wesmithjr100

I resolved by getting a new car . When the check engine light started coming on again back in February, I took it to a different dealership to look at. They had for a little over a week but could not get the check engine light to come for them either. They also said all the codes they were seeing were showing as historical vs new. At that point, they said if it comes back on again, bring it to them with the light on and they will look at immediately. 2 weeks ago, it started again and I took up to them as suggested. They pulled all the codes (said over 40 of them) but still had no idea what was causing them. At that point, they said looking another $375 as a starter for diagnostics and likely going down a rabbit hole of replacing various sensors until they find the one that does it. I had no interest in sinking that kind of time and money into it given the mileage so I went out looking for a new car and found one a couple days later that included trading in the Legacy

All, Thanks to everyone for the feedback here -- much appreciated. I took back my car last night and as expected, the dealership was still not able to identify the underlying issue / what's going on. One interesting comment I got was that I if I brought the car to them with something a little more concrete (they cited the shift staying locked in place as an example) that it would give them something to really zero in on. Frustrations aside, the dealership did not charge me a single .01 (including loaner that I had for almost a week) so I guess there's that. Checking records, I also discovered they didn't charge me when I had in there back in January either. At the very least, the dealership doesn't seem to be trying to nickel and dime here or throw some random things at the wall and seeing what sticks. @MoleMan - I do like your suggestion of taking to a different dealership and seeing what they come back with. Maybe having a different set of eyes take a look could yield different results.

Aren't these things Subaru should be looking as part of their diagnostic / troubleshooting process? I've given / shown them these codes but their feedback has been that they aren't helpful? Troubleshooting issues of this nature is admittedly way beyond what I can-- hence why I've been taking it to Subaru. I appreciate and understand the intermittent nature of these issues coupled with having had the transmission work done at a 3rd party shop may make it more difficult to troubleshoot but at the very least, I would think they could start ruling some things in/out vs simply say we have no clue.

Thanks for the feedback, which is appreciated. In hindsight, I might have taken to Subaru if I had to do all over again but as they say, hindsight is 20/20. That said, I do have an ODB2 adapter connected and shared the various codes that were firing with the dealership. The feedback I received was that they weren't helpful and in some cases, generic. I'll note the codes I've seen logged below and would welcome any feedback. C0301 C0302 N0103 - Maximum historical voltage below threshold N0104 - Voltage drops significantly (more than 15%) P0700 - Transmission Control System Malfunction U0072 - Control Module Communication Bus 'A' Off U0100 - Lost communication with engine control module / powertrain control module U0101 - Lost communication with Transmission control module U0110 - Lost communication with engine control module/powertrain control module U0122 - Lost communication with Vehicle Dynamics Control Module U0155 - Lost communication with instrument panel cluster control module

All, I'm having a bit of an ongoing / frustrating situation with my car and posting here in hopes of getting some feedback. Apologies in advance for the lengthy post but want to try and provide as much detail as. I can. In late Feb 2020, I was driving my car when my check engine light suddenly came on and immediately lost any ability to accelerate. I was able to get my car to local Goodyear that I've been using for almost 2 decades and had them take a closer look. They checked the various diagnostic codes that fired and said it appeared to be some sort of transmission issue and referred me to a local transmission shop, which ultimately said the problem was with my transmission valve body. I ended up having that replaced along with a valve cover gasket and a transmission fluid flush. In the immediate aftermath and even several months later, I had no subsequent issues so thought the issue was behind me. Come late November / early December, my check engine started to randomly come on again. By random, it could be while driving, turning the car on or even sitting idle in a parking lot just to note a few scenarios. I also discovered that turning my car on/off a few times would somehow "reset" things and my car would go back to "normal". After this happening multiple times over a few days, I took into my local Subaru dealership (same one I also purchased car from) for a look. They had it for a few days but were not able to pinpoint any issue. They cleared the codes and I took back the car. All seemed good until the issue surfaced again mid-January of this car. I took back to the dealership again, which had the car a bit longer (10 days or so give or take). This time around they found a loose ground wire that they said was likely related to the transmission work I had one in Feb 2020. Beyond securing that ground wire, they were still unable to determine any other causes of the check engine light coming on but suggested this loose wire might have been it. Since that loose wired was secured, I had zero instances of the check engine light coming back on until last Wednesday. This time, I was sitting idle in a parking lot when the light came on again. This time around a new wrinkle was added that I hadn't encountered before. Specifically, my gear shift was locked in park / unable to take it out. I was preparing to have the car towed to my Subaru dealership but had turned it off and let it sit for 15-20 minutes. When I tried to turn back on, it started up fine and was able to drive it home. My plan was to take it to dealership the following morning. On the way, I had to make a brief stop. After doing so, the check engine light came on again but was unable to move (gear shift was not looked here). Ultimately, I got the car started again and got it to the dealership. In perhaps a bit of irony, when I got it there, they had asked me to move the car up a little further but the check engine light came on again and was not able to move. They ultimately got it started and started taking a look at on Friday. I received a call back late Friday noting they were still unable to determine any cause of the light coming on but would keep through weekend and check again today. At this point, I'm a little frustrated with the dealership. While my knowledge of cars is admittedly limited, it seems to me that at a very basic level, there's 1 of 2 general issues here. I either have something seriously wrong with my car or there's some faulty sensor / electronics component that thinks something is wrong and causing the check engine light to light up like a Christmas tree. To this point, beyond this lone loose ground wire, they've not been able to figure out what's going on or at least start eliminating some possibilities. They've "suggested" the issue might be related to the transmission work I had done and to take it back to them but they've offered zero evidence to support that to this point. Even if we assume that's the case, why can't Subaru diagnose what is going on with one of their cars? I'm fully expecting to hear back today that they still can't identify the underlying issue and wondering what my next steps from here should be. Should I try taking it back to the transmission and see if they figure things out? Am I being unreasonable in thinking the dealership should be able to diagnose this issue on some level / minimally start to rule out some possibilities? Thanks, Bill