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January 2020

Subaru Service and Technical Support Line Newsletter
ARTICLES CONTAINED
IN THIS ISSUE

01

© 2020 Subaru of America, Inc. All rights reserved.

QMR OF THE MONTH

Click on a title below to jump to the article.
Click the date located in the footer to return to page 1.

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

STIS New Releases ......................10-11

(01)

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

(01)

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

(01)

Hints for Searching Separate
Publications with Online
Reference ........................................3-7

(01)

Application Chart For Immobilizer
System ................................................8

(07)

2019-20 Forester & 2020 Legacy/
Outback Driver Monitoring System
(DMS), Seat Memory, and/or Mirror
Tilt Inoperative ...................................8

(07)

Revised Ascent Sunroof Glass (Lid)
and Sun Shade Initialization
Procedures ....................................9-10

(07)

Change to Length of ECM Calibration
ID (CID) Numbers .............................. 10

SUBARU TECHLINE HOLIDAYS
& HOURS OF OPERATION
Memorial Day: (Closed)
Monday, May 25, 2020
Independence Day: (Closed)
Friday, July 3, 2020
Labor Day: (Closed)
Monday, September 7, 2020

Mon. - Thurs.

8:30AM - 7:30PM EST

Friday

10:30AM - 5:00PM EST

Saturday

9:00AM - 3:00PM EST

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

Patrick Abramovitch from
Subaru of Port Richey in Port Richey, FL
Patrick’s winning QMR outlined his successful diagnosis and repair
of a 2018 Outback 2.5i Limited which presented with an unusual
customer concern of the door locks locking and unlocking on their own
while driving. Although unable to confirm the condition as described
by the customer, he did verify being able to lock the doors with the
door switches but not unlock them. Patrick started his diagnosis by
confirming the remote keyless entry feature operated normally, both
lock and unlock. Next, he connected the SSM and brought up the
BIU PID data. While monitoring the Manual Unlock Switch Input PID,
Patrick noticed it was not switching and always showed as ON. His
next step was to remove both front door panels and disconnect the
lock switches one at a time while monitoring the PID in hopes of seeing
it switch from ON to OFF. The PID data remained ON so, he began
to inspect the instrument panel harness above the BIU by wiggling
it in different areas while continuing to look for the PID to change.
Eventually, Patrick was successful and after a thorough inspection,
isolated a point where the harness had been contacting the steel
frame of the passenger airbag module. He noticed the harness tape
was chafed and upon closer inspection, found the insulation of the
brown unlock request wire had been punctured, shorting the signal to
ground. After repairing the damaged wire and adding some additional
protection to the harness, normal door lock system operation was
restored. Patrick’s QMR contained a thorough description of his
diagnostic procedure accompanied by quality photos and multiple
videos.
In appreciation for going the extra mile and sharing his experience
with us, Patrick will be receiving the following 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 OTH-

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, Ascent, Crosstrek Hybrid and
“Quality Driven” are Registered Trademarks.

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 2020 TechTIPS

Page 1 of 12

01

QMR OF THE MONTH (CONTINUED)

The other Regional winners selected from QMRs submitted during December 2019 were:
•

Anthony Quintana from Ramsey Subaru in Ramsey, NJ

•

David Callender from Roy Robinson Subaru in Tulalip, WA

•

Matthew Brady from Subaru of Wichita in Wichita, KS

•

Raymond Anderson from Premier Subaru Watertown in Watertown, CT

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 PRESENTATION

As part of our “enhanced” QMR of the Month recognition program, we include a photo (whenever
available) of the recipient’s award presentation in TIPS. The winner selected from QMR of the Month
submissions received during November 2019 was Patrick Abramovitch, a Technician from Subaru of
Port Richey in Port Richey, FL.

Patrick is shown after being presented with his $500.00 Snap-On Gift Card by SOA Field Service
Engineer, Jeff Sharkey. Subaru of Port Richey’s Service Manager, Brian Skelton is shown to Patrick’s
left. Congratulations and THANK YOU to our November 2019 QMR of the Month Award recipient!

January 2020 TechTIPS

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Page 2 of 12

01

HINTS FOR SEARCHING SEPARATE PUBLICATIONS WITH ONLINE REFERENCE

Many Technicians call Tech Line because they are having difficulty locating certain publications required
for effective diagnosis. Most of these problems occur from Technicians having trouble searching the
Online Reference section of STIS. Here are some useful hints to improve the efficacy of the Online
Reference search.
Finding the correct Accessory Installation Guide may consume too much time for some as they are only
published in the first model year of the body style for the vehicle. Instead of searching every year or
trying to remember which model year the vehicle was introduced, the fastest way to find the required
installation guide is to check the Accessory Installation Guide box and enter the part number from the
accessory package in the keyword search field.

When diagnosing immobilizer system concerns and steps to perform after immobilizer system
components are replaced, the Service Manual states to use the Registration Manual for Immobilizer.
This manual is available for all models equipped with Immobilizer systems. To access this manual,
check the box labeled Other/Miscellaneous then click the search button.

January 2020 TechTIPS

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Page 3 of 12

01

HINTS FOR SEARCHING SEPARATE PUBLICATIONS WITH ONLINE REFERENCE (CONTINUED)

NOTE: In this search, the fields for Model Year, Model / Carline and Trim are left blank and there is no
Keyword entered. Leaving these fields empty allows the search to return the most possible hits. This
can be done with any Publication Type.
Once this search is complete, the displayed results will look like the image below. Under Other/
Miscellaneous, there are several useful documents including the Registration Manuals for Immobilizer,
TechTIPS Article Locator index and Instruction Manuals for various pieces of diagnostic equipment.

The results can be narrowed by using the Filter field. Typing “imm” into the filter removes all search hits
irrelevant to the immobilizer system.

January 2020 TechTIPS

CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE
Page 4 of 12

01

HINTS FOR SEARCHING SEPARATE PUBLICATIONS WITH ONLINE REFERENCE (CONTINUED)

Owner Manuals for vehicles dating back to 2000MY are available in .pdf format. Service Manuals are
also available as .pdf files for many models dating back to 1991MY.

These files may take some time to download but, will open faster if they are saved to the computer.
To save the Owner or Service Manual, simply click the save icon
to store the file locally. When
the manual is needed again, it will load much faster if you open the file from the computer rather than
downloading from an internet browser.

January 2020 TechTIPS

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Page 5 of 12

01

HINTS FOR SEARCHING SEPARATE PUBLICATIONS WITH ONLINE REFERENCE (CONTINUED)

The TechTIPS Locator Index is an extremely useful tool. It is updated every three months with the article
titles and the month/year in which the article was published. The index is located under the Other/
Miscellaneous Publication Type.

Technical Service Bulletins can also be searched with the Model Year/Carline/Trim fields left blank.
Simply check the publication type box for Technical Service Bulletins and enter a Keyword.

January 2020 TechTIPS

CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE
Page 6 of 12

01

HINTS FOR SEARCHING SEPARATE PUBLICATIONS WITH ONLINE REFERENCE (CONTINUED)

Sometimes, there will be no results even if the search fields are left blank and only the Publication Type
is selected. This is likely because the user has been logged out of Subarunet for inactivity. Close the
STIS tab, return to the Subarunet home page and click the refresh icon on the internet browser. Then,
log in and repeat the search.
Important information can be found in several different Publication Types. Using Online Reference to
search effectively will help to ensure Technicians have all the information they need to make a quick
and efficient repair. The images and examples outlined here only cover some of the Publication Types
but may be applied to all.
Other important Publication Types to note, and use:
•

Owner Manuals for all models – Owner Manuals – Keeping copies of the Owner Manual for each
vehicle type that is serviced often saved to the hard drive of the computer can clear up many
questions regarding user error or system limitations/functions.

•

Registration Manuals for Immobilizer – Other/Miscellaneous – Used to program immobilizer
components, reference this guide when replacing DCMs, ECMs, etc. to check for additional
required steps following replacement of modules.

•

TechTIPS Article Locator Index – Other Miscellaneous – The best way to search for previous articles.

•

Intermediate Fuel Injection – Technician Reference Booklet – Evaporative Emissions Systems
diagnostic information. All TRBs are available via .pdf with color photos.

•

Harman Technical Support Guide – Troubleshooting Guides – Harman 3.0 Audio Unit features,
update information, troubleshooting. Also available for Fujitsu / Denso Ten, Kenwood, Panasonic,
and Clarion audio units.

January 2020 TechTIPS

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Page 7 of 12

•

Remote Engine Start Systems Troubleshooting Guide (many years/models available) –
Troubleshooting Guide – Used to repair and diagnose RES systems, RES fob programming,
runtime selection.

01

APPLICATION CHART FOR IMMOBILIZER SYSTEM