2009 Subaru Forrester over-revving on idle

Maybe take it to a subaru specialist (not Subaru). There are a couple of good places around perth.

Or go to www.ozfoz.com and search that site. Will be heaps of info.

Idle speed control motor usually. Im not a subaru expert but thats the usual culprit on injected cars.

Doesn't a vacuum leak normally cause stalling? Or does that depend on whether it uses an airflow meter or MAP sensor?

Those Subaru guys sound clueless! You shouldn't really ever need to touch the idle adjustment unless things have been pulled apart and put back together.

Find out how to check error codes (usually by bridging two of the pins in the diagnostics connector then counting the flashes of the check engine light). Could be lots of things like throttle position sensor, coolant temp sensor. The guys at Subaru should have hooked up their diagnostics dealy to check that stuff but who knows.

Dunno what the problem is but the response from the Subaru guys is bull. I have a 2000 Outback with over 250k on it and it purrs.

The car is still under warranty. Go and get emphatic with them and demand that they fix it. Make sure you can reproduce the problem before you go so you can show it happening, and prove that it is fixed after.

we have a suby , and the service crew at our closest dealer are absolute crap!

never again will we own one of these sh!t boxes.

after having a service it lost the flywheel off the crankshaft at 60 mile an hour and bent the crankshaft !

thousands of dollars later fixed.

omfg

I could go on and on, and probally will later after a few red cordials!

only my opinion, but is from experience .

over rated over priced lemons.

thats funny , I was thinking of buying a ford, oh well maybe a holden ?

it probally depends on the staff at the service centers, your mate has lucked it in for good servicing maybe.

The general experience is that Subaru are very reliable - they crap all over Commondores and Foulcans in that respect. Ultra reliable, but parts and servicing more expensive so maybe it balances out.


Did that service involve a clutch job or flywheel machining?
If so it was the knob mechanics not doing the flywheel bolts properly, not the car.

Thats poor service - sorry to hear about that -
I confess to being a subi fan
My wife killed my beloved Liberty wagon (owned from new) at 200+K on the dial
With the exception of consumable wear items (radiator, clutch, starter, hoses) it never missed a beat despite the wifes repeated attempts to kill it
(me to wifey when I arrive home and smell disgusting white hot metal smell
"Darling you have cooked the car didnt you realise from the gauge"
wife resposnse
"well they should have a warning system to tell you"
I laughed / cried at the same time - but the subi lived on until she took out another vehicle)

I have said this on the SUP Forum as well but honestly buy a Toyota.

They sell twice as many cars as anyone else so if there were issues there'd be twice as many whingers.

But there's not, just more and more people buying Toyotas. #1 in Australia and the world by no accident at all.

Honestly, have you or someone close to you owned one and never had a problem and kind of regret selling it?

Thanks for the tip - will do. Cheers...

Hey GPA

It might need a Throttle clean this will idle the car smoother and may calm the idle down to normal revs.

This clean is cheap and done without removing major parts so it can be done buy Subaru in a few minutes I think.

Ask the question to the service manager

hope you get to the bottom of it

Kind Regards
Walt

Thanks Walt,

I'm compiling a list of all suggestions to take back to them - I'll certainly add yours to the list.

Cheers.

Sands, firstly I never go to dealers unless I have to - you spend longer fixing all their mistakes you find months later - like sump plugs done up with a rattle gun and not replacing a 10cent consumable washer leading to total clutch system failure being two of my recent examples [}:)]

Flywheels don't fall off - - so I hope they paid for all of it!!

If was in a capital city and still had a Subaru I'd go to one of the workshops that does lots of performance work on WRX or one of the rally team's businesses as they know the stuff inside out and back to front..... and won't feed you BS like dealership service depts will

Well guys, we can all hypothesis for hours on end about what is wrong with a vehicle we can't see. The fault could be any of the items that have all been previously mentioned, vacuum line disconnected (a trained ear on a late model car will pick that up pretty quick) idle speed control motor carboned or faulty, blocked throttle body, coolant temp sensor faulty (signalling to ecu cold engine temp and stepping up idle speed to warm up). Other things such as map sensor disconnected (can't remember if this system runs it or an air flow meter) which will put the ecu in to a over fuel situation or even the ecu may be at fault itself.

IMHO the only way to resolve this issue is to talk to a few people in the trade, the dealer or an auto electrician. Once you have spoken to a few reputable people you will eventually feel comfortable with one of them. Take your car to them and trust your instincts because at the end of the day no matter what, you are going to have to take this vehicle somewhere.

The general problem is that everybody has a story about how they were mistreated or taken advantage of over car repairs and/or have been burnt in the past. This combined with car repairs being a grudge purchase (lets face it who wants to spend money to fix a car) creates a tension between the customer and the repair centre generally as the customer walks in the door. The story about the Subaru flywheel is a classic example, one poor experience (albiet extreme and obviously massively costly and inconvenient) does not mean all Subarus are "overrated over priced lemons". I have four Subaru vehicles in my family (one Audi, one Toyota, one VT Commodore, two Nissan's and a couple of motorbikes aswell) and also carry out repairs for a Subaru dealer and I find they are extremely reliable and well built vehicles. Toyota, Nissan, Mazda and Volkswagen I also rate very highly.

As mentioned before find a reputable repairer you trust, RAC and/or MTA approved repairers with valid Motor Vehicle Repair Business licences are the things to look for, take your vehicle to them and openly discuss your issues with them. Be open minded and remember these people have invested major amounts of money in training, government licences, equipment, premises and diagnostic equipment just to mention a few and they will need to charge you the appropriate fees so that they can be there for you the next time your vehicle breaks down aswell.

Let us know the hopefully happy outcome.

Thanks BD... the limit of my mechanical know-how stopped at the Holden red engine - so I'm just trying to get some ideas to take back to the Subaru service centre, as i'm not confident that they have given it due attention...

Cheers (and yes, will post back once resolved).
GPA