Mystery Problem

[wescolvin]

2011 Outback 2.5, 129,000 miles, well maintained.

 

Today I was 50 miles from home idling in traffic on the freeway when my 2011 Outback engine abruptly died.  Plenty of fuel!  All of the dash indicator lights came on.  The engine would crank fast but would not start.  I had to push the car to the shoulder.   For the next two hours i intermittently attempted to restart with no joy (I made a video with my smartphone to prove that I am not hallucinating or fabricating the story).  Then after two hours, the car started and I was able to drive back home at freeway speed without incident.

 

This is the 5th time in two months this has happened.  Always when I am stopped (not rolling or inching along), with the car in "drive,"  There does not appear to be any relationship to how long or how far I have driven before the problem occurs, other than the engine is at operating temperature.

 

The car has been transported twice to two different dealers in my area for this "engine dies, won't restart" problem.  Both times the dealers reported that the car started fine for them (hours after the car was left with them). No codes, test drove fine, fuel pump and electrical systems test fine.  The dealer has now asked for me to leave the car with them "for a few days" (with no offer of a courtesy vehicle) while they work with a factory engineer to try to isolate the problem.  The dealers service department tells me no one has ever heard of or seen a problem like this before. 

 

My current strategy is to just wait 2 to 4 hours after the engine dies, wherever I am, and then the car will start and I can drive on. 

 

This problem has been most inconvenient to say the least.  And now I simply find it intolerable because I find the car to be wholly unreliable.

 

6 months ago I had the 120,000 major service performed at the local dealer and all of the recommended parts replaced and or systems serviced =$1,000.

 

4 months ago the thermostat failed and the car overheated and blew a head gasket. $2700 later the dealer reported that everything was good to go.

 

The car is under 5 years old and this year I have spent over $5,500 in parts, tires and repairs this past year.  Now the car is completely unreliable and I have lost more than 10 days of valuable time because of these most recent failures.  My family has had 4 Subarus.  I was the biggest fan - until this!

 

Can anyone help?

 

 

 

[Speedwagon]

Sounds like a sensor/component is getting heat soaked, and failing. You could test this by letting it simply sit idling for a long time, and see if it fails. If it does, and you can repeat this, you have a better chance of finding the problem(or having a shop find the problem).

 

If it was my car, I would pick the warmest day I could, drive the car until it is fully warmed up, then park it at home and let it idle. Maybe you need to clean the inside of the car or something while this happens?  Also, if it cranks but doesn't start, you need to isolate if it is fuel or spark related. Tough to do when you are out and about though.

Edited January 9, 2016 by Speedwagon

[porcupine73]

Hm just brainstorming a few things, I know I've seen posts in the past where people had issues say from '05 on with the vehicle just plain dying and all the dash lights coming on. Supposedly there were some ECU reflashes that were supposed to deal with it but I don't know if it actually helped.

 

I did have what you describe happen a couple times to me but it was on a '96 Legacy, and it was the cam position sensor, and it did throw a code. Stopped at a traffic light a few times it died and wouldn't restart, but I kept trying then it did restart and ran ok.

 

Hopefully the factory engineer can help, I'm guessing Subaru help line has gotten calls about this issue before, it's probably a matter of whether they know what the solution was and if it is the same problem on yours.

[mikec03]

This is tough to guess at.  I had a subaru where it would stall while driving and then wouldn't start [ie fire] for a couple hours, and then it would!  No codes. It's not quite the same as your problem.  It turned out to be an electrical malfunction in the MAF.  

 

Trying to duplicate it at home is a good idea.  You can also try and squirt some starting fluid into the intake [take the manifold apart] if you can duplicate it.  At that time , you could also listen for the fuel pump starting or not.  It runs for a second when you turn the ignition to "on".

[Cougar]

I think the most likely spot for the trouble is something with the engine electrical system. A faulty power connection to the ignition system perhaps or bad contacts in the Main Relay. That relay supplies power to a lot of key engine components and it may be worth a shot to just replace it in the hope that it will solve the issue. If this was my car I would check for spark getting to the plugs as soon as the problem occurred. If spark is okay then the trouble would have to be most likely related to a fuel delivery issue. The fuel pump relay, controller, or power connection to the pump itself. Some small power indicator lights could be installed and connected to key power points of the engine systems so you could monitor them while you are driving. If power was lost to a key area the light would turn off.

 

This kind of trouble is very frustrating for everyone involved since it can be hard to find. It can be fixed though using patients and good trouble shooting techniques.

[wescolvin]

The problem has repeated 3 more times in the past 3 days.  I drive somewhere, shut off the engine and then the car will not restart for 2-3 hours.  Doesn't it seem like this must be related to heat?

[ocei77]

The only time this happened to me (not with a Subaru), was indeed related to heat.

The solenoid was getting heat soaked and would not work until it cooled.  I put a wet rag on it to help cool it  and immediate start..

 Worth a try.. Replace the contacts and plunger(($10-15 on E Bay) rather than buy a complete starter.

 

 

O.