December 2022
Subaru Service and Technical Support Line Newsletter

Articles Contained
in this Issue

01

© 2023 Subaru of America, Inc. All rights reserved.

QMR of the Month

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CODE ARTICLE...................................................................PAGE
(00) STIS New Releases................................15-16
(01) QMR of the Month......................................1-2

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

(01) QMR of the Month Award
Presentations................................................ 2

Jeremy De Groodt from
Capitol Subaru in San Jose, CA

(03) AT Learning Control Revisited (Relearn)...3-5
(09) DTC P26A3, P26A5, P26A6, P26A7 Thermo
Control Valve Diagnosis & Replacement, .
with companion codes P2004, P2005, P0087,
P0088, P0091.............................................6-9
(11) Mode $06 and CID/CVN
Data Collection........................................9-11

Jeremy created a high quality QMR using TechShare reporting on
customer’s concern of driver power seat memory will not save. Jeremy’s
report included detailed diagnostic steps and high-quality photos/ video.

(15) Starlink Telematics - Comm Check,
Test Calls, Remote Services requests,
Failed calls.............................................12-14

Please refer to the following link to review the TechShare QMR in detail.
https://subarutechshare.com/qmrs/TS-216969

SUBARU TECHLINE HOLIDAYS
& HOURS OF OPERATION
Mon. - Thurs.

8:30AM - 7:30PM EST

Friday

10:30AM - 5:00PM EST

Saturday

9:00AM - 3:00PM EST

In appreciation for going the extra mile and sharing his experience with
us, Jeremy will be receiving the following from his District Service Quality
Manager:

$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.

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, Solterra and “Quality Driven” are Registered Trademarks.

December 2022 TechTIPS

SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. IS
ISO 14001 COMPLIANT
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.

Page 1 of 17

01

QMR of the Month (CONTINUED)

The other Regional winners selected from QMRs submitted during October 2022 were:

•

Carter Bibb from Green Subaru

•

Christopher Taper from Subaru of South Hills

•

Nathan Pelletier from Quirk Works Subaru

•

Nicholas Limoncelli from Empire Subaru of Huntington

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

01

QMR of the Month Award Presentations

As part of our “enhanced” QMR of the Month recognition program, we will include a photo (whenever
available) of the recipient’s award presentation in TIPS. The winner selected from QMR of the Month
submissions received during October 2022 was 4-Time QMR of the Month Winner Jeremy DeGroodt,
a Master Technician at Capitol Subaru in San Jose, CA.

Jeremy is shown above (left center) after being presented with his $500.00 Snap-On Gift Card. To his right are
Subaru of America, Inc. District Parts Service Manager Julia Davis and Subaru of America, Inc. District Service
Quality Manager Alan Wolfe. To Jeremy’s left is Capitol Subaru’s General Manager Jon Godinez, Capitol
Subaru’s Service Director Miguel Villa, and Capitol Subaru’s Service Manager Tony Tran.
Congratulations and THANK YOU to our October 2022 QMR of the Month Award recipient!

Continued on the next page
December 2022 TechTIPS

Page 2 of 17

03

AT Learning Control Revisited (Relearn)

There have been several reports brought to the attention of Techline involving the Learning Control process
aborting and being accompanied by the message “AT learning ended abnormally”. When Technicians
encounter this error, referring to the applicable Service Manual to verify the procedure should be the first
step to determine the root cause. Another source of information pertaining to this can be found under the
Help tab in the Subaru Select Monitor.
The pictures below show the two different error messages you can receive during the AT Learning
Control process. Each has a different diagnostic approach. It is important to note where in the learning
procedure, the process ends.
An AT learning for the transmission should be completed when the following work is performed:
•

Replacement of TCM

•

Replacement or disassembly of transmission assembly

•

Replacement of control valve body

•

Performing “Clear Memories 2”

The image above can be a result of detection of DTCs. Correct the DTCs and perform the AT learning
procedure again. The image below can be a result of a wide variety of different causes. See below for a
detailed list of things to check.

Continued on the next page
December 2022 TechTIPS

Page 3 of 17

03

AT Learning Control Revisited (Relearn) (CONTINUED)

If “AT learning ended abnormally” message is received, be aware of items such as:
Brake Switch Input
•

Firm pressure applied to the pedal is required. If insufficient pressure is applied to the brake
pedal, the process will abort.

•

When commanded to release the brake pedal, do so immediately and let the pedal return on its
own.

•

Faulted brake light circuit, such as open brake light bulbs.

•

Aftermarket brake lights, such as LED bulbs

•

Open brake light bulbs or LED bulbs can result in erratic brake light switch (BLS) operation or
control module interpretation even when the pedal is released. This can cause erratic operation
due to incorrect circuit resistance and voltage consumption.

DTCs
•

Verify there are no diagnostic trouble codes present in all modules including the OBD section.

Accelerator Input
•

No accelerator input should be used at any point during the Learning Control procedure.

•

Any RPM deviation or idle increase not created by the Learning Control process will abort the
procedure, so verify there are no outside influences that could affect this.

Continued on the next page
December 2022 TechTIPS

Page 4 of 17

03

AT Learning Control Revisited (Relearn) (CONTINUED)

Parking Brake Application
•

Application of the parking brake requires enough force to keep both rear wheels stationary. Any
movement of the rear wheels will abort the process.

•

Verify the parking brake operates appropriately (no adjustments needed, calibration performed,
etc.) according to the applicable Service Manual.

Fluid Temperature
•

Please refer to the applicable Service Manual for the appropriate Learning Control procedures,
including the required fluid temperature range.

•

The process cannot be performed at the incorrect fluid temperature.

•

Verify the fluid level is correct, as this will affect fluid temperature in some cases.

Battery Voltage
•

Perform a battery and system charging test using the Subaru Midtronics tester.

•

Verify the battery terminals are not corroded.

TCM Software
•

Verify the TCM has the latest software logic installed.

In rare cases when the tips provided above do not aid in completion of the Learning Control process, try
performing a few specific tests/checks in no specific order:
•

If the required temperature range is between 40 — 65°C (104 — 149°F) attempt with the CVT
temperature below 54°C (130°F)

•

Clear each module separately, then perform clear memories 1 & 2.
Clear memories in OBD system.

•

Perform a short road test of the vehicle between 5-10 miles, driving the vehicle lightly and monitor
the VDC data. Verify it displays wheel speed. If the fluid temperature is low enough, do not shut
the engine off, pull into shop and attempt the learning procedure.
* The fluid temperature may rise beyond the specification required for Learning Control to
complete; in which case a cool down period will be necessary.

•

Check the PID in SSM for the Brake Light Switch in BIU, TCM, VDC and ECM. Verify it reads
correctly both on and off the brake pedal.

•

Verify when in D on the lift, the front wheels spin freely.

December 2022 TechTIPS

Continued on the next page

Page 5 of 17

09

DTC P26A3, P26A5, P26A6, P26A7 Thermo Control Valve Diagnosis & Replacement,
with companion codes P2004, P2005, P0087, P0088, P0091

Techline has been receiving calls related to diagnosing and replacing Thermo Control Valve DTC’s. There
is a TSB related to Thermo valve replacement for some of our model lineup. It can be found here (TSB
09-80-21).
There are a few different scenarios that have been reported. When scanning for DTC’s a Thermo valve
code (P26A3-7) will be found as well as numerous other codes. Some of the other codes found could
be P2004, P2005, P0087, P0088, P0191 as well as others. Some technicians have reported the vehicle
running poorly, no Crank/no Start intermittently along with a long list of DTC’s. When presented with
this many codes it can be intimidating to know where to start the diagnostics. The basic engine wiring
diagram can provide a clue about this circuit.

Continued on the next page
December 2022 TechTIPS

Page 6 of 17

09

DTC P26A3, P26A5, P26A6, P26A7 Thermo Control Valve Diagnosis & Replacement,
with companion codes P2004, P2005, P0087, P0088, P0091 (CONTINUED)

Reviewing the ECM wiring diagram can provide further clues about how all those components are
connected. The Thermo valve shares a 5V reference with multiple other sensors including the Tumble
Generator Valve’s, Fuel Pressure Sensor, MAP etc.

The ECM I/O chart further confirms this information:

If the Thermo valve shorts internally, it can bring this shared 5V reference down to 0V, possibly causing
codes in all the shared components as well as potential drivability concerns. Following the Trouble
Tree for the P26Ax DTC’s will not find this short as most of them have the ECM and Thermo valve
connectors unplugged for circuit testing. When the testing for the harness is performed the short has
been removed by unplugging the Thermo valve. To verify the short, install the breakout harness and
test the shared 5V reference circuit, it should be 5V, if you find 0V the Thermo valve may be shorted.
Unplug the Thermo valve, does that circuit return to 5V? The “easy” answer for diagnosis is to unplug
the Thermo valve and scan for DTC’s again, do all the codes go to history except for the Thermo
valve codes? If so, it would indicate the Thermo valve may be shorted internally. If multiple DTCs are
still present, further diagnostics will need to be performed to determine if there is an issue in a wiring
harness or somewhere else.
The other scenario Techline has had reports of are concerns of a No Crank/No Start, Crank/No Start,
the coolant temp light blinking blue/red or other odd electrical concerns after installing a new Thermo
valve. When following the Thermo valve Removal directions in STIS, pay close attention to Step 5:

Continued on the next page
December 2022 TechTIPS

Page 7 of 17

09

DTC P26A3, P26A5, P26A6, P26A7 Thermo Control Valve Diagnosis & Replacement,
with companion codes P2004, P2005, P0087, P0088, P0091 (CONTINUED)

This bolt does not just hold the wiring loom in place, it is a main ground for the engine wiring harness,
if this bolt is not reinstalled or torqued to specification it will cause multiple electrical concerns.
Below is a photo of the engine ground “hidden” in the plastic of the wiring harness.

A special thank you to the Technicians at Sendell Subaru in Greensburg, PA for sharing photos with
Techline to use in this TechTIP.
Continued on the next page
December 2022 TechTIPS

Page 8 of 17

11

Mode $06 and CID/CVN Data Collection

There are times when Techline may request a Technician collect Mode 6 data as well as ECM or TCM
data from a vehicle. This may be requested while working on an AVCS, P0420, Evaporative emissions
or other concerns. While a photo of the Mode 6 screen could be helpful, what needs to be collected
is the actual data from the SSM4. Below are screen shots on how to save that data to a project file.
You can refer to TSB 01-175-16 for directions on how to send the data to Techline once it has been
collected.
After road testing the vehicle and recording data, but before shutting the vehicle off and disconnecting
the SSM4 the current Mode 6 data can be saved to the project file.
After saving the driving data, navigate to “Target Each System”.
Select “Each System” under the OBD System.
Select “On-Board System Test”.

Continued on the next page
December 2022 TechTIPS

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11

Mode $06 and CID/CVN Data Collection (CONTINUED)

After selecting “On-Board System Test” the screen should look like this:

Save the Mode 6 data, once it is saved the project file should look like this:

Continued on the next page
December 2022 TechTIPS

Page 10 of 17

11

Mode $06 and CID/CVN Data Collection (CONTINUED)

The ECM or TCM CID/CVN can also be collected and saved to the project file this way. There are
times Techline will request the CID/CVN data (not a photo) be included in the project file. This method
of collecting the CID/CVN can also be used when submitting a CPO turbo vehicle CID/CVN check.
The procedure begins the same, after selecting “Diagnosis” and the vehicle being worked on, under
OBD System select “Each System”, then ECM (or TCM) . Then Select “Vehicle Information”.

The screen should now display the CID/CVN data:

After saving the CID/CVN data, the project file should
now have the driving data file, the Mode 6 data and
the CID/CVN.

Continued on the next page
December 2022 TechTIPS

Page 11 of 17

15

Starlink Telematics - Comm Check, Test Calls, Remote Services requests,
Failed calls

The purpose of this TechTIP is to share some best practices for Gen 2 and Gen 3 Telematics service
procedures. It is also to stress the importance of contacting Techline when encountering uncertainty
or difficulty with any generation of Starlink Telematics. As a reminder to Technicians the best way to
ensure they get the information needed to diagnose Telematics concerns efficiently is to complete
QMRs with a high level of detail to ensure a steady flow of information to the field.
Critical: The SSM4 should only be connected to the vehicle when reviewing data or using Work
Support. The SSM4 should not be connected to the vehicle during the Comm Check, Provisioning
after a Comm Check, during a VOLTE call and Remote Service testing.
Please perform the procedures below before contacting Techline for one of the concerns listed.
The Comm Check Procedure