FWD Fuse still applicable on 08's and above?

[lfdal]

Anyone know if the AWD/ FWD fuse still has any effect on the 08 OBW's with 4EAT's and VDC?

 

The reason I ask is that I discovered a leaky tire today and replaced it with one of my snow tires, which looks a lot closer in circimference than that donut does.

 

In the past, on my two Foresters and my wife's 03 OBW (and I **think** on her 08 without VDC) you were supposed to put in the FWD fuse for the solenoid and get the tire tended to asap.

 

On the Foresters the light that lit up, I'm pretty sure said FWD (that was on an 03 XS and an 04 XT). Can't remember about the 03 OBW.

 

Anyway, the manual still says that if you have a 2.5L w/ 4EAT and non-turbo you're still supposed to insert the fuse.

 

So I did.

 

But nothing lit up on the dash.

 

The AWD drive light still comes on during the start cycle then goes immediately out.

 

I can almost remember hearing somewhere (that's a lot of help, I know) that vehicles with the 4EAT / VDC don't require the addition of the fuse. Darned if I can remember where.

 

I'll drop the tire off on the way to work in the morning and reread the manual tonight to see if I can get clarification.

 

As a check I will also try adding the fuse on the wife's OBW when she gets home.

 

I did cull this from the on-line manual -

 

This from the on-line manual at mysubaru.com

 

If your vehicle is an AWD type with an

automatic transmission but is neither a

Turbo model nor a 3.0-liter model,

deactivate its All-Wheel-Drive capability

as follows: Before driving your

vehicle with the temporary spare tire,

put a spare fuse inside the FWD

connector located in the engine compartment

and confirm that the “ AWD”

warning light comes on. The All-Wheel-

Drive capability of the vehicle has now

been deactivated. After re-installing the

conventional tire, remove the spare

fuse from the FWD connector in order

to reactivate All-Wheel Drive.

 

This light does not come on on my car.

 

Two different fuses, same results.

 

Anyone know for sure how this is supposed to work on the 08's and newer?

 

Thanks

[lfdal]

FWIW...

 

I verified that when I put the fuse in my wife's non-VDC 08 OBW that the AWD light comes on and stays on.

Read the fuse socket in my car with my multimeter, and found that one side was indeed tied to ground, but that the other side had 0vdc on it with the ignition turned on.

Still waithing to hear back from SOA.

In the meantime for now its a moot point as I have re-installed the repaired tire.

[lfdal]

Fwiw

 

Hello larry:

Thank you very much for bringing this to our attention. Myself, a tech rep and a fuji engineer discussed this situation and got into a 2008 outback wagon equipped with vdc.

 

When we put a fuse in the fwd connector, the awd light did not illuminate on the combination meter. This is how the vehicle should operate. In addition, you do not need to install a fuse in the fwd connector for vehicles equipped with vdc. The fuji engineer advised that the vdc system is always monitoring the tires on the vehicle. It will automatically adjust to the different circumference of the temporary spare tire. This is why the fuse does not need to be installed and why the awd light does not come on. The vdc system is taking care of everything.

 

I have brought this information to the attention of the manager responsible for our owner's manuals. He will provide this information to the writer of the owner's manuals at fuji heavy industries, ltd to get this information corrected in future owner's manuals.

 

One last thought, which is installing a fuse in the fwd connector in your 2008 outback wagon with vdc will cause no concerns with your vehicle.

 

Thank you again Larry for your time, efforts and patience.

John J. Mergen

Subaru of America, inc.

Customer/dealer services dept.

 

 

I've dealt with Mr Mergan before and found him to be a valued resource who, at least for my issues, on both Foresters and Outbacks has always followed through.

 

Another reason my next car will probably be a Subaru.