tcc Posted November 3, 2019 Share Posted November 3, 2019 So I just picked up a 2013 Outback 2.5 Limited about a week ago; my first Subaru to own and as far as I remember the first one I've ever even driven. I'm pretty handy with a wrench but I know next to nothing about these awd systems(yet). I bought the car knowing it was making a little noise and knew it'd need a little maintenance, but I may have gotten myself into more than I anticipated. First off, the car drives perfectly--tracks straight, "shifts" smoothly, gets great mpg, etc. Basically no symptoms other than this noise that I'm trying to narrow down; seems to be coming from either the cvt itself or the center diff. It's only present when in motion; it stops as soon as the wheels stop. No noise at idle, even in drive, until you start moving. Last night I did get several lights coming on(AT temp, brake, traction control) which seems to be a fairly common issue. Not sure if the two or related or not; it still drove perfectly after the lights came on. Any tips, help, advice would be greatly appreciated. I've searched and read all sorts of stuff but still quite uncertain as to what exactly the problem is. Here's a link to a vid of the noise(couldn't figure out how to post a vid here). https://youtu.be/0_vV1YDKT4M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OswaldtheBold Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 14 hours ago, tcc said: So I just picked up a 2013 Outback 2.5 Limited about a week ago; my first Subaru to own and as far as I remember the first one I've ever even driven. I'm pretty handy with a wrench but I know next to nothing about these awd systems(yet). I bought the car knowing it was making a little noise and knew it'd need a little maintenance, but I may have gotten myself into more than I anticipated. First off, the car drives perfectly--tracks straight, "shifts" smoothly, gets great mpg, etc. Basically no symptoms other than this noise that I'm trying to narrow down; seems to be coming from either the cvt itself or the center diff. It's only present when in motion; it stops as soon as the wheels stop. No noise at idle, even in drive, until you start moving. Last night I did get several lights coming on(AT temp, brake, traction control) which seems to be a fairly common issue. Not sure if the two or related or not; it still drove perfectly after the lights came on. Any tips, help, advice would be greatly appreciated. I've searched and read all sorts of stuff but still quite uncertain as to what exactly the problem is. Here's a link to a vid of the noise(couldn't figure out how to post a vid here). https://youtu.be/0_vV1YDKT4M That is not a good noise! Hard to tell from your video, but do you think the noise is coming from the transmission? How many miles on it? Take it to a Subaru dealer. The CVT trans has a 10 year-100,000 mile warranty. My 2013 was having a torque bind problem. Took it to the dealer last week, and they replaced the transfer clutch piston and plates under warranty, and said if I had any more problems they would just replace the entire transmission. Hard to say if the warning lights are related to the noise. I have never had any warning lights come on after startup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcc Posted November 4, 2019 Author Share Posted November 4, 2019 It's at 145k so well out of warranty unfortunately. Will likely end up taking to dealer, but closest one is an hour away so would rather avoid that if at all possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret54 Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 Bet it’s a front wheel bearing. Done a LOT of them both front and rear on the 2010-14 Outbacks and 2012-16 Imprezas ( same as Crosstrek). Makes a ‘whirring’ sound , like a jet engine at idle to me. Some come right out, others are really rusted in place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcc Posted November 5, 2019 Author Share Posted November 5, 2019 I'm about 98% sure it's not a wheel bearing, as the sound is coming from the trans/diff area. Wheel bearing was what I was thinking when I bought it and kind of wrote it off as not that big a deal. Haven't had a chance to get back under it to narrow down exactly where the noise is coming from yet. I did figure out that it only happens when both front wheels are turning together; doesn't when turning the rear wheels, doesn't when turning each front wheel individually. And only does it in Drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcc Posted November 7, 2019 Author Share Posted November 7, 2019 Haven't' had much time to mess with it, but I have narrowed down the sound to coming from the front of the trans/rear of the engine area. It's really hard to narrow down exactly where though. Seems like it has to be something with the trans or front diff as it only makes the noise while in drive with the wheels turning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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