cruise control flashing but no cel

My cruise control keeps flashing and there's no cel. It won't stop until I turn it on and off, and sometimes when I'm in cruise it kicks itself out. Anyone have this happen to them?

Which transmission do you have ?

 

if 5mt, remove the washer from the neutral safety switch and grind it down to about 1/2 its thickness, then put it back on. problem should be solved. The switch is the higher one on the side of the tranny. I used a adjustable wrench to remove it.

 

I had to grind mine down twice about a year apart.

Yeah I have the 5mt, but why would the neutral safety switch have to do with it. I'm not trying to discredit you, I just don't understand. I'm glad I found someone that's had the same problem tho.

IIRC a faulty EGT sensor can cause this. Is your car still all stock?

My 2008 GLT 5MT just recently started doing this at 87k miles. I took it to a non-Subaru dealer to see what they would give me for a trade. Ever since their "test-drive" last week it will do this off and on. The Check Engine light flashes, the SI Drive flashes and won't let me change from I - S -S# and the Cruise light flashes. Is this the same thing that is happening to you?

LankyA--pull the code. You'll probably have a pending CEL code in the system.

 

Did you let them take your car for a test drive without you in it? I would never let a salesman do that if I could help it...

Hell im reluctant to let my wife drive the car :lol:

Isn't that one of the overboost symptoms (P0244)? Mine did that one night and was gone the next morning.

Which transmission do you have ?

 

if 5mt, remove the washer from the neutral safety switch and grind it down to about 1/2 its thickness, then put it back on. problem should be solved. The switch is the higher one on the side of the tranny. I used a adjustable wrench to remove it.

 

I had to grind mine down twice about a year apart.

 

This is absolutely the issue and solution.

 

I had the exact same problem, and using a thinner washer solved it immediately. If you don't want to grind the washer down, just find a thinner one with the same ID and "close enough" OD.

My cruise control keeps flashing and there's no cel. It won't stop until I turn it on and off, and sometimes when I'm in cruise it kicks itself out. Anyone have this happen to them?

 

Sure the CEL is working? Does it light up when the ignition is turned to ON?

Also are you able to change the SI mode or is it stuck on S? If not then there probably is a code that you'll need to pull.

LankyA--pull the code. You'll probably have a pending CEL code in the system.

 

Did you let them take your car for a test drive without you in it? I would never let a salesman do that if I could help it...

 

Yeah the guy at the dealer took it out for a test drive while my wife and I were looking at a mini-van. I over trust people all the time. When I got it back, I started up the car and let go of the clutch. He had left it in First and it stalled. When I started it back up, that's when I noticed the CEL flashing as well as the and CRUISE lights. I turned the car off and restarted and they went away. So I thought it was just because I had stalled. Then it came back a few times this past week and it would clear with an engine restart.

 

I'm going to try the washer fix. I'll have a chance to do it Thursday or Friday and I'll let you all know if that fixes it. I'm also planning on changing the spark plugs and air filter. Might as well get it all done at once.

Can someone explain why this washer fix would work? I'm not understanding.

Can someone explain why this washer fix would work? I'm not understanding.

 

It's not a washer, it's a gasket - and the tolerance may be on the edge when detecting when the gear is in neutral or not on some gearboxes and a thinner washer/gasket rectifies the problem.

 

Just remove the neutral switch and washer, look for a thinner washer, apply some liquid gasket on an ordinary washer if you can't find a suitable replacement gasket washer and put back the neutral switch.

 

The primary point of a neutral switch on the MT gearbox is to avoid having the cruise control revving the engine if the gearbox goes into neutral.

Might this have been tampered with during a DIY clutch change? A friend did most of the "underneath the car" work. Would this cause erratic behavior while in cruise? i get no CEL but CC ends up disengaging.

Damaged neutral switch or wiring to the neutral switch is where I would start.

 

You may find this interesting too.

My cruise is erratic and then shuts off with the blinking cruise light which I've read elsewhere could be related to non-oem hubs. Would the erratic behavior indicate the problem being one vs. the other? I did first notice this at some point after putting two non-oem hubs on the front (not sure how long after the hub job I noticed it but I don't always use cruise). ABS works fine so I tend to believe that it's not the sensors/hubs although some swear by it. There are entire threads dealing with this issue as strictly a hub issue. I did my clutch and hubs within a few months I believe (could check my milage log) so this may muddy the water a bit. Any thoughts?

I don't hear anyone else getting erratic cruise behavior. Your cruise just quits. For me it's like I'm bouncing up and down on the accelerator at 70mph. If it were a neutral sensor (5MT), I would think it would simply shut off and throw the light on, not jump around.

 

How would non-oem hubs work for ABS but not for CC?