NHTSA Complaint #700388 — 1997 SUBARU LEGACY

ENGINE PROBLEM 1. AFTER EACH OIL CHANGE, ENGINE SHOWS SEVERE HESITATION DURING ACCELERATION AT RPM'S BELOW 2500 (FEELS LIKE LATE IGNITION TIMING), WHICH RESULTS IN LOSS OF POWER - DANGEROUS WHEN MERGING INTO TRAFFIC. WHEN RPM'S REACH 2500, THE POWER RETURNS TO NORMAL, AND THE CAR STARTS ACCELERATING MUCH FASTER, CREATING A POSSIBILITY OF RUNNING INTO A CAR IN FRONT. THIS BEHAVIOR GRADUALLY DISAPPEARS OVER THE NEXT 1500 MILES AND REAPPEARS AGAIN AFTER THE NEXT OIL CHANGE. SUBARU DEALERS DO NOT ADMIT ANY PROBLEM. ENGINE PROBLEM 2. WHEN CRUISING IN NEUTRAL (STANDARD 5-SPEED TRANSMISSION), THE RPM STAY AROUND 1200 - 1500 IN MOST CASES (~95%). THEY FALL TO NORMAL 800 ONLY AFTER FULL STOP. IN OTHER 5% OF SITUATIONS THEY FALL TO NORMAL AS YOU WOULD EXPECT THEM TO. AGAIN, SUBARU DEALERS DO NOT ADMIT ANY PROBLEM.