Loss of power going uphill

Asked by jnewell42 Jun 28, 2019 at 05:33 PM about the 2012 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I have a 2012 Outback 2.5i with oodles of miles.  Recently, she's begun dragging her butt uphill in a painful, take-it-out-back-and-shoot-it kind of way.  In full auto (no paddles) at 55 with the cruise on, she will go from around 2k RPM to 5k + and higher if I don't kill the cruise (dropping gears as she tries to figure out how to keep going).  However, once I kill the cruise, the speed begins dropping and I have to fight to keep her going forward.  If I'm using the paddles, I can (mostly) stay ahead of the problem, though the engine revs (around 3 - 3.5K) sound like I'm doing very bad things.  As a side note, on level ground, regardless of speed, she shifts clean and smooth.  Hoping someone can shed some light on this without using the words "new transmission."  Many thanks

1 Answer

Define oodles. I won't say the T word but I think you know the problem.

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