Please help. I have been to the dealer twice and they don't know what they are talking about. My 02 RS has been acting up recently, with about 68k miles. Here is the issue:

Seems like early mornings, when first running the car i have issues with acceleration, after letting out the clutch. It feels like the car bogs down and is going to stall out, and causes it to buck and look like i dont know how to drive a stick.

Also, my idle speed varies between 400 and 700 rpms and comes down to as much as sputtering to almost stalling, but never fully stalling. The check engine light has come on twice, once reading cylinder misfires, and I replaced all plugs and wires, and a second time with an air fuel mixture and an idle speed controller, but it hasnt come back. The dealer said they thought my amplifier for my speakers was causing the cylinders to misfire??? so they unhooked it, but its still doing the same thing.

Has this happened to anyone else, and do u have any suggestions?

Thank u

 

do you know if it is a lean or rich misfire?

maybe maf isnt heatin up all the way? or getin no power at all.
i dont know if the map is a backup on subarus but checkin it wouldnt hurt

o and do you know wut clyndars are misfiring?

 

at first it was all the cylinders, when they replaced the plugs and wires. Now they are saying it was cylinders 1 and 3. Would that relate to an amplifier for subwoofers though? They said it "wasnt wired properly" even though I have installed them about 50 times and never had a problem with any engines.

 

Anyone else any suggestions? I don't just want this thread to die, please.

 

ensure that the main ground wire to your ecm/injectors is tightly bolted down- its located on the intake plenum- driver side ( black wires). Also your engine main wiring harness connector in the engine compartment is properly mated together.
Theres also a wire connector near the pass. seat that leads to the fuel pump- make sure that is ok not corroaded or anything. If all those are ok- maybe its the ecm itself thats causing all that prob- do yo know anyone that has the same car/year? try swapping the ecm. Im sure that the dealer had checked the coil pack itself- but re check it anyway- pull the plug wires out of the coil one at a time
and inspect the terminals- they should be clean and shiny- no black sooth or anything like that. these are the basic things that u can check. i hope this help- ed

 

ensure that the main ground wire to your ecm/injectors is tightly bolted down- its located on the intake plenum- driver side ( black wires). Also your engine main wiring harness connector in the engine compartment is properly mated together.
Theres also a wire connector near the pass. seat that leads to the fuel pump- make sure that is ok not corroaded or anything. If all those are ok- maybe its the ecm itself thats causing all that prob- do yo know anyone that has the same car/year? try swapping the ecm. Im sure that the dealer had checked the coil pack itself- but re check it anyway- pull the plug wires out of the coil one at a time
and inspect the terminals- they should be clean and shiny- no black sooth or anything like that. these are the basic things that u can check. i hope this helps- ed

 

The coil pack could be the culprit also. New wires and plugs are good, but if the coil is bad, then you'll still have misfires like this.

Also check the wiring for the air sensor. I think the 02s are MAP sensor based and having too low or too much voltage will definitely make the car act up.

-Gagan

 

There is a missfire recall. Check it out. Have the dealer run your vin.

Does your idle fluctuate? Or does is cough like its fuel deprived? Or does is sputter like a cylinder isn't firing? If its fluctuating it might be an oil issue. Worse case: you might have blown a bearing. Blew a bearing on my new STI motor with less then 50 miles on it. But only because I blew the oil pump 20 miles into the mountains and didn't want to sleep there for the night. Drain every last bit of oil and bring it to someone. They can anylize it and tell you if a bearing is blown. But find some one really really good at that stuff. Also, change the plugs again. I change mine every month because the boxer engine gunks them up so quick. Any codes?

 

So the check engine light came on the other day and I brought it right up to the dealership. They checked it out and said it was an O2 sensor and said its running a lot better. We got about 2 ft of snow overnight so I havent picked it up yet - oh. and they also said they heard a "knocking in the engine, which could be a piston"

great. can anyone say lemon?

 

Just saw your post. Yes the idle did fluctuate, I'm not sure if it does anymore cuz i havent picked it up yet - I hope the knocking in the engine they heard has nothing to do with the blwon bearing you were talkin about. I'm not a total noob but I definatly dont know most of the **** other people do on here, should i be concerned about the knocking or forget it? I wanna trade it in next year and get a WRX or STi anyway, once I graduate

 

the dealer told me the map on my 97L was still under warranty ecu and something else to do with fuel and emissions. I have 63k miles on it. on and 575$ to replace the timing belt. haha