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Subaru Crew Problems & Solutions

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Comments

  • brownwjbrownwj Member Posts: 19
    Does anybody know if the rubber mats that you order through Subaruparts.com fits the same as the rug mats i.e. totally under the brakes and gas pedal. The rubber ones the dealer tried to sell were square and did not cover much of the front. They looked like four rear mats.
  • kate5000kate5000 Member Posts: 1,271
    Arrgh... I've got that CEL thing on. Last time it came up, it was March 2001, just after poor Silvius spent 3+ mo in body shop. I figured it was water condensation in a tank, added Dry Gas to the fuel tank, and light was gone 1/2 tank later. Never came back until now... I'm religious about tightening fuel cap.

    For now, I added Dry Gas again, got a full gas tank from expensive but supposedly good local station (Chevron) and am waiting to see if CEL will disappear...

    Silvius has almost 42K miles now, and he's not even 2 years old yet! Between my commute and trip to the mountains, I put on ca. 700 mi/week.

    I guess Silvius simply got heart-broken, after Ross has decided to separate with Rufus.
  • cynthiagcynthiag Member Posts: 63
    The Subaru mats I got from subaruparts.com are EXACTLY the same shape/contour as the carpeted mats that came with my Outback, so they do go under the brake pedal. At least in front... and I know, because not having much time, I just tossed them right on top of the carpeted ones.

    The rear ones are pretty close as well, but are slightly smaller, the edge of the carpeted mat shows underneath the rear mats, where it does not on the front mats.

    They have a nice lip or rim, so water should stay on the mat and not run off. I think the nice rugged look really suits my Outback.

    The dealer was probably trying to sell you something other than the Subaru Legacy mats.

    Also, when I ordered, the mats were supposedly not in stock or backordered, but I got them quite quickly anyway.

    Cynthia
  • cynthiagcynthiag Member Posts: 63
    Juice, the auto shift knob doesn't have any button... it's totally smooth. So maybe it would screw off. I'll have to try.

    So the leather wrapped job comes as a whole knob with the leather around it then? I was worried it might be like a kit where you do the wrapping yourself.

    Cynthia
  • wmiller4wmiller4 Member Posts: 97
    The only "problem" I have with Liberty Subaru is their way of handling MBNA Subie coupons.

    I wanted the Subwoffer...they had it for 175.00 great price! I said great I will send the 200.00 in Subie Points that I have. I was told I would have to spend 200.00 in parts to be able to use the coupons. I can't think of what I need to make up the difference. The person on the phone was unwilling (understandably so) to help me "find" the right amount of parts to make up the difference. Kind of a hassle.
  • crashton6crashton6 Member Posts: 245
    If you change your own oil get the balance in oil filters. Don't change your own then how about a cargo net. Hope this helps.

    Chuck
  • subarudesubarude Member Posts: 5
    I own a 1999 Outback. I had no problems with the car in the first two years.
    In December of 2001, we developed a burning smell from the front of the car. When describing the symptoms over the phone the dealer correctly diagnosed the problems as a leaking front engine crank oil seal. He told me this was quite common and after replacement we could expect the seal to last 100,000 miles or more because the dealer installed seal lasts longer than the factory seal. Immediately following this work we heard a constant squeal from the engine, which was diagnosed as a defective alternator. Having just spent over $400.00 on the car, I now faced spending another $250.00.
    What I anticipated from Subaru was well over 100K trouble free miles. The replacement alternator, a factory authorized rebuilt was defective from Day One. The squeal was worse than the original. Once again, I brought the car back in for more service. Again the diagnosis was the alternator, which was replaced under the parts warranty. Within a week the car died in traffic on a very busy highway stranding me with an out of town guest. We had it towed to the dealer: diagnosis- defective alternator cable.
    I had 57,000 trouble free miles. The warranty is 60,000 miles. At 63,000 miles the car began to fall apart. I exceeded the Subaru recommended service interval by 100%.
    In the first 70,000 miles I changed the oil 18 times.
    Not one month later while on a vacation trip, the car stopped running stranding my wife on the left shoulder on a very busy 75 MPH interstate at 11:00 PM 500 miles from home. Taken to a local dealer the diagnosis was a rod through the block. Destroyed engine.
    Needless to say, I am not happy. I had anticipated reliability equivalent to my 30 years of experience with similar vehicles. What I have is a car that has cost me $3,300.00 in repairs when I consider it to be barely broken in. I selected this car based on its reputation for reliability. Myth: A fiction or half-truth, especially one that forms part of an ideology. A popular belief or story that has become associated with a person, institution, or occurrence, especially one considered to illustrate a cultural ideal
    Looking at the Edmunds website, I see numerous mentions of the odor that presaged the complete failure of my engine. I hope I can warn those Subaru owners before they learn the same expensive lesson I learned.
  • joe_sinjoe_sin Member Posts: 32
    I have a 2002 Forester L w/7200 miles. It's been emitting rotten egg smell and delivering poor mileage since I bought it in October. My dealer couldn't find any problem after 3 visits, and SOA recommended I try another dealer. The other dealer found a defective catalytic converter, ordered the part, and waited a month for it to arrive. 800 miles now on the new cat, and the car still makes rotten egg smell. My mileage is up to 19.7 mpg from 17.6 mpg (mixed driving), which still seems poor compared to the 24 mpg I got with my 2001 Forester L (destroyed on 9/11). A visit to the service department today revealed no problems; everything seems to check out and my emissions are very low, despite getting the bad smell on the way to the dealer and on the way home. The dealer and the techs at SOA are out of ideas, and suggest I run the tank dry; that the problem is bad gas and that the car needs to break in up to 10K miles. The mechanic claims the ECU's software is up to date. The smell appears under almost any combination of temperature and/or driving condition. It seems more common when the car is warm, and after acceleration from dead stop. I've also noticed it when pulling off the parkway, or after fast driving, or turning on the AC. All of these explanations seem very weak, but I'm not sure how to check them independently. My wife and I were enormously pleased with our 2001; this car is like its evil twin. I'm new to the group, and would be grateful for any suggestions.
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    Front crank oil seal is quite common. Bet yours was leaking before you crossed the magic 63k mark and you hadn't noticed. It would've been covered under warranty if it had been.

    The other stuff is unfortunate but statistically has to happen to someone. Can't blame you for quoting a dictionary definition of "myth" but you can't blame everyone else here for not selling their Subarus immediately or avoiding buying another.

    -Colin
  • joe_sinjoe_sin Member Posts: 32
    Does anyone know how to reset/clear the ECU in the 2002 Forester? Which fuse to pull? My last thought on making this car drive right was to "retrain" the car now that the catalytic converter has been replaced.

    Thanks in advance...
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    Disconnect the negative terminal from the battery for at least 20 minutes, 30 is safer. Reconnect and if you have a factory or aftermarket alarm, have your key fob in hand ready to kill the siren.

    -Colin
  • fudd2befudd2be Member Posts: 50
    Hi,

    I too have 42K on my 2000 Outback. For past few months the CEL (steady) have been going on and off. I have attrtibuted it to the fuel cap seal. I noticed that this started happening in colder weather, and recently, since it has warmed up it has stopped.

    I am reasoning that when the seal is cold and stiffer, it does not seal as well, which might be causing a small vacuum leak. When warm the seal is soft and works well. I plan to replace my fuel cap closer to the fall to see if this hypothesis is correct. Seals to deteriorate and I think the Sube happens to be pretty sensitive to a loose cap (bad seal). I too am religious about tightening the cap down well.

    Does anyone know if the fuel cap seal has an effect on the fuel gauge reading as well? Because at the same time the CEL was coming on, the fuel gauge was intermittantly reading empty, especially below 1/2 tank. Now it is fine, with the wamrmer weather here.

    -Howard
  • brekkebrekke Member Posts: 304
    how about: cabin air filter, engine air filter, rubber floor mats, wheel locks.

    p.s. no dealer will give you change for those coupons, they have to submit a PO for the full amt.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Keep us posted, Kate. It might reset itself after a few cycles. Some auto parts stores can test gas caps to see if they are air-tight.

    Cynthia: the knob comes ready to screw right on there.

    -juice
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Well wed evening I finally got the rack and pinion into the XT6. Filled it up with Cybrid Power Steering fluid and it's working well. It was a major pain to put it in, but it feels real nice to have PS in it. Tomorrow I'll get an alignment on it and it will be ready to race for Sunday :)

    -mike
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Sweet!

    -juice
  • hypovhypov Member Posts: 3,068
    one left over bolt which no one could figure where in came from for a while. :D

    -Dave
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Yes much thanks to Hypov for his "God" lights and handing me tools while I got bathed in Cybrid Power steering fluid and Motor Oil and Grime :) Eventually we figured out what the bolts were for :)

    -mike
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Ah, the aroma of gear head cologne!

    -juice
  • jfljfl Member Posts: 1,396
    I think I have way too much time on my hands...

    While going through the MY2000 service manual, I came across the gear ratios for the Legacy and OB. Here are the calculated rpm at 70 mph in highest gear:

    Legacy L w/250/60R15
    5MT 3000 (final drive 3.9)......4EAT 2800 (final drive 4.111)

    Legacy GT w/250/55R16
    5MT 3150 (final drive 4.111)......4EAT 3000 (final drive 4.444)

    OB w/225/60R16
    5MT 3250 (final drive 4.111)......4EAT 2800 (final drive 4.444)

    Fifth gear in the GT is 0.78 vs. the OB at 0.871 so even with larger diameter tires, the OB needs to rev higher.

    The numbers match what I get with my Legacy 5MT. I'm curious if it matches your experience or if I've miscalculated somewhere.

    Jim
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Just wanted to let yous all know that the rack and PS pump have been working in the XT6, finally raced it this weekend upstate and even with the RE92s I was able to come in mid-pack in the STS class. I only wish I had decided to bring the R-compounds.

    Thanks to Dave for helping get it back together last week!

    -mike
  • hypovhypov Member Posts: 3,068
    mike-
    You're welcome :)
    But Zephyr did most of the work with you, and I did most of the hanging around yapping some with your buddies :D

    Would had attended the the AutoX to watch your XT6 in action, but over slept. So spent most of the day cleaning out the WRX OEM rims for the OBS.

    -Dave
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Interesting, Jim, I didn't know the GT had a taller 5th than the Outback.

    I'll try the wife's car at 70. 3000rpm is a nice and round number, easy to remember. I recall that it is very quiet at that speed.

    -juice
  • kate5000kate5000 Member Posts: 1,271
    Well, I was able to get rid of CEL in my Forester by adding a bottle of Dry Gas to the tank. 3/4 tank later -- and light was gone. This is 2nd time as this trick worked. Anyone else tried this?
    (I posted this finding also in Subaru Forester forum).
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    No, but nice to know such a simple fix exists.

    Keep those gas tanks above 1/4 full, to prevent condensation in the tank.

    -juice
  • subearusubearu Member Posts: 3,613
    that by 1/4 tank, if there wasn't a problem anymore, that the CE light would turn off. I believe this was mentioned by Patti.

    -Brian
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    Kate,

    Oxygenated gas is HIGHLY susceptable to absorbing water. It forms corrosive substances when it does so.

    Anyway, everything you have in Cali is oxygenated so there's no escape for you. I'd run a bottle of fuel system cleaner through the next tankful to be sure everything is OK.

    -Colin
  • declansdaddeclansdad Member Posts: 120
    I went to my local dealer to have my oil change and noticed a new program that my dealer has. It's called the Maintenance Protection Plan. Here's the deal: 4 oil changes and 2 tire rotations every year for 8 years at a cost of $150.00. I couldn't believe it. 32 oil changes alone would be around $800.00!

    I'm not affiliated with the dealer, nor do I work for Subaru; but if you live in the Baltimore/D.C. area, check out Russell Subaru in Catonsville. I've had pretty good service there and the sales staff are great to talk with. (I spent about an hour just shooting the breeze with those folks--no sales pitch or pressure--just talked about Subaru vs. other car makers).

    Michael
  • kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    Kate,

    I believe different brands of gas in CA use different oxygenates. I believe Chevron stopped MTBE and is now on ethanol. I don't know if that will make a difference.

    Ken
  • stevekstevek Member Posts: 362
    As far as I know oxygenated gas also have the tendency to "eat up" the paper element in the fuel filter. It is a good practice to change that filter once a year, regardless of milage. On the Subarus it is easy to do but fairly expensive ($20+ for the filter). Took me less than 5 minutes to do mine and the only tool you need is a screwdriver
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Yep, I changed mine too. I even have photos here.

    -juice
  • kate5000kate5000 Member Posts: 1,271
    Which fuel cleaning substance would you recommend?
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I use Chevron Techron. Get Techron and not Pro-Guard, which is watered down.

    -juice
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    Techron is quite good. I've used others too, like BG and STP but they're not as effective.

    -Colin
  • jregen7243jregen7243 Member Posts: 91
    I brought my '00 OB Sedan for 30k service on Tuesday to Somerset Subaru. The only thing I added to it was to replace the cabin filter. Final cost - $487. Fortunately, I had $400 in MBNA Subaru coupons to use. Today I noticed that oil is leaking from the drain plug.

    Jon
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    They probably didn't use a crush washer, phooey on them. Take it back and demand another oil change, with a crush washer this time.

    -juice
  • sonnyb7799sonnyb7799 Member Posts: 13
    How easy is it to replace the brake pads on both sides of the rear of a 00 Legacy? What brand would you recommend for pads? ow many pads should I buy?
    I'm thinking that if I can do this it may save me a lot of money.

    Thanks for the help.
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    I had the oil changed (6.1k miles - OBW w/H4 auto) last week. While waiting, I looked at the temp chart in the owners manual and decided to go 10w30 rather than the std 5w30 for the summertime (dino).

    Years ago (I think Consumers???) did an oil comparison. One of their findings was that wide range oils often didn't quite live up to their claims. They were OK on the cold pour tests, but the wider the range, the more often they failed the hot viscosity tests. I figured that 10 was fine for summer cold starts, but that the 10w30 was more likely to live up to the "30" part when the July temperatures peak. Any thoughts???

    Steve
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    Steve,

    That's absolutely correct. What the chart and CR didn't tell you though was that a synthetic 5w30 will whoop [non-permissible content removed] in any temperature range over a mineral 10w30.

    Synthetic 5w30 vs. 10w30 though isn't that big of a deal. At that point if a synthetic 5w30 isn't going to cut it for you, it's probably time to step up to a 40 weight, like Mobil 0w40. (It exists, just expensive and hard to find.)

    -Colin
  • firewaterfirewater Member Posts: 5
    I've got a problem with a 97 Outback Sport that two dealers have failed to find -

    After driving the car for about 8 hours (I drive a lot) accelerating causes the entire car to violently shake. It doesn't shake while coasting nor does it shake in neutral but the problem is more pronounced when accelerating up a hill.

    To me that sounds like a transmission problem, but the first dealer I brought the car to said they couldn't reproduce the problem (I had to leave the car at a dealer in Ohio and get a rental car as I was in the middle of a cross country trip from Philadelphia to LA) and the second dealer in Philly insists that all the car needs is a tune-up.

    The car has 130K miles on it and I was nearly ready to trade it for a WRX but I'd like to know what the problem really is.

    -Vance
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Has it ever had one in 130K miles?

    -mike
  • firewaterfirewater Member Posts: 5
    I've got a problem with a 97 Outback Sport that two dealers have failed to find -

    After driving the car for about 8 hours (I drive a lot) accelerating causes the entire car to violently shake. It doesn't shake while coasting nor does it shake while reving the engine in neutral but the problem is more pronounced when accelerating up a hill.

    To me that sounds like a transmission problem, but the first dealer I brought the car to said they couldn't reproduce the problem (I had to leave the car at a dealer in Ohio and get a rental car as I was in the middle of a cross country trip from Philadelphia to LA) and the second dealer in Philly insists that all the car needs is a tune-up.

    The car has 130K miles on it and I was nearly ready to trade it for a WRX but I'd like to know what the problem really is.

    -Vance
  • firewaterfirewater Member Posts: 5
    Mike,

    If the engine just needed a tune-up I would think that the car would still shake when revving the engine in neutral.

    -Vance
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    in neutral there is no load on the engine, whereas when in gear there is load on the engine.

    Kinda like running on a zero friction or low friction tread mill v. a higher friction one.

    -mike
  • bluesubiebluesubie Member Posts: 3,497
    Jon - I used Somerset once for my 15k service and they were great. They went exactly by the owner's manual. You may be able to see if there's a crush washer on there or not.
    Flemington's service price is a little cheaper I believe, even with platinum plugs.

    -Dennis
  • firewaterfirewater Member Posts: 5
    Mike,

    If the engine just needed a tune-up I would think that the car would still shake when revving the engine in neutral.

    -Vance
  • firewaterfirewater Member Posts: 5
    Good point about the load on the engine.

    I had the tune up done, so I guess I can take the car on a trip this weekend and see what happens.

    Vance
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Vance - first thing in my mind was the clutch. It's probably slipping and you feel the shudder.

    If it's an auto I still say the tranny is the problem. Time to trade it in! ;-)

    -juice
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    if it's an auto I'd say the torque converter is shot, low on ATF or the bands are slipping. with a lot of luck it's just ATF, but if it's one of the others you should trade it now while it runs well most of the time.

    -Colin
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    Thanks for the verification on oil choices. Maybe I will consider synthetic when I pass the 10k mile mark.

    Steve
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