Could be worse... BUT POed right now!

[Matty2Hotty]

So just picked up a 01 Outback from a car lot, drove her 87miles now crusing on the freeway and sure enough the check engine light pops up. Knowing Subaru and having Check light problems in the past with other Subarus i owned, roughly 80-100 so miles it does the cycle to check everything... SO i know the F'in dudes just cleared whatever check light they had at the car lot just to get it off the lot. I got the common code P0420 Cat code, got a P0327 Code (Knock sensor) and also got a P1111 something with Powertrain. I know in the past with Borla header i would get the Cat code and had to do the spacer mod to fix it... Never got a knock or powertrain code before so Im thinking something seriously might be up then just a O2 sensor or Bad Cat.

What should i seriously do? Knowing i bought the car as is from anyone car lot these days, i know WA has something with the Lemon Law or Legal actions knowing the ECU stores all the info, also showing the Trouble codes have been cleared in recently.

Just pissed off right now :smt014

[JunkerXL]

relax, it's a subaru. :smt023 i would try to get them to PAY to fix it, and not LET them fix it, since they clearly aren't concerned with quality if they did indeed pull that one on you. that being said, it's prolly a good car :smt023 . drive ok? smoke, hiss, bang, mild exploding problem? shift funny? :smt017 ? note it if anything is wrong and stick it to them, or tell them you will be taking them to court and TAKING your money back. sometimes, shops will actually try to fix the issues, and if they do not have a solid tech, then they will "fix" it only to have the rest of the issues pop up and cause more trouble. i would be firm but polite, and if you threaten legal action, DO IT. as soon as possible, like drive right over to the lawyers office, and have them call, right then. dont blame the car, rule #2. it's not the sub's fault it was sold without a good pdi. :smt010 it's prolly dying a little on the inside (mostly metaphorically) from being neglected by the dealer prep crew. in an ideal world, you will have a subaru tech look at it, on their dime, and fix every issue with the vehicle, or at least tell you whats is goin on in there. chances are you got the car "as is" which protects them somewhat, but you may be able to get them for shady business practices. legal help = good. :smt023

good luck and stick it to the man :smt004




:smt020

[02_Legacy]

Reminds me of when I got my car. Same thing happened to me, the CEL came on when I was driving it home. So I know what it feels like.
Mine was only a cat code that I cleared and it never came back though. :smt016 LOL just kidding. But I do feel for you man, I agree with junker get it sorted out ASAP.

[Matty2Hotty]

Yeah just looked at the Knock sensor... Large crack in it, O2 sensor looks to never be replaced, and the Air Sensor i have a xtra laying around in the garage. So yeah $160 in replacement parts on the way, Kind of upset with myself but its minor fix i can handle in the garage. The dealer pretty much told me to go screw myself saying they had no idea of ever a check engine light, so whatever, I know they reset it, no way the check light would come on randomly at almost 100miles of driving it off the lot.

[TGX4776]

Same thing happened to me and the guy swore that it wasn't a problem when he sold the car to me. My knock sensor was bad too.

[Matty2Hotty]

Yeah easy fix, i just got a 2 year warranty one for $70 and took 5min to change including running the air compressor to clear any crap out of the sensor area. Good to go now besides the O2 sensor that should be here later this week from RockAuto, went with the Denso OE replacement since i read its the best OE replacement.

[01 gt]

it good that you got it all sorted out , btw how hard is it to change knock sensor?

[Matty2Hotty]

Ummmm 1 12mm bolt and unplug it... took 5min like i said most of it was cleaning around the sensor for precaution of dirt and crap. Its on the driver side/center ontop of the block... its a black round 1" donut looking sensor. Mine had a good size crack through it. Easiest sensor i ever changed!

[TGX4776]

can you take a pic of the location? I'll be doing mine Friday or sat.

[JunkerXL]

wow, your knock sensor mysteriously cracked, just as it left the lot, and just as it completed a drive cycle, amazing timing :roll: and of course, when the knock sensor failed, the o2 sensor died of sadness. :lol: at least you got it sorted out. gj man :smt023




:smt020

[Matty2Hotty]

Oh yeah... :smt017 Still trying to figure that 1 out...

[Huffer]

My knock sensor was a PITA because of the electrical plug - might be easier with the SOHC engines. You can also relocate it slightly to the rear of the block, it'll avoid any minor vibrations and be easier to get to.

[TGX4776]

My knock sensor was a PITA because of the electrical plug - might be easier with the SOHC engines. You can also relocate it slightly to the rear of the block, it'll avoid any minor vibrations and be easier to get to.


Thats why I wanted a pic because i read that it was a PITA to get to. Thanks for ruining my weekend.

[ouch1011]

Its not difficult on the DOHC engines either.

BTW, if the CEL came on during your drive home, it had already been driven a few times and detected the failure at least a couple times prior, so if you had used a code scanner to check for pending codes, you would have known that those parts were bad. Not saying what the dealer did was right, but you can't trust a sales person. They are in the business of making money. So you have to be a smart buyer to avoid getting screwed.

[JunkerXL]

+1




:smt020

[winkerbean]

alot of people are selling their subbies just cause a check engine light comes on, and then they clear it when a buyer comes along. I bought my car and, yes, on the drive home the light popped up code reading a knock sensor. If the seller was honest with me and told me it wouldnt have been so bad and wouldn"t have been a deal breaker either, its just the unexpected-ness (is that a word? lol) of it really threw me off. It makes a person wonder "what else didn't they tell me?"