Check Engine Light problem

[Torris Abu Kir]

I have a 2000 Impreza Outback Sport; 43000 miles; Automatic trans

About a week ago the check engine light came on. Checked the manual: I
stopped and readjusted the gas cap and it turned off.

Then today I was out running errands and it came on again. So I tried
the gas cap trick; no dice. So I headed for home. About 2/3 of the way
there (driving about 5 miles); the Check Engine Light started blinking

What is the most likely problem? Can I drive it to the repair shop
(about a mile and a half from my house) or should I have it towed if I
start engine and the light still blinks

Other problem noticed was that the car drives smoothly at 40 to 50 MPH
but when stopped at traffic lights idles real rough like it could die
at any moment. Never had any idle problems before with this car

Thanks for any advice

 

[Jim Stewart]

I have a 2000 Impreza Outback Sport; 43000 miles; Automatic trans

About a week ago the check engine light came on. Checked the manual: I
stopped and readjusted the gas cap and it turned off.

Then today I was out running errands and it came on again. So I tried
the gas cap trick; no dice. So I headed for home. About 2/3 of the way
there (driving about 5 miles); the Check Engine Light started blinking

What is the most likely problem? Can I drive it to the repair shop
(about a mile and a half from my house) or should I have it towed if I
start engine and the light still blinks

Other problem noticed was that the car drives smoothly at 40 to 50 MPH
but when stopped at traffic lights idles real rough like it could die
at any moment. Never had any idle problems before with this car

Disclaimer: I am not a mechanic and this is not mechanic's
advise.

If it were my car and the oil pressure and water
temp were ok, I'd probably try do drive it. What's
the worst that could happen? Assuming a too-rich
mixture, maybe a damaged cat or oxygen sensor. I
could be wrong about this so you're on your own.

As to the most likely problem, it's impossible to
say. That's what the trouble codes are for and
there must be about 100 of them.

 

[Edward Hayes]

If the cars seems to run well without missing or dieing out then drive it to
the dealer.

 

[Alan]

A blkinking CEL indicates a serious condition, and the car should be driven
as little as possible. A solid CEL is just a pollution control problem.

 

[Torris Bin Drinken]

A blkinking CEL indicates a serious condition, and the car should be driven
as little as possible. A solid CEL is just a pollution control problem.

Could it be a muffler problem?

Torris






Torris

 

[Stripes]

I have a 2000 Impreza Outback Sport; 43000 miles; Automatic trans

Then today I was out running errands and it came on again. So I tried
the gas cap trick; no dice. So I headed for home. About 2/3 of the way
there (driving about 5 miles); the Check Engine Light started blinking

Is it just the idle that is "rough?" What exactly do you mean by "rough?"
Are the idle RPM higher than usual? Also, on some imprezas, the gas cap
sometimes fails to reset the engine light. In this case you can try
disconnecting the battery lead and reconnecting it. It's been known to
work. If the light indicates a serious problem, it will come back on,
anyway.

 

[Torris Bin Drinken]

Is it just the idle that is "rough?" What exactly do you mean by "rough?"
Are the idle RPM higher than usual? Also, on some imprezas, the gas cap
sometimes fails to reset the engine light. In this case you can try
disconnecting the battery lead and reconnecting it. It's been known to
work. If the light indicates a serious problem, it will come back on,
anyway.

Rough as in at stop lights the engine was sputtering to almost the
point of dying at any moment. From day one my Subaru has purred with
next to no sound, vibration whatsover.

I took it into the shop and here is what I had to have replaced:

Ignition coil and ignition coil assembly plus spark plug wires and
ignition wire set. B/c I have the extended warranty it only cost me
$80 instead of about $300

I asked the service tech if I had done anything wrong to cause this
igntion coil to "crack" (his words). He said normal road driving and
vibration caused it.

Anyone else run into this repair (Ignition coil) at under 50K miiles?




Torris

 

[Jim Untch]

I was going to suggest ignition coil, because that's exactly what happened
to my 99 Miata. On the Miata, when the coil went bad, it ruined my new cat
converter, which needs to be replaced under the 8 year/ 80K mile
warranty...so keep an eye on your cat converter...if it's bad, it'll show up
as a check engine light...hth...jim

 

[Torris Bin Drinken]

I was going to suggest ignition coil, because that's exactly what happened
to my 99 Miata. On the Miata, when the coil went bad, it ruined my new cat
converter, which needs to be replaced under the 8 year/ 80K mile
warranty...so keep an eye on your cat converter...if it's bad, it'll show up
as a check engine light...hth...jim
"Torris Bin Drinken" <(e-mail address removed)> wrote in message

If the cat converter goes bad will the car still run effectively (i.e.
smooth idling etc). I know I won't pass emissions test but will the
car still function on long distance trips?




Torris

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

Usually, you will have significant reduction in power under load; hills,
into the wind, cargo, etc. Plus the exhaust system may get very hot.

Carl
1 Lucky Texan

 

[H. Daniel Chesney]

I have a 2000 Impreza Outback Sport; 43000 miles; Automatic trans

About a week ago the check engine light came on. Checked the manual: I
stopped and readjusted the gas cap and it turned off.

Then today I was out running errands and it came on again. So I tried
the gas cap trick; no dice. So I headed for home. About 2/3 of the way
there (driving about 5 miles); the Check Engine Light started blinking

What is the most likely problem? Can I drive it to the repair shop
(about a mile and a half from my house) or should I have it towed if I
start engine and the light still blinks

Other problem noticed was that the car drives smoothly at 40 to 50 MPH
but when stopped at traffic lights idles real rough like it could die
at any moment. Never had any idle problems before with this car

Thanks for any advice

I had a 1999 Impreza RS 2.5 with the same symptoms. The dealer was never
able to fix it completely. I eventually had other problems that required
the Mass Air Flow sensor to be replaced out to warranty at a cost of
$800. As it turned out that also fixed my rough idle so I assume that it
was an early symptom of later troubles. The good news is that I was able
to recover my costs when Subaru announced a recall and an offer to
refund anyone who had had theirs replaced. My advice is to enquire if
this recall applies to your car and engine since many of the Subaru
models share the same engine. And if it does, insist that they replace
it. My later problems when it did finally fail also included damage that
I think was caused by the complete failure of the MAFS that caused the
car to run with a lean air fuel ratio under load.

 

[Foresterrob]

I had a 1999 Impreza RS 2.5 with the same symptoms. The dealer was never
able to fix it completely. I eventually had other problems that required
the Mass Air Flow sensor to be replaced out to warranty at a cost of
$800. As it turned out that also fixed my rough idle so I assume that it
was an early symptom of later troubles. The good news is that I was able
to recover my costs when Subaru announced a recall and an offer to
refund anyone who had had theirs replaced. My advice is to enquire if
this recall applies to your car and engine since many of the Subaru
models share the same engine. And if it does, insist that they replace
it. My later problems when it did finally fail also included damage that
I think was caused by the complete failure of the MAFS that caused the
car to run with a lean air fuel ratio under load.

I too had this problem after driving my 1999 Forestor essentially
non-stop for 10 hours. Continued driving with light on for next 2,000
miles no problem. Brought car to dealership for oil change and asked
them to plug it in to see what the light was about. They said charged
to do that would be $175. Drove another 2,000 miles with light on and
finally brought to indy garage. Plugged in, machine said engine not
firing correctly. Turns out sparkplug wire from distributor cap had
burned through. Wires replaced, light still on. Subsequent test
discovered knock sensor also fried. Mechanic fixed for free (since
they failed to catch it first time around.) Light still off.