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Thanks for any enlightenment....
I had one fail on a Toyota Camry. It was easy enough to replace, but incredibly expensive for the part (like $400 or so...). Being a nerd engineer, I took mine apart and rebuilt the contacts after hearing the price.
Steve
I know that I am probably being too anal about this, but I would *love* to get rid of those safety warnings on the visors. I would have attempted a sticker-ectomy if the visors were plastic, but I am much more cautious with them being cloth. Any ideas, or should I just let this go.
Thanks for the help!
Rich
I was wondering if any other navy blue Subaru Outback owners could do a CLOSE check of their paint to see if they, too, have spider veining under the clear coat. This is especially noticable around the hood of the car, where the front quarter panels meet the hood. We noticed this early on, shortly after purchasing our 2000 Outback in January of 2001 (we bought it brand new). That spring, while doing a detail wash and wax, we noticed what appeared to be paint crackling all around the front half of the vehicle. We took it back to our local dealer and they had the front quarter panels and hood repainted. The next year, the spider veining (as they called it) was back. They refused to do another paint job on it as it was now out of their warranty for body and the paint company had only a 1 year warranty on paint (it was a little over a year). So, we've kept a close eye on our car as well as other Navy Blue Outbacks in the area. We live in Boise, it seems everyone drives an Outback. We have indeed noticed the same spider veining on all navy blue Oubacks we've examined. However, the Subaru dealership in town still doesn't do anything about our car and it seems no one else is concerned with this problem.
Any advice?
-Tiffany Rooprai
In retrospect, I probably would have lived with the "crazing" (as they called it)...the car was in the shop for 5 weeks getting fully repainted, and the body shop never could get the car back together solidly. When I finally got the car back, things rattled incessantly, trim parts fell of the car, the windows didn't seal, etc. It was maddening. I finally ended up trading the car in after leaving the car with the body shop 5 times to get it fixed...the car just wasn't the same after the body shop tried to put it all back together.
Anyways, it's apparently not that uncommon, but I'm surprised that your repainted sections repeated the crazing -- I would have guessed that a full repaint would cure the problem. Since it was a primer problem, perhaps the body shop you went to didn't properly sand the car down?
Regards,
Brian
This my first forum so hope this is the way to begin.
The problem is with a 92 Legacy 2wd wagon with 145,000 Km. About once a week it will take a few minutes cranking before it will fire, then starts and runs rough for a few minutes. When it starts there is no black exhaust smoke to indicate flooding. Dealer has had the car several times and changed some sensors, crankshaft rotation and camshaft timing? Also siad that once there was a 'soft' code on the O2 sensor,but did not replace it. Car is in great shape otherwise and driven several times per day. The dealer has been very helpful with loaner cars and currently has the car for a few days trying to reproduce problem.
Thanx for any thoughts you may have."> :confuse:
Are the spark plug wires original? If so, I'd change those. I'll assume the spark plugs are in good shape.
Also check the fuel filter and see if they can test the fuel pump.
Did the '92 have a distributor? If so time to change that as well. This fixed a similar problem in my mother-in-law's Taurus.
-juice
'found'.
Bob
Most people just use "juice", it's catchy and people remember it.
-juice
THanks a lot.
I certainly understand your frustration, but under the circumstances, I think the dealer deserves a gold star for bending over backwards. Their investment in parts, labor and rental must by now exceed what you initially paid by 2-3x. And as the car is out of warranty, they are taking the full hit for this. I definitely think you should stick this out and hopefully the real cause will be found.
Now some thoughts, as some of the details don't seem to add up. Maybe I am missing something....
Clunking and binding on a sharp turn is usually a problem for the limited slip rear ends, but I guess could happen in any rear differential if it gums up. I assume limited slip was optional in '98 ??? But that is separate from the center diff which is located in the tail section of the tranny.
The smell that I have occasionally noticed, and others have reported seems to be from the center diff. Usually noticeable in my case after snow driving, or other aggressive situations when the center diff has been working hard to distribute power front to rear. Inserting the fuse disengages the electronically controlled clutch, putting the car in FWD mode. So it sounds like some of their effort has gone into the center diff. Yet it sounds like they have also changed out most of the rear axle components as well.
I have to admit that I am confused, and don't see the connection at this point. They changed clutch packs from the center or rear? Electronic module is definitely center, inner and outer axle bearings are rear half shaft related, "housing"(??) is what? Rear diff? / center diff? / outer rear axle hubs?
Keep us informed. I would love to hear what does the trick,
Steve
Jim
Yep, it all makes more sense now! The center diff comes into play on turns as well, so clutch pack binding could cause some wheel hop and smoke. Still, I am surprised that you have had so much trouble (not a common complaint judging from the posts on these boards). But you cannot beat the way your dealer has treated you.
Now as long as you do not run into any head gasket problems, you should have a good period of trouble free motoring.
Steve
-juice
And if it's truly sealed how could you smell it?
-juice
Steve
Was this a manual or automatic?
I've been reading your messages re the overheating problem. I have the exact same situation with my 01 Outback Wagon with 94,000 miles. Your last message was approx 18 months ago. Did the head gasket replacement truly resolve the problem? Has it been fine ever since? I just had the 90,000-mile maintenance service done as well as the timing belt and drive belts replaced. Still the problem is there but only when I turn on my AC and particularly on very warm days.
Anxious to hear from you!
Thanks,
Mark
Certainly not an ideal situation, but if you're going to be stuck with that burning odor for any length of time might be cost effective at a personal comfort level.
There were a couple of times Mercury denied parts that the dealer offered me a large discount to go ahead and replace out of pocket.
Again not perfect, but ?
Larry
Any ideas?
If the bright red bar is showing, the parking light is ON.
Just flip it
-Dave
Happened to me the first time I detailed the interior. Freaked me out. :-)
-juice
Eileen
Thanks, Eileen
Good Hunting!
Jim
Firstly, they put no money into the doors of this car. One can feel the window moving up and down through the thin plastic of the door. And there is always a distinst rattling nosie that plagues the front doors upon closing
Secondly, The check engine light constantly goes one and off.
This is something of much concern, because the car is in mint condition. If anybody else has these problems speak up!!!
Do any newer models have these problems?
they don't state any problems on carlist.com
The windows are still framless, they'll rattle if you slam the door with the windows half open. But crash tests prove they're sturdy, so that's just a characteristic.
The B9 Tribeca has full window frames, plus equipped like an Outback VDC it's actually $1200 cheaper, check those out.
-juice
I just purchased my GT wagon two weeks ago, and have been plagued with a rattle that seemingly comes from behind/under the instrument panel. The rattle is heard at between 3,000 and 3,500 rpm, typically induced while the car's accelerating. It rattles less in the mornings, when the car's fresh on the road - as more miles are travelled during the day, the rattle is easily heard under any light-footed acceleration.
Two separate visits to the dealership didn't make a difference, despite copious foam being inserted. I wonder if the rattling is coming from the tach itself, since it's seemingly related to rpm/engine-induced vibration? Should I ask the dealer to install a new instrument cluster? If anyone's got an answer to this problem, please kindly advise so that I can be happy camper again with my awesome car.
Here's a list of other problems with the car, that are currently being addressed by the dealer: rear door weatherstripping came unglued; non-closing glove-box; a loose rear-view auto-dim mirror; a CD player that skips while playing burned CD's; very subtle dings on rear-quarter panel; bad scratches on one wheel; brakes that feel a bit scratchy, and don't stop all that well...
Would I buy another one? Don't know at this point.
What an initiation!
Bob
Here's a good article about warped rotors.
Aftermarket equipment as well as changing your braking habits (break-in as well as day-to-day) can make a difference.
Ken
The rattle you're hearing might be the fuel lines rubbing against each other. I've heard of a few vehicles that had this problem. Bring it up to your dealer and see what they say.
Ken