I have a '03 Outback H6. Back near the first of June I had a hesitation at highway speed. The CEL came on and the independent repair shop I use said it was due to a bad throttle body position sensor. It was replaced with a Subaru part and the car ran fine for about 1100 miles. I noticed the same symptoms on my way home this morning. Same hesitation and the idol not coming down as you come to a stop. So I feel it is the same problem. The CEL has not come back on yet though.

My question are; Is this most likely the same problem? Can I, as a home mechanic replace this sensor? Is there anything I should be aware of? Or should I take it back to the shop and deal / argue with them about a possibly bad replacement part.

Thanks

Joe

The ECU can't distinguish between a bad sensor, or a bad /intermittant connection anywhere between itself and the sensor. Electrically, it's the same thing (same code, same end result).

Help me out there Blitz. So what you are saying it could be in the wiring between the sensor and the ECU? How would I check that?

It's three-wire circuit; hot, signal, & ground.

 

There's no way to do it AFAIK other than to drive around with a meter connected in at various places in the sensor harness (at connectors ideally) to spot intermittant readings in the hot, the signal, or the ground. Usually it's one of the connectors that's acting up, but also a wire could be pinched or broken.

 

Most mechanics don't like to be bothered with such time-consuming diagnosis ...it doesn't pay money. They swap parts instead.

 

**** ******!