Diesel sound below 2k RPM
 

This may have been posted before but I have not been able to find it.

I’m getting some strange engine noise between 0 - 2k RMPs. It sounds very low and guttural, almost like a diesel. The noise is there under normal driving conditions, but it becomes much more noticeable if it’s been running for over an hour. This is my first Subaru/boxer engine, is this normal? The sound completely goes away above 2k RPM.

My guess is it's pretty normal. This is my second Subaru and I felt the same way with my first - 2002 wrx. I thought it sounded rough and diesel-like at low RPMs...that "glug glug" sound. But it always smooths out at higher RPMs. I don't think it's a big deal, if it's what I'm imagining.

Engine turns to driver and says "more gas please".

What gear/speed are you in when this happens

Pretty normal for all Subaru motors. This is my 3rd Subaru. All 2 of my previous WRXs did this. My parents Outback and my sister's Impreza all do this.

My guess is that it's the Subaru design and exacerbated by the fact it's on DI only at those RPMs (I believe).

Awesome, thanks for putting my mind at ease :happy0180:

Yup, pretty normal... the DI doesn't help @ all, especially with the chirp lol. I'm waiting for someone to ask if it's a diesel @ a stoplight! lol

Same issue I have and I was worried, until I found this thread... Here's my comment on another thread:

"I've driven nothing but manual since I was 9. Most, if not, all of them are inline 4's, the latest being an 09 TSX, which is extremely smooth and quiet. Not sure if it's normal, but if I try to launch the car at below 2k rpm, it makes this weird/loud noise, almost like the noise coming from buses. It seems like the boxer version of an engine "ping"... With my TSX, I can make the car start rolling (quietly)by just easing off the clutch no gas. With this car, I can, but it makes a weird noise. Is this normal? Sorry... this is my first boxer/d4s."

I kind of have a feeling you're talking about the clutch noise instead of the engine noise. But either way, I hear it's normal.

I'm experiencing the same sounds on slow/smooth take offs in 1st (especially in traffic). After the engine has warmed up, the diesel like sound growls (right when the clutch has fully engaged) and disappears past 2K. I was/am still, under the impression that I am not giving the car enough gas, and lugging the engine.... Car still pulls but the sound has gotten me all paranoid about my driving style... hope I'm not hurting the car :(