Car shuts off in 5th, then comes back on...

[leila]

Hey guys, I drive a 2004 WRX Standard; hopefully you can help me! I was in 5th, when the car suddenly shut off, the check-engine light came on, and I heard a clunk-clunk sound; then the car magically came back on like nothing happened! This happened about 7 times before I got into town (I live about 45 miles out) and I took it straight to my mechanic: he has worked on Subaru's for 15 years, and he said it was my positive battery cable......does this sound right to you? He is charging me around $300 for everything, parts and labor. Please let me know what you think! Thanks!

-leila

*What really sucks is they let me borrow the company car until mine is fixed.....and its a Mercury Minivan! Bleh!

[PREracing]

that does not sound right to me. battery cables even brand new form subaru plus labor should not come any where close to 300 bucks. not only that I would think that if it were the battery cable then it would be more likely to cut out in a lower gear due to more movement in the car when driving and shifting. 5th gear seems like it would be less of a problem. what cel did you get? you said check engine light came on so what code did the "subaru mechanic" pull from the ecu? how were you driving the car when it cutout? were you flooring it or half throttle? maybe the vacuum line to the wastegate actuator has a crack in it and is allowing the car to overboost thus causing fuel cut. I need more info to try and help you.

thanks-
bobby

[kbrok]

yeah i dont see how he is charging you 300dollars for that when its just a battery terminal. You can get a new batter for that if its the post. and if its the connector i just broke mine last week and paid 7.99 to fix it. I'd go up there and ask him to tell you exactly what code he pulled up or how he came to the conclusion

[lytlec]

This happened to my car when I put my exhaust on and before I got a tune(pre clubwrx member) I was getting boost cut and it would shut off for a second and CEL would come on and it would restore power.

[leila]

that does not sound right to me. battery cables even brand new form subaru plus labor should not come any where close to 300 bucks. not only that I would think that if it were the battery cable then it would be more likely to cut out in a lower gear due to more movement in the car when driving and shifting. 5th gear seems like it would be less of a problem. what cel did you get? you said check engine light came on so what code did the "subaru mechanic" pull from the ecu? how were you driving the car when it cutout? were you flooring it or half throttle? maybe the vacuum line to the wastegate actuator has a crack in it and is allowing the car to overboost thus causing fuel cut. I need more info to try and help you.

thanks-
bobby

No, the first time, I had it on cruise control at 63...After the first time, I took it off cruise and maintained speed; it kept happening. Once I got into town, I was using 1st-4th and it didn't cut off again. The mechanic said he couldn't pull the ecu at all because it didn't save the last code? He said since it only flashed on/off when the car died, so he couldn't "find the problem" and he was basically guessing - he said this was a common problem with the WRX. It was the positive cable; he said it had already been fixed and that the person who did it before did an awful job (to give you a visual, it looked like a figure-8 metal clamp on the terminal). Should I go to the local Subaru Dealership instead? This mechanic worked for the old dealership for 15 years (he was the "head mechanic" there), it seems like he would know his stuff; he's just trying to take advantage of the situations (me being a girl = not knowing damn well enough about cars). Thanks.

[PREracing]

I would contact the local subaru dealership and ask them to give you a price on a new positive battery cable. just the part. then ask how much for install seperatly then take that info back to the mechanic with your car and show him what the dealership is quoting and to keep in mind that a general repair shop is going to have a labor rate at about half of what the dealership is so his labor should be half of what the dealership is asking. average general repair shop labor is about 45-50 per hour. average dealership is 95-105 per hour. you might ask the dealership also what there labor rate is just so you have that info. also before getting to far with your mechanic just ask him what his labor rate is.

[PREracing]

just so you know according to all data (which is what all repair shops use basically) it says labor time to replace your cable is 0.4 hours and the part from subaru should be $60.62 so even if his labor rate is 100.00 per hour and he has a 1 hour minimum your bill should be a maximum of 160.62.

hope that helps-
bobby

[leila]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate all of your help!