2003 outback 6cylinder

SOURCE: 2005 Outback Wagon Code P0420

PO420 is for catalyst system efficiency below threshold. I have seen this many times on vehicles from 96 up. It is due to the system not burning the fuel at what it considers an acceptable rate. Todays fuels are not the best we could have for internal combustion and sometimes it will set off the light. I tell my wife she is too easy on the car and it's not burning the fuel proper. After a couple days it goes out. It will not harm your engine and should go out again. Fuel system cleaning additive will also turn of light. Good luck and enjoy your Subbie. Greatest car ever Built.

SOURCE: Is there a starter solenoid on a 1998 subaru impreza outback?

first the starter solenoid mostly attached on the starter motor , but sometimes it could be inside the starter motor . the clicking sound you hear is that the solenoid dont recieve enough power to close the contacts . that could happen because a dead battery , red batery red cable ( + ) dameged or not tighted enough . this link will help you http://www.samarins.com/glossary/starter.html if this helped you pls vote for me

SOURCE: My car is a 1999 Subaru Outback Station wagon. We

two things you must address, first the tires may need rotating, 4WD cars need all tires to be close to the same size or conflicts in gearing occur, second change the oil in the rear axle this can cause noisy operation.

Brandon Johnson

• 253 Answers
• Posted on Aug 13, 2009

SOURCE: 97 Subaru Impreza Outback Wagon Occasionally Will Not Start

Hello, I was a Subaru tech for a few years and I agree w/ the other tech about the bad starter. Subaru starters are known for this exact kind of behavior when they are close to the end of their life. Forgive me, but I have to assume that everyone I help knows nothing about cars. You sound like the kind of person that is not convinced until you know exactly what is happening, So here's the breakdown. What happens, is when the starter engages the internal motor causing it to rotate. the positive and negative points (Brushes) make physical contact w/ a cylindrical shaft w/ separated plates providing power and ground to the copper wire windings surrounded by permanent magnets. Considering the enormous drag/load on this system from the engines resistance to rotate due to each compression stroke, a very high peak Amperage is channeled only through those two little brush contacts. They continuously spark inside of the starter, eating away at the brush contacts until they eventually wear away causing them to ground out. What's most likely happening w/ your starter is that whenever you start the vehicle, occasionally, by chance or (kind of like a roulette table) the brush contacts land on one or more of these grounded out spots. Even when you try to start the vehicle and nothing happens, the starter is still being influenced by amperage is trying to turn past this dead spot only very very very very slowly. This is why after you try to start it a few times it will eventually start, especially when you let it sit your actually letting the starter cool down. The more you try to start the vehicle the more the starter will become useless. The easiest test we techs have come up w/ when we get a no start concern, is to go out to the vehicle w/ a 3ft long bar, have someone sit in the vehicle and try starting it. If the starter brush contacts are stuck on a dead spot, we give the starter a good thud and if the starter starts working immediately we know it needs one. Some times it takes a few bonks to get it to work. If the starter is too far gone however, this test will not work and other procedures need to be performed in order to rule out all else as the cause for the concern. I hope this info helps...(subytech1)