A few weeks ago I went in to get my transmission and differential fluid changed, as well as a standard oil change.
However, I noticed this issue, right as I was pulling up to my machine to get this done, so I believe that to be unrelated.
None the less, I have noticed a very prominent “clicking” noise coming form the sifter when the car is running and in park, without any user interaction. Ebrake on or off doesn’t matter. (It’s worth noting that my brake lights do not turn on when this is happening).
This sound I normally hear when putting my foot on the brake to shift into reverse or drive. My 1998 Outback did the same, and I also only heard it when putting my foot on the brake to shift out of park into reverse or drive.
This clicking noise however, is sometimes rapid and if I try to shift without my foot on the brake, I’m able to catch it, and shift into reverse or drive. Which I’m fairly certain is not normal.
After my transmission&diff fluid, and oil change, after about 90 minutes of driving, all of a sudden 3 lights came on on my dash. AT OIL TEMP, Traction Control, and BRAKE. AT OIL TEMP and BRAKE were flashing, but traction control was a solid amber. The Check Engine light, did not turn on at all.
After reading what AT OIL TEMP means and knowing I just had the fluid changed, I panicked, and shut the car off. (Thankfully I was just pulling into my parking lot of my condo).
I waited about 15 minutes and turned the car back on. No more AT OIL TEMP, but traction control and the flashing BRAKE light were still on.
I went for a long drive, another 90 minutes, and took the car up some hills, and on the highway. Nothing appeared wrong. I was able to get traction control (ABS) to activate, and my EBrake worked just fine. … But when on the highway, I also learned what limp mode is, and my car appeared to be in it. I also then noticed, while in park, I cannot rev past 4k RPM, which I learned later is normal.
(I’m coming from a 98. This is all newfangled technology for me ^^’)
So, the next day I brought it back to my mechanic. We took it for a ride, and of course, all the lights had turned off by then. The car was also magically out of limp mode. Which I didn’t notice until just then because I was driving very carefully and like a granny.
He plugged in his fancy $7000 scan tool and he found (now, bare with me, my memory is foggy) a previously cleared code, regarding the brake sensor.
He explained it was difficult to nail down what exactly it is, but, given the fact that there is no evidence of damage to the transmission, my traction control is working fine, and that, although there weren’t any issues with it, my BRAKE light came on, he made the educated guess that the brake switch is faulty. Made sense to me, as well. And we believe that, with all the computers in modern cars, the BRAKE sensor was also triggering false alarms.
So we replace the brake sensor with an OEM part from the dealer, 30-45 minutes later it was replaced, and the codes were cleared. So I drove off, assuming the issue was resolved. Another 90 minutes of driving, annnnnd, while there were no warning lights, clicking noise was back. I have a video, but my account here is too new, and I can’t post links yet. I uploaded the video to youtube. If you go to youtube and search “grumpyfox subaru issue” you should find it. The thumbnail is my with my hand on the sifter, and I’m wearing a brown long sleeve shirt.
I called my mechanic to report it and planned to bring it in over the weekend, as the car was otherwise, driving completely normal. No limp mode either.
…
Fast forward to 5/11/2019, the noise is still present, though it has calmed down a bit. I originally was only after driving for a bit, but now I notice I sometimes hear a few rapid clicks when starting the car cold. I also began to notice, while this didn’t happen originally, I hear a single click when accelerating from 0 -5 mph, and decelerating to 5 – 0 mph. Almost like something is rolling forward and back. But on 5/11, when demonstrating that I can shift into drive\reverse without putting my foot on the BRAKE to someone else, my dash lit up with all the familiar lights. This time I was just around the corner from my mechanic, so I brought it to him immediately so he can witness this when it was happening and prove I’m not crazy.
He connected his scan tool again, and found a code that was pretty vague. (Memory is foggy on this too so bare with me) The code was something along the lines of “high brake circuit?” I can’t quite remember. But he showed me on his scan tool that the car was detecting when he was actually putting his foot on the brake, and when he took his foot off, the car was detecting his foot was off the brake, as normal, despite the clicking noise from the sifter without any interaction.
Unfortunately, being a small shop and he was the only one working that day, he wasn’t able to continue investigating. Considering there is no evident damage being done, and the care is still safe to drive, I’m just going to live with it. Both my rear wheel bearings are starting to go, so I will be replacing them very soon.
I’ve owned 3 subies prior to this car, all 1998 Outbacks. So let’s just say my cars have been a very reliable source of income for this man. My last 98 needs new head gaskets at 100k. Typical for those cars unfortunately, but at 225K, history began repeating itself. After already having put probably 9x the amount the car was worth because, regardless of spending $1k on a repair here and there was still cheaper than a car loan, higher insurance and (here in the lovely state of Connecticut) much higher taxes. But, even my mechanic, at my second bought of cracked head gaskets, finally told me to stop, and get a new car.
So, here I am. My mechanic doesn’t like when I search the internet for these things, not because he doesn’t want to lose business but, well, you can’t trust everything and everyone on the internet to be accurate completely, and I tend to read into things way too much and panic easily.
Information on my current Subie is;
2010 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium
Automatic CVT
4cyl SOHC
128k Miles (Timing belt all related parts (pulleys, tensioners, water bump) changed at 110k)
While I wait to have the money for the wheel bearings replaced in the near future, and continue to have this issue looked into… has anyone else experienced anything like this? Or have any suggestions? For my own personal research, I’m curious if I’m the only one out there who has had this issue. Jumping ahead a little over a decade of model years was a bit of a change for me, and I’m still getting used to this car, even after owning it for a year. The only other thing that has changed before this started happening, is I replaced my brake lights with “Alla Lighting 7440 7443 LED Strobe Brake Lights Bulbs.”
I also know CVTs are uh… not the best. I appreciate the engineering behind them and think they’re cool, but worry about their longevity. I also learned that Subie transmissions are made by Jatco… who also make the dreaded Nissan CVTs. Which, would terrify me, but considering my 98’s transmission had no service other than fluid changes, and still ran like a clock, I’m putting a little more faith in my Subie’s CVT.
Thanks for taking the time to read all of this (I wanted to give as much info as I can), and thank you for any advise or help you can provide. 
