We have a new 2005 VDC Outback station wagon with the H6 engine. It only has 218 miles on it and we have had it less than a month. Intermittently, the car will not start. My wife turned the ignition key and got nothing but "click-click-click-click" until, after many tries, the car finally started. She immediately took it to the dealership repair shop. After 5 days, they said they could not reproduce the non-starting, car started every time. They put in a new battery and we picked it up in the evening.

The next evening, the car again failed to start. After about 20 tries, the car started. My wife again drove it to the dealer repair shop. After three days and (according to the service manager) 6 levels of diagnostics, along with consultations with Subaru of America techniciains in New Jersey, they again could find no shorts, faults, or problems with the starter, solenoid, voltage regulator, alternator, or ECU -- the car started every time for them, they cannot reproduce the defect.

Of course, we are being driven crazy by this. The dealer has had our car now for 8 days and has apparently attempted in every way to find out if the electrical system and ignition is defective. But no luck.

We are afraid now that we will be stranded somewhere without an operable car. The "click-click-click," for an old shadetree mechanic, sounds like a solenoid/starter problem, but the Subaru dealer can find nothing wrong with the starter.

Any ideas, my friends? Thank you.

That definitly sucks. Im hoping the dealer is doing all it can to help, considering its a new car. It does sound like a solenoid/starter problem.

has this problem ever happened to you, or has it been something youre wife has only experienced?

How does she finally get the car to start? Does she keep clicking away until it finally starts or does she go inside, have cup of coffee, etc and then go back to the car? Some cars have a start interupt on the vehicle that if the vehicle is not started within a certain time frame (is she applying make up in the car??lol) they will not start until the alarm is activated and then deactivated again. Try and find out EXACTLY what she is doing when it will not start. Is she doing the same thing every time? Also, make sure the car is fully in Park (if auto) or she is fully depressing the clutch (if stick).

Problem solved -- there are numerous connections in the electrical system, most made by pin designs, and one of the connectors (I don't know which one) was not pushed together completely. No problems now for 3 weeks.