merogul Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Hi, I have a 2007 Subaru Impreza, 1.5 engine, and auto transmission. It has about 14000 miles on it. The car has had burning rubber smell since the beginning of this winter. I have read some of the messages about this problem. I think that mine is different. I thought that winter tires are the reason for that smell. However, it got worse today. A friend of mine said that it is the clutch. My car does not have a clutch. It has made some constant strange noise while I was driving today. The noise does not go away when I change the gear. It seems that the noise is coming from under the car. Noise does not come at low speed (10-20 miles) Since my car has cold start problem that I have written before in this forum, I have sued the dealer. (The engine hardly starts at cold weather) Next month, I will go to court. I will hopefully return this car and get my money back. Can this be an oil leak? There is no Subaru dealer in my town. I had to send my car to another city to get it fixed. Should I just wait or do something about this bad smell and noise. Can it cause traffic accidents? Thank you. Mehmet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Hm...do you have an ripped cv joint boots? Brakes sticking at all or something? Might need to be run on a lift or something to try to isolate source of noise. For hard starting in cold weather, what temperatures are we talking about? Does your country/area switch to a 'winter blend' fuel for easier starting? Otherwise the fuel may not have enough vapor pressure or not be volatile enough to permit easy starting in cold temps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merogul Posted March 6, 2009 Author Share Posted March 6, 2009 It was 19.4 degree Fahrenheit this morning and the engine started at the third try. When I turned the ignition key the first time, the engine started in 3 seconds and when I released the key, it stopped immediately. It took about 8 seconds the engine to start at my second try with same result. At the third try, the engine started, it waited around 0rpm about 2-3 seconds and it went to 2000rpm. Most people said that it is the coolant sensor. However, the dealer argues that nothing can be wrong with the sensors. They installed wide Spark plugs since they do not get wet easily. Yesterday, It was -5.8 degree Fahrenheit. The engine did not start at my first through fifth tries. the engine started at the sixth try. I had to hold ignition key about 15-20 seconds each time to get engine started. It seemed like the engine would catch on. But it fails as soon as I release the ignition key. I think that new Subaru cars do not like cold weather and mine has some special issue that the dealer do not want to address. Even in summer, the engine starts with difficulty. 3 months ago a subaru mechanic replaced or fixed something they called butterfly valve and my car worked as it was supposed to work for one month. I am just tired of this car. There is no subaru mechanic in my town either. I am using the same gas that everybody use in my city. I do not see any oil leaking on the ground. However, something close the front left tire rubbed against some ice while driving very slowly two days ago. Can this be the cause of noise? The roads are wet and icy in my city. Can this hurt breaks and cause that smell? If it is not dangerous, I do not want to deal with this dealer again. They just talk, they do not give any papers. Either the subaru mechanic cannot fix it or my car is a lemon. Thank you for your reply. Mehmet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Did the dealer check to see if there are any reflashes available for your ECU? Reflashes are pretty common for the late model soob, maybe one of them addresses cold weather starting issues? Does it make any difference if you hold the throttle say 1/4 way open or so when you try to start? Hm if it is drive by wire the ECU might override your command anyway... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merogul Posted March 6, 2009 Author Share Posted March 6, 2009 The dealer has all the necessary tools. They always connect some computer stuff to the socket under the wheel. They make a lot of measurements and they say that they are sending them to Japan. They say that there is nothing wrong with the engine and the sensors. The only thing they fixed was that butterfly valve. After that my car worked fine for a month. It does not make any difference if I hold the throttle half, ¼, or all the way down. However, when the weather is not too cold and the engine starts, I need to send some gas as one would do with very old cars. If I do that, engine catches on starts working. When it is very cold and the engine starts, it makes a clink sound while the engine is going to 2000rpm. The subaru mechanic said that that noise is normal. However, if it is too cold, the engine cannot do that clink sound but that clink sound stretches and does not go away. Instead, it makes a constant noise in the engine. When I start the engine at noon, usually that noise goes away. Subaru engine must be very complex and sensitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crash321 Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 You may have a lemon, but I would not know what the lemon laws are in turkey. By the way, you have very good grammer in your writing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merogul Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 According to the lemon law in Turkey, they have to replace the car or return the customer's money if a car breaks down more than two times in a year as a result of the same mistake and the dealer cannot fix it. The judges appoint an independent expert to determine if the car is working fine or not. My mistake was that I did not ask any papers about the repairs of the car. I will go to court in April. (It is not cold in April and the car might work just fine) Subaru is supposed to be a good car. I also think that I've got a lemon. Thank you. I am still learning to write. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Take it to an independent shop while it is still cold. Let it sit overnight outdoors. Let them start it up and have them report that it was yard starting etc and what they think the problem is, otherwise you will have a problem. I am just surprosed Turkey has a lemon law nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merogul Posted March 10, 2009 Author Share Posted March 10, 2009 I am sure that dealing with these kinds of car issues is much easier in other countries especially in the States. I think that the lemon law is very new in Turkey. Since Turkey wants be a member of European Union, we have some new laws. Only courts can appoint an independent expert in Turkey. This is a small city and the only real car service in Kars is Ford and they do not want to involve in this situation. (there used to be a half Subaru service in my city but they shot it down) I just hope that I will have a smart expert who can conclude that my car does not work in cold weather by seeing that the engine hardly starts in warm weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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