Subaru Legacy/Outback Wagons Maintenance & Repair

fibber2 · February 2012

Brain freeze - Subaru coolant is green (but not florescent...).

fibber2 · February 2012

Right, and that's why I decided to try and treat it. If I suspected that it had become an internal issue, I wouldn't be driving it.

xwesx · February 2012

It's green? The stuff they use nowadays with the stop leak in it (well, pre-FB anyway) is blue.

angitherias · February 2012

Anyone know what may be going on with my rear internal door locks being stuck locked/unlocked when it is really cold out?
My car is outdoors year-round.

fibber2 · February 2012

Hmmm... I have a bottle of concentrate (mix 50/50) that I bought at Subaru after the last HG experience and it's medium/dark green. No mention of leak stop in it, so I suspect that they've introduced a new product since I bought this 3 yrs back.

fibber2 · February 2012

so many possibilities in cold weather.... High electrical contact resistance resulting in insufficient motor drive, gummy grease giving extra load, something is changing shape with contraction and is binding, etc.

Does starting and revving the engine (raised output voltage) help it to work? How warm does the car have to get before it starts working again? Willing to take off the door panels yourself to investigate?

xwesx · February 2012

I had two doors in my '10 Forester whose locks decided not to work with the remote or the door switch. The manual lock mechanisms worked just fine, though. Of course, we discovered they were not working strictly by chance, so I have no idea how long we were leaving it unlocked unwittingly.

I took it in for warranty repair a couple of weeks ago, and the shop said that they were "frozen," and worked fine once the car had warmed up indoors for a couple hours. I was skeptical, so I watched them like a hawk for a few days after we took the car back, and so far they work just fine.

My cars also live outside, in Fairbanks, AK, so locks that don't work in cold weather are not acceptable to me. This was, however, the first time I had ever had a problem with any "frozen" locks on any car, so hopefully it was just an unhappy convergence of conditions.

See if you can borrow a garage from a friend for an evening, and open the car up to increase air flow to help it warm faster. Four hours should be enough time to do the trick if that's the problem.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2012

Lemme know if that works.

angitherias · February 2012

The rear door lock (drivers side is the problem) works fine in warmer weather.

ateixeira · February 2012

Must be moisture trapped inside somewhere. Maybe try WD40? just clean up any mess left behind.

pathtomax · February 2012

Driving along the highway this weekend, I noticed something with my steering. 2008 Subaru Outback 3.0 LL Bean. My usual commute to work is mixed with just a little highway so don't notice.

Periodically on the highway, my steering wheel would vibrate/shake. Mostly around 65 mph. Then, it would calm down and be fine. It happened about 4 times in my 30 minute ride on the highway. The tires only have 7000 miles, been rotated and balanced about 1000 miles ago.

Is this wheel bearings? Can I just deal with it for a few months before my next oil change?

xwesx · February 2012

Any snow in your area? I notice (regularly) that my Forester likes to shake at highway speeds during the winter due to snow/ice buildup on the wheels causing them to be out of balance. As conditions vary, so does the vibration. Sometimes it is severe (meaning I'll slow down in order to temper the vibration), and sometimes it is barely noticeable.

Generally, I won't have that problem with my Escort, but I guess the ice just doesn't stick/build up in the same way.

hammerhead · February 2012

Might be something as simple as you've thrown a wheel weight, causing one corner to be off balance just enough to cause a wobble at certain speeds/wheel RPMs. First thing I would do is have the balance checked on all 4 tires. Also, as tires wear, the balance can get thrown off a bit.

That's where I would start.

squiers · February 2012

My Subaru this last week failed to start one morning, noticed that the battery was completely drained to the point that the locks, digital clock and all other indicators were not functioning. Nothing was left on. Battery was 1 year old. So we jumped it and it appeared to run fine the rest of the day. Next morning, same issue. This time the battery couldn't be jumped. Again nothing was left on. I went to an alternator repair place where they also specialized in electrical issues. They replaced the battery because it seemed weak. Alternator and the fuses were all checked with no apparent issues. However, 2 days later it died again! We jumped it again and took it back to the shop & advised to let it sit overnight. The darn car started with no issues for these guys. The culprit has not become apparent to this writing. It is now the weekend & I needed my car. I'm unhooking the battery at night to avoid this issue again until I have a better time to take it in. Being self employed as a painter I can't afford this downtime. Has anyone had simular issues and found out the problem?

xwesx · February 2012

This doesn't really help over the long term, but you can buy a manual disconnect battery terminal from NAPA or other auto parts stores. This will allow you to quickly disconnect the battery by simply throwing a switch rather than having to remove the terminal from the battery stud.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2012

Sounds like a parasitic drain. First the drain kills the battery---you jump it, which is really never a good idea to do to a completely dead battery, and then your alternator works very hard to put a kind of 'surface charge' on the battery. So it's possible all this stressed out the battery. completely, utterly, dead batteries must be slow-charged or you can damage them.

if the alternator checks out okay, and if you don't have problems when you disconnect the cable each night, then for sure your issue is a drain.

How to Track Down a Battery Drain Issue

good luck with it!

angitherias · February 2012

Does it get really cold at night? Cold outside temperatures will affect cold cranking amps.
Or do you have warranty on your battery? Could be faulty if it is only one year old.

sghusker · February 2012

Double check all of your fuses. The same thing happend to me and it was the fuse for the altenator. It is not marked as such in the fuse box. It is marked something like 'meter' or M (?). It is large and it dosen't look like a fuse, it looks more like a relay. It is in the box under the hood on the drivers side.

winn70 · February 2012

could it be steering stabilizer? I had to replace one on my Jeep Cherokee this fall. Felt like front wheel was falling off. They look like a small hydraulic cylinder.

prancingpony · February 2012

im planning a 600 mile trip and im having issues with my 1997 Subaru Outback AWD Legacy "overheating"..the quotations are because its not behaving in the least like it is,,it happens randomly..doesn't matter if its in-town driving or highway,the gauge will shoot to the top, but when i pull over,everything appears fine.a few people told me to turn on A/C the next time it happened,and immediately the needle dropped to normal again.im pretty broke so cant afford to take it to a shop,but a friend thought it sounded like a bad t-stat...any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated.

bradwilson49 · February 2012

That sounds like the temp gauge sender. I have had that happen a few times over the years. Once you figure out where the sender is, it is a quick replacement and not particularly expensive. When the thermostat goes bad it will not cool down all that quickly.

janice96 · February 2012

I have a 2006 OB wagon. How do you get the rear wiper blade off? It is not like the front blades. I am afraid of breaking it ..... Don't know why Subaru did this because you can not even get Winter blade for the back. Janice

squiers · February 2012

The battery that initially suffered the total drain has already been replaced yet the problem persists. We are having one of the warmest winters on record so I don't think that is the culprit at all. It's a maddening issue to be sure. I was hoping that the problem was something that may have come up with others with the same make model & year to give me a clue. I will go for the quick disconnect battery relay cable for now and keep searching. Thank you for you reply.

squiers · February 2012

Thanks for the tip. I'll check it out.

squiers · February 2012

It is definitely a parasitic drain. I replaced the battery. I unhook it whenever it is parked for over a couple of hours at the moment. I followed your link and plan to make use of it - thank you!

squiers · February 2012

Yep. I will be getting one of these. My brother suggested the same thing. I will go through the fuses and everything else one by one when the weather improves. Hopefully I can limp it along until then. Thanks for your response.

summerlover97 · February 2012

I had this problem with my 97 Subaru; two things I would check. #1 would the alternator; however, #2 what was causing my car to constantly go dead was the security system on the car. I was told by Subaru, that was causing problems; they can't remove it because it will mess up the wiring on the car, but they can disconnect it. It was draining the charge on the car.

michael2595 · February 2012

Happened to meo once in the middle of pudumh , nowhere... The alternator ws the culprit.... Hard to walk home 500 miles from nowhere... Put in a rebuilt alternator (much cxheaper) and see what happens...

angitherias · April 2012

OK, now that the weather has warmed up, so has the "sounds" that went away during the winter. One of these new sounds is a squeal whenever I am turning at intersections.
Last year I had a wheel bearing changed on the drivers front, I am wondering if the mechanic botched the job and said part is failed and thus making noise (part not loose but is making noise like it did before it was initially changed. I also wonder if my Left front strut is failed, there is oil/greasy dirt/residue from the strut that would indicate to me that it is leaking/failing and has been that way for a while but I've never had an issue with. Any other possibilities? thoughts on what might be wrong?

hammerhead · April 2012

Maybe a bad CV joint?

xwesx · April 2012

What is the age/mileage of the car?

angitherias · April 2012

Age :sick: close to hitting 230,000 km, its a 1997 legacy outback 2.5L
I've had the front CV axles replaced about 4 years ago, they don't make that clicky sound as when the CV boots are ripped open.

xwesx · April 2012

Well, at that age and distance, if the struts are original, they're done. That said, they should not cause the squeal you report. If they are not damping well, though, they will contribute to increased wear on other suspension components.

Another contributing factor could be worn ball joints, but if the noise was coming from them directly, I would expect a squeaking sound any time they are dry and warm, not just on turns. Might it be wheel bearings? Yes, though I am reluctant to implicate them if recently replaced. That said, if they were not installed properly, they can fail rather quickly. Wheel bearings deal with an incredible amount of force - it is not a forgiving environment!

dhyan · April 2012

Does anyone own this new car with this trim package? Interested in any issues that anyone is having. How do you like the rear camera? Many thanks, D

cincinnati_dan · April 2012

I'm thinking about buying a 2012 Outback Limited, with 4-cylinder, CVT. Is there still a head gasket problem? The salesman told me I would have to get them done at about 100,000 miles. I thought that Subaru had fixed this problem with their newer vehicles.

Also, can I expect a "jerking" problem with this CVT transmission?
Can I expect any problems with the AWD? I had a 1992 Mitsubishi AWD, and the transfer case had to be repaired every 35,000 miles (a $6500 repair).

Can I expect any other problems?

cincinnati_dan · April 2012

Also, is the CVT a good thing to have, rather than a 5-Speed Automatic?

The salesmand told me the Outback I was looking at was a 5-Speed Automatic with CVT. I thought a CVT had infinite speeds, not just 5. Was the salesman correct?

hammerhead · April 2012

CVT is indeed infinite. It has a manu-matic option with 5 ratios that lets you pretend you have a 5-speed auto.

Personally, i'd go for the 6-speed true manual with the short-throw shifter kit. But that's just me.

jd_24 · April 2012

Head gasket is a thing of the past as far as I know. It was most common in the 2000-2002?? models. I have a 2001 with 200K miles and zero issues with head gaskets or transmission. I just bought my second Subaru (Impreza). If I recall the only must fix issues I've had beyond normal maintenance, was a sensor and alternator.

Mr_Shiftright · April 2012

your 2001 is susceptible to head gasket failure as well but sounds like with those miles that you've dodged the bullet. Usually it shows up on the 2.5L Subaru at around 110K-130K. And if you were REALLY lucky, your driver's window switch didn't break, either. :P

jd_24 · April 2012

Yes, it was a prime canidate for head gaskets. Its still a daily driver for us. The AWD is fantastic.
Power windows don't get used a whole lot up here in MN. 5 months its too cold and 3 months its too hot for putting the windows down.

Most of my commuting is freeway, so the windows tend to stay up the rest of the time too!

Mr_Shiftright · April 2012

How 'bout your catalytic converter? Did that fail or break loose?

The window switches just get harder and harder to push up and down---they move but they don't make contact very well after a while.

Did you know that Subarus get more speeding tickets than any other car? Weird, huh?

jd_24 · April 2012

Yes the catalytic converter did go. I sort of figured it was a wear and tear thing since it went at around 160k miles.

ateixeira · April 2012

If you are still concerned about head gaskets, wait for the 2013 model, which they just showed at the NY Auto Show.

It gets the FB engine block. The coolant lines for the head and block are completely separate now.

No coolant will leak from the gaskets no matter what - because the coolant no longer flows through the gasket at all.

Recent gasket improvements all but solved the issue, but with the FB blocks ( now used on the Forester, Impreza, Outback, and Legacy) that chapter is thankfully completely closed. :shades:

The FA block in the BRZ is designed similarly. The EZ36 block is not, IIRC, but it never had many problems in the first place.

jd_24 · April 2012

Nope. Not real concerned about the gaskets. Slightly concerned about all the other parts I haven't replaced yet.

At 200K miles just about anything can wear out and need to be replaced.

Our new 2012 Impreza is the replaceement, and the Outback can go to my daughter who will be learning to drive soon.

pathtomax · April 2012

I am currently driving my 3rd Outback. This same issue has happened to every model ('96, '01 4EAT, and now '08 H6)

Here is the situation where it happens.

I have my car in the driveway. I need to just start it and move it about 2 feet and then will shut it off again. This was Saturday afternoon.

Today, Monday, I go out to start my car for my morning commute. It takes a good 2 minutes to get the car to turn over. I wait, as always, for a bit for the dashboard needles to move over and back before starting. Just like I always do.

My question, is this a common problem with Subies if you start them for a quick move and then shut off again? Does the engine not burn the fuel enough or something? This has happened with all 3 Subarus I have had. Hard starting the next time after a short start.

Does this make sense what I am describing?!

ateixeira · April 2012

Could be an emissions thing. If you shut off the engine before it's fully warm, that is.

jd_24 · April 2012

Seems I've had similar problem with my 2001 Outback. Its probably happens once per year and I could never figure out the cause. I don't think I ever moved my car just two feet, but I have had the key slip from my fingers when attempting to start. That failed it starting, then caused a tough second attempt at starting... related? extra gas left un-burned in the system from a really cold engine? don't know.

The car always started (with a little extra effort) the second try so I've never really cared or was concerned.
It hasn't happened on my 2012 Impreza yet, but one or two others complained of a "hard start" once.

pathtomax · May 2012

OK, so I am not crazy.

I guess it is a combo of the unburned gas and emissions. It started just fine this morning on a cold and rainy New England day!

jd_24 · May 2012

your 2001 is susceptible to head gasket failure as well but sounds like with those miles that you've dodged the bullet. Usually it shows up on the 2.5L Subaru at around 110K-130K.

You had to mention it didn't you. 3 weeks later and its in the shop. Oil and coolant leak from headgasket. So i didn't dodge it, but just avoided it a bit longer than some. 200K miles on the 2001 Outback.

The 2013 or 14 Outback might be the replacement for it in another year or two.

Mr_Shiftright · May 2012

I SWEAR I don't have such super powers and if I did I would only use them for good, not evil :shades:

Ah, well...your car has served you admirably well, so it's time for you to reward it.

Subaru Legacy/Outback Wagons Maintenance & Repair

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles