October 25, 200520 yr I'm sorry that I haven't searched the board to see if this has been covered or not...but it's in the shop at the dealer and I need information to present so that they actually fix the issue and don't claim to have not been able to reproduce the problem...which follows... 2004 L.L. Bean H6 Outback Wagon Car will sometimes have a hard shift in any gear. Severity varies from a mild bump to a violent, like being rear ended, bang. It generated a check engine light once but cleared itself before the dealer could see it. Lately, it has a new trick of fluttering when gradually accellerating from a cruise speed. The dealer pressure tested the AT lines and said it's slightly below spec pressure in 1st and 2nd gears. Only fix is to replace the transmission (2-6 week wait) but they were not able to experience the problem themselves (again). Is it the transmission or maybe the torq converter? I need to know if anyone else had this issue on such a new Subi. The dealer can't figure this out on their own so I think I need to nudge them in the right direction.
October 25, 200520 yr it's under warranty right? make them replace the trans. they admitted low line pressure? that's amazing they admitted it. are the coolant lines blocked or pinched? check the transmission pan for dents. a severe dent up into the pan will restrict flow to the ATF sump, there isn't much clearance between the oil pan and the bottom of the sump..which is really the bottom of the ATF filter on older 4EAT's. this is a hard to diagnose issue, have a look at the pan. a quick visual, just look under the car, look at the pan and make sure it's good. if the CE light came on, they can retrieve that code from a read memory state. AUTOZONE and other parts places will retrieve the code for free...but the dealer may have already cleared it. i'd let AUTOZONE see what they come up with on their OBDII scanner. if they say they can't retrieve the code then i would suspect them to be full of $#^&@...actually i'd suspect that before i entered the shop (which i would never do).
October 25, 200520 yr Author All the work is covered. Only 28k on the odo. They checked the car for codes but said that if the computer had time between the light coming on and the next self check, and the check returned an OK, depending on the severity of the code it would be wiped and not recorded. I don't think it'd be caused by damage since it's done this since I drove it off the lot but I'll check next time I see the car. It's at the dealer waiting for it's new trans from Japan. It's always had a weird coolant smell too from the wheel wells, too.
October 25, 200520 yr 1. If you are getting a replacement tranny make sure it is NEW NOT REBUILT! (you might get one with 100k on the internals of the front dif which aren't touched in a rebuild)!!! 2. Read number 1 again!!!
October 25, 200520 yr What he said -- I can't stress any more that you need to insist on a new gearbox. You're unlikely to get a rebuilt one since the 5EAT hasn't been around very long (this also explains the Federal Government style wait), but be adamant. Don't take any crap from them. There is one thing I can say against Subaru -- they seem to have a higher instance of either trying to pawn off blame for failures on you and call it "abuse" or make with the cheap way out on warranty repairs.
October 26, 200520 yr I'm sorry that I haven't searched the board to see if this has been covered or not...but it's in the shop at the dealer and I need information to present so that they actually fix the issue and don't claim to have not been able to reproduce the problem...which follows... 2004 L.L. Bean H6 Outback Wagon Car will sometimes have a hard shift in any gear. Severity varies from a mild bump to a violent, like being rear ended, bang. It generated a check engine light once but cleared itself before the dealer could see it. Lately, it has a new trick of fluttering when gradually accellerating from a cruise speed. The dealer pressure tested the AT lines and said it's slightly below spec pressure in 1st and 2nd gears. Only fix is to replace the transmission (2-6 week wait) but they were not able to experience the problem themselves (again). Is it the transmission or maybe the torq converter? I need to know if anyone else had this issue on such a new Subi. The dealer can't figure this out on their own so I think I need to nudge them in the right direction. I had the exact symptoms with TPS malfunction. The TPS was replaced by the dealer to the tune of $300+ only to find later that it was a loose connector problem (recurred with the new sensor). I am not saying that you have TPS problem, but any lose conection to many sensors with give you tranny defaulting to limp mode with wierd shifting. BTW, ECU stores a code in memory even when MIL is not illuminated. Sounds like you dealership is a bunch of incompetent idiots, it was a case in my case, too.
October 28, 200520 yr Curious if they "fixed it" or gave it back with no action. I've been down this trail with an 04 H6. Get hold of your district rep. NOW. It is not important what the dealer does or whether he/she says the problem exist, doesn't exist, or that they think they have fixed it. The only thing that matters legally is if you have a paper trail and have followed the soa dispute resolution procedures.
October 29, 200520 yr Just a thought, but isn't the L.L.Bean H6 equipped with "limited slip" differentials? Has anyone checked them? Has the differential lube been changed and a friction modifier (if required) added? Snapping, banging from the rear end sounds like a differential locking up to me. Could be wrong.
October 31, 200520 yr Would it be nice if original posters reported back with follow up? I thought it was a common curtesy?
October 31, 200520 yr Would it be nice if original posters reported back with follow up? I thought it was a common curtesy? Perhaps there have been no further developments. Patience grasshopper.
October 31, 200520 yr Author Huh...I know I replied thanking everyone... Well, I do thank everyone for their input. There actally hasn't been any new developments. I'm gonna go to the dealer this week and get the district rep's information. Also gonna poke at them about if this is a new trans or not and ask if they could verify it's not the torq converter nor the electronics/sensors. I'm sure, cause they do this all the time, I'll get looked at like I'm stupid and ignorant for asking these questions.
November 1, 200520 yr Author Ya, ok...So the dealer called yesterday...somehow the car is ready in only about 10 days... I need to burn off the full tank of gas in the loaner car then I'll actually answer their calls and go get mine and start asking questions.
November 2, 200520 yr Author Called the dealer this morning. They in fact did put in a "re-man" or remanfactured transmission. When pressed as to why I was told ALL transmissions even directly from Japan are "re-man" and that "there are no new transmissions". *screams wildly*
November 2, 200520 yr This is possible. Personally i see nothing wrong with a factory rebuilt engine or tranny as oppsed to a new one off the line. Odds are if there is a weak part in the tranny that came with the car when built, and there was a design change, it has been incorprated into the rebuild. Either weay you get a full warrenty. nipper
November 2, 200520 yr even multi thousand buck M engines are rebuilt if fitted during warranty. Everything is upgraded to the latest spec on a production line. No reason to worry as it may be better than new with the latest upgrades.
November 2, 200520 yr Called the dealer this morning. They in fact did put in a "re-man" or remanfactured transmission. When pressed as to why I was told ALL transmissions even directly from Japan are "re-man" and that "there are no new transmissions". *screams wildly* Last I checked the VDC (ALL 2000~2004 H6 3.0 LegacyOutback) trans are NOT avalible as a reman...ONLY avalible as new...last time we had to get one, it was from another dealer that just *happened* to have one...otherwise, SUBARU was waiting on some from JDM land... I'll double check tonight if there is a reman...but, again, IIRC, there was no reman avalible for the VDC yet..only new. Plus, reman trans are rebuilt in the USA and NOT in JAPAN....SUBARU builds up a core amount, then rebuilds...thats why there is a core charge if you dont return the trans...or other reman part.
November 3, 200520 yr Author Picked up the car. I drove it on a short sorta day trip. The new trans works great, a lot tighter, a lot more power to the ground. But it tossed a Check Engine at me so back to the dealer I go...
November 3, 200520 yr I am corrected...there *ARE* reman VDC transmissions. They are very specific to a certin production range tho...unlike the normal 4EAT transmissions.
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