hooziewhatsit Posted December 24, 2004 Share Posted December 24, 2004 Hey all, My grandpa has an 05 legacy 5 speed with a cruise control problem. It works fine unless he is going down hill, at which time it acts like the engine is being starved for fuel; that is, it jerks/surges while maintaining the speed. The dealer took a different car out and had the same problem. Any ideas? Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie Posted December 25, 2004 Share Posted December 25, 2004 this is just Subaru's way of keeping you awake on a boring drive. Every one I have driven does that too. I have not tried the newest ones but I think the same engineers who did the piston slap and head gaskets are on cruise controls now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sullione Posted December 25, 2004 Share Posted December 25, 2004 Doesn't the engine cut out to keep the car at a certain speed. I've had this happen with different types of cars. I was told that if the car went above the set speed, the engine would kill? or do something to get the speed down but it would reengage? if it fell below the set speed. That's my theory but I'd take the car in just to be sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooziewhatsit Posted December 25, 2004 Author Share Posted December 25, 2004 Correct, the car should 'cut' the engine to keep it at the set speed. However, it should do so smoothly, without any jerking or surging. He had a 98 Legacy that worked fine, and all the other cars we have work like it should also. He's taken it back to the dealer several times, and they know it's a problem, they just haven't been able to fix it. He asked the dealer to try it in a different car of the same year/model, and it had the same problem, so the dealer does know about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger83 Posted December 25, 2004 Share Posted December 25, 2004 Try subarugt.com. I think there's a service bulletin out on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForrestB Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 Hey all, My grandpa has an 05 legacy 5 speed with a cruise control problem. It works fine unless he is going down hill, at which time it acts like the engine is being starved for fuel; that is, it jerks/surges while maintaining the speed. The dealer took a different car out and had the same problem. Any ideas? Thanks in advance I also have this problem with my 05 Outback Limited. The surge is really noticable just as I crest a hill and begin the downhill grade. It seems as though the cruise is searching for the correct speed ... maybe opening and closing the throttle too much each time. The rusult is a very bad surge that requires me to turn off the cruise until I reach level ground again! What's the point of even having a cruise that works like this? It's REDICULOUS! This is a very annoying problem for a car that's brand new ... I find it really hard to believe Subaru would sell a car with this kind of OBVIOUS problem without having a fix for it. REALLY sloppy engineering ... and I'm very disappointed to have to deal with it! Trips to the dealer ... service advisors ... Subaru really messed up here! I've read a bunch of threads here about similar surging issues ... cleaned contacts, reset the cpu ... the car still does it. HMMMMMMM I'd really appreciate any advice other members can offer about this problem before I begin the dealer service department ordeal trying to get this BRAND NEW $30,000 car to cruise smoothly! ForrestB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooziewhatsit Posted February 2, 2005 Author Share Posted February 2, 2005 wow, a thread back from the dead. Not a bad thing though It's been a while since I talked to my grandpa about this problem, so as far as I know, he's still having the problem. I wonder if we could get your dealership to talk to his... since 'no one else is having the problem' And I have checked legacyGT.com, but haven't found a service bulletin about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForrestB Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 I called Subaru's customer service number today about this AWFUL surging (bucking, hesitation, jerking) problem and their official advice was: 1). "We don't recommend that drivers use their cruise control while going downhill," and 2). We are not aware that any surging problems are present in the 05 models. WHAT? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Ummmmmm ... well, isn't that what a CRUISE CONTROL is for? Oh no, based on this answer, I fear this is going to be a problem that plagues this car and Subaru will NOT fix it. LISTEN, this surge is OBVIOUS on regular interstate grades ... I'm not talking steep grades here ... just regular, normal commute grades on the freeway! You know ... like normal Seattle area highways. Should I have purchased the Passat? Hmmmmmm ... based on my experience with this car so far, y'all should give the Passat some serious consideration! ... to be continued as things develop ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooziewhatsit Posted March 25, 2005 Author Share Posted March 25, 2005 Hey all, got an update from my grandparents today. They've gone to the factory with their problem and got the following response. Basically, what they are experiencing is a 'normal operating characteristic of the car.' The cruise control was only designed to work on FLAT, straight, level roads, not uphill or downhill. They also said they have duplicated this on other models, and since no one else has complained, it is not a problem in their eyes. If anyone else is having this problem, my grandparents advise going straight to the factory website to get all the problems reported in one place. Hopefully this way something will get done about it. If you want to email them about it, the address they used was SOAMail@sun.subaru1.com thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commuter Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 Only designed for flat roads... what a crock. Wake up Subaru. :-\ Do all the 05 engines have the electronic (fly by wire, eg no cable) throttle now? Or just some models? Commuter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 Sube tech told me last week that there is a computer flash (reset) for the TCU on 05. I have an auto OB Ltd. with Sports shift so I'm not sure if it relates to the current discussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottbaru Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 It sounds like Subaru is trying to cut fuel completely for more engine drag, restart when the speed is back, but only when the cruise control is on. Maybe they can't get enough engine drag for the relatively heavy and slippery car? I wonder if you retard the set speed several clicks, will it do it on level ground? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtsmiths Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 The cruise on my '95 2.2 is seamless, except when It downshifts on a hill. Our '00 Leg has an aftermarket cruise, and it also works seamlessly. I've never felt either car buck or drag going downhill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilgrim 54 Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 We have an '05 2.5i OW with a 5spd. The manual transmission really accentuates this problem. It must be related to the "drive by wire" throttle system. I drive an '05 Mack tractor trailer rig that is also a drive by wire system and the cruise control on that works flawlessly. You can tell you've got a problem when the factory tells you there is no problem. What we have here is a computer problem folks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooziewhatsit Posted April 3, 2005 Author Share Posted April 3, 2005 We have an '05 2.5i OW with a 5spd. The manual transmission really accentuates this problem. It must be related to the "drive by wire" throttle system. I drive an '05 Mack tractor trailer rig that is also a drive by wire system and the cruise control on that works flawlessly. You can tell you've got a problem when the factory tells you there is no problem. What we have here is a computer problem folks. Thanks for posting, I'll let my grandparents know there is another person with the problem - should (hopefully) make it easier to get help. Thanks, and welcome to the forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmorgan1387 Posted May 30, 2005 Share Posted May 30, 2005 I just bought a 2005 legacy 4 cylinder 4 speed automatic and the cruise seems to be bucking when i go down hills. It is amazing that after driving other vechicles on the dealers lot that has the same problem that more people have not complained to Subaru or if they did Subaru is not responding. We current own a 1997 & 2002 that do not have this problem. Where do you go to get someone, other than customer service, at Subaru to fix this? I can't image that customer service is telling us that cruise is only for flat groudn; what a bunch of bull............every other vechile we have (ford) cruise works both on flat land and hills. They really need to respond to this issue. We have stopped driving our vechile until they resolve this issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmorgan1387 Posted June 11, 2005 Share Posted June 11, 2005 Please call or write to Subaru about your incidents. Without input from others they think nothing is wrong or what is happening is acceptable. Please contact us at 1-800-SUBARU3 (1-800-782-2783), and refer to my case number 743944 to expedite your call. or email directly to: SOAMail@sun.subaru1.com e-commerce-cds@subaru.com ecomcds@subaru.com and cc to : jmergen@subaru.com John Mergen dmarshall@subaru.com Deloria Marshall Maybe if we all write to them they will get the message. The next step is to contact the CEO of Subaru North America, Mr. Kunio Ishigami. Sincerely, Gary Morgan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juan Posted June 11, 2005 Share Posted June 11, 2005 Yeah, my new '05 OB auto does the same thing. Same five-mile hill I come down everyday from work never gave me ANY cruise problems in my '98 L wagon. Now I can't even use the cruise control on the same stretch of highway on my way home because the bump-jerk-stammer-blurp while cruise is set sounds likely to damage something. No problem going up hill. Juan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmm001 Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 I was almost not going to respond, but I think this thread has gotten a little out of hand. If it's that big of a problem, why not just turn the cruise control off when you encounter a steep hill if it's that big of a deal!? Come on, guys and gals, it seems like we're nitpicking here. Every car has its quirks... no car is perfect. To me, this sounds like a trivial problem. Granted, I haven't experienced it, and my 95's cruise works just fine. I just can't believe so many people are getting so bent out of shape over CRUISE CONTROL. What did we all do before there was such a thing? I could sit here and complain about how my car is terribly slow with the A/C on and 95 degrees and humid... but I won't because there's no point; cars make less power when it's hot and humid, and the A/C sucks power from the engine as well. Let's worry about real problems and stop complaining about trivial ones! I post on several different forums concerning a variety of topics, and it was refreshing to come to this one, because people aren't mean to eachother and don't complain and ask the same questions over and over again. I'd hate to see this one go in that direction. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 In theory I might agree with Brian's Peace, Love and Woodstock approach. However I own one of the 05 OBs in question. Granted, I don't use cruise control but if the system worked "flawlessly" in the past, I find it hard to excuse engineering standards below what previously existed. I accept the notion that cars are works in progress and I am sure that SOA is working on a retro-fix as they have done in the past for quirks that arise in new models but I feel it necessary that they continue to hear from those who find fault with their brandy new cars (which are soon to be last year's models). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05blusub Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 05 OBW , auto, I haven't had that problem, but will look for some long steep parts of the interstate here in Oregon and see what happens, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05blusub Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 OK, well..I tried the cruise control on interstate 5, up hills and down and it worked just as well as my last outback, no problems and smooth. Did I just get lucky? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBrian Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 Fun with cruise control: With cruise control on, yank the stick into the Neutral position without declutching. The computer doesn't seem to know it's not still in gear, and the revs start to climb (but surprisingly slowly). I chickened out at 4000RPM, so I don't know if it would give up or bounce off the rev limiter. It's great that the cruise control works in 3rd, 4th, or 5th gear. I like my cruise control, despite the occasional minor bucking. But then it'll buck a little even I myself let off the throttle suddenly while in gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilgrim 54 Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 Please call or write to Subaru about your incidents. Without input from others they think nothing is wrong or what is happening is acceptable. Please contact us at 1-800-SUBARU3 (1-800-782-2783), and refer to my case number 743944 to expedite your call. or email directly to: SOAMail@sun.subaru1.com e-commerce-cds@subaru.com ecomcds@subaru.com and cc to : jmergen@subaru.com John Mergen dmarshall@subaru.com Deloria Marshall Maybe if we all write to them they will get the message. The next step is to contact the CEO of Subaru North America, Mr. Kunio Ishigami. Sincerely, Gary Morgan Pilgrim 54 here FINALLY FINALLY Got somewhere with this issue!!! After 11 months. Learned to live with the surging but new problem developed. Cruise would shut off on it's own after being on 20 to 45 minutes. Once this happened cruise refused to stay on. Took it in for repair of surging as well. They offered to let me drive several '06s. I took out THREE of them!!! ALL of them had the surging problem. Two standards and one auto. Don't tell me no one else has the problem. If you've not experieced this you'd have no justifiable input. This on/off again throttle is severe enough that it will make your head go back and forth. People riding in your car think you're spastic! While on a test drive I looked over at the tech and HIS head was going back and forth!! Sort of a Subaru wave going on here. The official response was "cruise working as designed". However the tech investigated his new Subaru Tech Assistance Bullitans and found A NEW repair for this problem. So go , children, pursue your dreams of a smooth, normally working cruise control. Tell your tech to look at the new survice bulletins for this issue has been addressed. This problem was finally fixed by Subaru. They had to take out the computer and send it back to recallibrate it. They had the car over the Thanksgiving weekend. Gave us a rental. Now the cruise works well. Does not shut off. Does not surge on and off going downhill. As I put it , if you bought this car you'd not notice a problem with the cruise at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottbaru Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 Excellent, I wonder what they did? Any change in fuel mileage? It's probably a PID type controller, they may have adjusted it to be less aggressive with the throttle. My '90 Eclipse GSX had a mildly abrupt cruise control, the head of product development at Mitsu told me it was programmed for the non-turbo version, and was giving a bit more throttle than needed. It wasn't nearly as severe as this, and there was no real need to compensate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now