DANBOY

I have just purchased my very first scooby and after a lot of searching have bought an RB5 with W.R.SPORT package. I have discovered that the car has trouble when parked on tickover it has an irratic idle and %70 of the time this leads to the car stalling.
It has been fitted with an H.K.S air filter system that i have been told could be causing the problem however there must be a way this can be resolved, as i say i am new and any help would be greatly appreciated?? It also is fitted with a turbo timer but this seems to be ok and i dont feel this is causing the problem?

chrisp

Get the car into a dealer and get it checked asap. The worrying thing is it has a non standard air filter so may have damaged the MAF sensor.

Andy Tang

iTrader: (3)

I had a similar problem with my MY99 car (same as the RB5)

It's the MAF sensor, fairly cheap to fix and I would remove the HKS filter as thats the cause of the MAF failure.

DANBOY

Thanks for your quick responses how much do you think im looking at to replace this sensor?
Is there any way i can keep the hks filter? if not what do you recommend instead?

rb5 286

iTrader: (2)

hi danboy, fellow rb5 owner here.

where in essex r u? will have to keep my eye out 4 ya.

sounds like the MAF sensor is the culprit.


did u buy the car from a dealer or private?

Andy Tang

iTrader: (3)

A mate had an HKS filter on his MY99 car and it blew up 4 MAF sensors!! I think it may have something to do with the foam not being changed for at least 20,000 miles!! Try changing the foam, and also remove and refit the whole unit, as it may be vibrations breaking the MAF sensor. The foam part of the filter can be purchased from [url-http://www.brdevelopments.com]BR Developments[/url] as they normally have them in stock.

Personally I used a Unifilter Ram Pod Induction for 20,000 miles with no MAF issues. Also the K&N is very popular on the board, and some come with guarantees that the MAF will not fail.

The sensor itself should be less than £100, but don't let the dealer try to charge you for the whole unit as they are £350 if I remember correctly. If the car is still under warranty, they may replace it for free.

DANBOY

I bought the car from a dealer and i have three months parts and labour on it so i want to get it sorted as soon as. How much do these sensors cost with fitting? Im in the hornchurch area and i will be hoping to go to the next halway house meeting i missed the last one cos i picked the car up on friday...gutted!
I love the car and have definitely made the right purchase its just a shame ive encountered a problem so soon.

chiark

!!!!!!!!GET THE HKS OFF, IT HAS PROBABLY DAMAGED YOUR MAF AND COULD BE CAUSING YOUR ENGINE TO RUN LEAN!!!!!!!!!

The MAF (Mass Air Flow) sensor is what tells your engine control unit (ECU) how much air is going into the engine. From this information, the ECU puts in enough fuel to burn the air that it knows.

If it is under-reading, your car will not be putting enough fuel in. This will lead to problems up to engine failure.

I'm not wishing to panic you, and sorry that your first experience isn't particularly pleasant, but you really need to get this sorted ASAP. All dealers know of the problem, and have been instructed to replace after market filters with the standard bits.

Good luck!
Nick.

DANBOY

Thanks for all your responses I will be heading straight to my main dealer to have the h.k.s system replaced back to standard and a new maf sensor fitted. Why are these kits on the market if this is the problems they cause??

ozzy

If it's under warranty get them to replace the MAF, remove the HKS and refit the original Subaru paper filter and air box FOC.

Stefan

ozzy

The MAF on the MY99/00 are very brittle and easily damaged due to poor filtration and/or excess vibration.

They do give you benefits once you start heavily modding, but on an almost std car I don't see any benefits.

If an engine blows with one fitted, Subaru will refuse a warranty claim. I can't see the 3rd party paying out either, so in the end the customer (you and me) would be left in the deep brown stuff.

You'd think with so many European laws around that they would be forced to pay for any repairs if they do indeed cause MAF or engine failures.

Stefan

chiark

As stefan has said, the MY99/MY00 MAF sensor is a thin film type MAF. Previous model years had hot wire type MAFs, which seemed more tolerant.

What exactly causes the MAF to fail is a subject for no small debate. Vibration or bad filtration are often pointed at, but non-laminar air flow is probably the most likely in my eyes.

Incidentally, I run a K&N induction kit as these have - so far - been well behaved even on the delicate MY99/MY00, but as MAFs are known to have failed and take out engines even on the standard induction, nothing is cast-iron guaranteed.

Cheers,
Nick.

DANBOY

Just been in touch with the main dealer it will cost £135 to remove the HKS air filter and replace it with the original standard one and refit a new maf sensor only prob is it will be a few days before i can get it into them will it be ok to keep on driving it until then? Could i cause any moree damage?

chiark

Dan,

If they're the supplying dealer, just get them to confirm that they're happy and will warranty your engine and everything despite having a non-standard filter.

Is it a franchised subaru dealer? If it is, they are well aware of the issue with induction kits and had a directive faxed to them from Subaru UK telling them to remove the kits if the owner wants their warranty to be valid.

I personally don't think you should be paying for this at all. The rough idle is probably down to the MAF, which if it is damaged will have been caused by the HKS filter, which Subaru UK instruct dealers to take off.

IMHO, it's their problem to sort out, not yours.

If it were mine, I'd be around there now insisting that they give me the courtesy car or replacement car. At the moment, your engine could be running lean, and that can lead to catastrophic engine failure.

Again, sorry. I'm not wishing to panic you and I daresay you could drive for thousands of miles without a problem but my best advice would be to not drive it apart from to the garage, and make it their problem. If they're a subaru franchised dealer they know all about the issue.

Cheers, and good luck with the garage!

Nick.

ozzy

That's a bit of the unknown really. I would say drive it very very carefully. try keeping her below 3000 rpm.

Why is your Dealer charging you when you have a 3 month warranty?

Stefan

DANBOY

I didnt buy the car from a main dealer mainly due to the fact they were asking up to three grand more for the same spec car.
I have been in touch with the people who i bought the car from and they have agreed to pay the costs only prob now is the fact i need the car for work and they cant do the work for 3 days?

ScoobyJawa

fit a K&N and get the new MAF element itself, made by Bosch for Subaru. No reported failures of the new ones going as yet

HKS are well known to knacker MAF's on the 99+ cars!

wally

Danboy, IMMEDIATLY trow away the induction kit, take the MAF sensor and clean it with carburettor spray, careful not to touch the contacts with your hands there, then replace the WHOLE ORIGINAL airfilter, including the box in your weel arch, thats the most important thing as it filters out the water splashes.

Hope that your MAF is not damaged, mine was and even when the garage put on the computer to read out the engine-ecu, it was all normal, be very careful, better invest in a new MAF then a new Block...

DANBOY

Thanks for everyones help who replied I am new here but your info is fantastic You may have all helped save me from a potentialy serious problem the car is booked in at a main dealer for a new sensor and replace the original air filter although i have upgraded it to their own recommended Ram air replacement this will maintain its warranty.
Cheers,

Andy Tang

iTrader: (3)

I hate to pi55 on your bonfire, but the Ram Air filter is not recommended for the MY99/00 car for the same reason (MAF contamination)

The RamAir filter was part of the PPP package for MY97/98 cars (IRCC) but it is not for the later cars.

You may also find problems with the Blitz metal filter and the PiperX filter, as well.

DANBOY

The main dealer recommended the filter and said it would not damage the new sensor is he lying??
If so what do you recommend apart from the bog standard filter everything else seems to cause a problem any ideas?

ozzy

Don't bother with any of the aftermarket filters, you'll not notice any performance gains. I used to run an ITG filter and haven't noticed anything different after re-fitting my OEM filter.

It's only when you start doing more serious mods that you'd benefit from something like a cold-air filter.

Stefan

rb5 286

iTrader: (2)

dan, if u want to borrow my standard air box/filter ur more trhan welcome to. i'm only 10 minutes away from u. i would let u have it but i wana keep it just in case i need it.

I am running a pipercross cone filter which is fine, some people say that it makes the car slower top end but i havent found this to be the case yet.

its a real bummer to see that u've got a problem straight away with ur 1st scooby but if the dealer is willing to pay the costs like u said then thats not too bad.


also, do u fancy coming to a meet on thursday night? be gr8 to have another RB5 there.

the main dealer ur refering to is, i presume Wilsons in Chadwell heath.
they have always been v helpful to me, mind u, that might be cos i wrote a stinking letter to Subaru once cos of a salesmen

Chicken Man

Danboy, if they are persistant about charging you for anything, get down to Neo Bros (breakers) in Waltham Cross. They've normally got MAF's and airboxes and just get a panel filter if you're that bothered. Safe bet at this stage of your ownership.

I'll get you the phone no. later if you need it and I can give you directions. I'm in Ilford and it's not far from me.

Good luck mate

CM

chiark

Dan, the dealer KNOWS not to fit anything other than the factory element. I had a ramair filter fitted by a local Subaru garage, and after a bit of digging they found out that they weren't at all recommended by Prodrive or Subaru UK on the MY99 or MY00 models if you go by the letter of their law.

Many people have 'em without problems.
Nick.

DANBOY

Thanks for the offer of borrowing your filter rb5286 but its booked in for thursday now anyway so no probs i will just take it easy for a couple of days.
Dealer is paying all costs so problem seems to have been resolved hopefully now i can start driving my new scooby without any further problems...

rb5 286

iTrader: (2)

Dan: u up 4 a meet on thursday, its just past wickford, i can meet u at the halfway house on the a127 if u want

DANBOY

What times the meet cos the dealer is gonna have my car for most of the day although i presume it will be in the evening

rb5 286

iTrader: (2)

will be about 7-7.15 when i leave, hows that sound, oh and the curry night, bring the missus along aswell

rb5 286

iTrader: (2)

call me on 07951158464 if u want dan