mjdavey Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 I have a 2003 Subaru Legacy - only has 29,000 miles. Just the other week it was hard to start then when stated it smoked, could barely run, no power and stalled. I waited a few minutes, whent in the house and tried again. It fired right up and ran like new again. This has happened 3 times in the last two weeks....hmmmm..very strange. Anybody ever see that before? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy777 Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 Hmmm....what color is the smoke? Might be a bad MAF sensor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 Sounds like for some reason it ran very rich, almost on the verge of flodding. i agree about the MAF sensor. Is this a constant problem or intermitent nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjdavey Posted February 22, 2006 Author Share Posted February 22, 2006 Hmmm....what color is the smoke? Might be a bad MAF sensor. - Well it is sort of white I'd say - MAF huh....I had a bad on of those on my VW diesel....caused strange problems....complete lack of power. This one seems completely intermittent. It runs horrible, you turn it off and then it might still be bad, turn it off again then it fires up and runs perfectly....hmmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjdavey Posted February 22, 2006 Author Share Posted February 22, 2006 Sounds like for some reason it ran very rich, almost on the verge of flodding. i agree about the MAF sensor. Is this a constant problem or intermitent nipper Funny your should mention flooding....I could smell gas too. It put me in mind of my old 68 Chevy from way back! You know when you had to put a pencil in the carburator to keep it from flooding and choking in the morning...trying to get to school on those cold winter mornings.....I don't want to go back there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Funny your should mention flooding....I could smell gas too. It put me in mind of my old 68 Chevy from way back! You know when you had to put a pencil in the carburator to keep it from flooding and choking in the morning...trying to get to school on those cold winter mornings.....I don't want to go back there. you wont cause there is no choke plate Another possability is a bad ECU engine temp sensor. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy777 Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 I had an intermittant MAF sensor that would cause stalling/loss of power, and in some instances, the car not running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wpdjr53 Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 I have a 2003 Subaru Legacy - only has 29,000 miles. Just the other week it was hard to start then when stated it smoked, could barely run, no power and stalled. I waited a few minutes, whent in the house and tried again. It fired right up and ran like new again. This has happened 3 times in the last two weeks....hmmmm..very strange. Anybody ever see that before? Yes, MJ, we have a 2003 Legacy Wagon exhibiting exactly the same problem. We have had it to the dealer three times and they say they "can't duplicate the problem." About once every two weeks -- or less -- we'll go out in the morning and the car will turn over but not catch. Or if it catches, it will run very roughly, as you describe, with no power and then die. Waiting 15 or 20 minutes results in it starting as normal. Our dealer, Bennington Subaru in Bennington, Vt., has had it thrree times, has "reflashed" the ROM on the onboard computer, and the problem is still occuring fairly regularly. They say the only solution is for us to leave the car with them for a week and for them to try it every day until they can duplicate the problem. We say we want a new onboard computer. They seem to hint they think it is something about the way we are starting the car, so it is very good to know somebody else has this problem. Feel free to call me at 413-458-8001 -- we have to get this resolved. -- bill densmore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Boncyk Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 I had very similar symptoms with an intermittent cam position sensor. It was devilishly difficult to diagnose because just as in your case, waiting a little while made the problem go away. One thing that I do remember about my situation -- it was definitely temperature related. It only occurred if I had been running the engine a little while, but not very long -- as in not long enough for the coolant temp gauge to come fully up to normal operating temp. So the block was warm - not hot. If I'd then shut off the car, and try to restart it a short time later, it would buck, wheeze, sputter, but never fully catch. Waiting until it fully cooled down was the only way to get it started again. Interesting thing about this failure was that it didn't throw the OBD-II code for cam position sensor at first -- only later, as the problem became less intermittent and happened over a wider range of temperatures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAWalker Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 No MAF sensor on this car. 2000- Legacy uses a speed density system. These cars are apperently not storing any codes when this happens? Truth is whom ever diagnoises it will have to be able to duplicate the problem. That is the first step. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 i thought codes would reset after the problem goes away? you mean they can be stored? are they hard to read? These cars are apperently not storing any codes when this happens? Truth is whom ever diagnoises it will have to be able to duplicate the problem. That is the first step. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAWalker Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 i thought codes would reset after the problem goes away? you mean they can be stored? are they hard to read? If the ECM detects a problem and turns the check engine light on the code is stored in memory. If the problem goes away (intermittent) the ECM will turn the light off after awhile, but the code will be in the memory till it is cleared with a scan tool or the battery is disconected. You need a scan tool or OBDII interface software and cables for a computer in order to pull codes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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