Watching Miss Marie working in the background made me smile, they grow up and move on from assisting to becoming a young jedi master so fast :)

The beauty of the intermittent fault... Never back down

Anyone one else notice what was going on in the background as he was talking at the end? He's a good teacher.

I just can’t wrap my head around Marie in the background doing a brake job. Bless her heart. One thing is for sure, she has the best teacher in the biz.

Eric out of the 2 dozen or so You Tubers I follow only two I think are naturally good in front of the camera speaking to the people; The report of the week (aka reviewbrah) and you. It has been a pleasure watching you for the last 4 years or so. Thanks for the video upload tonight.

First and last time someone reached over and touched my key he found himself walking home. It was raining it I remember correctly. On a side note, I've started back through all SMA brake videos as I'm need a fix.

The commentary on this video is awesome. No other car repair channel has what you have. Laughs, fun, and most of all done right. Keep up the great videos!

Love seeing Miss Marie knee deep in the hoopla, she is driven to do a good job due to your patience teaching her Eric. Outstanding, most of the young people around here want stuff handed to them. Miss Marie learned the value of a dollar. Well done Parents and SMA!

Thank God I didn't need this information without you telling half an hour of stories.

"what if I just try to slip it in real slow" S.M.A. 2019 Quote of the year candidate.

Been busy and have not had enough SMA in my life! When we film my videos my husband is always goofing around and zooming the camera on my assets and saying “ enhance, enhance” in his best Erik voice!! Cracks me up! Love the channel. Wish we had a mechanic like you in our neck of the woods for projects beyond our capabilities. ❤️🐞

There is a TSB for this issue. They have updated the park range switch(or as subaru calls it "Plate Guide-B") to resolve this as it is a very common problem! Working at a Subaru dealer I've probably replaced around 30-40 of them under warranty in the past year.

Marie can start a whole new SMA brake job channel: SMA “Brakes” KZfaq!!!

Great video which helped me fix my wife’s 2015 Impreza yesterday, but I actually figured out the root cause of the problem and a very easy fix. The problem in my case was not internal failure of the switch but rather the mechanical operation of the switch (my switch tested just fine when I was able to activate the switch lever arm directly versus using the shifter shaft to activate it). Turns out what activates the switch is the bottom of the shifter shaft. The bottom of the shifter shaft can wear and or the lever on the micro switch can get slightly bent downward over time and therefore the mechanical motion that activates the switch is no longer adequate. What I wound up doing was bending the lever on the switch slightly upward to improve the downforce on the switch and this has corrected the problem. Another key to the issue was that numerous forward and backward motions of the shift lever would often not correct the issue and that’s because the issue is really an up and down motion issue not a forward and backward motion. Your electrical troubleshooting of the switch is what saved the day for me as I duplicated the measurements and that helped me understand what was going on because without the shifter shaft in place the switch never got “made” and then I realized it was the end of the shifter shaft that actually activated the switch. P.S. you can actually just remove the shifter shaft, and then you can use a flashlight to look straight down the shifter shaft guide tube while in the park position and you can see the lever on the microswitch sitting right below where the shifter shaft sits while in the park position. You can then just insert a long stick down through the shifter shaft to activate the switch while in park position to test if the switch has actually failed or if it's just a mechanical activation issue due to wear of the shifter shaft or permanent bend of the micro switch lever. Just FYI, Don

Hey Eric, FYI, the shifter release button opens the microswitch via a rod that runs down through the shifter stem. Just lightly touch the button with your finger and if the microswitch opens, its failed and needs a new switch. Sometimes its bad enough that you can verify it simply by pushing down and then lifting up on the shifter, all the while, not touching the release button. The microswitch will open and close. (While watching scan tool pid data of course :) Happy hunting...

Hey the key comes out now but somebody wore out my shifter! 😂🤣😂🤣

Watching you struggle with the key made me so anxious 😂

Your probe made a tight fit. Remove probe and connector loosens. Hot and cold, expand and make contact. I always enjoy the videos. Reminds me of the time learning from my dad and his 50+ years of experience. Computers aren't everything.

Thanks so much you have made the diagnosis on our 2015 Subaru Extera. I’m taking it to the dealership in Spokane tomorrow

Key won't come out? "Grabs slide hammer"

I always read the pictures first. Love the videos. You make the process very interesting and informative.

Miss Marie being on her new ventures but is missed. May be one day she’ll grace the channel with her skills

Eric, always amazes me that after taking it all apart, you are able to put it all together again!!

Been enjoying your videos. Also nice to see a very friendly mechanic that is honest and will never screw anyone over. Keep up the great work and hope you and your family have a safe and wonderful holiday season. Also, just cause you can do it doesn't mean the lot of us can, you have the tools and place to get the job done, most of us likely doesn't :P

well I'm new to sma channel I've been at the wrenching thing for 30+ yrs and I always say you learn everyday at the shop. I've learned and used quite a few of your tricks. thanks again for the awesome videos!! your the man sir!!

Great video Eric! It's amazing to see our little Marie all grown up and working on her own car repair jobs! She's quite an impressive young lady!

"You ain't messing with no broke, broke"🤣🤣🤣

Micro switches aka precision switches by design tend to wipe the contacts against each other especially during overtravel and this helps to clean any oxides from the contacts that may be preventing low voltage low current DC from breaking thru the oxide layer. The more you cycle it the cleaner it gets which is supposed to increase reliability.....except for Subaru of course.

My wife always cracks up when you drop the "classic reacharound" line!

I’ve had that happen on a ford escort. Now I know. Thanks just keep vloging we love it.

Your hilarious. Thank God I got you to alwsy make me laugh. Thank you for making my days better.

Its awesome that you have such a good teaching mind set! Thanks for taking the time to do videos! Also I am going thru all your vids and hitting like🙃😃

Thoroughly enjoyed this video, Eric

Subaru has a tsb on that issue. It is a common problem. It is a shifter repair kit. You do not have to replace the complete shifter. But it does have to be removed from the vehicle to complete the repair. 😀

By probing it you caused the resistance it needed to see it was in park. Love your resilience to make it do it again never give up kids.

It was messing up before the DVOM was in play. Remove it and try again. When it messes up plug in the DVOM. Just thinking out loud.....and yelling at the screen :-)

It's cool as hell that Miss Marie is going beyond helper and becoming a mechanic. It brings a tear of joy to my eye.

Love seeing your Daughter in the background following in your footsteps fixing the car behind you :).

Nice video as always! Waiting for the fix! Thank you man!

Dont know if it helps or not but I never skip the ads so you can get as much as possible! You deserve it! By the way love the Mr. Gareson reference "Mmmkay" 😂

I trust you, been watching for to long to not. About to watch pt II of this series.

All the gear heads watching this vid (including me) were distracted watching Marie in the background doing a brake job. Marie the master mechanic, you go girl!

Murphy's Law with repair videos! Never fails.

any test that is not damaging anything and gives you information is a good test!!

nice work illustrating how this key gets stuck. thanks

Once again, you descend into the electronic rabbit hole! As someone said in a different context, a major part of your thought process seems to be establishing your "known unknowns from your unknown unknowns". On a brighter note, thanks for sharing one of your "Evil Young Eric O Adventures". It is always amazing how so many of the things we did as teenagers seemed to make perfect sense at the time, but now, in retrospect, not so much - having fun with car keys, indeed!

Dealer: "Cannot duplicate customer complaint. $300 dollars, please."

Thank You so much have 2009 forester shock the shifter and was able to remove the key!

Been their had a customer bring in a car with a problem when I tried to reproduce the problem it worked fine. The wonderful world of automotive electronics

FRUSTRATING doesn't even begin to describe this issue. On a more positive note, Ms. Marie is still a BADASS!!

Great job again like always

She already knew she needed more power. Girl's got game.

Can't say I've ever reached over and shut the key off on someone driving as a "game" And if a "friend" did it to me, they would be walking, with a black eye.

Almost needed a split screen so we could see the action in the background. Love watching Miss Marie learning.

Great video Eric.great job

Your very educational and entertaining. I wish that you were close enough to work on my 2013 Outback on this Issue. The Dealership said that I must be doing something wrong lol (nope just trying to take the key out) lol. Looking forward to Video #2 as I just found this one!

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Dude, you are a riot! Great video. Possibly there was junk in the selector?

good test light advice , very good video thankyou

Jees Eric. You’d think a guy with your experience could make it fail ;). But seriously- thanks for all this content you, your wife and the crew make. I’m not a mechanic but I realized a while back that I was using the Eric O method to troubleshoot a server. More justification to watch car repair videos!

Ya fixed it!! Ole customer just needs to move South a couple of states for the winter and massage the shifter a few times? Nice presentation as always Mr.O.

Very good one. I'm busy with our Sharan's back door. Tumbler broke, so now you can't unlock the door with the key. And the electric motor that opens the door for you when you lift the door handle is tired of life. Was real fun getting that door open. (Seems our Sharan's a first generation, newer models have an emergency lever which you can access to open the rear door with). Hopefully the VW agents can help with the right parts, otherwise it's off to the scrapyard.

Great video Mr owe . Funny too . very interesting.

He likes the pictures to help him figure out how to do it. OTH, we like Eric's videos to help us figure out what to do. A couple years ago I watched a Ford Ranger forum video about how to fix a PRNDL issue. I watched it over and over till I had it memorized. The guy told me exactly what star wrenches and hex sockets I would need. Tossed just those tools in a bag and went outside to the Ranger. 45 minutes later the job was done. Didn't need to go back to my tool box a single time.

you are a bloody good mechanic, from a Australian.

Great video Eric, switch won that show, lol. Stuff happens. Keep them coming, yes, if you can do it, we can watch. Thanks.

Subaru has a tsb about that, and they send out a whole shift plate with a redesigned micro switch so that it will not happen again.

Interesting. I was not aware of the solenoid interlock. Great vid.

LOL...Funny you are doing a video in this subject b/c this afternoon I was looking how to fix this problem with my wife's 2016 Subaru Crosstrex same problem..Found on the net...for Subaru SERVICE BULLETIN # 16-112-18R Ignition Key Sticking/design Change to CVT Shifted /Selector Lever Components AKA Park Range switch

"Clips and The Claws" will be the name of my new neo rockabilly band!

There is a tsb for that you get park switch and 2 clips

Good explanation on using a test light on an electrical circuit, Best to use a tool with resistance then to short it to ground and let "the Magic Smoke" out of something Expensive!

@Southmainautollc Good morning Eric. This might be a little off topic, but here goes... just wanted you to know I’m praying for you, your momma and family since your dads recent passing. May 2020 bring many blessings. Keep looking up!

This was very helpful thank you very much ❣️

Ms Marie you rock SMA...

My 01 legacy had similar symptoms. A way to get the key out that I only found buried in the manual and nowhere online was to take the screw driver that came with the the changing kit, pop off the clamshell steering column cover, and insert into a slot on the bottom of the column. The dealer changed the lock cylinder and it worked fine from them on.

Thanks for your help !💯

Now there’s a surprise for ya. The key being held in by the shifter. Makes sense, ya gotta have your bases covered in case someone riding with ya tries to yank the keys while your driving. Nice work Eric. That one would have taken me a while to figure out.

Love seeing Miss Marie at work in the background. Still waiting to hear an update on what's new with Miss Hanna...... I was expecting some news from/about her.

wow. Marie's doing a brake job. Good job Marie.

Miss Marie wrenching in the background, keep it up young lady! 👍

Good video, will give this a shot

Years [ok, decades] ago in my Drivers Ed class, the instructors would purposely turn off the key at random times to see how the students would react to the emergency. We had heard from previous classes that they were doing it, but you never knew when. Talk about a fun time with a car full of students and the instructor reaches over out of the blue. Some people handled it well. Some not so much. The instructor got me while we were cruising on the freeway.

Good video S M A ,thanks.

WOW ! Marie has graduated to using impact tools ?!!! And doing a brake job with no direct supervision ! Goodonya Marie !!

Hey Eric, most times you will see the contact resistance will vary 5 or 10 ohms. A good switch will repeatable give you 1 ohm or less when it is closed but an intermittent switch will almost always give you a higher resistance when closed.

The key to your sucsess is putting all that stuff back in place your are the man to tackel that job ,😀😄😃😁

Thank you for this video. It could not be a more timely video. I am having the EXACT same issue with my 2014 Forester right now (no kidding, also intermittent, works sometimes, other times not). So I am eagerly awaiting your repair. I will probably order part and do myself. Also, the comment about the freeze spray is good to test if it works now does it stop working when gets cold. Freeze/Cold spray can be an excellent diagnostic aid. Also, I wondered if using caig deoxit (DN-5 or D-5 spray) would clean it and fix it instead of ordering another switch. I'd also disconnect the I suppose the question is how long it would stay fixed. if changing it out is a real PITA and I can get to the switch easily with the cleaner I might try it. I use this stuff all the time on dirty and gummy switches for electronics and it works great (many times, for years) in audio applications. Love the vehicle but this sure is an annoying problem!

Nice lacerations on your right paw. How'd we miss that mother loving job? Blood beats fire and sparks hands down.

lol I had a friend reach over while going around a corner, he switched the key to off, removed the keys and threw them out the window. It got very interesting fast. lol I did get even when going around a corner in snow I gently bumped the curb and I asked him to look out and make sure the beauty rim was still on the wheel. he opened the door (yes while moving ;) ) and when he did I threw the car in reverse douching him with snow and slush, I then said leave my car key alone lol did I mention a year or two had gone by before I got my revenge? yes it took that long for his guard to be let down.

The intermittent problems are always like in this video almost 80% of the time, And YES it SUCKS makes every Mechanic MAD❗Great content as always, You probably knocked all the dust out of the old switch it will only fail in about 12hrs after you don't replace anything 👍😎.🇺🇸🗽

"The 'ole ignition key gag" When we were young & stupid, we would go to Broome-Tioga MX track (not too far from you). My buddies race transporter was an old Dodge van with a manual trans. Every time we passed a farm he would shut the ignition off in gear and turn it back on. The van backfired like a MUTHA and the cows were off and running in all directions! Can't believe one didn't crash through the fence and come right towards us.

Had a 89 loyal that the key would come out in the run position best winter beater EVER

I hate when that happens also im impressed that Miss Marie wants to go to school for auto mechanics sweet keep up the good work Mr O

Great test. VW has a recall for this right now where the car wont go into park at all.

Interesting. I had a 71 Datsun/ Nissan PU with a similar problem. Turned out that the key couldn't be pulled out because it was worn and would stick in the ignition switch. Fortunately, next door to where I worked was a locksmith, and he showed me how to remove the ign assy & release the key. A new key, cut from a master solved the problem. ( We traded favors back & forth a lot, as I repaired numerous of his remote electronic alarm sensors. Thanks Dan Sr.)

Had the same problem with my daughters 2017 Chevy Malibu. There's a TSB for them. You can't just buy the switches, have to purchase the whole shifter assembly.

OMG! I was laughing my butt off when you were trying to get it to "break" . My husband could not understand what was so funny because I had headphones on. LMAO!!!

Thanks for the video, make a plan then work your plan.

you fixed the problem with the probe jammed in there is my guess....