[OUTBAMF]

I have had my 05 2.5i for a little over a month and last night it got a little weird and this morning it was downright strange.

I start the car and start driving and when I shift the RPMs do not drop. As I come to a stop the RPMs stay in the same place, not knowing a ton about the mechanics of this car (figured throttle cable stuck) but the car tached out at 6000RPM. The only way they would go back down is with a hard downshift or if I came to a complete stop and was sitting (not touching any pedals at all).

I think its either a throttle position sensor or after a little research it could be an accelerator sensor...either way I need to fix it soon because I fee like a dumbasss sitting in traffic fully revved, not to mention every shift is essentially a soft drag launch.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[arthuruscg]

try cleaning the throttle body with cleaner from the auto parts store.

 

[OUTBAMF]

try cleaning the throttle body with cleaner from the auto parts store.

Will do. Is this a common problem? I could not find much about the topic at least not without it throwing a code.

 

[OUTBAMF]

NEW INFO!

Disconnected the battery for a few hours no more surging but now it idles at below the low idle mark...

 

[arthuruscg]

did you clean the TB? If there is crap interfering with it's movement, then it will want to stick.

 

[OUTBAMF]

I think thats my next step. I have just been busy as **** and not had time to really dive into and the car is driveable. I probably will tomorrow. I just dont want to spend any money I dont need to right now...divorce.

 

[1 Lucky Texan]

given the stress you're under, consider posting your city and maybe someone here could recommend a good shop nearby. Let them handle this one for you.

just a thought

 

[arthuruscg]

$5 for a can of TB/Intake cleaner, 1 screwdriver, 1 rag and 3 minutes

Take the rubber intake tube off, spray the inside of the TB, wipe it down, reattach the tubes and your done.

 

[OUTBAMF]

Will do. Havent been home, but will definitely take this route on Friday. Im going to try to clean everything up real good and hope it fixes the problem

 

[OUTBAMF]

TB was gummed up...problem solved...I think. It felt like there was oil residue EVERYWHERE from the back of the filter clear into the intake is this common? Maybe I never noticed on other stuff Ive owned but there was like a coat of motor oil. Im not having oil consumption issues tho.

Thanks for everyones help and any insight into the oil thing.

 

[1 Lucky Texan]

the car doesn't have a K&N air filter does it?

could be the PCV valve, it's hose, and maybe the breather hoses are clogged or mis-connected.

You might at least start with a new PCV valve and clean it's hose. triple check all hose connections. It there was oil where you say, probably came from the breather hoses but...?

 

[OUTBAMF]

Ill give that a look, I figured PCV may be the culprit or some return hose. Ill take a look

 

[arthuruscg]

PCV or head breather hoses.

Do you over fill the oil level? that would increase the amount of oil getting pushed out the head breathers.

 

[OUTBAMF]

Havent had the car long enough to do a change honestly...but the dipstick says no

 

[Azzabee]

Digging up an old thread here...

My MY08 Outback 2.5i is doing some similar strange things as was reported by OUTBAMF. On cold starts when the idle is high, I gently let the clutch out and idle it out the driveway, then pull the clutch as I go down a bump. This is where the revs rise and hold. It doesn't rev to the moon, around 3K, and is quickly fixed with a little clutch out and brakes to tame the wild horse. When you drive and upshift, the revs hold at 2K. This disappears and the idle returns back to normal after a couple of minutes. It's not great when backing off for corners, the revs keep it pushing into the corner - ok when you're on your own, but not when the wife and kids are onboard! The car has 100,000kms on it, it's just starting to loosen up.

I pulled the throttle body off for a clean, it wasn't too bad. The filter side was clean, the engine side had a little build up. All cleaned (along with MAP and MAF sensors) and it's still doing this?
It's warm here, I just moved back to Townsville, QLD where it sits on 30C all year round, might drop a little overnight if you're lucky. So I don't get why the car thinks it needs all these revs?

Another weird characteristic of this throttle is how it can be touchy/jumpy when lugging in low revs - light throttle roll ons or driving in bloody carparks in 2nd gear. It gets a little jerky and is painful at times.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[1 Lucky Texan]

is your 08 drive-by-wire? Some folks had issues with early DBW pedal assemblies, though, your symtpoms don't match exactly.

 

[Azzabee]

is your 08 drive-by-wire? Some folks had issues with early DBW pedal assemblies, though, your symtpoms don't match exactly.

Sure is, no throttle cable on this.

I’m starting to think there’s an ECU gremlin. It’s using a bit more fuel at the moment too. Although, it’s been doing lots more short trips lately.

 

[1 Lucky Texan]

you might scan for CEL codes, even a 'pending' code could give you a clue...

 

[Azzabee]

I'd like to do that, but don't have a scanner. I just had it serviced too 😐

 

[1 Lucky Texan]

most parts stores can do that at no charge, of course, they want to interpret the code in such a way they make a big sale. Just come back here and post the code.

if you plan to DIY car repair in the future, you could get an ELM327 BT -type device(check Amazon) and use an app like Piston or Torque on your phone. retrieve codes, reset CEL, etc. your self - cheap.

or maybe someone else will chime in with an idea/approach.