Well I have appointment with SD on monday Reliable Subaru in Springfield). I’ll let you guys know how it goes. I’ll also call around to dealers in St. Louis and Kansas City. Just a couple other comments on my problem. Every time the lights come on on the dash the cruise control will disengage or not work. Cruise control flashes, sometimes the gear indicator goes off(6 speed manual). I drove it on extended trip to Houston and problem occurred going there and coming back. Coming back had some really freaky things go on like the gas guage going to zero and then back to regular level, digital clock and mpg meter in center top of dash flashed on and off,at irregular intervals every dashboard warning light would flash on and off. At least the tach and speed guages always work.
The cruise control not working everytime this happens,whether engaged or not, makes me wonder if there’s something wrong with the cruise control.
Again thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions.
“The cruise control not working everytime this happens,whether engaged or not, makes me wonder if there’s something wrong with the cruise control.”
Nope…that is totally normal when the car’s OBD system detects a problem.
If everything (including the evaporative emissions system) isn’t running at its optimum, the Cruise Control will be disabled, along with the traction control and the Vehicle Dynamic Control.
You need somebody–like the dealership–with a more sophisticated code scanner to determine what diagnostic trouble codes are present, and then to correct the conditions that are leading to those DTCs. Once those problems are resolved, then the Cruise Control, Traction Control, and Vehicle Dynamic Control will function again.
Well The Reliable Subaru Dealership in Springfield MO has come through after quite a bit of pushing. The problem has been identified as a defective VDM module. They have to overnight the part so hopefully I’ll get the car tomorrow. The repair will be covered under my extended warranty. I plan on a 100+ mile trip just to make sure everything is running smoothly.
@stevhoff
Sounds promising. Thanks for the update. Keep us informed.
CSA
I don’t like to be a doubter but I have to wonder if replacing the VDM module is really going to fix the issue. My thinking is, when a module has a problem it is usually bad at all times, not intermittent. I am leaning towards a connection problem (possibly in the wiring to the module) is causing the issue. I hope I am wrong about this. If the trouble still happens after the module swap then I suggest hunting for a faulty wire connection. Using a screwdriver handle to tap on suspected trouble spots may show up the problem.
One of the posts gave me the impression that the problem is very intermittent, I am surprised that they were able to duplicate the problem in one day. On the other hand some customers become impatient if they don’t get an estimate after two hours so a guess is thrown out there.
Seeing as how warranty is being introduced into this problem it could be that they’re making a guess at it as part of a “safe” fix; meaning the customer is not on the hook and is not likely to tear into them if the issue is not resolved with a new module.
Hopefully the module will fix it so I’m just sayin’…
So I get a call from the Subaru service department today(it’s been in the shop since tuesday) and they tell me they had installed the vdm and it was working fine yesterday but when they started the car up to take it for a test drive this morning the warning lights came on again and the new vdm module is now shot! So now they are hunting for a short and when they find that they have to order a new vdm,have it overnighted(apparently they don’t keep these in stock) and install it and maybe I will get my car sometime next week.
Cougar I think you are on the right track here. Wonder why they didn’t do this first would have saved them some time plus the cost of another module. Thankfully they were kind enough to comp me a loaner car while mine is in the shop. Now i just need to spend an hour or two going over the owners manual so I know how to drive this thing! I wish they made cars simpler over time instead of crammed with electronics.
Sorry to hear about the bad news. Why the new module is now bad seems very strange to me. I have to wonder if what they are saying is really true. Now if there is a short in the wiring that is being controlled by the module then I could see how damage could be caused to the module but that problem wasn’t happening when you gave the car to them. The trouble was just intermittent. If there really is a new change to the problem then the new module must have caused it to happen. I hope the shop isn’t overlooking something, like a input signal (power or sensor input signal for instance) that makes it seem the new module is bad but really is okay.
At this point I would check all the power and ground leads to the module along with any signal and control leads to make sure they are not causing an issue to the module. Hopefully the shop has a good electrical tech on board to look further into this problem. At least you are being covered for this repair, which is really good because this repair job is not going to be cheap.
Wonder why they didn’t do this first would have saved them some time (identify the cause of the failure)
I think you’ve got it backwards, I’ll bet little time was spent diagnosing this because there is very little compensation for warranty work. This might pay .2 of an hour to test and replace the module, no one wants to spend 4 hours inspecting the wiring harness and connectors for 12 minutes of pay. Now the tech has no choice but to go through this thoroughly to find the problem and he probably isn’t happy about doing it for next to nothing.
Nevada_54 is dead on correct. I doubt if things have changed since I worked for Subaru at 3 separate dealers but the tracing of any electrical issue under warranty paid exactly that. .2 hours or 12 minutes.
The 12 minutes just about covers finding the car in the lot, bringing it in, and running it out the door; nothing more.
Subaru claims, or used to claim, they would pay up to .5 hours if there was a good and documented reason but that’s a claim I’ve never seen happen in the real world.
The SOP is to deny the claim and in many cases deny even the .2.
When you pay with crumbs you’re going to get random guesses due to sheer irritation and quite often a barely under control temper.
The sad reality is that it comes down to “they don’t pay me to care” and its unfair to the dealer, the mechanic, and the customer.
Ok got a call today from the service department and things aren’t good.They checked out the wiring from the VDC to the computer and that checked out good But apparently there was a bad steering angle sensor that had to be replaced which they thought was the cause of the VDC failing. So they replaced the VDC for the second time and the steering angle sensor and now… the car won’t start!
The service manager is calling me to see if anyone was messing with any of the wiring and now he’s saying that they have to go through all the wiring harnesses to see if a wire is cut. he says if one is. Subaru won’t pay for that. And he won’t give me an estimate of what that would cost.Doesn’t have any idea.Said it could cost over a thousand dollars. Or it could cost nothing. Some choice huh?
I have again expressed my frustration to Subaru national. I’m leaning to just having the car towed to my local mechanic who says he can fix it. Open to any suggestions.
About the only thing I can offer is what I mentioned previously; a speed sensor problem. I was also very antsy from the start about this being a module issue.
As to the no-start that may be a new and unrelated issue which could possibly have been caused by the shop. It could be something as simple as a popped fuse due to prodding around or something more serious.
Since it’s not likely a compression issue that leaves 2 reasons as to why an engine won’t start.
Either a lack of fuel or lack of ignition spark. Neither should be difficult to sort out.
Without car in hand, unfortunately I can’t be of much help.
Right now the repair to run takes priority.
they are getting nothing electrially. No saound when you open the door. Its like the battery was dead.
By the way this is a 6 speed manual transmission.
Also the service manager said he has had 3 mechanics -including the most senior one with 25 years of experience- as well as the national service try to figure out what’s going on and they are all stumped. None of them have ever seen a problem like this before. My only option as i see it is to have it towed to a mechanic I trust. Though some people on this thread previously said this was an issue only a dealer could fix.
I’ll echo what ok4450 says above, the shop should be able to tell you if the no start problem is caused by spark or fuel. Suggest to ask if they’ve narrowed that down or not. If not, ask why not. There are probably other vexing issues at hand, but figuring the no-start cause is the first step, and imo shouldn’t be deferred. I’m not suggesting fixing the no-start will be simple, but diagnosing why it is happening among fuel or spark, that’s something shops do every day. If your shop in unable to do that, to me, that would be concerning.
If everything is dead (no chimes, lights, warning lights on the dash with the key on, etc) then the first thing I would look at would be fusible links although in my opinion whenever there is an electrical issue it’s prudent to check all fuses and fusible links; both in the underhood box and the underdash box.
I realize this is going to sound very, very stupid but most issues like this have a simple cause as unbelievable as that may sound. It’s sometimes very easy to not see the forest for the trees so to speak.
I wish that I could be of more help but without car in hand it’s near impossible since there are so many unknowns.
I could recite stories until the sun faded into oblivion but to illustrate the point consider this. A gentleman’s vehicle had a habit of dying suddenly which necessitated a tow to the shop in the city where he lived. It did this 3 times with each event leading to more money spent and what he was told during the last event was beyond preposterous to the tune of 1100 dollars.
He had the car towed 85 miles to me after the 4th episode of dying. He walked in to the building to get a soda pop (very hot day) and by the time he got back out and the tow truck was driving away his car was fixed.
A lousy 25 cent fuse…
Needless to say, he was in a state of stunned disbelief and I didn’t even charge him for the fuse and the less than 2 minutes to find and fix the problem.
Just trying to make the point that not all perceived major problems have an expensive fix.
Someone is going to have egg on their face if there is a blown fuse or two on the Subaru… 
Ok4450 where do you live? Can I bring my car to you? Yes everything is dead. I hope its just a blown fuse but these idiots probably couldn’t find it. Could they have possibly shorted out the entire electrical system?
I’m getting so stressed out over this.I have only managed 2 hours sleep.here it is almost 3 in the morning and I"m on the board.
I’m retired from the profession (sort of or at least I try to be… ha!) but I live in north central OK about halfway between OK City and Wichita, KS.
About all I can suggest at this point is to get it towed for another opinion. I like to think of problems as having a simple cause until proven otherwise. It’s very, very easy to overthink a problem and I’ve found myself guilty of this at times. It’s a mental tug of war sometimes.
The fact this went from a running well car to won’t start car would bug me. It should not be difficult to sort that part out. If it has fuel pressure, ignition spark, and the injectors are pulsing it should run. All of that is easy to check.
If this car goes to another shop you might keep us posted here and we will try to help as much as possible anyway.