I have a 2000 Legacy L and am experiencing the same transmission hesitation problem going into drive, and it has recently become worse. You mention in several posts about a TSB for "transmission delayed engagement (defective seal)". I followed your link to the NHTSA TSB web site, but the closest problem I could find was under "POWERTRAIN" and read "TRANSMISSION CONTROL UNIT (TCU) CODE 45 AND ALL-WHEEL DRIVE HARSH ENGAGEMENT." Is that the one you were talking about? or is there someplace else I should look. Is it possible the TSB was removed?

 

I'm bringing the car to Subaru this Thursday and wanted to have as much info as possible before I go. The car has just over 60K (60,800) miles so I don't know if they will warranty whatever they find wrong.

 

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

bump

I have a 2000 Legacy L and am experiencing the same transmission hesitation problem going into drive, and it has recently become worse. You mention in several posts about a TSB for "transmission delayed engagement (defective seal)". I followed your link to the NHTSA TSB web site, but the closest problem I could find was under "POWERTRAIN" and read "TRANSMISSION CONTROL UNIT (TCU) CODE 45 AND ALL-WHEEL DRIVE HARSH ENGAGEMENT." Is that the one you were talking about? or is there someplace else I should look. Is it possible the TSB was removed?

 

I'm bringing the car to Subaru this Thursday and wanted to have as much info as possible before I go. The car has just over 60K (60,800) miles so I don't know if they will warranty whatever they find wrong.

 

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

 

Sorry I didn't see the message until just now. Always best to send a Private Message through the board if you want to contact a member. Look at the top right corner of your screen and see under Private Message. I've even been successful getting a moderator to contact a member when they hadn't enabled e-mail or PM contacts on their profile.

Basically, the mechanic was able to diagnose it here at Dan Perkins Subaru in CT. based on symptoms. He confirmed it with a test drive and then gave the knowing look to the service manager of "yup, another one". It had to do with a seal not sealing and defective hydraulics within the trany as a result. Hopefully you are still covered under the 5yr/60K drive train warranty or can make the case that it has been going on for a while but only got so bad that you thought to complain. Send me a PM if you need further clarification. The following post might also relate to your problem.

I never knew to even look for a "code".

G'luck

 

Make : SUBARU Model : LEGACY Year : 2000 Manufacturer : SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. Service Bulletin Num : 166602 Date of Bulletin: MAR 15, 2003 NHTSA Item Number: 10001352 Component: POWER TRAIN Summary:

TRANSMISSION CONTROL UNIT (TCU) CODE 45 AND ALL-WHEEL DRIVE HARSH ENGAGEMENT. *TT