My first Un-Scheduled Maintenance problem :(

Well, I got in my car after work today, and my jaw dropped! At first, the "sport" shift light was flashing violently as was the ABS light. The Check Engine light was on, and the Cruise control light was flashing! Uh, oh (and yes, I know that they all come on as a test then go off - this was after I was almost out of our parking lot when I noticed this!) I immediately stopped, turned the engine off, and turned it back on. All of the lights went off, EXCEPT for the Check Engine light, and the Cruise Control Light continued to flash all of the way home (and of course the cruise was dead) Any ideas here? I am going to have to take the car in - it's due anyway for it's first service. Anyone had similar problems yet? Mine is a June GT Limited Sedan with auto-sport shift Rob Frankfort, KY

sounds weird to me.. possible freak accident? did you check the fuses? Keefe

If you have a dealer close, just take it in. It's under warranty, so whatever it is, don't worry, it should be taken care of without incident. Sounds interesting, if you are going to look around, I also agree, check the fuses.

DONT DRIVE IT AT ALL. Ring yr dealer as a matter of urgency. Let them know that this is happening and that your very concerned and dont want to drive the vehicle at all. Based on yr concerns, yr dealer service manager may be able to walk through a few processes, but if yr not confident doing this, let them know also. Sorry to hear that yr having such early trouble although it may be something small but get it checked out ASAP. Please let us know the outcome. Good Luck Adam.

The only reason you should STOP driving the car would be if the check engine light is FLASHING always. If its just on permanently you can drive the car. Flashing is the indication there is a mechanical major problem. If its on and stays on it is most likely a minor issue and you can drive the car normally. Just dont push it hard. Mike...

The cruise control light/check engine light combo indicates that the drive by wire system is confused. The easy way to see if the problm is a big deal is to disconnect the negatie battery terminal, step on the brake pedal for a few seconds, reconnect the battery terminal and then restart the car. If the lights are still there then a trip to the dealer is in order.

[quote name='rao']The cruise control light/check engine light combo indicates that the drive by wire system is confused. The easy way to see if the problm is a big deal is to disconnect the negatie battery terminal, step on the brake pedal for a few seconds, reconnect the battery terminal and then restart the car. If the lights are still there then a trip to the dealer is in order.[/quote] And as I am fond of writing, "Don't ask rao how he knows that one." :lol: Kevin

[quote name='gtguy'][quote name='rao']The cruise control light/check engine light combo indicates that the drive by wire system is confused. The easy way to see if the problm is a big deal is to disconnect the negatie battery terminal, step on the brake pedal for a few seconds, reconnect the battery terminal and then restart the car. If the lights are still there then a trip to the dealer is in order.[/quote] And as I am fond of writing, "Don't ask rao how he knows that one." :lol: Kevin[/quote] OK... I gotta know... how does he know that one? ;) THAT's the kind of stuff that should be in the owners manual. Or maybe they should have a "regular" owners manual and an "advanced" owners manual with this kind of stuff in the advanced version.

I think it probably is in the owners manual (I'd bet that it is definately in the service manal) though I haven't read either, yet.

[quote name='rao']The cruise control light/check engine light combo indicates that the drive by wire system is confused. The easy way to see if the problm is a big deal is to disconnect the negatie battery terminal, step on the brake pedal for a few seconds, reconnect the battery terminal and then restart the car. If the lights are still there then a trip to the dealer is in order.[/quote] Well, both lights went out today....Still, I think it warrents a trip to the dealer..... thanks for the input! Rob

[quote name='brady_bunch'][quote name='gtguy'][quote name='rao']The cruise control light/check engine light combo indicates that the drive by wire system is confused. The easy way to see if the problm is a big deal is to disconnect the negatie battery terminal, step on the brake pedal for a few seconds, reconnect the battery terminal and then restart the car. If the lights are still there then a trip to the dealer is in order.[/quote] And as I am fond of writing, "Don't ask rao how he knows that one." :lol: Kevin[/quote] OK... I gotta know... how does he know that one? ;) THAT's the kind of stuff that should be in the owners manual. Or maybe they should have a "regular" owners manual and an "advanced" owners manual with this kind of stuff in the advanced version.[/quote] Well, when we did the horns on my car, we did some disconnecting, and when we re-started the car after all was said and done, there was the "check engine" light, with the flashing cruise control indicator. We took the steps he indicated in his above post, and problem solved. He was calm, I wasn't...at first, until I realized that a guy who has essentially built two motors from scratch probably is in control. :lol: Kevin

[quote name='gtguy'][quote name='rao']The cruise control light/check engine light combo indicates that the drive by wire system is confused. The easy way to see if the problm is a big deal is to disconnect the negatie battery terminal, step on the brake pedal for a few seconds, reconnect the battery terminal and then restart the car. If the lights are still there then a trip to the dealer is in order.[/quote] And as I am fond of writing, "Don't ask rao how he knows that one." :lol: Kevin[/quote] That's how you get rid of the most common CEL of the "malfunctioning cat" code. It's cheaper to do what Rao does than taking to the dealer or the shop to fix it. Keefe

So does anyone want me to teach them the Advance timing procedure to bump the ECU to another 10 hp? It's the same start as Rao's procedure to purge all previous info on timing... This "10hp" power trick is known as the "dyno ECU purge". Keefe

[quote name='Xenonk']So does anyone want me to teach them the Advance timing procedure to bump the ECU to another 10 hp? It's the same start as Rao's procedure to purge all previous info on timing... This "10hp" power trick is known as the "dyno ECU purge". Keefe[/quote] 10 hp more? Sure -- any side effects to the bump? Fuel Economy, etc? thanks, Rob

[quote name='gtguy']...at first, until I realized that a guy who has essentially built two motors from scratch probably is in control. :lol: Kevin[/quote] 2 :?: a few more than that :lol: I've also had 2 cars with drive by wire throttles. The "10hp mod" is a way to force the ecu to learn the spark tables more quickly. I wouldn't bother.

I ordered my Legacy GT a few days ago. I intentionally waited a few months because I wanted to be sure all the new car bugs were worked out or there was no major issues. BUT, I gotta say, I'm starting to get nervous about the sudden influx of problems with the new Legacies already. This surely will drop it out of the top spots in the JD Power initial quality report. We've had a recall already. Turbo boost problems and "shuddering" I've heard of the glovebox issue. An issue with a front bumper clip or something. And now this with the dash lights flickering and check engine light coming on. Good grief, should I back out of my order and wait longer? I don't want a $30K car that's going to have all these kinds of problems in the first couple of months. I hope these "problems" stop in the next couple weeks. I love Subaru, but is this getting out of hand for a car that was "Car of the Year" in Japan? It should of been d@mn near perfect by the time they shipped it over here, instead, it seems like there is a bunch of quality control issues and reliability issue already. Help....am I getting paranoid or are others who've ordered this wonderful car worried too?

You are over reacting I think. One guy with a CEL is no reason to panic. What is the incidence of these problems? 0.5% of all Legacies produced? If you want a perfect car, you have a very long wait ahead of you.

[quote name='outahere']You are over reacting I think. One guy with a CEL is no reason to panic. What is the incidence of these problems? 0.5% of all Legacies produced? If you want a perfect car, you have a very long wait ahead of you.[/quote] Well, it may be a lot more than you think. Consider there hasn't been that many 2005 Legacies sold yet. And I'd venture to say a very small percentage of the owners come on this board. And with the number of people already responding with, "yeah that's happened to my new Legacy already" there may be hundreds or more that have experience all these problems, but they don't post about it, or they are part of that VAST majority who don't visit this site. I truly hope the occurences are low, but from this very small community who posts regularly here, it seems quite a few more than we'd hoped have had quite a few more than we'd hoped problems with their new Legacies. Again, i hope I am overreacting, but just in case, I'm going to talk to a couple service managers at a couple of my nearby Subaru dealers to see how they've been. Hopefully they'll be honest about how many have had to come in already for repairs and such.

Driver72, no group of owners pick apart their car more than an online group. Period. You will always hear more about the negative things of a car because anybody with the slightest glitch writes it on the web, and it spreads like wildfire. If you went on owners' reports of little problems here and there on the internet, you wouldn't buy any car on the market. Ever. Try to stay cool.

[quote name='PPower']Driver72, no group of owners pick apart their car more than an online group. Period. You will always hear more about the negative things of a car because anybody with the slightest glitch writes it on the web, and it spreads like wildfire. If you went on owners' reports of little problems here and there on the internet, you wouldn't buy any car on the market. Ever. Try to stay cool.[/quote] Preston is being generous. Enthusiast boards are generally a bunch of whiners, who worry about every little thing, and nitpick a car to death. When the WRX was introduced, it was easier to find someone who DIDN'T throw a "check engine" light than someone who did. There were suspension rattles, off-center steering wheels, flapping sounds, odd boost behavior, etc, etc. Now, think about the complaints you've been hearing about the Legacy. 1. Check Engine light (one guy..I don't count because I had all kinds of stuff unplugged when putting in my Hella horns :lol: ) 2. Little buzzing sound from behind the driver's side vent (a few people, but not all) 3. Shuddering under acceleration (people report it, but also that it goes away after the first 1K miles...no boost problems that anyone is aware of, so I'm not sure where that one came from) 4. Glovebox "issue" of it being difficult to close without slamming it, something easily fixed by the dealer. Now, these problems haven't happened to everyone, or even a significant percentage of people on this board, and none of them point to anything approaching a real problem, or something that affects drivability. So...chill. Kevin

For mine, doesnt matter what the problem is, it is a concern especially with a car that is so new. Having to go back to the dealer so soon after purchase is just a hassle that no one wants. I hope that everything can be worked out, keep us all uptodate with yr progess and best of luck with it. Adam.

[quote name='agctr']For mine, doesnt matter what the problem is, it is a concern especially with a car that is so new. Having to go back to the dealer so soon after purchase is just a hassle that no one wants. I hope that everything can be worked out, keep us all uptodate with yr progess and best of luck with it. Adam.[/quote] Agreed, totally, Adam. Thanks for the concern and support. The production of the 21Z model Legacy at Subaru's Indiana plant was a very major model change for them. Even though the car had been in production for a while in other parts of the world, they started in March of this year at SIA, and startup problems are bound to pop up. Rob

Hi Rob, and yr welcome for the support. I have been throw this before with other new cars that I have bought and its not the best. With any new model Im sure that the builders are aware that some problems will occur. If this is the case, they should be a LOT MORE OPEN to receive things back and work on them promptly and make a positive out of a negative. All the best with it. Adam.

[quote name='RobCatron']Well, I got in my car after work today, and my jaw dropped! At first, the "sport" shift light was flashing violently as was the ABS light. The Check Engine light was on, and the Cruise control light was flashing! Uh, oh (and yes, I know that they all come on as a test then go off - this was after I was almost out of our parking lot when I noticed this!) I immediately stopped, turned the engine off, and turned it back on. All of the lights went off, EXCEPT for the Check Engine light, and the Cruise Control Light continued to flash all of the way home (and of course the cruise was dead) Any ideas here? I am going to have to take the car in - it's due anyway for it's first service. Anyone had similar problems yet? Mine is a June GT Limited Sedan with auto-sport shift Rob Frankfort, KY[/quote]

Hi there all. This is my first post, as I am a new member. I just picked up my Leg Gt MT four days ago, and low and behold, my check engine light is on and the cruise control light is blinking, so, I don't think this is just an isolated incident anymore. Thanks in advance for any more info. I'm calling up my dealer tomorrow AM. jim