98 2.5RS Check Engine Light

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05-26-2003, 01:36 PM

glyphic

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98 2.5RS Check Engine Light

Hi everyone. First post.

I have a MY98 2.5RS with 25k miles on it. The other day the Check Engine Light came on and so I've just parked it. It happened when I got onto the freeway... it started blinking kinda rapidly. Then it just stayed on.

So my gut feeling is that this isn't something to worry about, based on the stuff I read in the manuals and on these boards.

The only "mod" I have is taking out that snorkel in the fender. I recently tried going with 87 octane fuel for a few tankfuls (during the lead up to the Iraq war) and then switched back to 91.

So what do you think? Can I safely drive the car to and from work? Is this something I should be worried about?

I do want to figure out what's going on, but don't want to pay a Subaru dealer some amount of money to read and interpret the stored code. I saw a website that sells OBD-II diagnostic software for Windows and serial port cable adapters. Anyone have something like this? Does it work well?

Yep. Long post. Thanks in advance for your help!

Phil

98 Impreza 2.5RS

06-18-2003, 07:57 PM

glyphic

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Got the code.

Got the code: P0301 - Cylinder 1 Misfire Detected.

Now, the only time that it blinked was that very first time. Ever since then, the light's been on steadily. I thought that the Check Engine Light was supposed to go off by itself after a few drives provided that the problem does not recur, and I thought that a misfire would trigger the blinking light... am I wrong?

Anyway, what do you all figure I should do?

Should I put the Snorkus and a regular filter back in (I have a K&N in the filter box right now)?

Should I make sure the K&N is seated properly?

Should I remove the spark plug from cylinder 1 and inspect it? Replace it? Replace them all?

Or maybe I should do something else?

Again, the car is a MY98 2.5RS (DOHC) and has 25,000 miles.

Thanks,
Phil

06-20-2003, 05:31 PM

oakfloor

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98rs cel

I would take it to a suby dealer, or a good mechanic. I had the K&K air filter #33-2075. and it did not fit well. I called K&N and told them this, and they said there is no filter for a 98rs..I dont remember where I got the part # I put the paper filter back and it runs better, as I had a 2000 rpm hesitaion with the K&N. and now its a lot better. I also removed the air intake silencer. the 98s just dont seem to like any mods to the intake. I hope this helps. L.kirkpatrick

06-21-2003, 05:26 PM

adam30k

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The only time you should immediatly pull over and shut off your car is if the oil light comes on. The check engine light can come on for a million different reasons. No mods will turn the light off, only resetting it will. (by the dealer) The dealer should have given you more info as to what's wrong.

06-21-2003, 08:08 PM

glyphic

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Well, I changed the spark plugs... I figured they probably hadn't been changed in five years. I disconnected the battery, of course, so that probably reset the light. I'll take the car out tonight and see if the light comes back on.

I also noticed that my car was a quart low on oil... this has happened before, but as near as I can tell, it's not leaking or burning oil. Any ideas?

Phil

06-22-2003, 06:43 PM

Kevin M

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Oil will eventually get low. As long as it doesn't go below the "fill" mark between changes, don't sweat it, unless you can see a leak or smoke in the exhaust. Hopefully the light won't come back. Misfires are usually ignition related, so changing the plugs probably helped. If it comes back, go ahead and get that OBDII reader if you have a laptop, it's worth it.

06-22-2003, 07:18 PM

glyphic

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Update.

Well I drove to Hollywood and back last night, and everything seems fine. I'll let you all know if anything changes...

As for the oil, I've noticed that it goes below the lower of the two fill marks on the dip stick, but I really don't know why it's doing that. I'll monitor that more closely on a weekly basis to see if I can figure out the rate at which I'm losing oil...

06-23-2003, 09:58 PM

vr4impreza

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I have a 98L and I had a slow oil leak in the rear main seal. You won't really notice this because it will leak in between your engine and transmission. I didn't find out about mine untile I had the clutch replaced and my mechanic told me it was starting, You could see on the clutch too how it was thrown around.
These usually start out slow and then get worse, as for how bad it is for the car, I'm not too sure, I caught it early. But as stated earlier unless you are losing it fast and your oil light comes on, it's ok to drive.

06-29-2003, 11:25 PM

Canela

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I was really surprized when my check engine light came on ( on an '04 2.5 TS) 2 wks. ago while down in Long Beach. It turned out to be my oxygen sensor.

07-02-2003, 04:57 PM

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mprezuhguy

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Ive had a check engine light for one reason or another for the last 50k mi. It doesn't bother me anymore. I have noticed that if I use 91 octaine it turns off and if I use 87 it turns on. So I'm not too worried, it cant be anything important as long as I use 91. My friend has a 99 540i 6spd and he and I were playing on hwy1 here when his check engine light came on due to misfire. It just happens sometimes when driving hard.