sewardflynn

Thanks for your reply. No, it is not on. It was, and the codes were P0440 and P0170. Our mechanic said they fixed that by replacing the MAF sensor and the front O2 sensor. When It is idling low, it kind of revs itself up and down on its own every 3-4 seconds or so. I have been dealing with it by just giving it some gas while it is in neutral while I am at a stoplight, etc. Would the low idle itself be causing the lights to dim and the fan to slow down? Or does it sound like there is another problem causing all of it? I should take it back in but the mechanic is an hour away..

Hello! I am brand new to the forum and admittedly not too knowledgeable about cars. We have 99 Forester with about 120,000 miles. It had check engine light on for a long time - our mechanic stated it was an evaporative emissions code, not necessary to fix and very pricey, so we drove it like that for a couple of years. Exhaust system also required work for a long time. We finally did these repairs just in the last couple of days - we found a different, affordable mechanic, who seems very trustworthy. We found them after we bought an Outback from them a year ago. The car has always gone through a lot of oil, too, and we were not always super good about keeping it up. Sometimes we would check it and it wouldn't register on the dipstick at all. It doesn't have any leaks though, just eats oil. A couple days before taking it in to the mechanic to be fixed, it did something new. It started idling really low. It would start up well, even in the subzero temperatures we are having here in Minnesota, and then after warming up and driving it for a while, it would start to idle low, around 500 rpms, and feel like it was going to die. The air blowing out of the heater would also really slow down, and lights would dim a bit until it got more gas. We mentioned this when we brought in. Mechanic says they checked the alternator and the battery and both were OK. They replaced the MAF sensor and the front O2 sensor. They didn't experience the symptom while it was in their care and sent it home with us. However, it is definitely still occurring. Having just invested all this money in a car we thought was on its last leg is kind of a bummer. Any thoughts?