Aphill80

Morning All,

New to the forum and Subaru ownership (7weeks)

I have a 2001 Impreza WRX Bugeye Wagon (Factory Standard Car)

• Full Service History
• 78,000 miles
• UK Car

I tried my very best to enter Subaru with my eyes open and armed with as much knowledge as possible! But I am getting rather despondent with the car now.....

I have had two CEL lights come on so far!

1st - Maf Sensor
2nd - Misfire on 1 & 3

Right so the problem is... That the car is a little bit lumpy on idle and has a bit of hesitation as you put your foot down just as the turbo spins up (Its not Turbo lack) more of a stutter! its just not as smooth as i thought it should be! and does have possibly a petrol rich smell from the exhaust but i am starting to get paranoid about the whole issue so maybe not

Now the real issue is I am getting 18.9mpg!!!! i know these cars are fuel happy but 18mpg is not right! I am well over the age of redlines everywhere!! I am under the understanding that i should be seeing more like 25mpg i have a 14mile round commute to work never getting above 60mph and sit in blocks of traffic...

So far in an attempt to fix the issue, with low cost items:

• New Spark Plugs
• Air Filter
• Remove and Clean Maf sensor
• Have Swapped coil packs over to 2 & 4 to see if error code follows!

no real improvement in the drive or MPG..

suggestions from my mechanic (best mate Btw) are:

2 x New Coil Pack's
1 x New Maf

Now Both these parts are ££££ and i don't want to go spending near on £400 to find out its neither of these, its been a week since resetting the CEL codes and nothing yet but the MPG is still stuck at 18mpg

I have been told at the weekend it could be the O2 Sensor as well but they are also £££ so thats just another part added to the list of possibles

So I open up the cry for help or if anyone has had similar problems or experience from this forum

Thanks

Andy

dynamix

iTrader: (3)

misfire codes are often a poor earth problem - check the earth straps off the engine block to the car before spending out on coilpacks (they dont normally go on newage subarus)

I have a spare MAF sensor that you can either borrow to test if that helps or buy (cheap) if it does help.

Where are you based?

Aphill80

thanks for the reply

Great tip about the earth straps will check these first thing after work..

Thats a very kind offer about the Maf, I am in North Hertfordshire, i have heard that after market Mafs are a no no, so if its a genuine Subaru i would be very interested..

The bottom line i guess is that with 18mpg do i really have a issue or have i been kidding myself about 25mpg although i have been told by several people that this is to low, and not right so have based my first post on that only

Thanks

dynamix

iTrader: (3)

not far away then - I am in cambs

Yes geniune MAF from my car - mine no longer uses one. If you fancy a trip out you are welcome to try it out in your car (i can check the car out for you aswell if you want).

18mpg is pretty low for relaxed driving like you said - would expect that for a mixture of fast road and urban driving.

Aphill80

Wow you are close i am currently sitting in a office in Baldock, herts,

Right well in a word yes you offer would be amazing and i would love to take you up on it as it will help me tick off the Maf sensor from the list of possibles saving me time and wasted money,

how do you want to move forward shall i PM you?

Thanks

Andy

dynamix

iTrader: (3)

yhpm

scotty_b

dynamix you are a gent for offering your help and I take my cap off to you sir!!

Just hope that when I get my car if/when any issues arise there will be friendly people like you about. I got a bit disheartened on another forum with my old car!

Aphil80 - hope you get your car sorted buddy!!

Scotty

Aphill80

Yes Scotty_b agreed, i have only been on here 5mins after pulling my hair out over the weekend on this problem and i have had a great piece of help already great forum indeed

fingers crossed I can get to the bottom of problem soon and with great help like this i am feeling better about my new ownership again already

Andy

Mr Windscreen

iTrader: (6)

Hi from another Wagon owner in stevenage. Don,t give up mate sometimes the cost to repair your car will be expensive but its definately worth it

Aphill80

im not ready to give up yet, just frustrated, happy to spend on the part to fix it but the total sum of all possible's is around £500+ , off to see Dynamix weds, so will be tapping into his knowledge and keeping my fingers crossed

Stevesbluewrx

iTrader: (4)

Nice one Duncan for helping out.

Phill, DO NOT GIVE UP mate. Trust me sometimes you have your bad days and wonder why your started in the first place etc. My god I thought the same in the process of doing my car.

Is it not a turbo or intercooler pipe problem? Have you checked the pipes? My car ran for god knows how long with a split pipe in the t/body to i/c without me knowing.

MAF's arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrraghhhhhhhh!!


Steve

Aphill80

I have read about the possibility that cleaning the turbo boost solenoid may be something, but the car does pull hard and smooth through the upper rev range, its this stutter / hesitation just as the turbo starts to spin up! and the terrible MPG

I have my fingers crossed that the Maf is the source of the issues and that its just been sending me round in circles as it does all manner of strange things...

Andy

Aphill80

Right Im making some progress.. but its not quick enough as at this rate I would of brought all the possible new parts with the cost of extra fuel the car is using!!!

So its currently doing 17.2Mpg... average... I finally got to go out on a longer drive and saw 24mpg for that 90mile round trip (mainly Motorway)

So here goes... a clean sweep of all possible sensors would be the following Parts:

Maf : 22680-AA310 £235 (Subaru)

(although i have since learnt that any Newage Maf will work Inc Hawkeye versions)

AF (lambda) Sensor: 22641AA042 £272 (Subaru)
O2 Sensor: 22690AA501 £210 (Subaru)

So i have read that as a rule Aftermarket low cost sensors are a NO NO... however i have found this on Ebay...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...#ht_1157wt_913

at a third of the price i cant ignore it!!! this appears to be a Genuine part????

Also if anyone has a Genuine Subaru Maf they are looking to sell please give me a shout..

many thanks

Andy

nick172sport

iTrader: (6)

pm dave beck think hes got one

Aphill80

Thanks for this... Nick

i will get onto him asap,... ta

scooby1929

iTrader: (1)

I thiught you were getting the MAF from Duncan

Aphill80

I still may do, he has been exceptionally busy and had some problems with his race engine so we have not managed to meet up as yet..

but am getting closer to solving the issue now and have ordered some parts after long discussions to sellers over the phone. ... etc.. feeling like I am close to solving the issue... i don't think its the Maf more the Lambda sensor as this when faulty has all the problems I am experiencing.. and i had the exhaust emissions tested and they are above a MOT pass atm which points further to the Lambda Sensor

But am interested in having a new maf as well.. to clean sweep the problem if i can find a used one at a fair price...

Andy

nick172sport

iTrader: (6)

think he was asking 35 quid for it

Aphill80

Morning all..

As the wise man once said slow down a bit here and step back from the problem or something like that....

So another cry for help is a coming.... basically I am looking for a bit of a long shot...

Im based in Hitchin, Herts, and was hoping that there is a local Subaru WRX Newage owner local to me and would let me try their Maf for 10mins.. in exchange for beer tokens.. etc..

Many thanks

Andy

ZEN Performance

It will be the MAF sensor most likely. misfire CELs are a red herring, and they almost never come as a result of a poor coilpack. Poor running in general will case misfires and it will ultimately attribute those to one or more cylinders.

Aphill80

Thanks for the reply Zen

I cleaned the Maf out.. (was filthy) I have not had a CEL now for over two weeks and counting!

All the cars performance it still there... just a bit stuttery and very heavy MPG... the MPG issue is consistent but the Stutter/hesitation comes and goes..

ZEN Performance

I don't think the MAF will ever be 100% right even with cleaning. You really need to get a new one.

Aphill80

Right well a quick update....

After lots of online research into this and parts and there costs etc....and several phone calls to suppliers I managed to purchase genuine Denso AF lambda & O2 Lambda (banks 1&2 basically) for £165inc Vat! new in boxes!

After obtaining the correct part numbers from Subaru I took the plunge and ordered the sensors against Denso's own part numbers using the Subaru part number as a reference, the parts arrived in a couple of Days all boxed up as Denso, once I had removed the old sensors from the car I checked the new ones for fit and match and it became quickly clear these are the Real OEM sensors in DENSO's own packaging rather then a white Subaru box with Subaru part numbers on it!.. this was finally confirmed when I spotted the correct Subaru part numbers itched on the body of the sensors as well!!

my local dealer wants £569 for these two sensors!!!!!!!!

anyways.. the car new feels much more responsive at low revs, and now in a high gear at low revs does not bog down and stutter as the revs build.. really quite a noticeable difference over night it was... and MPG is up!! to around 26/27mpg average already phew...

I am not sure of the naming of sellers rules on here but if its ok I am happy to share the contact details of this company for other members and help them save hundreds too...

Cheers for all the help

Andy