Stuttering clutch/engine anyone?

[canis]

Add me to the list. 5MT. It's not terrible or violent, but it's noticeable. I'm only at 400 miles, so we'll see in another thousand or so.

[ADirtyLegacy]

So I think this is where I jump on the bandwagon (lol). I've got the case of wicked shutter/vibration. I've read all 6 pages of this thread and the one thing I notice was that everyone had relatively low mileage cars (i.e <5k or so). Well I've got a 2002 GT with 44k and somedays I think my eyeballs are gonna come outta my eyesockets. Occasionally it will make things a blur and make the shifter vibrate like one of those blow up punching dolls most people had as a kid that just went all over the place. I bought the car used in Dec '03 with 32k on it (yeah I'm a driving machine!) so I would think with 12k miles of me driving the ECU would figure out my driving style (why get a MT if you shift under 3k? :twisted: ). I get the "shakes" most noticeably 1st/2nd and ocassionally 2nd/3rd, but not that often. It doesn't happen everyday, and the only external condition I can truly pinpoint it happening on a regular basis is when it rains. I'll keep checking back to continue reading what folks have to say on this issue.

[shaggy]

I'm at 400 miles too. Same thing. 5EAT

[Rogue]

Same here 890 miles and stutters most noticeably in 3d gear from 2500 to 3k. It does seem if I change my driving style a little bit I can avoid it or at least make it not happen as frequently. I'll be heading to the dealership for some other business but will definitely see if it's on their radar yet. Great forum btw guys!

[SPR3472]

I have noticed the same thing in my Leg GT (5MT). I did send notice to SOA on that link that was posted. Maybe they will get the message.

[Beanboy]

So, people have contacted Subaru of America about the problem. Guess they don't want to admit it yet. Booo to Subaru! ================================= Thank you for contacting Subaru of America, Inc. We are sorry that your test driving experience was affected by a vehicle concern. We do not have any known problems concerning stuttering complaints with our 2005 vehicles. If you feel that a vehicle is not operating correctly we would recommend for you to alert your dealer and ask to test drive another similar vehicle.

[Limeydriver]

3,300 miles - stuttering is as bad as ever. Very annoying.

[jaycee]

Not that it helps you guys that are having the problem - but I have an '05 GT Wagon with about 1800 miles on it and I haven't noticed this. I even tried to look for it carefully yesterday after reading these posts and I couldn't get any noticeable stuttering. So, even though that doesn't help you guys who are seing the problem it might suggest that it can be fixed in some non-invasive way.

[Rogue]

Interesting to note when I asked the owner of the dealership if he had heard of it he didn't. Yet when I was in the service department ordering some stuff I asked the manager there if he had heard of it and he had. He said very matter of factly that it's the car learning and it will go away around 4 to 6k miles. I asked what if 2 people drive the car as my wife and I do and he said it should still be fine. I don't know, seems to make some sense but also seems like quite the learning curve for my car. What if my car has ADD and never gets past it??!! What if it stutters all of it's natural born life stuck behind the little bus? =(

[thatericguy]

i have experienced it as well...but do not remember noticing it lately...ive got around 2600 mi. and will try to replicate it tonight. its really like the person who explained a few pages back...2nd gear, rpm under 3500... "wuh wuh wuh wuhhhhh" hopefully that made sense.

[Limeydriver]

I think it might me more noticable for those of us with the 5 speed manual - Just a thought.

[Fuji_Heavy]

I've also noticed this in my 5spdm sedan. I only noticed in 2nd around 2500rpm, also in 3rd once when i was going up a hill but I think it was my fault cause I shifted too soon. I mostly happens in 2nd but not all the time. I'm at around 670 miles so I'll give a little while before I start to worry.

[racerdave]

[quote name='Beanboy']So, people have contacted Subaru of America about the problem. Guess they don't want to admit it yet. Booo to Subaru! ================================= Thank you for contacting Subaru of America, Inc. We are sorry that your test driving experience was affected by a vehicle concern. We do not have any known problems concerning stuttering complaints with our 2005 vehicles. If you feel that a vehicle is not operating correctly we would recommend for you to alert your dealer and ask to test drive another similar vehicle.[/quote] Yeah, this is complete [img]http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/images/smilies/bs.gif[/img] Why? Because in a USA Today or MSN review of the car, they mentioned it. If Subaru doesn't pay attention to major press reviews of its cars... well, that's just [img]http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/images/smilies/bs.gif[/img] Rogue... I don't buy that explanation. Sounds like they just wanted to get rid of you to me. Anyone who experiences this... I'll say it again. Take it in to the dealer, make them repeat it, complain to SoA, write letters, etc. The more heat you put on them, the sooner the reflash to fix it. Trust me, as someone who at one time considered the RX-8, there were a lot of driveability/start-up problems when it first came out. Owners were brutal with their dealers and Mazda, and there were multiple revisions of reflashes to address the issues within a relatively short timeframe.

[Spiphsters]

Question: Does this affect the 2.5i also, or is it a turbo issue?

[Deer Killer]

[quote name='Wa-gone'] I'll post a follow-up after my next service visit on 9/18.[/quote] Any update?

[Boostjunkie]

Same problem here. 5MT with about 500 miles. I'm not sure if someone else has suggested this, but it almost feels like compressor surge. The conditions when it happens are when compressor surge is most likely to occur too. Low rpm's, high load. I'd hate to think that in this day and age that an automaker would equip a car with a mismatched compressor/turbine/engine combo, but anything is possible. If compressor surge is the problem, then a relflash limiting boost a bit at lower rpm levels would cure the problem, or even perhaps a retuning of the AVCS to further maximize VE at low rpm levels would help. Of course these "solutions" would be a band-aid, albeit potentially effective ones. The only real solution would be to swap out the turbo for a model with a surge line that is better matched to the air flow characteristics of the motor.

[c_hunter]

[quote name='ADirtyLegacy']So I think this is where I jump on the bandwagon (lol). I've got the case of wicked shutter/vibration. I've read all 6 pages of this thread and the one thing I notice was that everyone had relatively low mileage cars (i.e <5k or so). Well I've got a 2002 GT with 44k and somedays I think my eyeballs are gonna come outta my eyesockets. Occasionally it will make things a blur and make the shifter vibrate like one of those blow up punching dolls most people had as a kid that just went all over the place. I bought the car used in Dec '03 with 32k on it (yeah I'm a driving machine!) so I would think with 12k miles of me driving the ECU would figure out my driving style (why get a MT if you shift under 3k? :twisted: ). I get the "shakes" most noticeably 1st/2nd and ocassionally 2nd/3rd, but not that often. It doesn't happen everyday, and the only external condition I can truly pinpoint it happening on a regular basis is when it rains. I'll keep checking back to continue reading what folks have to say on this issue.[/quote] Sounds like you have the clutch "judder" problem -- the car was probably like this when you bought it (which may explain why someone else sold the car). There is a TSB on this (03-51-02R), and it should be covered for free. They will replace your clutch and sometimes the flywheel. It gets worse in damp and/or cold weather, which goes along with your observation about rain. This is a separate issue than the "stuttering" we're discussing here which is affecting the 05 models -- it's an engine related problem on the 05, and affects MT and AT cars. Craig

[Deer Killer]

[quote name='Boostjunkie']Same problem here. 5MT with about 500 miles. I'm not sure if someone else has suggested this, but it almost feels like compressor surge. The conditions when it happens are when compressor surge is most likely to occur too. Low rpm's, high load. I'd hate to think that in this day and age that an automaker would equip a car with a mismatched compressor/turbine/engine combo, but anything is possible. If compressor surge is the problem, then a relflash limiting boost a bit at lower rpm levels would cure the problem, or even perhaps a retuning of the AVCS to further maximize VE at low rpm levels would help. Of course these "solutions" would be a band-aid, albeit potentially effective ones. The only real solution would be to swap out the turbo for a model with a surge line that is better matched to the air flow characteristics of the motor.[/quote] It would make sense, since they were trying to achieve the same type of torque curve the twinscroll 2.0 gets, with a lot less efficient turbo. Development time for this motor/turbo combination were obviously very short. Update on my car, yes after ~2200 miles it does seem better, not because it ACTUALLY is better, but because it's broken in and when I shift into second I'm usually well above 3k, either that or I'm grannying it because it's cold. Shifting into from first at 4000 rpm to second produces really bad results.

[c_hunter]

I had some minor stuttering at part throttle. However, I disconnected the battery for a couple hours while I installed some stereo upgrades, which also reset the ECU. Since then, I have not noticed any stuttering. Perhaps it will return when the ECU finishes re-learning my driving style. OB XT 5EAT with about 2600 miles. Craig

[ADirtyLegacy]

[quote] Sounds like you have the clutch "judder" problem -- the car was probably like this when you bought it (which may explain why someone else sold the car). There is a TSB on this (03-51-02R), and it should be covered for free. They will replace your clutch and sometimes the flywheel. [/quote] Thank you very much. I did not know about this. I will look right into it. Kenda

[Rogue]

Real quick someone else here said they fixed their issue by resetting the ECU. I tried this today and got what feels like very positive effects! I'll know totally tomorrow morning as it's the worst when it's cold but after doing that and driving around it seemed to be completely gone!

[Deer Killer]

I reset my ECU today. It was perfect for 1-2 miles. Then it started getting worse. Only drove about 15 miles but by the time I got back home, there is at least 1-2 hiccups near 2800 rpms.. FYI I reset my ECU accidentially around 1200 miles when I was installing my sub. At 2200 miles it was pretty bad.

[highwaydrifter]

im getting the same thin 600 miles or so, not horrible but it is there partial throttle mid rpm range... 2nd 3rd and 4th.

[NewGTGuy]

Guys, I had the same problem initially. My car now has 5000 miles on it and it has almost totally disapeared.

[JohnSoPA]

My GT 5MT wagon now has 7k miles. The stuttering is still the same as at 1k miles. No worse, no better.