Stevo F

Thank you. Actually have a receipt showing the drivers rear bearing was done 2 years along with a new backing plate. The previous owner actually had ordered both rear backing plates so I have the passengers rear one ready to go when/ if the hearing gets replaced

For 2013, watch for issues with that CVT transmission. The FB25 engine shouldn’t have as many headgasket issues as the EJ25, and has a timing chain, but a few 2013’s has high oil consumption issues( more common on 2011 and 2014’s)

My latest Subaru noise is an a steady whine which starts around 40 MPH with a lower pitch and the pitch gets higher as you go faster. This has becomes really noticeable over the past several thousand miles (we bought it used at 223K miles). 2003 Forester XS, automatic, currently with 232K miles I tested the car in front wheel drive with no change in the noise (which makes me thinking not likely to be a differential or u- joint issues). I put the spare on the passengers rear with no change in the noise. The tires as all in decent physical condition and even wear (Michelin Defenders with 60% tread). I have receipts showing both front and driver's rear wheel bearings were replaced by the previous owner, but I believe the passenger's side rear is original. However, the noise doesn't really change on turns, except a little scraping noise on right turns (when there is the most force on the passengers rear, but that's been there since we bought it and I know the backing plate is a bit rusty). I.m thinking of sending my son back to college on Monday in this car since his Legacy GT has the airbag light on again and I want him in something safe until we can diagnose that problem. I want to make sure this isn't going to become a serious issue down the road if we let my son take it. Please got to the link below and have a listen. A bit of background noise, but you can hear the lower pitched whine.

Got you. I replaced the plug on mine but it still has the airbag light so I'm still searching for a way diagnose it too.

I'm dealing with the same issue with my '98 Legacy GT (you may see my topic posted earlier today). Unfortunately our cars didn't give very detailed error codes and 12 is pretty general. When this issue first popped up last summer, I focused on the plug under the drivers seat that connects the driver's seat belt to the SRS airbag system. I unpligged and replugged it a few times and the problem went away. It returned yesterday and I am focusing on that plug as the problem again. I plan to clean with electrical cleaner and replug a few times. If that doesn't work, I may replaced the plug itself (it's only 2 wires) with something similar and see what that does. But definitely check the plug first as it is semi exposed to the driver's feet and stuff rolling under the seat so it is the most susceptible to being loosened. I also recently had an airbag light on our 2003 Forester and I found my wife left a water bottle rolling around under there. I made sure the plug was dry, plugged it back in and the airbag light is now going off.

I got it to go away by unplugging and replugging the plug under the driver's seat a few times, but now the light randomly came back on yesterday. I've unplugged and replugged the connector under the driver's seat numerous times to no avail. I'm thinking there may be damage to the wires at the plug. Would there be any harm in just cutting the plug out entirely and attaching a couple of spade connectors to the wires (there are just 2 wires feeding in to this connector on this car) so the wires could still be disconnected if the seat were to be removed? Are there any safety or legal concerns in doing a repair like this? Would I have to get a replacement plug like what's under there instead of the spade connectors. I hesitate to do the spade connector fix as I haven't read about many people doing that as a fix for this problem (seems almost to simple a fix, so maybe I'm missing something). I'd like to fix it this weekend as my son would like to take the car back to college, but I'll need to have him take a different car unless this is fixed, and fixed permanently.

Make sure grounding connections are clean or add extra ground cables

No other noises when stopping or turning that I can hear. Hard to tell the frequency of the vibration, but it feels like it's in the whole car, rather than originating from one point. I've have to try putting it in neutral and applying the brake sot see if anything changes. I have no service history on this car other than the engine replacement, so I'm guessing some or all of the wheel bearings are original. Since the vibration feels more pronounced when in front wheel drive, I wonder if the front wheel bearings would be a place to look.

Try unplugging and replugging the connector under the driver's seat a few times. It solved this problem on our '98 Legacy GT. Prior to doing that I was able to pull a fault code of 12 (the airbag ECU is more like an OBD1 where you need to jumper a wire between two pins in a connector under th edash and count the blinks of a light to get the code). The error code I pulled was very general and didn't identify what was wrong. I was told dealers may have an apparatus that can be hooked up to older Subaru's to figue it out. I'm glad it was only the coinnector in my case.

I'm trying to tackle the issues with this car one at a time. Since I bought it last summer, the car (automatic, 255K miles) has had a vibration in the body (not specifically felt through the steering wheel) that starts around 35 MPH and is most obvious at around 45 MPH. The tires were newly replaced as were both front axles with no change before and after. Some other observances- when I put in the fuse to put the car in front wheel drive (to diagnose a rear differential noise), the vibrations gets a little worse. If it were coming from the rear, or the driveshaft u- joints, I would expect it to diminish when taking the load off of the rear drivetrain (the rear differential noise virtually disappears in FWD). The other thing I noticed when I had the front end up on stands recently was there is a slight amount o fend play on the front axles. If I pull out against each axle there is maybe 1/8" play in the axle going into the front differential. Don't know how normal that is, given how many miles are on the vehicle. The car is pretty solid for the miles- only a small amount of rust on the rockers and the 142K mile engine in it runs well. Other than the vibration and the rear diff whine, it needs a catalytic converter.

I've cut up pieces of metal coat hangers and bend them so they slide in there and stay tight.

Shortly after we bought our 2005 Impreza Outback Sport with 253K miles last summer it started throwing P0420 codes and after a reset, the code returns after 8- 10 miles. On our 2003 Forester we bought a year ago at 223k miles, it threw a P0420 earlier this year, then again about two weeks ago. I reset it and it returned in about 50 miles this time, so thius one too is getting worse. I haven't noticed any performance issues on either car. I haven't been able to get an accurate MPG calculation on the OBS (since my son drives it and doesn't always fill the gas to full each time, but I sispect the MPG's aren't better than 21- 22 MPG. What is the best way to diagnose the code since it can be numerous reasons other than the catalytic converter? Both are high mileaged cars and likely have the original converters. The Forester sips some oil which be depositing there as well. We aren't required to test for emissions in our area, so I'm not in a hurry to pay big $$$ for OEM catalytic converters, especially for the Impreza, which is more of a daily beater. Has anyone had any luck with running a catalytic converter cleaner through the system, or would that just be a waste of money?

I noticed a new noise (one of several) on the 2005 Impreza Outback Sport, automatic transmission, 254K miles, that we purchased back in June. This one showed up a few weeks after buying it. It's an intermittent rattling, grinding noise, I believe coming from the front end. It doesn't appear to be speed dependent, but it most audible at low speeds around 25- 30 MPH. It also goes away when the brakes are fully applied which leads me to think it's brake or drivetrain related. You mostly can just hear it but can feel a little something through the floorboard as well.Feels like a deeper noise than the typical exhaust shield rattle. This appeared after new brake rotors and pads were installed and I believe before both front axles were replaced (with no change). I plan to go in and recheck that the brake calipers are tight, but also wonder if it is a front differential issue possibly.It doesn't act any differently on turns, so not thinking wheel bearing, but maybe. Here is a link to an audio clip I made where you can just barely make out the noise.

In any case, still trying to decide between Forester and 2nd gen Legacy GT calipers. I actually have both of these cars in my fleet and both are more responsive than the wagon. I drove the Forester to work today and was glad for the responsive pedal, given the antics of some of the drivers I encountered. I'm not sure of any significant differences in fluid capacity or pad surface area of the two different dual piston calipers, however the rotor is slightly larger for the Forester. Also, one other question- are the brake line to caliper fittings all the same for these? I want new flexible lines and was wondering if I order the lines for the Legacy, are the fittings compatible with the Forester calipers.

The 4EAT automatic was a good transmission. I would much prefer them over today's CVT transmissions.

I just took the car out for a good run with a dozen or so times of heavy braking. Seemed to improve a bit even as the brakes got hot. The last few times the brakes started to lock and kick in ABS, so engagement seemed better. After the ride, the front wheels were understandably hot , the left rear was fairly hot and the right right rear wheel was warm. I may check that one later to see if slide pins move freely.

Actually I've been running Centric Posi- Quiet ceramics on all of our cars for years (this set on this car was the first set I installed 5 years ago). Like them- good feel and response, less dust, The rotors only have some light surface rust given the humidity and the car sitting since last weekend.

The tires are Bridgestone Turanza's and aren't new at all- date code of 0813 which I believe is February, 2013. The brakin and traction was fine on the GT they used to be on. I did the brakes over on that car when I got it and it did well until it driven into an embankment 4k miles later. My old 14" tires were Michelin Defenders, so likely better quality, but also made in 2013.

Actually I have rear discs already from the factory so I don't see much benefits too upgrading these to a larger size. I flushed the brake fluid several years ago- not sure that would be the problem . It probably wouldn't hurt to to go in and make sure the slide pins are all well lubed and moving smoothly. I'm thinking a more common symptom of that (which I ran into previously) would be sticking, overheating brakes. I stated driving the car again several months ago after driving the '03 Forester (with much better brake feel) for almost a year, so part of it could be I was used to the more sensitive brakes- not sure though. Interestingly, we just put 16" tires on it a few months ago with used tires that came off our '97 GT, replacing the stock 14" wheels., but I can'tr see where that change would change brake function. Tires still have some life left in them.

After switching from my '03 Forester back to the Legacy L wagon, it feels like I have ot stand on the brakes to get any stopping power. I've been wanting to replace the single piston calipers on the wagon with dual piston calipers and the corresponding larger rotors for better stopping power. I'm still debating on whether to go with the 2nd gen Legacy GT 10.9" rotors and calipers (which were made for my year car) or the 11.5" rotors as found on my 2003 Forester. My main question is whether there will be any significance in stopping power between the two? I can get the GT calipers cheaper and have a couple of old calipers I pulled off my '98 GT sedan to trade in as cores if I get these. However if the Forester setup will be more effective, then it would be worth the extra $. Also, I assume that when replacing the flexible brake lines I should order ones that fit my '98 Legacy, whichever calipers I go with.

From what I've seen, there is just one module for the airbag system on the '98's (mounted on the hump directly below the radio). The horn works fine so I doubt it's the clock spring (I'm assuming there would be a separate code for that, but maybe not for those years). I was actually hoping it was the clock spring since I already have a spare. It's always been a Maryland/ Virginia car with little rust anywhere.

I'm wondering if it wouldn't be a better idea to replace the SRS computer with a used one at this point, as I imagine the $50 I spend is less than the dealer will charge just to diagnose the problem

My mechanic's fancy SRS scanner couldn't read it so he told me to try the diagnostic per the link below. https://redirect.viglink.com/?format=go&jsonp=vglnk_156703159047716&key=c1ac8fd132f1c1d959d5f77155b0d5a6&libId=jzvu7j47010006ha000DAnnprml7o&loc=https%3A%2F%2Flegacygt.com%2Fforums%2Fshowthread.php%2F98-gt-airbag-light-279773.html&v=1&opt=true&out=https%3A%2F%2Fcodes.rennacs.com%2FSRS-Airbag%2FJapanese-Korean%2FSubaru-Airbags.php&ref=https%3A%2F%2Flegacygt.com%2Fforums%2Fforumdisplay.php%2Fsecond-generation-legacy-1994-1998-95.html%3Fs%3D342d2aef37be4c004ef3e837beba015a%26&title=‘98 GT airbag light - Subaru Legacy Forums&txt=https%3A%2F%2Fcodes.rennacs.com%2FSRS-Airbag...ru-Airbags.php After some looking around under the dash I finally located a black plug that matched one of the pictures. I grounded pin 1, per the instructions, and I was able to extract error code # 12, The descriptions I found were: "This Relates to Driver's airbag or control module circuit faults", which seems pretty vague. I Googled the code number and came up with this: "Airbag Main Wiring Harness, Module Wiring Harness Or Roll Connector Open" So are these descriptions saying code # 12 means I should replace he control unit? Used ones seem fairly plentiful on Ebay for not a lot of money.

I was getting my son’s Legacy cleaned and ready to return to him today, after getting a new set of tires, and noticed the airbag light now stays on. Never any issues with it before and no accidents or issues with the light before (definitely none in the 2+ years we’ve owned it). Could a simple tire replacement have triggered it in any way? (no connection between the two that I can think of). Any electrical connections I can see look tight and no work has been done in or around the dash area recently. What else can we check on our own or should we bring it to someone who can scan the code? My scanner only does ECU codes. I hate to return the car to him with this issue (he is at college an hour away). Ironically he has been driving my other son’s Honda for which I have an appointment to have it’s 3rd airbag inflator recall done), so I need to get car back from him when he comes over later today.

I'm going to just get a new set of tires since this is actually one of lower mileage, nicer Subaru's we have. I can save the three good tires and match my extra tire with it for some other car down the road (maybe our 2005 Impreza which is more of a beater, but I just put new rubber on that already).