sam

The blinking POWER light problem disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. Over the last couple of weeks, the POWER light has not blinked at all on startup. It is clear that some contact/connection is the culprit and that the the transmission system is ok. Since I have no idea which contact/connection I should be looking at under the hood, I would appreciate any pictures that would help me identify them. Thanks to all who helped before in troubleshooting. sam

Nope...no recent work except for an Oil Change. Don't know about the yacht . The tranny has NEVER been opened unless it had to be when the external filter was added as a recall. I'd be happy to check all the electrical connections...unfortunately, I have no clue where and what those connections/contacts are. Are there photographs on the web somewhere that would give me a clue? I suppose paying $140 for a transmission flush and fill (local Subaru Dealer) along with checking all the contacts/connections might not be so bad. Any thoughts? Thanks.

Disconnected the battery for about 15 minutes. Checked codes. Still get 12...Solenoid B. Interestingly, several times during the day yesterday, the POWER light did not flash when starting the vehicle. Where to go from here?

Yes...nothing wrong with the speedometer. I really like the car...I am the original owner and with only 133K miles on the engine, I know it has a long way to go. But, dropping a $1,000+ on the tranny is a bit much. Been thinking about a used 2002 (or thereabouts) Legacy Wagon with 60K miles (or so). What would you consider a fair price from the dealer for such a vehicle? Are the later (2000-2006) models also plagued with the head gasket problems? Thanks for all your help. *Much* appreciated. Sam

Thanks to the many knowledgeable people here, I was able to figure out what the blinking POWER light meant and how to decipher the codes. For the EXISTING Code, I have 12 (1 Long, 2 Short) and for the PREVIOUS code, I have 33 (3 Long, 3 Short). These codes relate to Duty Solenoid B and Vehicle Speed Sensor 2. What I'd like to know is how critical it is to do something about those issues? The car has only 133K miles on it, shifts just fine AFAIK, and is only used for in-town driving. Also, the POWER light does not blink all the time. The Subaru mechanic didn't seem overly concerned. The hourly rate is $86...5 hours for dropping the tranny! I would appreciate your expert advice on how to proceed from here. Thanks

Thanks to the many knowledgeable people here, I was able to figure out what the blinking POWER light meant and how to decipher the codes. For the EXISTING Code, I have 12 (1 Long, 2 Short) and for the PREVIOUS code, I have 33 (3 Long, 3 Short). These codes relate to Duty Solenoid B and Vehicle Speed Sensor 2. What I'd like to know is how critical it is to do something about those issues? The car has only 133K miles on it, shifts just fine AFAIK, and is only used for in town driving. Also, the POWER light does not blink all the time. Thanks for any advice on how to proceed from this point.

Thanks....much appreciated.

First of all...Hello and what a great forum! Now, the issue at hand. The car has 125K miles on it. Cold start is just fine. But when I have to stop at a traffic light or a stop sign after having driven a mile or so subsequent to a cold start, the engine wants to stall. It goes through what is best described as a "shudder" a couple of times threatening to stall. Then the idle is stable for the rest of the drive. The other problem with engine idle happens when starting the engine after it is been running for a while...like when stopping briefly to pop into a store. Then, the engine idle cycles between near zero and about 1,500 rpms several times before stabilizing. After that, the engine runs fine and idle is fine. I have read, in these forums, that the coolant temperature sensor or the idle air control valve (or both) might be good candidate culprits. Cost-wise though, the IAC is well over $300 (OEM) while the coolant sensor is about $30. They want 0.5 hr labor for each. Not being technically inclined myself, I'd have to use the shop. So, my questions are: 1. What, in the forum's opinion, might be the problem? 2. How would you proceed with the fix? Thank you for all your help.