My first Subaru and my first post.... '98 Outback.  I had the sticky heater button(s) problem when the temperature outside got cold.  After pulling out and taking apart the climate control unit i found that the prior owner drank coffee with allot of sticky sugar.  the darn cup holders are not in the best of places.  My issue Now is after i put things back together the heater slider knob (controls the cable to the white actuator by the passengers feet) will slide on its own.  push to the far right (hot) and it will slowly creep to the left/cold.  I have tried and tried to adjust the cable but it still moves on its own.  ??? thoughts ?

thanks

 

They all seem to do this a little bit. The best you can do is make sure the cable sheath isn't hung up on some part of the dash structure.

 

It's very important the E clip that holds the sheath goes back in the same place.

Its also easy to flip the cable end upside down trying to put it back on. Try to attach it so it will be "at rest" when the HVAC unit is slid back in.

Mine creeps off hot just a little bit (less than one cm).  Maybe you can grab onto the cable/sheath down in the passenger foot area (just under the glove box, look for the white plastic triangular piece with the cable attachment near the center console) and give it a wiggle/pull to make sure it is seated and see if that helps reduce the cold direction creep.

 

That E clip at the control is the biggest pain in the rump roast.  I had my unit out to replace the bulbs and wish I would have come across some posts sooner steering away from undoing that clip.  Getting it back in took triple the time it took to remove the whole thing and clean the cup holder and change the bulbs.  Removing the cable in the passenger foot area is sooo much easier (no E clip)!

They all seem to do this a little bit. The best you can do is make sure the cable sheath isn't hung up on some part of the dash structure.

 

It's very important the E clip that holds the sheath goes back in the same place.

Its also easy to flip the cable end upside down trying to put it back on. Try to attach it so it will be "at rest" when the HVAC unit is slid back in.

thank you !  I will double check the cable is not hung up and then flip the cable at the E clip end.  wish i did not pull that off....

Mine creeps off hot just a little bit (less than one cm).  Maybe you can grab onto the cable/sheath down in the passenger foot area (just under the glove box, look for the white plastic triangular piece with the cable attachment near the center console) and give it a wiggle/pull to make sure it is seated and see if that helps reduce the cold direction creep.

 

That E clip at the control is the biggest pain in the rump roast.  I had my unit out to replace the bulbs and wish I would have come across some posts sooner steering away from undoing that clip.  Getting it back in took triple the time it took to remove the whole thing and clean the cup holder and change the bulbs.  Removing the cable in the passenger foot area is sooo much easier (no E clip)!

Thanks !  I bet I flipped the cable at the E Clip.  YUP wish i would have just detached the cable at the passenger foot area the first time as that is what i have done the dozen times i have been trying to fix the creep.  Will post after I pull it out hopefully for the last time. 

well i found that the heater temperature slider knob had a copper spring like grommet that produced pressure on the slider knob helping it to not slide so freely.  My better half actually found the part after i had taken it all a part but i could not figure out where it went when I was trying to figure out how to make it have a little more sliding resistance.