HELP! engine check light ON !

@1728 miles on the odometer. I was at subaru picking up oil filters and as I pulled out of the driveway. My engine check light (ECL) came on blinking. The "sportmode" light was also on and the "cruise" light came on. I brought it back to the service department and after 2 hrs they tried to contact subaru tech but they are closed until monday. I'm stuck in a white ford focus subaru pays $25/day. They say that the car is in some "limp" mode . The curse of the audi allroad is back. Would any of you subaru nerds have any idea what this could be? Has anyone else had this problem??

A couple Viagra in the gas tank should take it out of "limp" mode...

Loose gas cap.

I didn't open the gas cap since the last fill up which was 200 miles ago. I'll try the viagra. What would cause the blinking cruise light and the sport light?? I didn't check the gas cap though.

I didn't open the gas cap since the last fill up which was 200 miles ago. I'll try the viagra. What would cause the blinking cruise light and the sport light?? I didn't check the gas cap though.

Mine did the same thing as yours -- probably about the same timing. CEL came on sport mode light, Cruise light. Then CEL flashed and cruise light stayed on. It lasted about 24 hours, then the next day, all was fine.

 

When I took to the dealership, they hooked up the computer and said there was no history of any CEL codes.

 

You should be ok,

 

Rob

I'm glad that the dealer saw it so they could fix the problem and take note of it incase the problem reoccurs. I'll tell you guys what happened to it when it's fixed. Also when I drove it around it seemed to be a little more rough could that be due to the sport mode which keeps the car in the lower gear = higher RPM?? Did yours drive any diffrent?

If it got sent into limp mode it will run MUCH rougher... Limp mode is essentially over fuel and sometimes over spark with a much lower rev limit... just to make sure the car can "limp" home.

I have random CEL's on my 2.5i. Dealer says it is a bad Knock Sensor. Part is on order.

 

Whenever the CEL is on, the Cruise control is automatically disabled & the cruise light flashes (because it is disabled?).

Mine was a bad front O2 sensor...

After 2 days they were able to figure out what it was.

They replaced the valve body assembly.

Also they ordered 8 ATF-HP , P/S fluid and 8 clips.

This total operation took them 7 days total.

I just bought my 05 Legacy in November and it has already been in the shop twice (it is there now for the second time). Each time I fill up on gas (93 octane), I experience some hesitation for about the first 5-10 miles, then it stops. On two occasions, my car has stalled while driving and, after re-starting the car, the check engine light comes on and the cruise control light flashes. The first time, the dealer thought it was an immobilizer problem and re-coded the keys and re-loaded the car's software. The same problem happened again on Monday of this week and the dealer is still trying to figure out the problem. Both times the stall has occured at low speeds/idle. Any ideas since my dealership doesn't seem to have a clue? BTW, it's not a loose gas cap. Thanks.

I've had the flashing cruise control light. but it went away after I restarted the car. What does it mean?

The owners manual gives a few reasons why the check engine light may come on: emissions control problem, loose fuel cap, etc. But my dealership says there are dozens of other reasons as well. It sounds like yours was a simple fix, whereas mine is not. With my car stalling, obviously it is a significant problem. I am extremely disappointed with Subaru at this point, especially since I had an Impreza for 9 years with NO mechanical problems at all. Hopefully they can find the problem. If not, I'm going to consider selling or trading my Legacy. I didn't spend 30K on a car to have it in the shop all the time.

Just the other day I had a similar problem.

 

The car was sitting for a while in probably 4 inches of wet snow and when I tried to drive away apparently one of the wheels spun in the snow. Well, the check engine light came on as well as the ABS and cruise lights. The ABS light went off pretty quickly but the CEL stayed on and the cruise light kept flashing. I drove over to the dealer and they checked it while I waited and said it was because the wheels were spinning in the snow. He cleared the codes and I was on my way. I'm not entirely clear why the engine management system is concerned about wheel spin but I do wish there were a way to read the codes myself and clear them.

I'm really sorry to hear of your misfortunes with Subaru everyone. I haven't had any CELs pop up on my GT, maybe I'm lucky? I dunno, but I'm finally getting a brake rotor replaced because of the scoring problem. I complained and complained and complained for months and it's being taken care of. The more computer functions these cars get, the more things that are possible to go wrong unfortunately. I really hope they can figure out all your problems sooner than later because aside from those issues, it really is a wonderful car.

 

jaycee, I don't know why you'd get a CEL from wheel slippage, I was going to the grocery store last night hadn't been out for a few days and I was having some fun and I both was getting some massive wheel spinnage and bounced off the rev limiter once or twice (someone with me wanted to see what it felt like versus their car. ) I don't understand how that would happen unless your car was frozen into place and it had to be broken loose.

My problem was similar. My passenger airbag light would illuminate when the car was off, the CEL was on, and the speedometer did not work. The dealer had my car for 8 days. They talked to Subaru Tech department and had several mechanics on my car. They never found out the problem. But, at least it was logged.

 

One suggestion: Feel your passenger side carpet for wetness. I know that there has been problems with the AC plug getting back up and leaking into the car. The ECU sits right there on the passenger side, and any water/moisture might tweak the ECU.

I just found this thread because my 05 Legacy gt is sitting in my garage with the hood open because my check engine light came on. When I started it earlier I found it idling very rough. It's cold out so I thought it might just need to warm up a little. I slowly drove off and the check engine light started flashing, then came on constant so I turned around and parked it. It sounds like a similar problem to others on this thread. I'm 1 1/2 hours from my dealer. Does anyone know if disconnecting the ground on the battery for a while will reset the ecu?

open up your fuse panel under the dash and search above the fuse box in all the wires and youll find two sets of connectors that are not connected, a white set and a green set, if you connect the white ones with the car off then turn key to on position (without starting) and hit the trip button on the dash while the guages are sweeping the code will flash on the dash... hope this helps, if not just ask questions and we'll try to help

Just the other day I had a similar problem.

 

The car was sitting for a while in probably 4 inches of wet snow and when I tried to drive away apparently one of the wheels spun in the snow. Well, the check engine light came on as well as the ABS and cruise lights. The ABS light went off pretty quickly but the CEL stayed on and the cruise light kept flashing. I drove over to the dealer and they checked it while I waited and said it was because the wheels were spinning in the snow. He cleared the codes and I was on my way. I'm not entirely clear why the engine management system is concerned about wheel spin but I do wish there were a way to read the codes myself and clear them.

 

Exact same thing has happened to me twice now. I can't believe that they would design a car/ECU such that the check engine light needs to be reset everytime it gets stuck, but it seems that's the way it is.

 

In my case, I was really stuck - Lots of spinning and rocking back and fourth. It's running fine now so I'm going to see if the light resets on it's own within the next couple of days. If not, its off to the dealership again. They damn well better not even mention trying to charge me for reading/resetting the CEL...

It resets by itself.

 

ECU if confused as to why a AWD car is spinning all fours out of synch?

 

I think it has to do with the ABS as well.

 

Happened to me a couple of times.

 

X

Happened tonight trying to leave the snow covered parking lot of Skirmish, in PA.

 

Exact same thing has happened to me twice now. I can't believe that they would design a car/ECU such that the check engine light needs to be reset everytime it gets stuck, but it seems that's the way it is.

 

In my case, I was really stuck - Lots of spinning and rocking back and fourth. It's running fine now so I'm going to see if the light resets on it's own within the next couple of days. If not, its off to the dealership again. They damn well better not even mention trying to charge me for reading/resetting the CEL...

 

I certainly hope so. For now, I can't use Intelligent or Sport Sharp in my '07 LGT wagon.

 

It resets by itself.

 

ECU if confused as to why a AWD car is spinning all fours out of synch?

 

I think it has to do with the ABS as well.

 

Happened to me a couple of times.

 

X

UPDATE:

 

Looks like the problem went away already. I'd estimate I had started the car about six to seven times after the CEL and Cruise lights came on, and when leaving dinner, the lights stayed off when I started the car. Everything seems to be back to normal. Will there be a code stored in the ECU?