2003 Forester engine ping

I don't know if resetting the ECU would help or not, but you can unhook the negative battery cable and press the brake pedal several times to discharge the capacitors. Then reconnect it and see if it is any better.

I have a 2002 Forester (automatic) and have never experienced ping. I use 93 octane.

Your engine should run great on 87 octane fuel. I would first reset the computer by removing the neg battery cable for an hour or so or if your in a hurry pump the brake pedal several times with the batt cable off. If that doesn't work try a bottle of TECHRON FUEL SYSTEM CLEANER. from Wal-Mart for

Welcome to the club. :-)

Apparently, as Edward said, light engine ping (a.k.a detonation) is common in Subaru engines. ECU allows engine to start pinging (advances timing) so that is uses the most power out of it and then adjusts it so that detonation stops.

I agree that this is normal to some level but when I'm forced to use 92+ aki fuel and I can still hear it, then it drives me nuts. I have the same problem and I've been fighting it with SOC Subaru of Canada for the past 2+ years. Finally I got somebody there to listen to my sad story and they "promised" that something will be done. Problem is when is it going to be done. So I decided to talk to BBB and they took over the case. I don't know what I can expect but I know that if there is no solution I'll either sell the car (which I REALLY do not want to) or put huge lemon yellow letters that'll say "THIS IS $35K LEMON CAR" and then we'll see how much effect it'll create like the guy with BMW here in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

If you read my post from around end of July 2004 you'll see what I've done so far.

Don't buy BS stories from dealership to get higher octane fuel and/or fuel additives (no offense Edward and others) to "clean carbon deposits" from your engine. Those stores are there to pacify you so you don't bother them. Go all the way and demand that they repair the car. With 5K miles on the engine no matter how "bad" you/me and others drive there is no way that engine can build up that much carbon depos- its so that it starts to ping.

Btw, SOC rep. told me that they have few more cases with 2003 and 2002 engine models. This version of engine was some kind of "beta version" and unfortunately we have to pay the price for it. Bummer.

If you need more info/want to exchange your view you can send me an e-mail to snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com

There is more on this at

(Google search "subaru engine ping")

Cheers, Voja

4WDGL wrote:

I will stick by my recommendation to try a fuel system cleaner because: you may have gotten a load of poor quality gasoline that indeed caused some deposits on the back of the intake valves. I used TECHRON FUEL SYSTEM CLEANER avail at Wal-Mart's for about 6 dollars. If it is a serious knocking and not a light but noticeable pinging then a reflash of the ECU should be available from your dealer. Your vehicle should run wonderful on

there is definitely a design fault with subaru 2.5 litre engines. regarding fuel system cleaners and ECU resets - its all rubbish. In 12 months had 12 plus fuel system cleaners added, 6-7 times upper engine cleans performed, engine resets, etc etc and offcourse the favourite thing which the Subaru technicians say "Sir add very high quality fuel" (if only those morons could give me an address and directions to the vulcan planet to get that ever elluding VERY HIGH QUALITY FUEL).

Subaru naturally will never admit its their design fault - the engineering team hasnt done much testing. And offcourse we are the guinee pigs - paid in full for the new car purchase and then sweating and paying for visits to the service centre and paying for the costs associated.

So welcome to the pinging forester club, if my comments sound sarcastic - it sure does and its very frustrating. The solution is simple - I am never gonna buy a Subaru ever again.

Spread the word around - subs sucks - never buy a subaru again.

Dammit, I just realised that I've posted wrong web site. It should be

instead.

Sorry :-(

Here is the right link:

Cherrs, Voja

Voja wrote:

Hmm. I've never heard a ping from my Forester -- and I run it quite hard quite often. Of course, it has a turbocharged version of the 2.5L engine, and therefore must have different ECU programming than the NA version. I also understand there are other design differences between the NA and turbo

2.5L engines (my brochure mentions several differences in the heads, and the crank and bore must also be different, since the turbo has a lower CR than the NA engine.) Perhaps they've expunged this gremlin from the the turbo engine. Or perhaps the NA and turbo engines are sufficiently different that I'm comparing apples to oranges. Or maybe to lake trout.

Has anybody experienced this pinging in a 2.5L *turbo* engine? Is the fact that I always pump 93-octane (US measures -- I've no idea how to convert to European measures) into the car to credit for my lack of engine ping?

Crap. *Now* you tell me. :-)

- Greg Reed

--

1983 Honda V45 Magna 2001 Chevy Astro AWD (wife's) 2004 Subaru Forester Turbo 5-Speed

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My 98 2.5 does not ping with 91 octane fuel on 80+ degree days at sea level. How can this be a design fault affecting all Subaru 2.5 litre engines?

Florian

It's been said many times here but evidently bears repeating:

My Service Manager told me the designers decided on short skirt pistons to improve gas mileage. This causes a "slap" that sounds like a ping. It's pretty critical you adhere to the manual's recommendation for oil viscosity, which sounds low by most standards, to _help_ reduce the "ping". We had a short block installed in our 1997 OB at 50K miles under warrantee. It started at about 45K miles when I went to a QuckLube and stupidly said "20/50 oil". I was absent mindedly thinking from 50 years driving experience. Our 2003 OB does it occasionally in the winter.

So, it's not a "design fault" it's more like "faulty reasoning" if anything. And it's not unique to Forester 2.5L engines