Hi,
Lets start at the beginning, 98 Outback Sport stock 2.2 5 spd almost(bad syncro)..
I was fueling up (Irving 87 oct) when I restarted the engine the CEL was on.
I knew the fluids where up to level and everything sounded and felt normal so I have driven it for a week.I did make sure the gas cap was on tight and doubled checked all the fluids for peace of mind...
I took it to the shop this week and had the code read and it was the Knock sensor circuit.They cleared it and said if it came back on then I probably had a bad sensor.It came back on within a mile.
I ordered a sensor and popped it in tonight.I figured the car has 163k miles it might be due..
Question,will the CEL clear itself or do I need to have it cleared,or should I do the remove battery terminal for 20 minutes trick?
Could this just have been a tank of poor gas? I usually run the same fuel with no issues till now.
If the CEL comes back on after being cleared could it be anything else besides poor fuel? New fuel filter within 2,000 miles.
Thanks in advance.

 

undo the negative & positive battery cables off the battery, touch the cables together, its will drain the car of all power instantly, and will reset the CEL [it will not hurt anything]

 

Hi ,Thanks.
I reset the CEL today after topping off the tank with 91 oct and the CEL came back on with in 10 seconds....I also replaced the knock sensor with a new one???
I guess it is back to the shop to have it scanned again....I did notice today that the car had a surging around 2,700rpms I could drive threw it and then it was fine...
Time will tell.....

 

did you get a genuine subaru knock sensor? also make sure the bolt that holds it down is tight!.

 

Hi
It is a Bosch direct replacement sensor which looks identical to the one that came out of the car only new...It is clean and tight and has a positive connection.
I reset the code with a reader this time (Purchased one today) after I removed the sensor and re cleaned and re installed, it threw the code again.
The code shown was P0325 -Knock sensor 1 circuit malfunction (Bank 1 or single sensor).
This all happened after I fueled up a week ago...No CEL's before then.??????

 

like i said, get a genuine subaru knock sensor.

 

i get calls like this alot (i work at a subaru dealer in parts) bosch is crap replace with oem part, clear code, done.

 

Got nothing to loose, I'll pick up a factory sensor.
Would the knock sensor out account for a 8 mpg drop in fuel mileage between tanks?

Thanks.

 

it could, because it retards the timing so far you use more throttle because its slow as hell.

 

Hi,
I noticed it is a little doggy down low but once reved (Above 3,000) it seems more or less normal.
I got side tracked been driving the Blazer will get the factory sensor...
I was on a GM site and they mentioned the Bosch stuff being junk as GM replacement stuff also...