1999 Subaru Legacy, 2.2L engine, automatic transmission, 124K miles.

 

I bought it just last month. I notice that the shifting at around 20-30 MPH lags about 40% of the time. (I think this is from 2nd in to 3rd?) I will be going 25 MPH and giving it more and more gas, and it just stays at 25... does not accelerate despite my gently advancing the throttle. (Meanwhile, everyone is justifiably tailgating me.) When this happens, the only solution seems to be flooring it, which (after 2-3 seconds) will force the revs up way high, and then it thankfully kicks in to the next gear and all is normal again from 30-35 MPH on up. Not exactly safe or good on fuel economy.

 

I am not a gear-head, so all I did was check the ATF level, which was full & seemed correct.

 

Is there a known issue with lagging shifting in the 99 Legacy? Anything I should be on the lookout for, or that I can check on myself? I can live with it if it's just "the way these trannys are", but if I am slowly killing the tranny, I'd like to know in order to be proactive. Thanks for any thoughts.

have the fluid changed. folks often never replace ATF (or rarely), so it may have never been changed before you got it. everyone knows to "change oil every 3,000" but will go 100,000 without changing ATF.

 

this is a true 4WD transmission, make sure the tires are the same size, properly inflated, properly roated, and never improperly towed. i suggest reading the owners manual if you're not familiar with 4WD/AWD stuff like this.

it would not hurt to change the front and rear diff also ,80-90 weight oil

Sounds like my car.................

 

Probably just a TPS that needs to be setup again. Search TPS or Throttle Position Sensor.

Thanks everyone. Fluid has probably never been replaced, so I will do that. All tires are identical & all new & inflated properly. If the fluid swap doesn't help, I will look to the TPS.

Just wondering but how will fluid affect when the car shifts btw? lol.

i test drove a 99 just like that today.

 

there is a known problem with 99 - 01? auto trans. usually it is a slow to engage when shifting from p to d or r to d. maybe 2-3 seconds. some have had good luck using Trans-x atf additive with new fluid. i don't have any idea if yours is the same problem (a seal) but it may be worth a try.

 

the car i drove (160k and it was trashed, i bet the atf was original) was said to have a downshift problem on hills, any sign of that?

 

try shifting manually and see if it is slow or slips then.

Edited October 20, 200916 yr by johnceggleston

I had the same problem with my '98 (still happens very very occasionally).

 

Found that the xmission cooling lines to the rad. were fairly well clogged. Cleaned them out and installed an in-line xmission oil filter (from an older model suby) I think the '99 has a spin on filter on the xmission which should be changed out.