Hello all. Hoping for an inexpensive solution. My 2006 Outback, with 184000 miles, recently started to "buck" while accelerating around 4000 rpms. The rest of the time, it is smooth. I've tried it in sport mode as well. Same issue. Thanks for your help.

Edited February 1, 20188 yr by Mongo5637

check engine light on?

 

how old are the plugs?

 

any sign of oil on the plug wire boots?

 

is it worse in damp weather?

Knock sensor? That seems to be a common issue after many miles and would cause that issue often with no check engine light.

I am only familiar with the 90s 2.2 I am just assuming that they still use them in 2006

Can you floor it and she revs right past 4000?

Edited February 1, 20188 yr by sparkyboy

Check engine light is on. The weather doesn't matter. Only when it gets to 4000 rpms, like merging onto a highway.

 

Plugs are 10 months old. Bought the car last March with 167000 miles. This just started recently.

 

No oil leaks. Other than this, car runs great and is well maintained. Just cant figure this out.

 

Talked to the dealer and they never heard of this happening.

 

Thanks for the help.

have a parts store read the codes (or, if you own a smartphone, get an ELM327 BT adapter and use an app like Torque to read them yourself) , the CEL is trying to tell us 'something'. Record the codes, have them clear the codes if they will or do a battery disconnect reset, post the codes here, then, scan again if the CEL comes back on. That way we may see what code(s) come back most quickly.

 

do not drive the car if the CEL is flashing.

Edited February 2, 20188 yr by 1 Lucky Texan

manual or auto?

 

again, will it rev past 4K?

 

if not there is a problem likely with teh Speedometer connection to the ECU.

 

defaults to a rev limited state...right around 4k.

 

checked the CEL yet?

All Subarus 'buck' at 4000 rps (revs per second).

Mine does to, I think that is power band kicking in.

It's hitting a rev limiter because something is wrong. You need to have it scanned to figure out why the check engine light is on. What codes does it have stored? To say it's " Well maintained " doesn't imply much if the CEL is on and you don't know why.

Automatic transmission. It will not go past 4000. Does it even in park or neutral.

CEL gives me 3 codes. 1 for the vehicle speed sensor. 1 for the cat converter, and 1 for low operating temp

manual or auto?

 

again, will it rev past 4K?

 

if not there is a problem likely with teh Speedometer connection to the ECU.

 

defaults to a rev limited state...right around 4k.

 

checked the CEL yet?

CEL gives me 3 codes. 1 for the vehicle speed sensor. 1 for the cat converter, and 1 for low operating temp

Auto transmission. No, it will not go past 4k

All Subarus 'buck' at 4000 rps (revs per second).

 

NO

 

Mine does to, I think that is power band kicking in.

 

Double NO...

 

WTF do you think a "Power Band" is?

 

 

CEL gives me 3 codes. 1 for the vehicle speed sensor. 1 for the cat converter, and 1 for low operating temp

Auto transmission. No, it will not go past 4k

 

this.  When VSS is faulted Subaru engines will not rev past 4K RPMs.  It's a failsafe.

 

Almost any time anyone talks about "will not rev past 4K" it is 9 out of 10 times a VSS fault.

NO

 

 

Double NO...

 

WTF do you think a "Power Band" is?

 

 

this.  When VSS is faulted Subaru engines will not rev past 4K RPMs.  It's a failsafe.

 

Almost any time anyone talks about "will not rev past 4K" it is 9 out of 10 times a VSS fault.

 

I think you're missing the joke.  4000RPS is 240,000RPM.  Any Subaru engine would probably doing a lot more than bucking at that speed.

I think you're missing the joke.  4000RPS is 240,000RPM.  Any Subaru engine would probably doing a lot more than bucking at that speed.

 

doh!