Subaru Legacy/Outback

hammersley

Lauren: re the H6 base OB: It may take awhile to get into the distribution system to the dealers. Might be worth the wait - IIRC, pricing is about $3K under any other H6-equipped OB. A base OB is still pretty well equipped.

Cheers!
Paul

ateixeira

Bulb warning: I had Hella H4+30 bulbs, marketed as "xenons", but they don't last. In my Forester I got less than a year before both burned out. Now one of the ones in my Miata burned out after 1.5 years. Not worth it - you cannot rely on them.

newbie: my guess is the dealer just had more Beans in stock, or that they know those are good values and you're more likely to buy them. VDC would be better in the snow because both axles are managed, vs. just the rear axle on the Bean.

-juice

c_hunter

I have a Bean and love it. It has everything that is great about the Legacy/Outback combined with a near-Lexus feel, especially the engine. If price is not a major factor, go for the Bean. It even gets about the same gas mileage as the Ltd (perhaps better in some cases depending how you drive). The H6 engine is super sweet.

Craig

ncvol

I wonder why the dealer was trying to push you away from the H6 models? I'm surprised that they had 12 VDC models on the lot, the dealers here in NC often don't have any VDC's and the one nearest me has the most of any dealer in the state at 2. I got the impression that the Beans sold a lot better than the VDC's, and when I requested quotes on both from my local dealer, the price they quoted me for the VDC was only $400 more than the one for the Bean.

xccoachlou

H6 Lists for $2,950.00 more than an automatic Outback H4, and for that money you get the

* H6 with its "butter smooth" 212 Horses
* Automatic Climate Control
* Interior Air Filtration
* Leather Wrapped Wheel
* Color keyed mirrors and door handles

Am I missing any other differences?

- Lou

bimmerpilot

Edmunds says something like $27,140; the Kelley Blue Book site says $27,349 and all of the local dealers here in Utah are saying $27,696.

I'm buying tomorrow and want to know what the real invoice is before I drive the 50 miles down to the dealerships. I don't have a fax machine to get a copy from the dealer so I'm hoping someone on this list is in the know!!!!!!!

Thanks a bunch.

soobnewbie

Hi Bimmerpilot:

The invoice I have from a dealer this weekend puts the LL Bean @ $27,349.

Hope this helps!

xccoachlou

You should check out Van Bortel Subaru's Beaner prices which with their $750 off coupon on the front page comes out to just under $27000. There is also Liberty Subaru with a price of 27,414 advertised on their web site.

Good Luck in getting the beaner!

ateixeira

You da man, Lou, way to help out.

Subaru has actually stated that the H6 makes 208hp on 87 octane, so I'm sure you could use it.

I don't like the premium requirement either, but someone pointed out to me that it only adds up to $145 per year, or $2.79 per week. Brown bag one lunch per week and you come out ahead.

-juice

WMarton

Since the topic came up, I thought that I would relate my experiences in DC's last 16" snowstorm. In a nutshell, the VDC is an amazing performer in the snow! I took my nephew over to my father's house during the height of the storm when we had about a dozen inches on the ground and had no problem whatsoever. My father was amazed when I went down the hill and into the cul de sac where he lives. I am sure that he was convinced that I would be stuck until Wednesday. No problem, however, the car just chugged through it like it was nothing. I returned to my father's house on Tuesday (about 20" or so on the ground then) and an SUV that was traveling behind me got stuck. I bet the driver was royally pissed when I stopped the VDC and offered to help push him free. (He respectfully declined.) So I have no complaints with the VDC in inclement weather.

Bill

schizas

firstov, My car stalled for the 4th time today. I brought in for repairs, they checked the diagnostics and everything was fine. They replaced the ignition relay. I'm taking it back on Friday. It's weird the car runs smooth exept for the stalling. Maybe it's water in the tank. I'll let you know what happens. If I take it back for a 3rd time, I'm going to try to get a replacement car per the lemon law.

paisan

I've driven my subie salesman/good friend's mom's 9-5 and it's great! Good luck with it! Glad to see the DRLs are disableable

-mike

paisan

Getting it replaced under the lemon law is not an easy feat (lots of lawyers and takes 2-4 years), I'd continue to work with the dealer or try a different dealer to fix the problem.

-mike

hypov

while you're working with which ever dealer service, open a case with SoA. That way they can track your progress. Call 1-800-SUBARU3.

-Dave

jay_24

I had a hesitation problem when accelerating from stop with my 01 OB wagon. It never stalled, but would come close sometimes. Dealer couldn't find anything in 3 attempts. I tried a $2 bottle of some STP gas treatment/injector cleaner... problem solved.

--jay (the other one)

(jays are making a week attempt to crack into the number of Daves and Ks in the group...)

ateixeira

Fun story, Bill, bet you had a big smile on your face!

-juice

mplantan1

Just got back from dealer my 2001 wagon with only 23000 miles needs new head gaskets. Has this been common?
 Any advice on what else to look for or what actions should be taken would be appreciated.
Do have rental that dealer is paying for very concerned about car.

Thanks Mike

ajm831

Mike: there appears to be an increasing number of posts of head gasket problems. Mine occured on a 2000 with 19kmiles this past December. The resident site gurus haven't been alarmed...yet. and there is no subaru dealer service bulletin. jay(one of an increasing number)

rob999

Coolant/oil leakage on garage floor?
Hissing sound?
Coolant in oil?
Poor performance?
Bad smell?
Loud engine sound?

Just curious as to a common failure point and what symptom(s) to look for on the Sube. Also curious if it's a leak to the 'inside' or 'outside' of the engine.

I've had head gasket failure on 3 other vehicles (not Subaru's) and the each one showed different symptoms.

mplantan1

rob999

My 2001 is leaking on garage floor and bad smell of antifreeze

mike

ateixeira

I've heard of about 10 of these on Edmunds, which does seem to establish a pattern. There are many more that haven't failed, of course, so once it's fixed it's not likely to occur again, and not all of us will be affected.

Subaru does cover them under the 5/60 warranty, and maybe even if you're a little outside that mileage.

-juice

zman3

The only symptom on my 98 Outback was intermittent overheating, particularly when coming to a stop after freeway driving. It took the dealer two tries to detect hydrocarbons in the coolant. There never were any physical signs of the leak.

bat1161

Mike,

My 2000 OBW with ~41K miles is at the dealer now for the head gasket. (See my post at Legacy/Outback Wagons Problems & Solutions (Wagons) #1224 ). The symptom I was having was a burning smell. My dealer mentioned they have had a few in for the same problem.

Let us know how it goes.

Mark

mplantan1

Does everyone pay this charge?
Never the same and minimal
Just wondering

firstov

sorry for stupid question, but does this problem affect 6 cyl engines as well?

kmclean

Greetings, all,

Changed the plugs on my 2K H4 yesterday (first time, just shy of 30K), along with the air filter (second change). Pondered this job awhile, never having had a Subie before with its "outboard" plug locations - but decided to give it a whirl. Bottom line - no problem, and the next time, could probably do it in around 30 minutes (took about twice that time yesterday as I scoped things out and took extra care).

Tools needed: 3/8" drive rachet, 6" extension, 10" extension, 5/8" plug socket (7/8" max OD), 10 and 12 mm sockets, gapped plugs.

Right-side plugs: remove the black ducting obstructing the plugs. Remove a couple of obvious hold-down screws (10 and 12 mm) and the rest just pops apart by hand. I expected the plug boots to be tough to get off, and was not disappointed - just a bit more pulling and wiggling than average does the trick. I was surprised by the deep sleeve in the engine to access the plug - hence the 6" extension. Shorter won't reach - much longer might not fit in the work space. Also, the 7/8" OD on the plug socket didn't leave much extra space in that sleeve.

Left side plugs require removing the windshield washer reservoir (two screws on the strut tower, unplug the two washer motor motors, unhook the reservoir from the battery cable and windshield line, and pull off the two washer lines from the base of the reservoir - then wiggle the thing out. If I'd thought about it earlier, I'd have let the reservoir get pretty empty. You could always siphon it out - I just let it dribble a bit then dumped it out the top refill hole into a clean bucket.

Both these exercises make the plugs easily accessible, which had been the major question I had. Considering that most "tune-ups" consist of not much more than a plug swap and inspections (for $59.99?), just wanted to give the do-it-yourselfers some encouragement.

Ken in "$2 gas" Seattle

rob999

I'm saving your notes for future reference - much appreciated.

ateixeira

Not so far - I've heard of no gasket failures on the H6. I'm sure it's a different design.

Same here, Ken, thanks for sharing the tips with the community, hopefully we can pay you back some time.

-juice

jfl

Ken, good to hear the plug change went smoothly.

Jim

shad12

I discovered the head gasket problem on my '98 outback when I arrived at work one morning. After backing into my parking space at work I noticed a trail of anti-freeze on the ground. The engine was wet. I called dealer and drove it the 3 miles or so over there. No particular bad smell and temp gauge still normal when I arrived.

fibber2

It is now part of my "Subaru File"

Steve

tamara6

Hi All,

We are really enjoying our Outback. We've had a lot of snow here in Arkansas this week, and it has been nice not to be stuck at home. Once I was even behind a Jeep that had trouble getting up a small hill. But our OB went up without any slips at all. It was wonderful.

But, our gas mileage is not so great. We are getting 19.3 mpg in all city driving. The brochure for the OB suggest we should expect closer to 22, so this is a bit of an unpleasant surprise.

The only thing I could think of checking was the tire pressure. It looks like it is 30 psi all the way around. Is this too low? It is what is written on the door sticker. What else should I check? How else can I get the gas mileage up?

TIA,

Tamara

subearu

19.3 in the city could be about right with the 2.5 H4, especially in the winter. Where do you live? If you're in a metro area that uses reformulated/oxygenated fuel or a 'winter' blend, that also can contribute to lower mileage in the winter.

My mileage statistics for our Outback show 18-20 city mpg in the SE Wisconsin winters. That changes to 21-22 city mpg in the summer.

FWIW, YMMV ;-)

-Brian

bkaiser1

Even with 33-34psi in my tires, my gas mileage has always been lower than what most people claim for an OB wagon (H4/manual). I've tracked every fillup over 45K miles and I've averaged about 22 in mixed driving. Pure city mileage is around 19, pure highway about 24. It sounds like your mileage is in line with this.

B

subearu

to mention my overall average, which like Brian (I'm another one) is about 22 overall, over about 28k miles.

I have gotten 28mpg on a highway trip once, but typically my Outback gets short city miles (except on the weekends ;-).

-Brian

20llbean

For all those in the mid-atlantic region, february was a sube month. We're getting ready for more snow in Philly this evening and I will get the subaru tomorrow from the wife. So far performance in the snow has been fantastic!

Sorry to hear of the head gasket problems some are experiencing. Symptons do vary, I had a Buick that only showed that the antifreeze was always being used use din the reserve tank. The key that got me was milky gunk in the cylinder cover. Never got it fixed but the car had 100K miles at the time.

Two things with the subaru now: Check engine came on and I noticed from the manual that a tighten gas cap may be at fault. Sure enough, it was not tight. Light went out after several days just as the manual states may happen. Now the brake comes on intermittently which may be the need for new brakes. Car has 25K on it.

20llbean

I am averaging 21 to 25 miles per gallon in the H6 engine, mixed driving.

sebberry

Does anybody know if there is a turbo kit available for the Outback H6?

paisan

None to my knowledge yet. There hasn't been enough demand for one yet. You might do a search for a turbo for the SVX that could probably be worked into an H6 Outback if you really wanted to.

-mike

bat1161

Tamara,

I too have been keeping track of the mileage, and it has been around the same level as the 2 Brians and yourself. I have gotten approx. 18-21 in the city and 23-25 on the highway. I do notice that in the winter it is lower, but I believe that is due to the oxygenated fuel as mentioned above.

Mark

rob999

I've been keeping Excel spreadsheets of maintenance and gas mileage. I had been getting an overall average of 24 mpg since new. I do about 70% highway driving but I have never taken a major highway road trip in the OB, yet, that would really boost the average.

The last couple weeks have been well below average - about 20-21 mpg due to oxygenated gas and very low temps in the Chicago metro area.

ateixeira

When it's extra cold the engine takes longer to warm up, and until then it's far less efficient. Especially if you take short trips.

A friend at work is getting 9 mpg in his Navigator, LOL!

-juice

bkaiser1

I was reading through my latest copy of Motor Trend last night and noticed a 2 page ad for Subaru H6 wagons but, guess what, no mention at all about the base H6! It seems strange that there is this great new option for the Outbacks and Subaru is doing nothing to make light of it. This huge ad goes on and on about the fabulous H6 engine, then states that it's "only available on the LL Bean or VDC wagons"...I'll be curious to see how many of these models actually get produced and made available to the public.

Brian

ateixeira

I wonder if Product Planning is even in touch with Marketing?!

-juice

rob999

I JUST got back from the Sube dealer where I was having a diagnostic done on the O2 sensor. While waiting, I asked a salesperson about the new H6 Outback.

According to the sales guy, the H6 Outback won't be available until around August of this year, possibly as my2004 car, and will be special-order only. I would welcome any news to the contrary. Even better news would be if it were to be available in the Legacy GT.

tkevinblanc

My dream vehicle is a Legacy GT wagon, 5M, in gold with the 2.5T they are putting in the Forester. I'll let go of my Trooper when they come out with that.

But I guess I should wait for the 2005 Legacy redesign. 2005, right?

ateixeira

I doubt he's right. It's already listed on the web site. No way, he's probably just trying to make a sale now instead of having you wait for it.

-juice

wrxsoon1

tkevin,
I know this isn't the Future Models thread, but I'm waiting for a 2.5T in a Legacy as well. I've read that we may get the redesigned Legacy later this summer or early fall as an '04 (I can only hope). I guess I figure the more I talk about it the more likely it will come true. It is being released in Japan in May so why not?

FWIW, over on the NASIOC boards Paul Hansen of www.apexjapan.com has posted that they've quit taking orders for the current Legacy's.

-Ian

ateixeira

That is a good sign. I bet we'll see it debut at the NY show.

I'm going. :-)

-juice

wrxsoon1

I should have said that he said they've quit taking orders for current Legacy's in Japan.

-Ian