club.liberty.asn.au

Car; 2005 Subaru Liberty MY06 2.0R


I bought my Liberty less than 6 months ago and after a while I noticed an annoying hesitation (flat spot) when accelerating in any gear between 2500rpms and 3500rpms. I've searched through the web for a cause but I can only find people with similar problems, no solutions. I did read one or two posts that said there may be an update available for the ecu but not to sure how reliable it is. The reason i mention this is because upon an ecu reset the problem goes away for an undetermined amount of time and then returns.

Has anyone else had this problem and been able to fix it?

Note, Ive replaced the spark plugs already.

My thoughts are;
- Fuel related, Ive switch from Caltex 95 to Shell 98 to see if that has any effect.
- Air fuel ratio sensor ? (was mentioned by a friend as a possibility)
- A forum did mention the knock sensor, retarding timing perhaps.


Any help would be appreciated because without this problem, the car is a joy to drive!

Thanks in advance,
Matt.

Get in touch with Matt or Bryce from KiDo Tuning (username KiDo_tuning)

Sounds to me like a tune related thing, especially if it dissapears for a short period after ECU reset.

I got the same thing happening with my car too...

For me, believe it or not it was a fuel related issue... I also use Shell V-Power... I tried Caltex 98 and that issue disappears... so its very weird... very inconvenient too because Shell is 2 minutes from my place and I have vouchers!

Due to the mods I have done to my car... I don't know if any of that has anything to do with it but it seems to disappear when a 'proper' fuel is used...

Sounds like an issue with air/ fuel mixture or a mis-fire for some reason.

-at 2500-3500rpm when accelerating you can discount the Rear o2 Sensor as being the issue as it will be ignored by the ECU.
-MAF Sensor could be dirty and giving incorrect readings
-could be a blocked fuel filter
-Check for any leaks in the intake or exhaust
---intake leaks- use carbie cleaner and spray it around the hoses and joins, it will get sucked in and the engine will stutter
---exhaust leaks- use a piece of hose as a stethescope and put it up to different joins in the exhaust between the engine and cat converter to listen for leaks

does it stutter and mis-fire at idle?

what spark plugs and gap did you use..?

d-chang wrote:I don't know if any of that has anything to do with it but it seems to disappear when a 'proper' fuel is used...

Start using BP fuel then
WRT Caltex fuels, their fuel is all the same with additives used to increase the RON rating.- High Aromatic Fuel
BP actually Refine their fuels more to increase the RON rating without using additives.
I'm not sure what Shell do

Don't know about Kormoran, but I only had the car serviced about a month and a half ago, and had the carbon cleaner done on the engine to flush out all the 'crap'. With that service also had the spark plugs replaced and the general log book carried out. But this particular issue, has always been lingering... very inconvenient to say the least...

d-chang wrote:I don't know if any of that has anything to do with it but it seems to disappear when a 'proper' fuel is used...

Start using BP fuel then
WRT Caltex fuels, their fuel is all the same with additives used to increase the RON rating.- High Aromatic Fuel
BP actually Refine their fuels more to increase the RON rating without using additives.
I'm not sure what Shell do[/quote]

Yeah I might give it a try, at the end of the day, you read a lot of material about fuels... and they could just 'write' things to hype it up... just get out there and try it I guess..

Same as d-chang here,
Serviced 4000kms ago with genuine plugs from Subaru, air filter, upper cylinder cleaner, all that junk was done as well.

No other problems except lack of power at that rpm range, no idle problems and to clarify, no cel codes.

Trying the fuel swap first, fingers crossed.

came across this problem twice since owning the car,
narrowed it down to bad fuel from a local servo.
since swapping servos never encountered the problem again.

Update;
Went to Subaru today to get some upper cylinder cleaner, thought I'd ask about the map update for the 2.0R, and he said there was one released 2-3 years ago,, but he also said it would cost $149 for a diagnosis and possible update (He was certain for the auto, but not manual) So if/when the problem returns, it's a possible solution.

Hey I only stumbled across this, I have the same thing in a 2.5 and I have already spoken to Bryce at KiDo he said this:

The hesitation is part of the stock tune and our tune will fix it, as well as provide a smoother drive, more midrange torque and better top end power.

His tune is more that the factory update from Subaru but from what I hear the guys at KiDo are very knowledgable and work with you to create the best tune. Either way if I get it done before you do I can let you know if it fixes the hesitation.

As soon as I get my tax back Im going to fork out the $149 and see what happens, I need to pay for my 100k service in a few months too so, goodbye $$$

Kormoran wrote:As soon as I get my tax back Im going to fork out the $149 and see what happens, I need to pay for my 100k service in a few months too so, goodbye $$$

I would not bother with a Subaru tune update... Seriously. Send kido a pm.

Sending through an email as I type this, see what the damage will be.
I'm tempted to get an exhaust/extractors though (If its worth putting extractors on a 2.0R) will it need a re-tune if i do?

Ill just note too, I still haven't had a problem since changing to BP Ultimate.

Kormoran wrote:Sending through an email as I type this, see what the damage will be.
I'm tempted to get an exhaust/extractors though (If its worth putting extractors on a 2.0R) will it need a re-tune if i do?

Ill just note too, I still haven't had a problem since changing to BP Ultimate.

In all of my mod experience (be it V8's) but they are good value where are you located? Matt from KiDo is doing rounds again soon.

PinkK wrote:

Kormoran wrote:Sending through an email as I type this, see what the damage will be.
I'm tempted to get an exhaust/extractors though (If its worth putting extractors on a 2.0R) will it need a re-tune if i do?

Ill just note too, I still haven't had a problem since changing to BP Ultimate.

In all of my mod experience (be it V8's) but they are good value where are you located? Matt from KiDo is doing rounds again soon.

In Brisbane buddy.

Also in your reply, when you say "in all of my mod experience (be it v8's) but they are good value" what part of my post are you referring to? Apologies, it's late aha