kahoona

I have a 2.5 l Outback Legacy '97 with 110,000 mi on it. It is my first Auto trans vehicle in 20 years but I figured that even at my age I could still learn to drive auto.;-]. Is this trans programable or adjustable? How? I would like it to shift earlier when I back off the throttle. This is the first auto I drove that cannot be made to shift that way. I would also like to get it to shift sooner when the throttle is applied hard. It now kind of waits a while before reacting. If it gets uneven throttle input durring minor accel it can shift with a "bump". I recentlu purchased a Honda Civic from the same year (I needed a car for my wife to drive untill we got this Suby sorted out) and It shifts when needed and reacts faster to inputs. Any suggestions? I understand that this trans is dependable. I just would like it to be a littlt more responsive. Thanks Kahoona

Thanks but I forgot to mention that they changed the O2 sensor also. Thanks Kahoona

Go to Crutchfields. They are on the web of course. They will sell you speakers that are far better than stock and that install with the factory wires and an adapter plug. I generally replace em all. Makes a huge difference! Kahoona

Please see vibration at idle (or 2.5 trouble part 2). My 2.5L '97 legacy Outback (110,000mi) has a serious stumble just off idle. It seems to be getting slowly worse. It is associated with a pronounced shake at idle. It seems to be random happening about 1/2 of the time and only severly 1 time in 10. Most of the time the car just lurches slightly but ocaisionally it stumbles for more than a second. This happened while I was trying to get across a buisy highway with a trailer in tow. I was nearly creamed by a semi. It is dangerous. The dealer from whom I bought it a year ago replaced the head gaskets, did a $69 fuel system cleaning and inspected all the hoses. They also cleaned out some other parts of the fuel system. Oh ya- They replaced the oxygen sensor also. I later replaced the air filter and fuel filter. I had the plugs replaced twice with really good ones.They said the wires were tested and were fine.The CEL didn't come on at all.The weather has no effect. It happens wether the engine is cold or hot.The dealer says that either it isnt happening or that they dont think its bad enough to worry about and if it was they don't know what they could do about it. It is dangerous. It is also frustrating to me. My Suby doesnt run right! My passengers get whiplash on takeoff! Help.!!! Kahoona

I am glad there are forums on the net because the dealer says that there really isnt anything that they can do and I already spent $1600+ working on it and am getting frustrated! I have a 2.5 auto '97 Suba Legacy outback with 110,000 mi. This should be just nicely broken in for a Suby. It vibrates at idle.It does it most of the time. It staarted about 4000 mi ago while returning from vacation and pulling a 1500 lb trailer. The left 1/2 axle also gave out on that trip but it made it home and I replaced it.Weather conditions don't matter. Sometimes it only shakes the steering wheel. Sometimes the door panels vibrate loudly and the whole car vibrates. It only happens in gear. If I go to neutral it stops vibrating. It is associated with a stumble at low RPM that developed around the same time.Both were intermittent. There was no check engine light.I took it to the dealer and they changed the head gaskets (CO1 in the radiator.) They did a fuel system cleaning for $69.They also did the timing belts while they were in there. They said it was much improved. No change. I had the feeling they had been here before. I made another appointment and they cleaned out some other parts of the fuel system. They checked all the hoses and everything was fine now. I was told that if there was still a vibration then my only recourse was to replace both 1/2 axles with genuine Suby parts. That was what the factory manual said. They also admitted that they had never ordered a genuine Suby 1/2 axle because of the price and that they used rebuilt ones there themselves but if I didnt use genuine ones they could not be sure it would go away. Price $800 if I wanted. I got the other one replaced with a rebuilt one. It still shakes. They really don't want anything to do with it anymore. Any suggestions? Is there something they aren't telling me? Kahoona

I am on my 4th Suby now and have found them all amazing vehicles butI have several problems with my Suby Legacy so I will seperate them to avoid confusion.I have an 97 outback with a 2.5 (you could have guessed) auto. I replaced the air filter and fuel filter and the engine ran terrible. I drove it 2 miles like that hoping that it was just a clogged injector or something.You told me to find the hose under the air inlet and plug it in and I did.That fixed the problem but the check engine light stayed on.Someone said to wait a while and it should go out. It has been around a week. I drove it every day. It is still on. The car still runs "ok". It revs and has no problem at highway speed so I think the converter is OK. Now what. Should I try reseting the computer? Kahoona

I'm on my 4th Suba and I've learned to keep a stiff broom in the garage. Every so often I can just push the oil that drips from the Subys around and I never have to have the driveway coated!

I recently bought a '97 2.5 leg. outback.I just had the gaskets done at 100,000k. I also have the rough idle and chronic stumble just off idle.The subaru dealer says there is nothing wrong with it and the gasket problem is rare bit I think they are under orders from SOA to keep quiet. This is the 4th Suby I have owned and I have always been a fanatic. The auto trans has the strangest shift points I have ever seen.The suspension clunks like an old ford. The 2.5 has none of the good qualities of all the older engines. I will miss having Subys but I think the sucess has ruined the company and the car. I just bought a Honda for my wife. My first non Suby in 25 years! I forgot how nice it is when all the parts. work right! Kahoona

Great Count me in. I'll do the reportin to both places but I really want to get in on the class action suit.

Ever since I got my first Suby and feared that doughnuts were a thing of the past. Its a matter of practice. I turn the wheel hard to the inside of the turn while hitting the gas hard. The rear will swing out and stay out as long as you keep the gas on. Point the wheels in the dierction of the slide as soon as it breaks loose and steer with the gas. when its time to stop turning ease up on the gas and keep the front wheels pointing in the direction of travel. When the rear starts to catch and center itself hit the gas again to prevent the fishtail or a violent return of traction and you can mahe a smooth transition under full accell.Go play in the snow. Thats where to practice. Get used to having the wheels loose and using the gas to steer in the snow and the transition to dirt is easy. If y'all live in the south take a vacation in the north. Kahoona

Ok Now that it is back to itself again how do I get the Check Engine light to go off? Kahoona

Hi I have a problem also. I would love to learn how to program mine too. Mine catches right away and is right in the speed always but it is too agressive in holding that speed. On the highway on any hill or even an overpass it kicks in and causes the trans to shift into third. It does this more when towing but I would like to reduce the 'attack rate' so that it didnt downshift so fast. I do not need that much accell. Kahoona

My 93 Legacy Wagon did the same thing. It always haw 1/2 a tank in it when it hit empty and sometimes it stoped working totally for an hour or 2. I traded it on a 97 Leg Outback and have the same problem. You never really know what empty means. For the last 10 years or so I've just hit the trip meter when I fill up and make sure to get gas before 300 miles go by. Its one of the little things you learn to live with. Thats all. Kahoona

THANKS SUZAM!! It sure was that 1 3/4 inch hose!. It runs into a connecter that makes it look like it goes somewhere else so I didnt even notice it. Gotta watch those 1 3/4" hoses. They'll get you every time.Now I need to get back to my main problem which is the good old Suby hesitation off idle. Plenty of threads to handle that tho. Kahoona

Thanks for the try. I just checked. Filter is in the right direction and all hoses nearby are attached. Kahoona