Ravenwoods

We bought a 1998 Forester in 2003 with 100,000 miles on it and kept it until it had 335,000 miles on it. We sold in in August of 2025 for $500 and it was still going. Looked like hell though.

Thanks for the suggestions. I've passed them on to my daughter. She has a big savings account and could easily buy a very young car if she valued having a decent looking car, but this one is generally super reliable, which is good enough for her. She'd rather buy a piece of land.

My daughter reported today that her 1996 Legacy (180,000 miles) this infrequent problem. If she accidentally stalls the car by letting out the clutch too fast the car doesn't want to start for a while. She says it's happened about five times in the last year or two. Typically she comes back after 30 minutes and then it starts. It cranks just fine but doesn't start. This morning it happened again and she only had time to wait 15 minutes but no success. So she borrowed my car. About seven hours later I went out and it started fine. Any ideas what causes this?

Well the mystery got solved and the solution is rather embarrassing! I had no idea this car has an immobilizer and that the fancy Subaru key is necessary to start the engine. Shortly before the starter motor issue arose I had a simple copy of the key made at the grocery store for about $1.98. l was using that key exclusively to try and start the engine. Finally on another Subaru Outback forum somebody asked about my key. As soon as I tried the fancy Subaru key the problem disappeared! Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Maybe this thread will help someone else in the future with the same issue.

Definitely an automatic transmission.

I haven't resolved the starter motor not cranking when I turn the key, so I put a female connector on a wire and hooked it to the spade connector on the solenoid so that I can crank the engine by touching it to the positive terminal of the battery. It cranks beautifully but the engine doesn't start. As far as I know this should start the engine when the key is on, correct? It seems like the problem is greater than just the starter.

Another issue I have noticed is that the radiator fans come on when you turn on the ignition. I believe the fans should not come on if the engine is cold. So I thought maybe a bad coolant temperature sensor. I swapped it out but no change. Maybe this is related to the starter problem?

At first the starter would engage and turn the engine over a couple times and then quit. After trying a few times it was only silent, not even a click. I replaced the starter motor but the solenoid does not appear to be receiving power from the signal wire. I looked at the owner's manual list of fuses and for the fuse and relays in the engine compartment and it says something like "except starter motor.". The passenger compartment fuse list in the owner's manual says fuse 21 is the starter relay but the fuse is still good. Somewhere I think I read that the blue boxes to the right of the small fuses are relays and one of them might be for the starter. Can someone tell me where to look? My battery is good and the voltage at the positive connection on the starter motor is the same voltage as the battery.

I got a 2009 Outback special edition instead. Only 95,000 miles on it. It spent 2016-2025 in Arizona and before that in Colorado. Pretty much rust free. I drove it home to Fairbanks, Alaska.

I decided to not get a the XT based on turbo failures. Often when looking at an XT for sale the seller would say something about the turbo just replaced. Also I didn't want to buy expensive premium fuel. I got a 2009 Subaru Outback special edition with 95,000 miles on it instead.

I'm thinking of getting an Outback XT in the 2005-2009 range. Any thoughts on these years? Any specific year I should avoid?

My 2005 Outback has about 148,000 miles and is AT. The P0638 only occurs after about an hour of highway driving. Symptoms are immediate loss of power. The car becomes can barely move itself and idle is rough. I then Turn the car Off and wait 30 seconds. When I start the car it will drive normally for 5-10 minutes before it happens again. If you drive it very moderately at 40mph it seems to not happen as frequently. Working it hard seems to bring it on more rapidly. I have read a common cause of this fault is a bad accelerator pedal. So I replaced that with no cure. Another possible cause is a bad Throttle Position Sensor, which is fully integrated into the throttle body. So I replaced the throttle body and it's GPS with a used throttle body. The replacement was faulty and the problem got much much worse. So I got a new Throttle Body and GPS for $125. Still no cure, and it went back to being a problem only occuring after about an hour of highway driving. Seems like another cause could be the ECM? Any suggestions?

My daughter has a Legacy (automatic transmission) with about 180,000 miles on it. So the problem is very intermittent and has never occurred while I drive it. It seems this car has a MAP sensor instead of a MAF Sensor. There is no check engine light but a PO420 code occurrs from time to time. Poor mileage. Occasionally runs rough or stalls, hesitates, jerks and lunges. Does this sound like a failing MAP sensor? We already removed the throttle body and cleaned it.

I swapped out throttle body with another one that may or may not have a good throttle position sensor. The P0638 only shows up after about an hour of highway driving. So I took a trip today and after about an hour the P0638 showed up. So now I would like to try a PCM from a different car to see if that cures the car. Do I need one specifically for a 2005 Outback or are there other Subarus using the same PCM?

Here is an update to my situation. I get a 0638 code and the car coasts to a stop and the engine is still running in limp mode. The car can go about 2 mph. I shut off the engine for a minute and when I restart it runs normally again. This only happens on longer trips after maybe 30 miles and the car has been working hard. Apparently a dirty throttle body can be a culprit. I looked in mine and it's rather clean. Also the electric accelerator can be a cause. I replaced it and the problem did not go away. The next suspect is apparently the throttle position sensor. Is it true that I need to replace the entire Throttle body as the throttle position sensor is built into the throttle body?