P000C out of warranty

[Lynxis]

I just got a P000C code while driving around at lunch time. I noticed yesterday and on the way to work today that the idle was bouncing a lot. At lunch, the car made a lot more noise than usual when I turned it on.

this is just my initial post to chronicle my issue. The reason I'm bothering with this is because my car is now out of warranty at just a month over 5 years old.

Possibly relevant information:

It is pretty cold now, -15c here today. Temperature dropped like a stone last week. Car is now taking a lot of effort to start in the morning but this isn't really unusual although I recall in previous years it wasn't so bad. Still starts quickly but cranking action is really slow. I also noticed yesterday and this morning constant rpm hunting at idle when warm between 600 and 800rpm.

Oil was changed late October for factory fill 0w20. No oil light and oil was clean and level was good when I checked it maybe 2 weeks ago. I'll check this again later to see if there is any change.

Possibly relevant, I had taken the car to Subaru for a P000A code back in 2015. They swapped sensors, cleared the code and it hasn't come back till now. I wonder if the sensor at position A was swapped to position C so I called Subaru but that wasn't clear in Subarus notes.

Next step, I'm going to clear the code, turn off all electronics and let the car idle for 5-10 minutes before I go home tonight and see if the code returns in the next few days.

[humfrz]

You might disconnect your battery for a few minutes ....... maybe that will clear the code and "right the issue" ....... if you are lucky.

Is it the OEM battery ..?? Maybe it's time for a new one ....


humfrz

[FirstWinter]

Similar issue with my car. I was a bit surprised since I have a 2015 model. I thought the issue was more common with earlier models & they released a TSB for MY2013 regarding the rough idle & OCV replacement.

I got a P000A code and they swapped banks as well. After about 6 months of driving the same code (P000A) came back along with the rough idle. Either another oil control valve went bad or there is an issue with the camshaft actuator. Gonna bring it in next week and try to get it resolved.

You can try asking the dealer to see if they are generous enough to help you given that you are only 1 month over. If they don't cover you can try replacing the OCV yourself as it's a fairly simple process. From what I hear OCVs go bad at random due to low mechanical tolerances during manufacturing.

[Lynxis]

I cleared the code last night, let the car idle for 10 minutes and then after driving around for about an hour at various load levels, the car is running well again. The idle hunting has stopped too.

After reading a bunch of similar issues and talking to a Subaru tech, these types of issues are frequently oil related. The tech wonders if a bit of debris made it into the oil during my last oil change and its just worked it's way through the passages and got caught at the sensor or the gear and caused the problems. If so, he said it should sit in the oil pan and hopefully stay there till next oil change. If the problem returns in the next week or two, he suggested I bring the car in and have it looked at and they will honor the powertrain warranty under goodwill.

I will update when/if the issue returns.