johnny_m

Kin,

You're ok. That is normal for the fans to start up and then stop. The problem is when the fans come on and stay on, all the time.

FC, glad to hear they found the info and got the recall done.

psucaptainkickass, if you do the relay yourself, make sure SOA knows about it so they don't nag you for it. In the past, SOA put a label on my WRX and added it to my service history on MySubaru.

Road_dog, I too am past the basic warranty. SOA still has an obligation to you (and I) to replace it, free of charge.

drewster, it might be a good idea to give them a call before you head in. I would think that being you had it already replaced, you wouldn't need it a second time.

Wait...so replacing the relay is a precaution?

 

My car is in the VIN range, but I don't have the fan problem whatsoever. Flashed to Stg. 2...which from what I read isn't a problem if the fan isn't running.

 

So what they'll do is replace the relay, so that it won't short the ECM circuit in the future? It hasn't for a year and a half...likely that it will short it now?

It appears to me that they had a bad run of relays. SOA is replacing the relay and checking to see if the relay caused a problem with the ECU. My guess is that the relay shorts itself out and causes current to be applied to the pin on the ECU that controls the fan relay. That could burn out some of the circuitry in the ECU. If it turns out that the ECU is also damaged (indicated by fans runing all the time- no control of the fans, just on), they will replace the ECU as well.

As others have indicated, just because it hasn't caused a problem yet doesn't mean it won't later. Go and get the relay replaced. No sense in having a $5 part cause damage to a $700 ECU (and still have to replace the $5 part later).

FatCharlie, check your paperwork. Sometimes it will list it. Also check the glove box. In with my manual and paperwork, they've stashed the bag the keys came in. On the bag has a label that includes the info about the keys.

I was supposed to go Monday to get mine done. Had to cancel it because I got into an accident this morning. I slid into a curb. Looks like I mangled the tie rod end (or the end of the rack and pinion), bent the lower control arm, broke the sway bar end link and rashed the rim. Passenger side wheel rubs the wheel well and she won't drive straight. Not good.

The kicker is that I drove like 80 miles up to go to training today and decided to turn around and come home (traffic really bad). I slid into the curb turning onto my street (my development hasn't been plowed yet). D'oh! :smacking head:

I went that route, though I only have springs, sway bar and cat-back. The guy basically said to me, 'well, as long as it doesn't affect the electrical system that should be fine'. From what I hear, if a different tech saw my car it might be a different story. I just got my ECM and relay fixed this morning. Took them about a week to get parts, then there was this weekend thing, but my appointment was for first thing Monday. Got a call about 11:30 that everything was good to go.

Cool. Glad to hear things worked out for you. You always hear about dealers that give people a hard time. It is nice to hear about a dealer that didn't!

I'm sure that this attitude would vary from dealer to dealer!

It's AP. I know I have to unmarry, but I am worried that the dealer will balk when their brand new ECU starts throwing codes at startup:)

I know your pain. I've been thinking about this myself. I would like to think I've got a pretty good relationship with my dealer. I think in this case, honesty will be my best policy. When I take it in, I will tell them that I think all it needs is the fan relay (I don't remember at the moment whether or not the fan stays on - IIRC I think it doesn't). IF they diagnose it to need an ECU as well, I want them to let me know BEFORE they pull it. I will tell them that I am not running a stock map and I need to 'reset things' before they replace it. And that I will need to put my map back before I can take it home.

I think I can get away with it because:

- I'm being upfront and honest with them.

- I bring my car in for service there. For everything including oil changes. Quite frankly, you'd have to be asleep at the wheel to not notice 'things have been done to my car' when you put it up in the air to change the oil. Cobb UP/DP, a 2x sized intercooler, pink springs and blue sway bars are kinda hard to miss. Not to mention the 1" drop in ride height. Should be instantly noticable to someone who gets in and out of Subarus all day long.

- At 48k miles, well, I'm past the warranty period anyway.

- In the 4 years I've owned Subarus (my second Subaru, all of them bought/serviced there), I have never made a warranty claim.

Then again, I guess we shall see!

Were you already Protuned when you did this? I'm wondering how to get my maps back on if the dealer puts in a new ECU.

Protuned how? AP? Ecutek?

If via AP, you will have to unmarry your ECU before they replace it or you'll have to pay Cobb $$$$$ to reset your AP.