Stuttering clutch/engine anyone?

My GTW Limited MT is only about a week old and there is a very noticeable stuttering that happens often, especially at lower RPMs, say between 1500-3000 RPM. It happens when the transmission is in the correct gear, my foot is off the clutch, and I'm accelerating. Is anybody else experiencing this problem? At first I was hoping that the dealer put in low octane fuel, but that should not be the case at this point.

Yes, happens pretty often with ours (GT wagon, 5MT). I'm at 1k miles and have gone through at least two full tanks since the dealer's gas was put in. Different stations, both 93 octane. At first it was only part throttle (maybe since I was babying it at first) but it happens during different percentages of throttle acceleration. I have seen a few other people mention this and I noticed it on another GT wagon I test drove before we got ours. I did NOT notice it on yet another GT wagon we test drove. So, for us, it happens on 2 of 3 GTs (all 5MT) we've driven.

curious, but would you describe how you are driving the car? What are the movements of your feet? etc? Are you applying FULL pressure to the gas pedal (i.e. more than 2/3 throttle) being at that speed (in terms of rpms)? Remember, AWD is touchy...so if you are in 4th/5th at 2000-3000 RPM, and you atttempt to accelerate rather quickly...the car may 'squat' and vibrate/stutter . Not sure this is your scenario, so just thinking out loud here. later, i.

Mine does this sometimes, but seems to be smothing out. It feels something like (for those of us who had WRX's) when you switched the restrictor on the turbo.

I should point out that I've been driving stick all my life - which is 20+ years. The car I traded in for the Legacy was an Audi A4 Quattro, and I still own my baby Nissan 300z. I would say that I know what I'm doing, but so would most other people. So, I'll mention that my friend, a BMW driving school teacher has confirmed the problem. Other then this problem, the two of my BMW racing friends that test drove the car really liked what Subaru did with it!

Mine did it on a few tankfulls of gas, it's the fuel. One thing you have to remember is not many people buy super-unleaded so the fuel sits there for long periods of time. When you find a station with good gas stick with it.

hey, as I said before, mr...just thinking out loud...as I could never presume how you are driving, or who you are, or what you owned...etc. geez...I will never offer my thoughts where you are anymore. later, i.

If it's the fuel, then it's even the fuel that is on the GTs from the factory. The two I test drove that had the same problem were right off the truck. It happens at various degrees of acceleration and is not driveline-related. It is definitely an engine-related stuttering/hesitation. If mine doesn't go away with two more tanks of gas and a total of 1500 miles then it's going to the dealership for a diagnostic. It is definitely reproducible.

[quote name='inthedeck']hey, as I said before, mr...just thinking out loud...as I could never presume how you are driving, or who you are, or what you owned...etc. geez...I will never offer my thoughts where you are anymore. later, i.[/quote] Hey, not sure if you're referring to my response, but I respect and appreciate your feedback, ..and I hope you keep it up. You bring up a valid point; people that are new to sticks and/or turbos may have imaginary issues that are due to their driving style. Un/fortunately, I don't believe that I'm in that group. I'll let Subaru know about the problem, and I will try a few more tanks of pure virgin premium. If that doesn't fix it, things will get ugly...

Now this is an issue that maybe everbody who has this problem should both see the dealer AND let Subaru corporate know! Also, it doesn't sound like a shifting/new manual driver issue, since from what I've read, it occurs when the car is fully in gear, and clutch fully engaged, and occuring during he acceleration (as opposed to right when the clutch is engaging or when you first get on the gas).

I had this issue as well. I say "had" becuase either it's gone away, or I haven't noticed it in the last week or so. I'm at ~1200 miles now, the stuttering (like a smooth misfire, if you will) was present from the beginning.

I have experience some of it as well. Haven't thought too much of it, I'll see if the ECU learns through it in another thousand or so, if not, I'll let someone know about it. I'm not too worried. Only on acceleration onto a highway or such. Like I said, I'll see if it wears off over time.

I remember the WRXes had a farily lumpy power curve, which would cause a little surging/stuttering until over 4000RPM or so.. I remember a little bit of it on the GT that I test drove, but chalked it up to Subaru turbos.

[quote name='JoeGT']Now this is an issue that maybe everbody who has this problem should both see the dealer AND let Subaru corporate know! Also, it doesn't sound like a shifting/new manual driver issue, since from what I've read, it occurs when the car is fully in gear, and clutch fully engaged, and occuring during he acceleration (as opposed to right when the clutch is engaging or when you first get on the gas).[/quote] [img]http://forum.e46fanatics.com/images/smilies/whacky10.gif[/img] Start complaining people! The sooner you can "prove" this condition to the dealers and SoA, the sooner a fix will be in the works...

I believe I've experienced this also. I can only describe it as a stuttering hesitation when on the gas at low RPM. But not all the time. I noticed it more with the first tank of fuel than with the second. Maybe I'm starting to get used to it. I'll have to pay more attention now..

I get the stuttering too (5MT GT sedan). It seems most pronounced in 2nd and sometimes 1st. In 4th and 5th I don't think I've ever noticed it. I'm a newb to driving with a stick (only the past month), but I'm pretty sure it's not me. I can't say for sure whether it goes away after driving for a while (so the engine warms up more). I'll try to pay more attention and post what I find. Since it's my first MT, I thought it might be normal, but I'm sorta glad it's not (though at the same time a little upset that the problem exists at all).

I might be getting my oil changed tomorrow. I might ask the dealer about it..

Perhaps the air:fuel ratio is slightly too lean. Has anyone tried doing a series of a dozen or so WOT runs to redline? This may get the ECU to adopt a slightly richer mixture. No guarantee, just speculating.

That sounds like it might be right- I remember the days of carburators when the first 2 barrels would be open and you'd put your foot down, opening the 2nd 2 barrels. It took a second for the engine to get the air and fuel mixture right.

If this is the same hesitation like on the WRXes, they do the grounding mod to fix it.

maybe you need to downshift because the car will studder if your rpm's are too low.

[quote name='KayGT']maybe you need to downshift because the car will studder if your rpm's are too low.[/quote] They already stated that they were in the "right" gear... it isn't a bog problem.... it sounds like a fuel / ignition problem...

This is an issue where a forum pays off. This same stuttering problem has been driving me crazy. I'm on my 4th tank of 93 from 3 different companies. It happens to me in the 2-3000 range, regardless of the gear. It's not a clutch issue as it is often after I've been in that gear for a while. I'm hoping that once I'm out of the break-in period and have a chance to open it up it will get better. If not, the dealer will definitely hear about it. This gasping/missing/hesitation undermines the performance of the vehicle. I can't imagine Subaru won't get on this problem quickly. If potential buyers are feeling it during test drives, it will be a very costly flaw. Otherwise, I absolutely love my GTW Ltd 5M. :) 750 miles in one week without going more than 60 miles from home. Mostly just driving to drive.

I noticed lately that it is more of a thing when mine is cold than anything else. Perhaps from lack of heat/pressure on the components. I don't know, it just feels a bit more pronounded in it's initial 2-5min of run. After that I guess I really don't notice it too much.

I had noticed this right away, in the first 100 miles. It seems to be less prevalent as of late but I can't say it is gone. I have 1010 miles on the car. It is most obvious in the 1st to 2nd shift when you grab 2nd under 3500 rpms. My 02 Altima had a hesitation problem that the factory issued a TSB to address. These dealer issued technical service bulletins could be found online. Does Subaru do anything like this? My Altima ECU was reflashed at the dealer and it was awesome after that.