2008 Subaru Legacy 2.5i steering issues/idle problems

When I turn my steering wheel to the left or right, while the car is idling in park, the RPM's either raise or lower and the car starts to vibrate/shake bad. You can also hear a whine of some sort, probably the power steering pump, when the hood is open but it’s harder to hear when it’s closed and you’re driving. (And yes, the fluid is full) I’ve noticed a slight “tremble” the last little while when I would come to a stop while driving and it would seem to get better when I put the car in park but nothing to the extent of what the problem is at now. I’ve checked all fluids regularly and the car has been maintained with care, so I’m not quite sure what’s going on. My MPG has also decreased these past few months by 5+ mpg and it’s mostly highway driven with only 71k miles. I’ve had the car since 2011 and bought it with only 50k miles on it with no known problems, until now. When I’m driving on the freeway, it randomly feels like one of my tires might be low and the steering wheel shakes. It feels like I’m driving over the “caution cut out grooves” on the ride side of the road with how bad it shakes sometimes.

In the past it has thrown a check engine light along with the green cruise control icon that blinks like every 2 seconds (It obviously over powers the cruise control option). It has always turned off within 5 or 10 minutes, so I have never been able to run the codes.

 

 

Possibly,

Steering Rack?

Power Steering?

Spark Plugs?

Fuel Filter?

 

 

I'm not very 'engine smart" to be-able to diagnose problems but I can fix whatever with help.

 

 

Any help will be greatly appreciated and I will be doing my own research as well. I just wanted to make a quick post because it got way bad today. I'll reread through previous posts... etc...

The shaking while driving on the freeway is strange.

 

But to try and help solve some of the other issues, have the spark plugs ever been changed? That's a pretty simple/cheap thing that I would try doing first if they haven't been done in the past 30k or so. I'd use the OEM NGK FR5AP-11 plugs.

You might want to check the plug wires too. You could use a multimeter to check if any have high resistance, and replace any that do. They vary some in spec, but should be between 12000 and 20000 ohms. If you don't have a meter, you could try misting the plug wires with water while the engine idles in a dim light. If you see arcing or the idle changes, probably your bug. I'd see if there were any pending codes as well.

Check to see if you have a power steering pump bracket broken or possibly a bolt missing out of the brackets.

Thanks for the reply's! I'll get on it tomorrow.

You might want to check the plug wires too. You could use a multimeter to check if any have high resistance, and replace any that do. They vary some in spec, but should be between 12000 and 20000 ohms. If you don't have a meter, you could try misting the plug wires with water while the engine idles in a dim light. If you see arcing or the idle changes, probably your bug. I'd see if there were any pending codes as well.

 

 

Do 2.5i have plug wires ? Honestly I have no idea. Never looked at a 2.5i.

 

Our GT's are coil on plug.

^Yeah they do have plug wires.