A weird thing happened yesterday

[wylie08]

Hi all... I am new to the forum but not new to the WRX. I have a 2004 silver WRX sedan with SPT exhaust, high air flow intake, and a few other mods. I absolutely love driving the car. Anyway... maybe you can indulge me with answering my question.

Yesterday I drove home from work (15 miles), and it was about 82 degrees outside. The car is driving just fine as far as I can tell. I make a stop at the store (for about 15 minutes), and I start the car up. I notice driving out of the lot that my car's RPMs are quite high (the AC isn't on, I'm driving in 2 gear quite slow). I pull up to the traffic light, put the car in neutral and the car is at 3,000 rpms. I'm getting nervous - I'm thinking, did my clutch slip (I don't smell any clutch burning smell). At the next light about 1/3 mile, I stop put the car in neutral and it's still at 3,000 rpms. Now I'm driving down my street, 25 mph in 3rd and the car is literally driving without me depressing the accelerator. I pull into my driveway, let the car idle a bit but the rpms are still the same. I turn the ignition off. I come back about 30 minutes later, turn the car on and press down on the accelerator thinking that I can get it back to normal but instead the RPMs went up to 4,000. Anyway, I decide that I need to bring the car in tomorrow, and probably tow it to the dealership.

I speak with the dealership this morning and tell the service mgr what went on and he recommended & asked me if I pushed the accelerator down or if I noticed if any of the pedals were stuck. I said yes to the first and no to the second. I tell him, let me see how the car is today. I turn the car over, and it's fine. I drive around the neighborhood and it's driving the same as before all this. I drive to work and all is fine.

Sorry for the dissertation but, anybody have any ideas? I am thinking I should still go to the dealership even if it doesn't happen again this week.

Thanks a bunch!
Andrea

[SD_GR]

I think both your direct throttle linkage and your cruise control are mechanical on that model. There are two pivoting attachments on the throttle body with cables connected to them; these should be visible on the "top" of the motor and slightly offset to the car's right (left to you as you stand in front of the car and look down at the motor).

Either one of the linkages is stuck, one of the cables is too tight, or something else slightly "jammed" the throttle is my guess.

[SD_GR]

SD GR... btw, thanks so much for your input regarding the high RPMs. I checked out the throttle linkage, it seemed loose enough, it might be a bit gunky, should I put WD40 on it?

If it looks gunky try to clean it with a soft towel or even a Q-tip. I'd avoid WD40 if you can since it'll tend to accumulate more gunk; if you have a non-oil lube you might try a small amount and see what happens -- use it sparingly I'd think. There was a throttle cable TSB that had to do with the cruise control portion of the cabling and link a while back. I'd ask the dealer to check your VIN and see whether the work was performed, it's a simple fix and was done for no charge way back then. If I find the TSB I'll post a link.

EDIT: Here's a link:
http://www.scoobymods.com/recall_cer...cruise+control

[CJ05]

This may have nothing to do with your problem but i have an 02 and received a recall notice about the cruise control clip. Not sure about the specifics behind the recall but perhaps check with Subaru to see if you have an open recall on your car concerning this. Perhaps something to look in to.

Edit: Just checked the link SD_GR provided and that is exactly what the recall entitled. Dealer should be able to take care of it for no charge.

[wylie08]

Thanks all of you for your input. I do remember a while back bringing my car in for the cruise control recall. It seems like it was quite a while back.