Ravenwoods

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?

Thanks for the help. The right side of the Throttle body has a plastic attachment, so the Throttle position sensor must be there inside. There is some sort of sensor on the top left. The reason for my question is that my electric accelator pedal was failing,. So I got a new one. I decided to replace the Throttle Position Sensor too and eBay found one that it said fits my car. However the sensor on the top left Throttle body is narrower and doesn't match. Since I replaced the accelator pedal there haven't been any more problems.

My 2005 is nonturbo 2.5 and has the non cable electronic accelator pedal.

Is the Throttle Position Sensor built into the Throttle Body or separate? Maybe in subsequent years it was built in?

Looks like it is located behind the battery instead of mounted on the transmission.

I'm getting ready to change my ATF fluid and watched a Youtube video to see if there is anything different about changing it in this vehicle. I was surprised to see a spin off ATF filter. So I just checked my 2005 and it does not have a spin off filter. Are there certain years the transmission came with the spin off filter? This video was done by a guy in Canada. Do Outbacks in Canada have the spin off filter and those in the US not have that option? My car has 140,000 miles on it.

The engine does turn over a few times before firing up. Perhaps a sign of lower compression? Of maybe the fuel injectors are not as good any more?

A couple weeks ago our 1998 Forester with a manual transmission turned over 333,000 miles. We bought it in 2003 with about 110,000 miles on it. A previous owner had outfitted it to be towed behind an RV and we were told that about 50,000 miles on the odometer were towing miles, so the engine had maybe 60,000 miles on it. We had the timing belt changed at about 120,000 miles on it and it was still good and was the original belt. The clutch went out at about 160,000 miles and we had it redone. The body looks like hell with lots of rust around the right rear fender. Someone drove into the Forester at some stage causing some cosmetic damage, enough for the insurance company to total it. We kept it since the cosmetic damage was rather minor. The trim that runs along the bottom below the doors on the right side was hanging so I just tore it off. The car still drives well and I replaced the timing belt and pulleys, spark plugs, and spark plug wires about a year ago. I have parked it for the winter as I now have a 2005 Outback that I got for a decent price that needed new struts and had a bad wheel bearing. I'm using the Foresters 16" alloy wheels on my 2005 Outback with some new Michelin X-Ice studless tires. The original alloy wheels that came with the Outback have summer tires on them. So I've got decent wheels for the Outback regardless of summer or winter. I'm hanging onto the old Forester as a backup car. I'm expecting visitors from Norway next summer and they could borrow that car while they are here. So I'm not sure what part of the Forester will give problems next, probably the clutch or head gaskets. We had the head gaskets redone when we had the clutch replaced. The clutch pedal does cause some problems when we have hot weather here in Fairbanks, Alaska, when it get about 85 Fahrenheit. Are there many of you who put over 300,000 miles on your Subaru? Maybe I should find another Subaru body that needs an engine and swap it out.

My 2005 Outback did something weird the other day. I started it up and the center display where you can view Outdoor Temperature, mpg, miles until your gas tank is empty, etc., just showed IGN. The headlights didn't come on and the turn signals didn't work. But the 4 way hazard flashers worked. After driving it for a couple minutes the IGN disappeared and everything was normal again. I did a google search and found a single description of the problem. It sounded like the key ignition has a problem possibly from someone having a heavy key chain putting too much weight on the key. And that Subaru had a recall on this problem. The problem has not repeated itself yet. Does anyone have information on this?

My daughter has a 2000 Legacy Wagon, Automatic Transmission, about 180,000 miles on it. When starting from a stopped position, the car starts with only the front wheels pulling, but after a second all 4 are engaged. What's causing this and how can we fix it? It's been like this for a while.

The seller has accepted my $3500 offer.

Kelly Blue Book says $2098-$3535 for a vehicle in FAIR condition. For GOOD condition up to $3900. I've been looking through the Mechanic's inspection notes from 2021 (about 135,000 miles) and he noted that the Head Gaskets were seeping and gave an estimate of $2500 to replace them. Is 2005 one of those years where Head Gaskets were a major problem? I know my 1995 Legacy seeps too but I've heard that its not a problem. Should I avoid this car because of the seeping head gaskets?

This 2005 has an automatic transmission. Mileage 140,000. Timing belt changed at 134,000 miles. The owner lived out of state and came up to Fairbanks, Alaska in the summer and drove it then. But hasn't used it hardly since about 2021. So the guy that has been keeping it for him is now selling it for him. Asking $4500. Problems: Struts are shot, rear hatch struts are shot. Right front bearing might be shot. Right front CV axle boot not attached anymore (not cracked). So we lifted the front right wheel off the ground and discovered the CV axle nut is Missing! So possibly just putting a nut on might fix it. I did give the seller an old used nut I had laying around and loaned him my 32mm socket. He loaned me all the maintenance records he has (2019-2021). Just wondering what you all think of the 2005 Outback wagon? I'm tempted to offer $3500. I don't really need a car yet. The 1998 Forest is ugly as hell (331,000 miles) but still going strong with great KYB struts and new timing belt kit from last fall, new spark plugs and wires. And I still have a 1995 Legacy I'm getting ready to replace the bad leaking seal on the front of the engine. I'd sell it after I fix that if I get the 2005 Outback.

We got a 2010 Outback last year and after not being able to find a dipstick for the Automatic Transmission, I discovered that it has a CVT, which I had never heard of before. The previous owner said he did a drain and refill of the transmission, which probably means about half of the fluid was changed. The car has 178,000 miles on it and I read on Google that a CVT has a shorter life expectancy than a regular AT. Looking for recommendations on whether I should do a flush or not? Sounds like I would need to take it to someone that has the equipment for a flush? The CVT is performing flawlessly so far. I have been doing some light trailer towing though.