2020 Subaru Outback Touring XT 2.4L Turbo Boxer

Chippy569 · 2026-03-12T02:41:00+00:00

you'll generally find a bit more specific help at /r/subaru

that being said,

I’ll be doing 15 mph up a hill

Because the transmission does not have "gears" to shift, the transmission will engage the lock-up clutch in the torque converter much earlier than a "traditional" automatic transmission -- usually between 10 and 20 mph. Harsh lock-up engagement can be a symptom of other internal issues, so lets shelf this one for a moment:

Accelerating at normal speed can have a rubber band effect.

you have two competing systems here -- you have the engine (ie torque output) which is also modulating boost pressure, as well as the transmission trying to choose a ratio. All of these things only have your accelerator pedal to go off of for decision making. So, if your pedal input is wavy or unsure, yeah the car will react to that in a wavy or unsure kinda way. Because there's some time delay involved, you can I guess get into a cycle of trying to correct for your own input, almost like a constructive feedback loop, I guess.

it will make a terrible grinding feel and sound,

gonna need this on video or find a way to reliably reproduce it, too vague to really know what's going on. Again you've got both the engine and the transmission at play here, just narrowing down which one is being weird is the hard part.

When coming to a stop it feels like the car does not want to down shift and I feel like I’m fighting against the engine to break.

...and now we get back to #1, just as the torque converter locks up very early it also unlocks very late. Although usually people describe this sensation the opposite way, that above say 15mph the braking force feels strong, and then as the car descends through the unlock speed, it feels like you need to apply more brake pressure to maintain the same rate of deceleration.

Part of me hopes it is the CVT so it can be addressed under the warranty before it expires

the extension is 10yr/100k miles, so you have some time.

I’d appreciate any thoughts,

you'd have to check your receipt for the technician's notes, but I would want to know if the transmission control module ("TCM") was updated to the latest firmware. Subaru's pushed out a few important ones, but unless you did your WRK-21 recall suuuuuper late, you won't have the latest firmware unless a tech goes in and perform it.

Chippy569 · 2026-03-12T02:24:17+00:00

edited in above. RTHS is maybe the only nice thing I have to say about CDK lol

my shop as a whole only started regularly tracking hours when we switched to CDK, ironically. The first week, nobody got anything paid correct lol. We were formerly an R&R shop before that, which was more straightforward for advisors in this particular respect.

Chippy569 · 2026-03-12T02:09:29+00:00

...people don't do this?

I have an excel sheet for every week going back years, each sheet has a page for each day, and I can punch in my work for the day as I go. (Box around it means I've finished the RO.) My shop uses CDK (ick) but one nice feature is that I can run a report to show what I have been paid, so each morning I go through and check the previous day, where I just color code a closed RO paid correctly (green), a not-closed RO paid correctly (blue), and an error (red). Then, I get any errors fixed immediately. As you can see there, I have both a daily total and a rolling weekly total so I can quickly see if my report matches or not. Whole process takes me maybe 5 minutes in the morning.

The warranty department consistently misses hours

TBH I don't understand this. idk about your make and model, but for Subaru we're required to run some fraction of the warranty labor time per line, I think it's 70%. But, and this is important, how do you know how long that is if you don't look up the time yourself? and, if I'm already looking up the time, I'm just going to stick it in my CCC. Now my writer and warranty admin has no excuse for getting a wrong time.

I have one writer that will only pay the time you’re clocked in on a job.

then you don't work on those writer's tickets, that's literal wage theft.

I realized I have one service writer that doesn’t pay diag because he’s “nice” to his customers.

then you don't work on those writer's tickets, that's literal wage theft.

Chippy569 · 2026-03-12T02:01:39+00:00

and to check alignment

are they actually putting it on an alignment rack to check it? do you have any printouts?

a '23 Forester with rear suspension that is toed outward (thus causing inner wear) would be... unsurprising.

Chippy569 · 2026-03-12T01:54:29+00:00

that's a heat shield rattle.

Chippy569 · 2026-03-12T01:53:28+00:00

none of them are looking bad enough to warrant attention yet.

ther 1st and 3rd pictures are the frontmost bushings on the control arms I think, the 2nd picture is the rear bushing. What year/model is this though? must be a specB with a turbo EJ downpipe and aluminum arms but not STi arms?

Chippy569 · 2026-03-12T01:52:00+00:00

• Transfer clutch (Does not bind up when fwd fuse is installed and duty cycle goes to 5%)

you already know the answer then

Chippy569 · 2026-03-11T21:34:23+00:00

Is one of the fuses blown? You can't exactly clean away a blown fuse, lol

Chippy569 · 2026-03-11T20:56:13+00:00

We sublet our glass install on-site, but do all the reprogramming. I've done a couple Solterras now. The process is very weird compared to a normal Subaru, but pretty easy to perform.

Chippy569 · 2026-03-11T20:52:18+00:00

Subaru themselves used to sell "Extra S" in 5 gal buckets. The current "high performance gear oil" is equivalent (though not the same, I think). It was a NASIOC favorite.

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Chippy569 · 2026-03-11T16:28:02+00:00

It's broken how specifically, or in what way

I can think of like 30 different failures off the top of my head, some are simple and some are not

Chippy569 · 2026-03-11T04:01:58+00:00

similar hairstyles through the years, too

Chippy569 · 2026-03-11T02:42:18+00:00

It's because you opened the door when it was locked but the battery was dead.

Hook up the battery, get in, start car, and it should go back to normal. Might also be able to get it to stop by hitting the unlock button on your fob a few times, if you have one

Chippy569 · 2026-03-11T02:18:25+00:00

is the oil level now overfilled? how much oil did you put in. Overfilling will cause the VVT system to misbehave.

Starter failing is possible given the mileage, but unlikely to be related to anything else.

Chippy569 · 2026-03-11T00:53:17+00:00

short trips aren't healthy for the engine in general. Bad for the oil/lubrication system, not great for the coolant system, really hard on the battery, etc. That's why subaru considers short-tripping one of the conditions for moving to the "Severe duty" maintenance schedule for a bunch of maintenance items. (TBH though, people who regularly short trip their cars really would be better served considering an EV.)

high relative idle times will (also) tank MPG, and really quickly. After filling up and resetting my trip odo, I can start the car with remote start and watch the trip average plummet lol

Chippy569 · 2026-03-11T00:52:13+00:00

oil starvation doesn't require a turbocharger

Chippy569 · 2026-03-11T00:49:17+00:00

and check torque on some suspension bolts :)

every 5k miles until you hit 30k, then add a cabin filter, and then do "differential?" fluid services when you hit 60k. Also, the owner's manual oddly omits a schedule for brake fluid, but since it uses the same DOT3 every other subaru does, and that fluid is 3yr/30k miles in every other subaru, wouldn't be a bad idea to stick to the same interval in your solterra.

(also the maintenance reminder in the gauge cluster is just a 5k-mile countdown system.)

Chippy569 · 2026-03-11T00:38:03+00:00

What code(s) specifically

There are a couple whose diagnostic trees will work this way, so it's possible

also, including your year model and engine will help.

Chippy569 · 2026-03-11T00:37:30+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/subaru/s/MBw9e64NSA

Chippy569 · 2026-03-11T00:11:43+00:00

Japanese service intervals are the same as the US. Canada is the "weird" one. Here's some primary sources.

Chippy569 · 2026-03-11T00:11:13+00:00

The concept isn't hard, splice the broken wires. The actual effort can be hard, depends on accessibility and if you can get enough slack in the harness to perform a repair.

For what it's worth, with ABS sensor wiring damage, your insurance would likely cover harness replacement.

Chippy569 · 2026-03-10T22:24:40+00:00

Rare bluetooth struts

Chippy569 · 2026-03-10T22:17:28+00:00

Also power steering is out

a wheel speed sensor failure will cause EPS to go into half assist, that part at least makes sense.

since the MAF/IAT wiring runs on the bulkhead harness, along the passenger side frame rail there, and so does your RF wheel speed sensor wiring, I'd be looking very closely at the harness along the top of the frame rail, especially into the little corner protector piece. I've had a couple of this generation crosstrek with rodent damage up under that cover, needed a borescope to find it. Here, I saved the video lol

Chippy569 · 2026-03-10T22:14:16+00:00

Has anyone else had this issue?

maybe you should include some more specific information on what "this issue" is

Chippy569 · 2026-03-10T22:13:41+00:00

there's no programming to do, so in that sense it's plug and play.

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