Tech Tips August 2013 (SUSTIPS 0813)

TECH TIPS AUGUST 2013

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN

09 NEW FUEL WITH UP TO 15% ETHANOL A REMINDER

Effective June 2012, EPA approved a limited number of ethanol fuel and fuel additive manufacturers to sell E15. (E15 is a blend of gasoline and up to 15% volume ethanol.) It currently has limited distribution by ethanol fuel provider stations in the mid-west states of South Dakota, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. In addition the State of Missouri is considering allowing the use of gasoline with 15% ethanol. Major brand fuel suppliers do not plan to sell E-15. For other states that restrict the sale of certain gasoline-ethanol blends, E15 may not be sold without changes to the law.

Our 2001 model year and newer Subaru owner's manuals state that the gasoline blends "should contain no more than 10% ethanol for the proper operation of your SUBARU." We continue to adhere to this usage policy. Additionally, as stated in the applicable model year owner manuals, "Fuel system damage or drivability problems which result from the use of improper fuel are not covered under the SUBARU Limited Warranty".

The EPA regulations require all E15 fuel dispensers to have a label, shown above.

01 QUALITY MONITORING REPORTS

QMRs related to campaigns or recalls should only be submitted when there are unique or unusual circumstances found during the course of the repair. QMR submissions indicating the completion of a campaign or recall are unnecessary.

07 2014 FORESTER, L/F DOOR POWER WINDOW AUTO-UP & AUTO DOWN OPERATION INFORMATION

If you receive a customer concern of the driver's door power window becoming inoperative, be sure to rule out these scenarios before ordering or replacing any parts. The condition may be operator-induced and the power window system is operating as designed based on the "AUTO" switch input. This condition is more likely to occur when ambient temperatures are higher during the warm weather months.

• If the operator pushes and continues to hold down the window switch to use the auto-down feature (as shown above) after the window is fully open, a circuit breaker function in the window motor will operate to protect it from overload. After releasing the switch, the breaker will reset in 10-15 seconds and normal operation will be restored.
• If the operator pulls and continues to pull up the window switch to use the auto-up feature (as shown above) after the window is fully closed, the circuit breaker will also operate but the following reset procedure will need to be done before normal window operation can be restored:
  1. After the breaker resets in about 10-15 seconds, push the switch down to open the window about halfway.
  2. Pull the switch up to close the window fully in steps (it will only close about 2" each time the switch is operated).
  3. Once the window is fully closed, pull up and hold the switch again for 1 second to complete the procedure.

If normal operation is not restored, the switch was most likely held up during the last step for more than the specified 1 second. Repeat the 3-step procedure above.

15 FUJITSU-TEN (F-10) AUDIO/NAVIGATION UNITS - NO POWER OR DISPLAY

If you receive a customer concern of no power or a blank display screen after turning on the audio/navigation unit, verify the proper SD card is installed in the unit as your first step in diagnosis. The SD cards used in these units are highly specialized for each specific model vehicle and are NOT interchangeable.

REMINDER: Always follow the proper procedure for removing the SD card from the audio/navigation unit. Failure to follow the proper procedure can damage both the SD card memory and the unit's internal memory. This type of damage is not a matter for warranty.

The charts below will provide the most updated SD card part number information available for each model, 2012MY to current.

11 REPEAT P0420 DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODE ON HIGHER MILEAGE VEHICLES

If you encounter a higher mileage vehicle with DTC P0420 which has had repeated catalytic converter replacements in a short period of time, while a faulty converter may be the cause of the P0420 and testing show that converter is faulty, odds are the failed converter is the "effect" and not the root "cause" of the problem.

A catalytic converter life span can be directly correlated to a properly running engine. Misfires and other drivability conditions can reduce a catalytic converter life span dramatically depending on the type of issue.

Don't overlook the basics on high mileage vehicles. Compression, leak down and especially valve clearance measurements on all cylinders should be done to check the health of the base engine before replacing parts.

If you run into this condition, you may find valve clearances out of specification due to "dropped" exhaust valve guides. This may not cause a noticeable running condition, but can create intermittent misfire issues and in some cases, valves to stick. What is most detrimental to the converter's life span when valve guides drop is oil leaking past the valve seals into the valve guides, onto the back of the valves and eventually ending up inside the catalyst.

For more information or a refresher on catalytic converter function and testing, please refer to the Technician Reference Booklet for Module 405, Basic Fuel and Emissions.

14 SUBARU SELECT MONITOR III UNITS OF MEASUREMENT

In order to change the readings on the Subaru Select Monitor III for units of measure such as psi, inHG, kPa, mmHG, you must check the F10 soft key to see if you are in SI mode or Non-SI mode. When the F10 soft key displays SI mode, that is when the Select Monitor III is in Non-SI mode and that is when you can change the units of measurement. When you press the F10 key, SI mode is enabled and changes the soft key label to display Non-SI mode and also locks the units of measurement to SI.

08 2014 FORESTER MULTI-FUNCTION DISPLAY MAINTENANCE MESSAGES

On 2014 Model Year Foresters equipped with a multi-function display; there is a maintenance schedule setting that is set at the factory to alert the driver when it is time to have various items checked. This default setting is set at 7,000 miles. When this interval is reached, the driver will begin to see messages appear which read as follows:

• Check washer fluid level (only when level is low)
• Time to change the engine oil
• Time to change the oil filter
• Time to check the tires
• Maintenance is required immediately

After the vehicle is serviced, either the Technician or the owner has to reset the schedule for these message reminders otherwise, the owner will see the reminder again soon after the service was performed. To reset the reminder, pull and hold the "I set" switch on the steering wheel toward you until the selection screen appears. Then you can use the arrow up/down switch to scroll to the maintenance menu and select the desired item(s) using the "I set" switch.

First, select "Maintenance" then from the next layer of the menu, choose "Clear All Settings". You will be prompted to verify your input in the next screen so, you must select "Yes". A message of "Maintenance all items settings is eliminated" will then be displayed and the reset is accomplished. This will reset all maintenance intervals in Oil, Oil Filter, Tires and Maintenance to 7,000 miles. The mileage interval can be manually changed by increments of 1,000 miles and the dates of the next inspection can also be set in each item individually if desired. (Default for the date is set to blank).

Please note, any dates entered will be erased when "Clear all settings" has been executed. If the owner does not want any of the warning messages to be displayed, you can turn off the default setting using the same switches and menus. For reference, all of this information can be found in the owner's manual, section 3 beginning on page 66.