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January 2019

Subaru Service and Technical Support Line Newsletter
ARTICLES CONTAINED
IN THIS ISSUE
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Click the date located in the footer to return to page 1.

CODE ARTICLE...............................PAGE
(00)

STIS New Releases.................... 7-9

(01)

QMR of the Month...................... 1-2

(01)

QMR of the Month Award
Presentations ............................. 2

(01)

Subaru Technicians Honored at ASE
Annual Meeting........................... 3

(01)

Techline Case Follow Up................ 4

(01)

The Radio Keeps Playing and a “Turn
Off Engine Before Exiting” Message
Appears- Why?............................ 4

(03)

Selectable Shift Fork Identification
Marks....................................... 5

(06)

Tap or Click -Type Sound Heard When
Coming to A Stop- 2019MY Ascent.... 5

(07)

2019MY Forester, Driver Monitoring
System (DMS) Inoperative
*UPDATE*.................................. 6

(12)

Snowflake Type Damage to Glass..... 6

(15)

Reporting Inaccurate Navigation Map
Data......................................... 7

(15)

Unexpected / Abnormal Stop while
Operating Remote Engine Start........ 7

SUBARU TECHLINE HOLIDAYS
& HOURS OF OPERATION
Memorial Day: (Closed)
Monday, May 27, 2019
Independence Day: (Closed)
Thursday, July 4, 2019

Mon. - Thurs.

8:30AM - 7:30PM EST

Friday

10:30AM - 5:00PM EST

Saturday

9:00AM - 3:00PM EST

01

© 2019 Subaru of America, Inc. All rights reserved.

QMR OF THE MONTH

We are pleased to announce this month’s Winner of QMR of the Month:

Daniel Graas-Hernandez from
Premier Subaru of Fremont in Fremont, CA
Daniel’s award-winning QMR outlined his diagnosis and repair of a 2018
Outback 3.6R which was towed in for being unable to restart after losing
power while driving. As often happens, the car started normally for
Daniel when he began his diagnosis but, there were DTCs P1603 and
P1604 stored in memory along with the CEL on. He was able to drive
vehicle over 20 miles with no issues. After some preliminary checks,
Daniel left the vehicle overnight, restarted it cold the next morning and,
within about 10 minutes of idling, the vehicle shut off and reset the
P1604 code. He tried to restart the engine but experienced extended
crank time along with a repeated start / stall condition. Using the SSM4,
Daniel performed a close inspection of the engine data while the hard
starting condition was occurring. He found the fuel injection pulse values
were extremely erratic. His next step was to verify the related ECM
I/O signals. While performing a wiggle test on crank sensor’s engine
harness connector, the engine immediately stalled. After restarting, he
duplicated the test and the engine stalled again. Daniel inspected the
harness connector pins closely and found no trouble. He was able to
get the engine to stall by moving the body of the sensor slightly toward
the passenger side. No abnormalities were found after removing it for
a closer inspection. Daniel then proceeded to swap the suspect crank
sensor with a known good part and after performing the same test again,
was unable to duplicate the stalling condition. Going one step further
and completing his “A-B-A” test, he reinstalled the original sensor and
confirmed the stalling condition again. Daniel concluded the sensor’s
internal failure was temperature-related and after replacing it with a new
part and retesting the data, normal operation was restored.
In appreciation for going the extra mile and sharing his experience with
us, Daniel will be receiving a $500.00 Snap-On gift card from his Field
Service Engineer:

A $500.00 Snap-On gift card.
CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE
CAUTION: VEHICLE SERVICING PERFORMED BY UNTRAINED PERSONS
COULD RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY TO THOSE PERSONS OR TO OTHERS.

SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. IS
ISO 14001 COMPLIANT

The Subaru TechTIPS newsletter is intended for use by professional Technicians ONLY. Articles are
written to inform those Technicians of conditions that may occur in some vehicles, or to provide
information that could assist in the proper servicing of the vehicle. Properly trained Technicians
have the equipment, tools, safety instructions, and know-how to do the job correctly and safely.
If a condition is described, DO NOT assume that your vehicle has or will have that condition.
Impreza, Legacy, Justy, Loyale, Outback, Forester, Subaru SVX, WRX, WRX STI, Baja, Tribeca,
BRZ, XV Crosstrek and “Quality Driven” are Registered Trademarks. Ascent is a trademark.

ISO 14001 is the international standard for
excellence in Environmental Management
Systems. Please recycle or dispose of
automotive products in a manner that is
friendly to our environment and in accordance
with all local, state and federal laws and
regulations.

January 2019 TechTIPS

Page 1 of 10

01

QMR OF THE MONTH

The other Regional winners selected from QMRs submitted during November 2018 were:
•

Adam Kegg from Jim Thomas Subaru in Bedford, PA

•

Brian Marcinkowski from North End Subaru in Lunenburg, MA

•

Matt Kahl from Curry Subaru in Cortlandt Manor, NY

•

Joseph Shirkey from North Park Subaru Dominion in San Antonio, TX

Any Subaru Technician can participate in the QMR of the Month program. See the February 2013 and
January 2016 issues of Tech TIPS for full details. You just might see your name and photo in a future issue
of Tech TIPS!

01

QMR OF THE MONTH AWARD PRESENTATIONS

Left to Right- AJ Stavana (DPSM) Jacob Lozano (Service Manager)
Daniel Hernandez (Technician) Anthony Bertucci (FSE)

January 2019 TechTIPS

CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE
Page 2 of 10

01

SUBARU TECHNICIANS HONORED AT ASE ANNUAL MEETING

Fifty-two automotive professionals were recognized on November 14, 2018, at the Fall Board of
Governors meeting of the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) held at Pier
Sixty-Six Hotel and Marina in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The annual awards banquet spotlights
top scorers on the ASE Certification Tests. Forty-one companies from both OEM and Aftermarket
segments sponsored the individual Technician recognition awards in the Auto, Truck, Collision, Parts
and Service categories, along with awards for automotive instructors. In addition to looking for top
scores on ASE tests, award sponsors examine on-the-job excellence, community service and other
factors when selecting honorees.
These ASE annual awards spotlight top scorers on the ASE Certification tests from among the ranks
of the approximately quarter million ASE certified professionals nationwide. Subaru is proud to
have two Technicians, Dan Nelson and Abraham Giles, honored at this event. Dan Nelson, an ASE
Certified Automotive Technician at Larry Miller Subaru in Boise, Idaho, was honored with a national
achievement award as the Subaru/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year. Abraham Giles,
an ASE Entry Level Certified automotive apprentice at Shortline Subaru in Aurora, Colorado, was
honored with a national achievement award as the Subaru University/ASE Automobile Technician of
the Year. Presenting the awards were Dan Vespertino, Director, Service Technical and Ken Benson,
Training Field Operations Manager (both from Subaru of America); Ted Hayes, Chair of the ASE Board
of Directors; and Timothy Zilke, ASE President & CEO.

Pictured above: (L to R) Tim Zilke, Dan Vespertino,
Dan Nelson, Ken Benson, Ted Hayes

Pictured above: (L to R) Tim Zilke, Dan Vespertino,
Abraham Giles, Ken Benson, Ted Hayes

Additional information can be found at ase.com

January 2019 TechTIPS

CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE
Page 3 of 10

01

TECHLINE CASE FOLLOW UP

We would like to remind you of the importance of following up with us to update or close open Techline
cases. To those of you who work hard to keep your number of open cases minimized, we thank
you and really appreciate your efforts. The information provided back to us has been invaluable. We
understand everyone is busy, and time spent on the phone cuts into your productivity. But, keeping
the lines of communication open and flowing is essential and mutually beneficial. To help streamline
the process of calling the Techline, always get a case number and the name of the Representative
you speak with and be sure to record both of them for future reference. In an effort for us to help you,
please keep these points in mind:
•
•
•

ALWAYS get the name of the Techline Representative you speak with
ALWAYS get a case number
ALWAYS follow up

•

ALWAYS close your cases

To close a case when the concern is resolved, call 1-866-782-2782, select Option 3 for Techline,
press 1 to acknowledge the disclaimer, and press Option 8 to leave your message. You can also
close cases by emailing tech@subaru.com. Whether emailing or calling be sure to include your name,
retailer number, case number, last 8 digits of the VIN, and what was done to resolve the concern.
If you are awaiting an update from Techline and have not received a response within twenty-four (24)
hours or you need to update a case, please call in. DO NOT adopt the thinking “We are waiting to
hear from Subaru and until we do, there is nothing more we can do.” It is the retailer’s responsibility to
follow up with Techline.
Not sure if you have Pending Cases?
There is a report located on Subarunet to help you identify if your retailer has Pending Retailer Update
cases. Simply go to Subarunet > Service Operations & Technical > Reports – Techline > click on the
most recent date to view your “Pending Retailer Update” cases.
As always, your help and cooperation are essential to make this happen. Thank You!

01

THE RADIO KEEPS PLAYING AND A “TURN OFF ENGINE BEFORE EXITING” MESSAGE
APPEARS- WHY?

If the ignition on a Push-Button Start car is switched OFF before
the shift selector is placed in Park, the ignition mode changes to
ACC mode as indicated by the orange LED on the START button.
In this case, the radio remains on and a message will appear in
the combination meter display stating “Turn Off Engine Before
Exiting” even though engine is already OFF and the driver’s door
is opened. This is a normal operating characteristic. A similar
condition may occur if there is a concern with park switch or park
switch signal at the time the ignition is switched off. This condition
can easily be alleviated by starting the engine and shutting it back
off again while keeping the selector in Park.
January 2019 TechTIPS

CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE
Page 4 of 10

03

SELECTABLE SHIFT FORK IDENTIFICATION MARKS

Split case manual transmission shift forks should be checked and adjusted any time internal
transmission service is performed. Shift forks are identified by stamped numbers, or lack of stamped
numbers located near the roll pin hole. See below photo of selectable 1-2 shift forks.

3-4 and 5-6 are also selectable. Marks may be in a different area, but the mark will ALWAYS be
stamped into the fork.

06

TAP OR CLICK -TYPE SOUND HEARD WHEN COMING TO A STOP- 2019MY ASCENT

The Techline has received a small number of inquiries regarding a single “tap” or “click” -type sound
occurring just as the vehicle comes to a stop. The sound has been duplicated when using a “firm” level / amount of brake pedal pressure when stopping in both forward and reverse directions. The cause
has been identified as the change in friction coefficient between the brake pad and the brake rotor.
This sound is a normal operating characteristic, it has no effect on brake system performance. After
confirming proper vehicle braking operation and all braking components are assembled as designed,
no attempt should be made to address it should a customer concern arise.

January 2019 TechTIPS

CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE
Page 5 of 10

07

2019MY FORESTER, DRIVER MONITORING SYSTEM (DMS) INOPERATIVE *UPDATE*

A small number of field reports have been received with a concern involving the DMS system
being inoperative. One of these reports stated a DTC U0156 for Lost Communication was stored
in multiple modules. In addition, the seat memory feature was also found to be inoperative. After
performing extensive electrical diagnostics, the root cause was traced to a loose harness connector
located behind the lower exterior trim cover of the driver’s door mirror assembly. After re-seating the
connector and making sure it was fully locked in place, all systems returned to normal operation. The
photo below shows the loose connector.
*UPDATE: A production change was made to the routing of the wiring harness starting with
VIN KH452339.

NG

12

OK

SNOWFLAKE TYPE DAMAGE TO GLASS

Damage resembling a snowflake inside glass
panes is caused by application of excessive
heat to the glass such as during the application
of window tint. This type of damage is not a
matter for warranty coverage.

January 2019 TechTIPS

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Page 6 of 10

15

REPORTING INACCURATE NAVIGATION MAP DATA

Occasionally a customer will report the navigation map data is incorrect. Techline has received
reports of missing roads, turns where no road is present, inaccurate address information, etc.
Fortunately, map errors can easily be reported.
For Harman head units, simply go to www.subaru.com > Click For Owners > Click Navigation > Enter
the vehicle > Click “Search for Updates” > Click “Report Inaccurate Map Data”.
For Denso 10 / D10 head units follow this link: https://help.here.com/en/support/solutions/
articles/24000009505-where-can-i-report-problems-with-the-map-in-here-wego-

15

UNEXPECTED / ABNORMAL STOP WHILE OPERATING REMOTE ENGINE START

When an owner uses the MySubaru mobile application to start the vehicle engine remotely more than
once without starting the vehicle normally they may receive an email from MySubaru stating there was
an unexpected or abnormal stop. This is due to runtime restrictions built in to the Telematics system.
This is a normal operating characteristic and no attempt should be made to repair it.

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STIS NEW RELEASES

ITEM TYPE