odo/speedometer only working intermittently on 1999 Outback

[jgznc]

Bought a used ’99 outback legacy to send daughter off to college. Now
the speedo has stopped along with the odometer. I think this a common
problem.Does anyone have success with the fix?

 

[Bugalugs]

Bought a used ’99 outback legacy to send daughter off to college. Now
the speedo has stopped along with the odometer. I think this a common
problem.Does anyone have success with the fix?

Not known to be common. Have you checked the speedo cable??

 

[jgznc]

I would check the cable, but this vehicle senses speed electronically
through two sensors that also sends this info to the on board computer
and without it, the car runs poorly and drinks heavily (fuel)

 

[Bugalugs]

I would check the cable, but this vehicle senses speed electronically
through two sensors that also sends this info to the on board computer
and without it, the car runs poorly and drinks heavily (fuel).

Well thar ya go then....no cable...no speedo :>)

 

[R22B]

When I did my transmission swap, I forgot to hook the front speed
sensor cable back up. What did this cause? Car ran like crap, check
engine light came on, rev limiter changed from 6.4k to 4k. This was
in a manual impreza, but same rule of thumb should apply.

To be honest, I'm not sure where the sensors are located on an auto
(i'd assume the same as a manual). I'd check out to see if the speed
sensor cables maybe didn't come a little undone. If the connection is
loose, this could explain why it sometimes work and doesn't. Does it
rain when the speedometer stops or does it do it in the sun as well?
One of the sensors could be shot.

 

[R22B]

When I did my transmission swap, I forgot to hook the front speed
sensor cable back up. What did this cause? Car ran like crap, check
engine light came on, rev limiter changed from 6.4k to 4k. This was
in a manual impreza, but same rule of thumb should apply.

To be honest, I'm not sure where the sensors are located on an auto
(i'd assume the same as a manual). I'd check out to see if the speed
sensor cables maybe didn't come a little undone. If the connection is
loose, this could explain why it sometimes work and doesn't. Does it
rain when the speedometer stops or does it do it in the sun as well?
One of the sensors could be shot.

 

[Bob Landry]

Bought a used ’99 outback legacy to send daughter off to college. Now
the speedo has stopped along with the odometer. I think this a common
problem.Does anyone have success with the fix?

Glad I dropped back into this group!! Same car, and today, without warning, the
speedo stopped working. Car drove normally, all gauges and idiot lights working,
but no speedometer.
Did a couple of errands, and suddenly all is well again, so this sounds like
sensors to me. Now to figure out where they are, and how to check them.

Bob

Just your basic flake, and official Old Fart!

 

[j]

Glad I dropped back into this group!! Same car, and today, without warning, the
speedo stopped working. Car drove normally, all gauges and idiot lights working,
but no speedometer.
Did a couple of errands, and suddenly all is well again, so this sounds like
sensors to me. Now to figure out where they are, and how to check them.

Bob

Just your basic flake, and official Old Fart!

Hey Bob,

I bought a 99 OBW a few years ago and had the same problem. Bought
the car, then later on the drive home, no speedo no odo. Good times.
I was led to believe, at the time, that this was actually a fairly
common problem. No matter. But, at the time, my concern was how many
were actually on the car. I got a hold of the service records, and
determined that the car likely had significantly higher miles than
anyone could believe.

Anyhow, to answer your question, the dealer had to replace the speedo
unit behind the guage cluster. If memory serves, it would have been
around $300 (2003).

Good luck.

Jason