[Bluefoton]

I think it just comes down to the stock tune. There is a noticeable torque dip before 3000 rpm, and it might be just what we all feel. All bets are open though as to why the TQ curve looks the way it does..

Model Years 2018 to 2023 - 2018 Crosstrek ON THE DYNO!

So we decided to do some testing. We were curious as to how much power the Crosstrek is really making. We were also curious as to how much "power loss" there is, if any, with the beefier Method/KO2 setup. Im not going to post the results right away. There will be a video coming out with all...

www.subaruxvforum.com

 

[kr_xv]

It is common for manufacturer to have slight different ecu tune for manual and auto/cvt, so fuel may play apart even though based on my experience and some other's observation is the fuel economy priority on the tune play major role. Somehow now with my car reaching 70k, i can say ot feel more powerful and i am back to mid octane fuel since ao far i dont get the ping and has a great fuel economy. One way to try out is to run crc gdi cleaner or redline si 1 to try to clean the combustion chamber, and see if thing is improving.

 

[Bluefoton]

Well at less than 15 000 km, there is nothing to clean for me... One (realively) easy test to be done, short of an actual dyno run, is to record a timing advance log under WOT, maybe something is happening there as well around 2500 rpm.

It could also settle the debate whether higher octane helps in any way. I tend to dismiss any butt dyno placebo effects, but the fact that the AUS manual actually reccomends a higher octane intrigues me. Then again, as I mentioned in another post, it could be to compensate for heatsoak conditions, with Death-valley like temperatures being prevalent there.

 

[ducdude]

I have a 2020 6MT with about 6K miles. My car has had all of the symptoms described since new plus another twist. It has a substantial surge after a long coast when tipping back into light throttle. I was around when manufacturers were learning about modulating EGR systems. This symptom has all the trappings of an EGR system not modulated properly. Has anyone else experienced this? There seems to be consensus that the knock sensors are behind the stutter under load. Wondering if the EGR coupling with the knock sensors is behind all of the running issues?

 

[Redcross631]

So i got the car back after dropping it off a 3rd time. This time the service advisor told me that these cars are underpowered and it's completely normal that they're doing this because you're keeping the rpms too low for 3rd gear(i.e. ~2500😠) and perhaps it's driving habits that need to change as I may have never driven an underpowered manual transmission vehicle before. What a bunch of BS. 2k rpm in 3rd gear normal driving is not too low and if it was then the car would feel slow throughout the entire rpm range as opposed to bogging while trying to accelerate. Also bogging happens while cruising at 60mph(~2.5k rpms) too. So what's the solution!? Floor tf out of the car daily driving to stay out of the bog?? I'm seriously considering trading this pos in and never look back at a new Subaru. Gonna message corporate again with the update, doubt they're even willing to actually do something to fix the issue.

I said it before and I'll say it again, ALL of you need to contact corporate and file a complaint. I'm getting tired of hearing "we haven't heard of any complaints from others though." It's very easy for Subaru techs to articulate the problem being "normal" on the report and get away with it especially because there are no codes present.

I'm kinda leaning towards the rav4 or the blazer and trade the crosstrek in right now

 

[Marty1]

There's been a few recent comments on Facebook expressing a similar frustration. I've yet to read anyone saying changing the knock sensors solved the problem. One dealer acknowledged the problem but couldn't resolve it and bought back the vehicle. Higher octane fuel helps for some. A few said a high oil level caused the problem, and lowering the oil level to just below the high mark when cold solved it, but admitted they couldn't explain why. I monitor the TSBs and to date there hasn't been one on this issue.

 

[hicksranen]

So i got the car back after dropping it off a 3rd time. This time the service advisor told me that these cars are underpowered and it's completely normal that they're doing this because you're keeping the rpms too low for 3rd gear(i.e. ~2500😠) and perhaps it's driving habits that need to change as I may have never driven an underpowered manual transmission vehicle before. What a bunch of BS. 2k rpm in 3rd gear normal driving is not too low and if it was then the car would feel slow throughout the entire rpm range as opposed to bogging while trying to accelerate. Also bogging happens while cruising at 60mph(~2.5k rpms) too. So what's the solution!? Floor tf out of the car daily driving to stay out of the bog?? I'm seriously considering trading this pos in and never look back at a new Subaru. Gonna message corporate again with the update, doubt they're even willing to actually do something to fix the issue.

I said it before and I'll say it again, ALL of you need to contact corporate and file a complaint. I'm getting tired of hearing "we haven't heard of any complaints from others though." It's very easy for Subaru techs to articulate the problem being "normal" on the report and get away with it especially because there are no codes present.

I'm kinda leaning towards the rav4 or the blazer and trade the crosstrek in right now

Imagine telling someone who just dropped 17k+ dollars on a car (first in my case) just to hear that the supposed issue I keep presenting to the dealership is the result of my seemingly foolish purchase of an “underpowered car.” How is that answer supposed to satisfy a customer who KEEPS BRINGING THE CAR BACK?

“Your car is slow. Drive it slower and rev it out so you’re not under 3000rpms.”

Like WHAT? Let me get this straight; you want me to drive an underpowered vehicle HARDER in order to solve what you’re calling a “false” loss of power. These dealerships should be ashamed of their service departments. I wish I never got this joke of a car. Any advice is appreciated.

I’m at 31k miles so my warranty is almost bye bye. Should I say F it and cop the Extended warranty to be safe? Sell it for 10k and buy a GTi? Shiiiiii that sounds good right about now

 

[hicksranen]

Imagine telling someone who just dropped 17k+ dollars on a car (first in my case) just to hear that the supposed issue I keep presenting to the dealership is the result of my seemingly foolish purchase of an “underpowered car.” How is that answer supposed to satisfy a customer who KEEPS BRINGING THE CAR BACK?

“Your car is slow. Drive it slower and rev it out so you’re not under 3000rpms.”

Like WHAT? Let me get this straight; you want me to drive an underpowered vehicle HARDER in order to solve what you’re calling a “false” loss of power. These dealerships should be ashamed of their service departments. I wish I never got this joke of a car. Any advice is appreciated.

I’m at 31k miles so my warranty is almost bye bye. Should I say F it and cop the Extended warranty to be safe? Sell it for 10k and buy a GTi? Shiiiiii that sounds good right about now

Worded the first paragraph wrong but you got the message lmaooo

 

[Redcross631]

Imagine telling someone who just dropped 17k+ dollars on a car (first in my case) just to hear that the supposed issue I keep presenting to the dealership is the result of my seemingly foolish purchase of an “underpowered car.” How is that answer supposed to satisfy a customer who KEEPS BRINGING THE CAR BACK?

“Your car is slow. Drive it slower and rev it out so you’re not under 3000rpms.”

Like WHAT? Let me get this straight; you want me to drive an underpowered vehicle HARDER in order to solve what you’re calling a “false” loss of power. These dealerships should be ashamed of their service departments. I wish I never got this joke of a car. Any advice is appreciated.

I’m at 31k miles so my warranty is almost bye bye. Should I say F it and cop the Extended warranty to be safe? Sell it for 10k and buy a GTi? Shiiiiii that sounds good right about now

I'm seriously considering a trade in. I'd throw this piece of sh*t's keys back at the dealers' faces if they bought it back. Unfortunately that's never gonna happen because it's a "ghost" issue vs a concrete one because service guys say car is operating like it should to corporate. What are they gonna say?! No customers are not crazy, check it again...?
Corporate person was nice enough to respond to me with different options including going to a different dealership for a second opinion but it's such a waste of time because they'll do the same thing, drive it around the block, go buy McDonald's and say "car drove fine." I'm still making monthly payments on the car even when I'm not driving it due to "service." I was also given the option to take some money off towards a new subaru. I don't think I'd wanna entertain that either. My rental impreza with cvt would shudder/jerk when accelerating gently from 1k-2k rpm. I wouldn't even look into new Subaru's direction because of things like that.

I wouldn't even wait till warranty period is up because who knows wtf else is gonna come up with these cars. Trade it in and get something that's actually reliable.

 

[Mylittlevehicle]

I am a 2019 6MT owner. No mod except a set of all weather Michelin Crossclimate tires which are excellent in rain and snow. I have experienced the same problem since 7000 Km from new. I am glad to say that the problem has not happened for a month,with my fingers crossed. After putting up with it for 2000 km I took my car to a local Subaru dealer. A test drive with the service manager duplicated the engine hesitation/loss of power between 2000 to 2500 rpm mainly in 2nd gear. They performed a ECU reflash which made the power delivery smoother but hesitation was still there when engine oil temperature exceeded 90 degree C. Next day I took the car back. The technician consulted Subaru Canada Tech line which advised a test drive with data logging. The data showed 2 degrees of knock correction. Anything under 3 is considered normal so the knock sensors are fine. They recommended I adhere to the gear shift-up chart in the owners manual ie 24,40,64,72 and 81 kph. In other words they said I was shifting up at too low rpm, thus lugging the engine. Initially just like many of you I think this is ridiculous.. Having driven manual transmission for over 20 years I know the difference between engine hesitation and lugging. Nevertheless I follow the owners manual guideline in shifting up, usually at 3000 to 4000 rpm depending on the road gradient. As of today the car is fine.
This FB20 engine is no longer the same torquey boxer engine of the past. To get any decent power you have to rev it to above 3000 rpm. There is a big jump in gear ratio from 1st to 2nd which makes it more important to exceed 3000 to 4000 rpm if going uphill. This engine is designed to maximize fuel economy and minimize emission,especially at 2000-25000 rpm. When in 6th gear this is equivalent to the normal cruising speed. I believe when the engine is hot the ECU is programmed to limit fuel to reduce emission. At highway cruising speed the momentum of the car hides this effect. But in town the engine will protest if shifting up at too low rpm. Why is there no problem when the car is new? I suspect due to the direct injection design, deposits have already accumulated on the intake valves aggravating the power loss. But this is a topic for another thread.
The bottom line is since we all choose to drive manual transmission, we have to stir the gear box to get the best performance out of this engine which is constrained by modern emission regulation.

 

[Mylittlevehicle]

sorry about the typo; I mean 2000 to 2500 rpm (not 25000)