what do you do when the at light deeps flashing? and the transmision goes into gear hard

Asked by pap48 Feb 02, 2015 at 09:33 AM about the 1999 Subaru Forester S

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

When I put the car in gear to drive I have to wait before I can take off and when I try to pass someone the car bumps hard then take off what to do ?

3 Answers

18,505

My 03 has had this issue since I bought it used. I did at least 3 drain and fill of the trans fluid, pretty much just like oil changes. It helped clean out a lot of junk. I also used Trans Tune by SeaFoam. I feel like it is something to do with the accumulator switches that open flow for each gear.. however, anytime I'm not in Drive (park/reverse/neutral) and shift into Drive, I have to wait a few seconds for it to engage.. otherwise it will slam. Just putting that out there to see if you have that? I would start with at least one drain and fill. Check the level, drain it, measure exactly how much you took out, put exactly that back in. It should be right at 4 qts / 1 gallon milk jug. Oh, and I know a car guru that told me it was an issue with the pickup screen being clogged.. however, it shifts fast (like normal) into reverse. Also, if I've ever needed to pass someone, I manually drop it to 3rd -give a little more gas- wait for the engage, then roll harder on the gas. Keep in touch on this ;)

18,505

Oh, and if your "at" AT light is flashing, it might need fluid to begin with. Or it might be a code, like for the pressure control solenoid (P0748) but I'm no expert and you'll need a second opinion or to buy an online manual and check out the trans section(s).

18,505

I've been looking for auto trans codes (per year / what is swappable, etc) and haven't had much luck. I found this just a minute ago and thought of you: *** http://www.automotiveforums.com/t252603-forester_transmission_problems_.html *** To quote id: SUBARU_TECH - 05-18-2005, 08:59 PM - "the fault with your hesitation from park to drive or reverse is from a worn piston seal on the fwd clutch pack.common problem with foresters.the time lag test should be no more that 1.5 seconds from park to drive/reverse.if you apply the throttle you are producing greater line pressure to overcome the lack of pressure in that clutch pack.then when it does apply the clutch pack with throotle you will get a shift shock.rebuild if you know your dealer tech is confident in trans rebuiling or just get the reman unit." I knew about, and forgot to mention to you, the time lag test. You can read all about 4eat transmissions here (it is a pdf and if you don't trust the link you can google the link and find it): link: subarufanclub.cz/wiki/_media/navody/4eat/subaru_4eat.pdf

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