Buying an Impreza Hawkeye, blind, from Scotland...

[anonymous-user]

S100HP said:

Thought I'd try my luck with the Impreza on the dog walk this morning. It was just after 6am and it started on the button. I drove approximately 3 miles to Yew Tree heath and parked up. I got out the car, along with the dogs. I pressed the button on the fob to lock the car, and it did nothing. Uh-oh. The windows didn't work either. It wouldn't start again.

Bugger. The electrics had gone weird again. I went for my dog walk.

Upon returning to the car almost an hour later, I tried the fob. It worked. I climbed into the car and put the key in the ignition. Success. The car started again. I drove it approximately 3 miles home and parked it up. It wouldn't lock again. Nor would it start again.

So you can add a hot start issue to my challenges. I've started a new topic here as I'm wondering what my options are https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

The dealer has messaged me this morning asking if I'd traced the leak as yet. I'm holding off my response till I get some feedback.

Is this something to do with the immobiliser. I actually had an Imopreza Turbo 2000 from new and I think at the time the alarm/immobiliser was a dealer fit. You had a separate remote fob for the alarm and from new the range on mine was pathetic. Unless you had the fob on the glass in the correct place it would not unlock/lock the car. Cheam Motors (brilliant compared to the original dealer I bought the car from no names mentioned but also sell Lotus and Saab) replaced the alarm/immobiliser for me when I took it to them for a service.

No Idea if your car uses the same separate alarm fob or if it is part of the key.

[anonymous-user]

Cut your losses and get it on eBay.

Apart from anything the rot you can see will be nothing compared to that you can't in rear turrets, sills etc.

If it has the 2.5 engine and I think it will do given it's an 07 then it is living on borrowed time at that mileage.

I love Imprezas (had 5 of them), but a cheap reliable car they aren't, at least not the model you have.

Chalk it up to experience and move on.

[Sa Calobra]

Interesting how on two mots there's a oil leak then suddenly it's clean but you have some sort of leak.

A dealer friendly mot tester?

I wouldn't sell a reliable Volvo yet. Families need a reliable car.

I once bought a cheap Xsara Picasso silly cheap on eBay from Ayr Scotland.

The one car I actually regretted selling.


It was peanuts, ultra clean, ultra reliable and I drove it through four countries.

You've bought a car with multiple issues. It'll never be right.

Sell it.

[Funk]

Sa Calobra said:

Interesting how on two mots there's a oil leak then suddenly it's clean but you have some sort of leak.

A dealer friendly mot tester?

My E46 330Ci had a history of an oil leak on the MOTs up to the one just before I bought it from an independent dealer. I had it in with BMW for an airbag recall and they did a 'winter prep' inspection for me which noted....an oil leak. Quelle surprise. Turned out to be the rear main seal which was a gearbox-out job - the dealer had banged on about 'cast iron warranty' with promises prior to purchase that they'd look after me etc so I reminded him of this and they duly carried out the work to their credit. I also had to keep chasing him for the second of the two keys he'd said the car had - after several months I told him to either find the second one or get me a new one from BMW. He did gripe a lot at that one but gentle insistence that he'd sold it with two keys so it wasn't my fault if he'd lost one of them. Advertised with two keys means it comes with two keys and he supplied a new one from BMW in the end.

Initially I thought I might not use them again due to some of the things that came to light with the car, however they did sort things when push came to shove and you can't argue with that really I suppose.

[cheesesliceking]

cb1965 said:

Cut your losses and get it on eBay.

Apart from anything the rot you can see will be nothing compared to that you can't in rear turrets, sills etc.

If it has the 2.5 engine and I think it will do given it's an 07 then it is living on borrowed time at that mileage.

I love Imprezas (had 5 of them), but a cheap reliable car they aren't, at least not the model you have.

Chalk it up to experience and move on.

Yikes, doom and gloom much ..

The front rad support panel is notorious for rotting in isolation and the replacement kit is about 80 quid for genuine parts (3 parts I believe ), just because thats rotten it doesn’t mean the rest of it is too, it’s an 11 year old car so a bit of rust on swappable parts isn’t exactly a surprise. :0)

OP, take a look inside the boot, unclip the carpet from the sides and peer down, you can see the arches from the inside from there and you’ll be able to see any rot there first, before it gets to the outer arch.
Check the U brace under the engine, they can rot. Bolt on and off so not difficult to change at all, you can also remove completely if you’d rather.

[S100HP]

cheesesliceking said:

Yikes, doom and gloom much ..

The front rad support panel is notorious for rotting in isolation and the replacement kit is about 80 quid for genuine parts (3 parts I believe ), just because thats rotten it doesn’t mean the rest of it is too, it’s an 11 year old car so a bit of rust on swappable parts isn’t exactly a surprise. :0)

OP, take a look inside the boot, unclip the carpet from the sides and peer down, you can see the arches from the inside from there and you’ll be able to see any rot there first, before it gets to the outer arch.
Check the U brace under the engine, they can rot. Bolt on and off so not difficult to change at all, you can also remove completely if you’d rather.

I like you. I checked the wheel well from inside and it looked good, I'll take a look at arches too thanks, but first I need to get this electrical issue out the way. I'm sure it is something to do with a relay, but which one does what? Is there a guide to which relays do what? I'm not convinced its an immobilise issue as it kills power to the CL and windows too.

Once I can trust it reliably starting then I'd like to get it up on ramps and have a poke around. If its not too bad then I can replace the front panel, give it a service and then run it.

[anonymous-user]

cheesesliceking said:

cb1965 said:

Cut your losses and get it on eBay.

Apart from anything the rot you can see will be nothing compared to that you can't in rear turrets, sills etc.

If it has the 2.5 engine and I think it will do given it's an 07 then it is living on borrowed time at that mileage.

I love Imprezas (had 5 of them), but a cheap reliable car they aren't, at least not the model you have.

Chalk it up to experience and move on.

Yikes, doom and gloom much ..

The front rad support panel is notorious for rotting in isolation and the replacement kit is about 80 quid for genuine parts (3 parts I believe ), just because thats rotten it doesn’t mean the rest of it is too, it’s an 11 year old car so a bit of rust on swappable parts isn’t exactly a surprise. :0)

OP, take a look inside the boot, unclip the carpet from the sides and peer down, you can see the arches from the inside from there and you’ll be able to see any rot there first, before it gets to the outer arch.
Check the U brace under the engine, they can rot. Bolt on and off so not difficult to change at all, you can also remove completely if you’d rather.

If it's got as much rust showing as it has I'll guarantee that worse is to come when a bit of digging starts.

[S100HP]

Pretty certain my hot start issue is something to do with this or the other relay next to it. Super hot after a quick drive and then no power again. Pulled it out, swapped it with another which set the alarm off. Swapped them back and let it cool down. 10 mins later back to normal. I've ordered 2 replacements at £6 each. Fingers crossed.

[anonymous-user]

I wouldn't be surprised if the relay getting hot is a symptom of too much current being drawn by what they control.

[S100HP]

jsf said:

I wouldn't be surprised if the relay getting hot is a symptom of too much current being drawn by what they control.

And that is the issue, I can't work out what they control. I've looked online for diagrams but am clearly looking for the wrong stuff. Anyone able to assist?

[anonymous-user]

It tells you what they do on the underside of the fuse box cover.

[anonymous-user]

S100HP said:

Pretty certain my hot start issue is something to do with this or the other relay next to it. Super hot after a quick drive and then no power again. Pulled it out, swapped it with another which set the alarm off. Swapped them back and let it cool down. 10 mins later back to normal. I've ordered 2 replacements at £6 each. Fingers crossed.

That's the RH headlamp relay.

[S100HP]

cb1965 said:

That's the RH headlamp relay.

Really?! and the one next to it? They certainly caused confusion with the alarm when pulling them.

Edited by S100HP on Tuesday 3rd July 13:33

[cheesesliceking]

S100HP said:

I like you. I checked the wheel well from inside and it looked good, I'll take a look at arches too thanks, but first I need to get this electrical issue out the way. I'm sure it is something to do with a relay, but which one does what? Is there a guide to which relays do what? I'm not convinced its an immobilise issue as it kills power to the CL and windows too.

Once I can trust it reliably starting then I'd like to get it up on ramps and have a poke around. If its not too bad then I can replace the front panel, give it a service and then run it.

Oops, I got a bit carried away with the rust doom and gloom, forgot about the starting. If it were me firstly because it's cheap and really easy to swap I'd be replacing the fuel filter. After that I'd be looking at the Crank Position and/or Cam position Sensors, some people have mentioned the coolant temp sensor, but I don't see the connection to starting.

I've never had a hot start issue with my bug but if I did that'd be the route I'd take

PS mine also has similar rust around screen, lead to believe its down to replacement screens being fitted and scratching the paint under the seal...

[anonymous-user]

S100HP said:

cb1965 said:

That's the RH headlamp relay.

Really?! and the one next to it? They certainly caused confusion with the alarm when pulling them.

Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 3rd July 13:33

Two on the right are headlamps, top one RH bottom one LH, one in the middle is horn, top row are fans.

Have a look at relays in other fuse box which is either behind glovebox or next to steering wheel. They control fuel pump and that could be an issue with hot start.

Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 3rd July 13:55

[S100HP]

cheesesliceking said:

S100HP said:

I like you. I checked the wheel well from inside and it looked good, I'll take a look at arches too thanks, but first I need to get this electrical issue out the way. I'm sure it is something to do with a relay, but which one does what? Is there a guide to which relays do what? I'm not convinced its an immobilise issue as it kills power to the CL and windows too.

Once I can trust it reliably starting then I'd like to get it up on ramps and have a poke around. If its not too bad then I can replace the front panel, give it a service and then run it.

Oops, I got a bit carried away with the rust doom and gloom, forgot about the starting. If it were me firstly because it's cheap and really easy to swap I'd be replacing the fuel filter. After that I'd be looking at the Crank Position and/or Cam position Sensors, some people have mentioned the coolant temp sensor, but I don't see the connection to starting.

I've never had a hot start issue with my bug but if I did that'd be the route I'd take

PS mine also has similar rust around screen, lead to believe its down to replacement screens being fitted and scratching the paint under the seal...

Its certainly an electrical issue rather than mechanical if that makes sense. It starts fine unless its been running, but once cooled down the electrics (door/windows) start to work again.

[seiben]

Stupid question, but you know you need to start it within 60 seconds (I think) of unlocking or the immobiliser kicks in? If in doubt, turn the ignition to position 2 and click the lock/unlock button on the key/fob before starting.

You're probably way ahead of me on this, but worth mentioning as it's a free fix if I'm right

[S100HP]

seiben said:

Stupid question, but you know you need to start it within 60 seconds (I think) of unlocking or the immobiliser kicks in? If in doubt, turn the ignition to position 2 and click the lock/unlock button on the key/fob before starting.

You're probably way ahead of me on this, but worth mentioning as it's a free fix if I'm right

Thanks for the heads up, I don't think its to do with immobiliser, as I wouldn't have thought it would cut power to the windows or C/L would it?

[ShampooEfficient]

S100HP said:

Thanks for the heads up, I don't think its to do with immobiliser, as I wouldn't have thought it would cut power to the windows or C/L would it?

Mine does on my FTO. Worth a try.

[seiben]

S100HP said:

Thanks for the heads up, I don't think its to do with immobiliser, as I wouldn't have thought it would cut power to the windows or C/L would it?

I honestly can't remember