holdens are a peice of snot aswell!
best of get a cheap hyundai with 5 year waranty then trade it in and get another 5 year waranty.


Yep - just bought a late 2009 Getz for our daughter - low K's and still has over 3.5 yrs warranty. Had a look at a Barina - same K's and price, but was two years older and no warranty - and the build quality looked poor by comparison.
GPA
GPA
WA
2529 posts
GPA GPA
WA, 2529 posts
25 Mar 2011 1:41pm
exarch said...

I used to have a Tuned BY sti limited eddition wrx, best car i ever had.

sad once i sold it :(

anyway, i'd suggest jumping on the www.wrx.com.au forum they are not a bad bunch of people and might point you in the right direction


Thanks for the tip - will do. Cheers...
doggie
doggie
WA
15849 posts
WA, 15849 posts
25 Mar 2011 2:05pm
GPA said...

busterwa said...

holdens are a peice of snot aswell!
best of get a cheap hyundai with 5 year waranty then trade it in and get another 5 year waranty.


Yep - just bought a late 2009 Getz for our daughter - low K's and still has over 3.5 yrs warranty. Had a look at a Barina - same K's and price, but was two years older and no warranty - and the build quality looked poor by comparison.


I knew that you would go for the Getz, no bool shiz they are the best first car. In fact if you didnt do lots of 100kmh + highway runs they really are the best way to go
Walt
Walt
264 posts
264 posts
25 Mar 2011 3:11pm
Hey GPA

It might need a Throttle clean this will idle the car smoother and may calm the idle down to normal revs.

This clean is cheap and done without removing major parts so it can be done buy Subaru in a few minutes I think.

Ask the question to the service manager

hope you get to the bottom of it

Kind Regards
Walt
GPA
GPA
WA
2529 posts
GPA GPA
WA, 2529 posts
25 Mar 2011 3:42pm
doggie said...

GPA said...

busterwa said...

holdens are a peice of snot aswell!
best of get a cheap hyundai with 5 year waranty then trade it in and get another 5 year waranty.


Yep - just bought a late 2009 Getz for our daughter - low K's and still has over 3.5 yrs warranty. Had a look at a Barina - same K's and price, but was two years older and no warranty - and the build quality looked poor by comparison.


I knew that you would go for the Getz, no bool shiz they are the best first car. In fact if you didnt do lots of 100kmh + highway runs they really are the best way to go


hey Doggie. Mate, I ended up with the 1.4 S 5 spd 3dr and took it for a fair test drive... I couldn't believe how impressed I was. It had enough room in the back for me behind the drivers seat (set in my position), and whilst it won't win any races, went through the gears well and was very smooth to drive. We paid less than $10,000 drive away for a show room condition car with nearly 4yrs manufacturer's warranty and full mechanical check and detailed. Pretty happy with that - and I sure the girl will be - cause it's RED!
GPA
GPA
WA
2529 posts
GPA GPA
WA, 2529 posts
25 Mar 2011 3:45pm
Walt said...

Hey GPA

It might need a Throttle clean this will idle the car smoother and may calm the idle down to normal revs.

This clean is cheap and done without removing major parts so it can be done buy Subaru in a few minutes I think.

Ask the question to the service manager

hope you get to the bottom of it

Kind Regards
Walt


Thanks Walt,

I'm compiling a list of all suggestions to take back to them - I'll certainly add yours to the list.

Cheers.
SandS
SandS
VIC
5904 posts
VIC, 5904 posts
25 Mar 2011 6:53pm
Mark _australia said...

SandS said...

we have a suby , and the service crew at our closest dealer are absolute crap!

never again will we own one of these sh!t boxes.

after having a service it lost the flywheel off the crankshaft at 60 mile an hour and bent the crankshaft !

thousands of dollars later fixed.

omfg

I could go on and on, and probally will later after a few red cordials!

only my opinion, but is from experience .

over rated over priced lemons.


The general experience is that Subaru are very reliable - they crap all over Commondores and Foulcans in that respect. Ultra reliable, but parts and servicing more expensive so maybe it balances out.


Did that service involve a clutch job or flywheel machining?
If so it was the knob mechanics not doing the flywheel bolts properly, not the car.


No, just a stock service , but about 20000 ks before the timeing belt was done by a nob mechanic. but really, if you have a good suby service centre near you, your a lucky man.
Mark _australia
Mark _australia
WA
23695 posts
WA, 23695 posts
25 Mar 2011 6:39pm
Sands, firstly I never go to dealers unless I have to - you spend longer fixing all their mistakes you find months later - like sump plugs done up with a rattle gun and not replacing a 10cent consumable washer leading to total clutch system failure being two of my recent examples [}:)]

Flywheels don't fall off - - so I hope they paid for all of it!!

If was in a capital city and still had a Subaru I'd go to one of the workshops that does lots of performance work on WRX or one of the rally team's businesses as they know the stuff inside out and back to front..... and won't feed you BS like dealership service depts will
jenkz
jenkz
WA
793 posts
WA, 793 posts
25 Mar 2011 9:04pm
Possibly coolant temp sensor on the way out. Also check in the throttle body and see if you have a carbon build up. If there is visible carbon then its a good chance your idle speed control motor isn't sealing properly. Simple fix to drop out the ISC and clean out with throttle body cleaner. Otherwise take it to a competent auto electrician instead of the dealer. Thats where they usually end up anyway.
BarryDawson
BarryDawson
WA
175 posts
WA, 175 posts
26 Mar 2011 1:18pm
Well guys, we can all hypothesis for hours on end about what is wrong with a vehicle we can't see. The fault could be any of the items that have all been previously mentioned, vacuum line disconnected (a trained ear on a late model car will pick that up pretty quick) idle speed control motor carboned or faulty, blocked throttle body, coolant temp sensor faulty (signalling to ecu cold engine temp and stepping up idle speed to warm up). Other things such as map sensor disconnected (can't remember if this system runs it or an air flow meter) which will put the ecu in to a over fuel situation or even the ecu may be at fault itself.

IMHO the only way to resolve this issue is to talk to a few people in the trade, the dealer or an auto electrician. Once you have spoken to a few reputable people you will eventually feel comfortable with one of them. Take your car to them and trust your instincts because at the end of the day no matter what, you are going to have to take this vehicle somewhere.

The general problem is that everybody has a story about how they were mistreated or taken advantage of over car repairs and/or have been burnt in the past. This combined with car repairs being a grudge purchase (lets face it who wants to spend money to fix a car) creates a tension between the customer and the repair centre generally as the customer walks in the door. The story about the Subaru flywheel is a classic example, one poor experience (albiet extreme and obviously massively costly and inconvenient) does not mean all Subarus are "overrated over priced lemons". I have four Subaru vehicles in my family (one Audi, one Toyota, one VT Commodore, two Nissan's and a couple of motorbikes aswell) and also carry out repairs for a Subaru dealer and I find they are extremely reliable and well built vehicles. Toyota, Nissan, Mazda and Volkswagen I also rate very highly.

As mentioned before find a reputable repairer you trust, RAC and/or MTA approved repairers with valid Motor Vehicle Repair Business licences are the things to look for, take your vehicle to them and openly discuss your issues with them. Be open minded and remember these people have invested major amounts of money in training, government licences, equipment, premises and diagnostic equipment just to mention a few and they will need to charge you the appropriate fees so that they can be there for you the next time your vehicle breaks down aswell.

Let us know the hopefully happy outcome.
Elroy Jetson
Elroy Jetson
WA
706 posts
WA, 706 posts
26 Mar 2011 1:54pm
50 bux and the problem is solved

You will be wanting the car to rev high with this device:

GPA
GPA
WA
2529 posts
GPA GPA
WA, 2529 posts
26 Mar 2011 4:58pm
BarryDawson said...

Well guys, we can all hypothesis for hours on end about what is wrong with a vehicle we can't see. The fault could be any of the items that have all been previously mentioned...

IMHO the only way to resolve this issue is to talk to a few people in the trade, the dealer or an auto electrician. Once you have spoken to a few reputable people you will eventually feel comfortable with one of them. Take your car to them and trust your instincts because at the end of the day no matter what, you are going to have to take this vehicle somewhere....



Thanks BD... the limit of my mechanical know-how stopped at the Holden red engine - so I'm just trying to get some ideas to take back to the Subaru service centre, as i'm not confident that they have given it due attention...

Cheers (and yes, will post back once resolved).
GPA
SandS
SandS
VIC
5904 posts
VIC, 5904 posts
26 Mar 2011 11:59pm
GPA said...

BarryDawson said...

Well guys, we can all hypothesis for hours on end about what is wrong with a vehicle we can't see. The fault could be any of the items that have all been previously mentioned...

IMHO the only way to resolve this issue is to talk to a few people in the trade, the dealer or an auto electrician. Once you have spoken to a few reputable people you will eventually feel comfortable with one of them. Take your car to them and trust your instincts because at the end of the day no matter what, you are going to have to take this vehicle somewhere....



Thanks BD... the limit of my mechanical know-how stopped at the Holden red engine - so I'm just trying to get some ideas to take back to the Subaru service centre, as i'm not confident that they have given it due attention...

Cheers (and yes, will post back once resolved).
GPA


you are on the right track there, no confidence in subaru is the correct answer!!
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