I just bought a new (to me) 2005 subaru outback with 79,000 miles on it. This car is without a doubt the smoothest, most refined car I have ever owned. What a dream it is to drive in this car. I love it. Unfortnately on the way home on I-80 west in northern nevada I noticed that when I set the cruise control, the car would "surge" quite a bit to maintain speed- fine I thought I'll just deal with the coffee stains all over my pants - but when the cruise cut out completely and started blinking at me and would not engage - I realized it would be a long, long drive back home (3hrs+ on boring desert interstate). Today I checked the battery connections to ensure they were tight (they were- but a little corroded with white stuff on the + battey cable). I also had autozone check the ObD II port - and the car came back with no codes present from the ECU. So I am at a loss to say the least. I know these cars will not engage the cruise if there is any fault present in the ECU or the check engine light is not on- but that is not the case here. This is an automatic 5spd - so no neutral safety switch problem (which is common with these cars on manual transmissions). The strange thing is that the cruise will work just fine at 35mph in town -but not at highway speeds (where I need it). I've heard of a ECU reflash - will that help? Thanks for the help, any info would be appreciated, especially since I am such a subie n00b. Update - Just took my subie on a 400 mile round trip. This car is awesome, my wife and I love it. Something we noticed: Under 70mph and the cruise usually will set and stay on without a problem (though the it does seem to buck/surge a bit to maintain speed), above that speed and the cruise will work for about 40 seconds before cutting out and blinking at me. I took the car to a dealer to check it out - after several hours diagnosing it they said they had found the issue - dirty brake fluid. Unfortunately their "fix" didn't work at all - the problem persists. The dealer is baffled, and so am I. Were these cars just not designed for cruise control above 70mph?
As it an automatic and one of the sensor for the cruise control is the VSS then I would be suspecting that there is a problem in the overdrive of the transmission -could be harness connections , TCM
cruises control need these items to operate
brake witch to be operational-- touching the brakes cancels the cruise control
VSS to be operational , --reports the speed of the vehicle so that the cruise controlled speed can be maintained
tachometer to be operational --- will shut the cc of if there is a speed limiter involved
gear position switch to be operational ECM to be operational
if any one item has a break in circuit , the cruise control will turn off
could be as simple as a bad ground connection for the ground wire from the battery
SOURCE: 2002 vw jetta tdi - problem with rpm gauge?
Hi, Did you notice the motor actually reving higher when the tachometer was reading a higher rpm.. If it was it could be your transmission slipping.. Set your cruise control and listen to your motor while the tachometer starts moving erratically.. Good Luck
SOURCE: My brother just bought a 2004 Lincoln Town Car
Turn on the Cruise control ON on left side of steering wheel accelerate to desired speed push set button on right side of steering wheel to turn cruise OFF press off or tap brake pedal
SOURCE: 2004 subaru forester, 99,000 miles. Check engine
Drop in to an Autozone, or Pep Boys, or similar big parts store & they will usually scan for codes free. This will hopefully eliminate all the guess work, or at least point everyone in right direction for better diagnosis. If not obvious from codes what the problem is, get back to us and we'll help you out.
Testimonial: "Thanks for the great suggestion . I'll have Autozone read the codes on Monday. Thanks again!"
SOURCE: 98 Honda Accord odometer, speedometer and cruise control all died
check the fuse for the gauges and if not check speed sensor
Testimonial: "Thanks. I checked the fuzes and that pointed to nothing. I had the car check and in fact it was the speed sensor. Thanks for the support."
SOURCE: 2006 Subaru Outback: all of a sudden, the cruis
Hello, whenever the check engine light comes on the cruse light will flash as well, that is normal. The check engine light will not come on if fluid levels are low or if the temp is getting to high, I am pleased to know that you checked all of the fluids, most wouldn't have even the slightest thought to even try checking them. The On Board Diagnostics or OBD-2 for short only sets a check engine light when the ECM or Electronic Control Module reads a sensor value either too high or too low, but it has to read that same fault 3 consecutive times in a row to turn on the check engine light (w/ flashing cruise). Otherwise your check engine light would be going on and off all the time. I would go to your local parts store and have them check the codes for free because a dealer will have to charge you labor for them to check due to the knowledge needed to use the highly sophisticated scan tool they use. That way you can go either to an independent shop or a dealer with what the other scanner says is wrong which cuts down on the cost of repairs. They will probably ask you if you fueled up just before the engine light came on, in which that would be code P0440:EVAP leak(very small leak), that means the fuel tank sensor doesn't like how you put the fuel cap on. Subaru recommends AT LEAST 3 clicks when tightening your fuel cap. But until that code is checked you won't know whats wrong, if nothing went boom or bang you'll probably be ok. If it does end up being a fuel cap leak, then just loosen the cap put it back on and just make 1 full revolution, and just keep driving it. The light will go off within 3 full warm up cool down cycles or (drive cycles). I hope this info helps...(subyguru)...
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