Hello all,
I've had a matrix 3.5 in my forester for about 20k miles. A couple of weeks ago, I started my car with it and there was a funny noise; kind of like when a diesel engine is initially turned on and is being primed, like a metallic electrical whurrr. When I got to my destination, the car was fine. Left it in the parking lot for about an hour and tried to start the car again. It didn't start. I was able to push start the car and get it to my mechanic where we proceeded to diagnose the problem. When we took the starter motor out and shook it, it sounded like a can of peanuts rattling around in the actual motor of the starter. I replaced the starter and everything is fine now.
My question is: Is it possible that the remote starter is responsible for the short life of the starter in my forester? Everyone that I have talked to (a bunch of Subaru techs) repeatedly tell me that Subaru starters are virtually indestructible.
One hypothesis is that there is a short in the remote start unit and power(not enough to crank the engine) is continuously being supplied to the starter motor, which is causing the starter gear to be engaged with the flywheel while I drive, spinning the starter motor faster than it was made to go (750-7500 RPM).
Any input, help, or opinions are greatly appreciated.
Thank you

 

starter gear is usually always engaged... at least in most cars.

if the starter motor was being powered while the motor was on you'll hear the screeching sound.. just like if you were to crank after the motor is started

 

The starter motor is definitely not always engaged in most cars. There is a mechanism that engages the starter gear with the flywheel when power is applied to the motor, it is typically made in such a way that the starter can turn the flywheel but if the flywheel tries to turn the motor it disengages and grinds. If the starter was engaging while the engine was running there would be a lot of very obvious horrendous noise while you were driving and if the flywheel does spin the starter while driving the armature usually self-destructs immediately due to the rpms. That is not to say that the remote start isn't doing something to shorten the life like keeping the starter engaged briefly after the engine catches each time and wearing out the starter.