Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!

Subaru Crew Problems & Solutions

1…225226228230231…385

Comments

  • nygregnygreg Member Posts: 1,936
    Sorry to hear that Steve, I think. Today it must have hit 45 or even 50F. Got out the hose and gave the cars a nice bath. Spent mucho time rinsing the undercarriage. As I have mentioned before, anyone with an OB should pay particular attention flushing under the rear bumper cover and the front quarter panel (from the front doors).

    Greg
  • kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    Glad to hear that the bulbs got to you okay. I'm interested in hearing your review of their performance.

    Ken
  • hypovhypov Member Posts: 3,068
    Greg-
    how did you make the temp. to get to 50F? What's your secret? ;-)
    Sure didn't feel like it in NYC yesterday :p

    -Dave
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    to check out the new bulbs. Had to go help my folks this weekend, and we took the Ody.

    Steve - The current OB and Legacy GT use a 4 bulb system (Legacy L is 2 bulb), with the low beams using the H1 bulb. This is not a common bulb for headlights in the USA, but is a bit more common in Europe. European standards also allow a higher output for the low beam than our DOT. The Philips Vision Plus falls into that category. While it is still a 55w draw, differences in the tungsten filament promote a higher emission temperature. The light on my garage wall was distinctly brighter and more blue/white. How this will translate to real world illumination on the road is yet to be seen.

    I am afraid that I do not know what bulbs your older series OB use.

    Steve
  • dcm61dcm61 Member Posts: 1,567
    '95 to '97 = single H4 (9003)

    '98 to '99 = single 9007

    '00 to '04 = H1 low / 9005 hi

    DaveM
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    All 3 cars, boy the water was black by the time it dripped off the cars. Especially the wheel wells. I pressure washed the undercarriage to get all that salt off.

    Now Sandy is merely "dirty", I swear she needs a 2nd wash.

    -juice
  • nygregnygreg Member Posts: 1,936
    Don't know. Maybe it was me wishing for spring and desperately trying to rid the OB of all the salt from this winter. I didn't really know what the temp was, it just felt warm. Of course, after this winter any temp >20F is warm. :)

    Greg
  • andmoonandmoon Member Posts: 320
    When my 03 wrx wagon turns sharp right while accelerating, I hear a clicking from the rear.
    Sounds like a trooper rear end without the limited slip additive. Going to dealer wednesday to have it looked at.
    Anyone know what type of limited slip the wrx has in the rear?
    Don
  • K9LeaderK9Leader Member Posts: 112
    The paint on the front bumper of my 2000 OBW Ltd. has started peeling over the past few months. It is doing it in several places, particularly along the indented line along the upper half, but in other places as well.

    The flakes that are coming off are the metallic titanium. Underneath is paint that is almost the same color, but not quite, and seems to have a "grainier" metallic flake to it.

    Does anyone know if that "grainier" paint is some sort of underlayer, perhaps a paint layer between primer and the titanium color layer? Or, perhaps, it is the primer?

    If the flakes are just the clearcoat flaking off, would the flakes look like I have described or would they actually be clear?

    I bought this car in March 2003 from the original owner -- the paperwork and a Carfax confirm that he was the only owner. But is it possible this is a replacement bumper (or the original that was repainted) and the new paint is now flaking off? He didn't tell me anything like that was done, and did not mention any accidents, and Carfax would not note any accidents that did not result in a title change (i.e., car was totalled by insurance). And, no other parts of the car show even the slightest indication of any accident, although it is possible something happened just to the front bumper.

    The rest of the car is in excellent condition. There are some chips in the rear bumper, but those are chips due to getting nicked or hit (teenage son and his Scout buddies loading and unloading gear into or out of the car) or along the edge of the unpainted black ribbed section, and not the same type of flaking as on the front.

    If the front bumper flaking continues, it will soon look pretty bad and will need repainting or replacement. But the entire layer of flaking paint would have to come off or be taken off or else repainting would not work. As for replacement, do the replacement bumper covers come already painted? Unlikely, but since all OBs have the titanium painted bumpers (before going to the monochrome look this year), I thought they might come painted.

    Any ideas or words of wisdom?

    --K9Leader
  • bkaiser1bkaiser1 Member Posts: 464
    that certainly sounds like a repainted bumper to me...the bumper on my old 93 626 is peeling just like you describe and it was repainted in 1997. It seems that body shop paint jobs aren't nearly as durable (on plastic anyway) as factory paint over time. Maybe your OB was involved in a minor fender bender that required a refinished bumper?

    B
  • rob_mrob_m Member Posts: 820
    I lost the front bumper cover/air dam on my 99 GT to a tire tread on 95 a couple years ago. I paid to have it replaced. The replacement was almost exact. The paint literally peeled off on the first really hot day in the sun about 6 months after. Something to do with a prep step that was missed, the plastic degaussing and the paint letting go. Had to have it stripped and repainted. Sounds like a replacement to me.
  • lfdallfdal Member Posts: 679
    The newer plastic bumpers require both special prep and the right paint with additives to make for a lasting job, else you'll see exactly what you're describing. One of the complaints I had with my Forester is that the bumper paint was too soft.

    In this area, for R&R the bumper plus prep plus repaint is around 300.00, give or take.

    Larry
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Don: make sure the tires pressures match. Sorry if that seems obvious. You could just drain and replace the gear oil in the rear diffy, it's 75w90 IIRC. About one quart.

    K9Leader: very, very likely a re-paint. If you know the original owner, many body shops do offer a lifetime guarantee, so they might re-do it for you.

    My '91 Escort re-paint peeled like crazy, even my '93 Miata has a couple of small spots that are peeling so I have to take it back to the body shop.

    -juice
  • atomic_robotatomic_robot Member Posts: 26
    I can't believe that people are still screwing this up- are they trying to cut corners by not doing decent prep work? Are they cheaping out and not using the necessary paint additives?

    It's not like this type of bumper appeared yesterday; I had a 1972 Firebird with a rubber bumper- I used an additive when I repainted it. The paint never peeled off.

    These bumpers have been around for over 30 years now; why can't people seem to be able to paint them properly?
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    In the case of my Miata I think it was poor surface prep. The stuff is peeling off at the base of the doors, where water drains.

    With my Escort, it was just the clear coat peeling off.

    -juice
  • zman3zman3 Member Posts: 857
    I thought I heard somewhere, totally unsubstantiated however, that the issue with paint nowadays is the EPA not allowing certain components due to pollution issues. Makes the painting process more difficult.
  • K9LeaderK9Leader Member Posts: 112
    Thinking about it some more, and taking confirmation from the posted comments, I concur that the front bumper is probably a repaint. Probably a replacement bumper taken from another OB where the titanium paint was just different enough (slightly different color and "grainier" or larger metallic flakes -- perhaps from an '01/02/03?) to need a repaint, and the repaint was not done properly.

    If the original owner will now admit to the replacement/repaint (and, therefore, acknowledging that he lied to me by withholding that info during the sale), I may be able to go to the shop that did the work, and maybe they will honor a guarantee. More likely, they will say there was no guarantee, or that it did not transfer when I bought the car, or that it was only good for X period of time (and, of course, it is now X+). Even beyond that, though, is that the original owner lives an hour away, so my dealing with whatever shop he used would be an almost long-distance affair. I'm not sure it is worth that headache.

    I have a shop locally that I trust, so I may take it there to see what they think, and see what it would cost to re-repaint this one (with appropriate prepping and stripping) as well as to paint a new one. Ah, another thing to add to the ever-expanding "To Do" list!

    --K9Leader
  • kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    Glad to know that the OB switched off the 9007s. My wife has them on her Jetta and they're horrid bulbs. The output and beam pattern are quite poor.

    Ken
  • hondafriekhondafriek Member Posts: 2,984
    Is the time of year I hate the most, the weather is warming up so the salt laden snow at the side of the road is melting, so every time you take the car out every nook and cranny is hit with salt laden spray.

    Add to this above freezing is when salt does its most deadly work on the car, you might just as well drive it in the sea for about a month each year.

      Cheers Pat.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    What we need is a good rain to rinse this stuff off.

    -juice
  • hypovhypov Member Posts: 3,068
    No Rain! Don't anyone wish for rain!... at least for this weekend.
    The weather will look warm enough to wash/rinse Pebbles this Sunday.

    -Dave
  • rangnerrangner Member Posts: 336
    Where the only salt we use is on our food.
    ;-)

    Eric
  • jfljfl Member Posts: 1,396
    If Dave is washing his car on Sunday, look for rain Monday or Tuesday. 8~O

    Jim
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    OK, last week I promised my thoughts and comments on the Philip's Vision Plus bulbs (thanks to Ken S. for his lead on this).

    Background: '02 OBW w/ H1 lowbeams. This is a very simple two terminal single axial filament 55w bulb. US DOT regulations limit this to about 1350 lumins output, but European ECE rated bulbs of this form factor are apparently rated higher. But I have not been able to find an exact value for this. Also popular in Europe are so called +30% and +50% premium bulbs, available in this size. The Philips "Vision Plus" and the Sylvania/Osram "SilverStar" fall into this category, although one source says that the SilverStar sold in the USA (DOT compliant) is not the same as the ECE product that rates about the same as the Vision Plus.

    So far, I am impressed by the Vision Plus. It really seems to put more light out in all directions - out front as well as the sides. This is a criticism of the PIAA - yes they put more light down the road, but at the expense of side illumination. The majority of the glass is clear except at the very top, which has a blue filter. Overall the light is whiter.

    Philips & third party European web site claims up to 20 meters (65ft) more range over the standard ECE offering, which would translate to a big jump over DOT, and I think it is true. Now remember that this is not terribly scientific, as I have not gone back and forth between the two bulb types. But to put the perceived output into perspective, think of how the light changes when you go from 'daytime running lights' to 'headlights on'. I believe that a delta of this magnitude, or more, is what I have gained. I realize that I wasn't turning on my high beams as often, as their presence didn't make as big a difference on back country roads. The biggest delta was noticed on Tuesday night after it rained. I was getting good illumination off of the wet pavement, something I had not seen before. But I cannot comment on possible glare, as it was not actively raining at the time. There may be a downside to these bulbs that I have not experienced yet.

    Steve
  • kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    Told you they were good! :-)

    I personally haven't experienced any downside to these bulbs (no glare in rain either) except that they do have a shorter life.

    Did you notice that the beam cutoff is sharper? It's much more pronounced on my Forester.

    Ken
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    Ken, the beam cutoff is indeed sharp, but it appears to be extended further out. I am still not sure why, because the cutoff should be a function of reflector design, as the filament placement in the overall scheme has not changed. Who knows - maybe a fraction of a millimeter +/- makes a big difference...

    I did find some data very interesting data at http://faq.auto.light.tripod.com/
    They indicate that ECE might be as much as 35% higher output over DOT. They also listed some specific bulbs results:

    "For the 55W marked segment, sorted in order of brightness:
    +50%: Philips Vision Plus (achieves its extra performance by increased luminance, not lumens. See this article: http://www.eur.lighting.philips.com/press/automotive/resultsVisio- n.shtml)
    +30%: Philips Premium, Osram Silverstar (European marked only - see note below)
    +20%: Osram/Sylvania Xtra Vision, Osram/Sylvania Silverstar (North american marked only - see note below)
    +0%: Philips Bluevison, Osram/Sylvania Cool Blue, Osram/Sylvania Halogen Plus, and OEM bulbs like GE.
    -10%: PIAA Superwite"

    Steve
  • toboggantoboggan Member Posts: 283
    Checked out the UK web site for the Phillips Vision Plus bulbs. The '98 Legacy(Outback?) requires the 9007 bulb. They did not separate out the Outback model. After some thought I'll probably order a pair and spare. I'm tired of having to strain these old eyes under some conditions. Gotta have some more light on the road without blinding oncoming traffic.

    Finally, after 5 days of clouds - and no snow - we saw the sun today. Finally a real 40 degrees. I'm ready for spring, even though I'm a skier.

    MNSteve
  • stevekstevek Member Posts: 362
    of H1 and H3 bulbs for my 01 Legacy GT, they are the Hella yellow start bulbs, they should work in all weather conditions and my lights wont be blue or supper white like everyone else. Of course the metalic fick gold pin stripe and gold painted WRX rims will also make it look different. Oh and to brag just got a new set of Continetal Extreme Contact in 215/55vr16 size, they are great.
  • nygregnygreg Member Posts: 1,936
    I would like to follow suit and order a pair of the Vision Plus bulbs, but I don't see where they mention giving 3 for the price of 2. Also, the bulbs I found are "H1 Vision Plus 12V, 55W" with a cat number of "H1 12258VP". Is this the correct bulb?

    Thanks,
    Greg
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    You got it - that is the right item. There was a little pop-up that said they were shipping 3 for the price of two, I think thru end of March. I received a two pack, plus another single carded bulb.

    Steve
  • nygregnygreg Member Posts: 1,936
  • rangerron7rangerron7 Member Posts: 317
    I have been following your thread with interest (Thanks for the great info!) and I think I would like to order the low beam bulbs for my '00 Outback.
    Could you tell me where you are ordering them from? If it's not premitted to post here, could you e-mail me the supplier?
    Thank You,
    Ron
  • stevesteve Member Posts: 10
    Last night the AT oil temp light in my wife's '00 Impreza 2.5RS came on (blinking) while she was doing 65-70MPH. It continued till she got home, but she restarted the car, and the indicator stayed off, and it didn't come on today when I drove it. I checked the level, and it appears to be low. Can anyone tell me where I add the fluid? The only opening I can find is the dipstick tube, and the manual is no help; it says, "add fluid and don't overfill." Also, this tranny was replaced 9/9/03 under warranty; no drive in any forward gear. Should the fluid level be a problem so soon?

    Thanks,
    Steve
  • dcm61dcm61 Member Posts: 1,567
    You add AT fluid through the dipstick tube. Obviously you need a long, thin funnel.

    Did you check the AT fluid when the car was warm and idling in park? If you checked it with the engine off, it will read low.

    DaveM
  • leo2633leo2633 Member Posts: 589
    I've been getting a noise from my 2001 Forester S 5 speed (83K miles) lately that is getting progressively louder. It is a low pitched humming noise, that increases in pitch and volume with vehicle speed. It seems to be coming from the rear of the car. It sounds sort of like a truck with really aggressive off-road tires. My tires have a lot of tread and are worn evenly all around, plus the sound still comes from the rear even after rotating tires, so I've ruled them out as the source.

    The sound continues when you let off the throttle, and when you shift into neutral while rolling along. That would seem to eliminate an axle bearing as the culprit. I've tried steering hard to one side and the other, to see if the sound goes away temporarily, but it doesn't seem to.

    I know there have been some issues with the wheel bearings, and I'm thinking that could be the problem. After all, I've had the clutch judder (3 replacements so far) and the leaking headgaskets (just replaced last week), so I figure I'm probably overdue for wheel bearing problems.

    Anyone have any knowledge of the symptoms of a faulty WB, or any other ideas on this noise? Thanks in advance for any and all assistance.

    Len
  • stevesteve Member Posts: 10
    Dave,
    Yes. I'd driven it about 25mi., ran thru the gears while stopped as the manual suggests. But I also checked it cold early this morning, and it read well above the high mark on the hot side. Made me think that it was over full. This is our 1st AT tranny, and I'm not familiar with the workings. Anything I'm missing?

    Steve
  • dcm61dcm61 Member Posts: 1,567
    Oops, maybe I got that backwards regarding the level when the engine is off.

    Since the transmission is still under warranty, you should probably take it back to the dealer and see if there was a trouble code stored.

    DaveM
  • kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    Ron,

    I ordered mine through: http://www.autolamps-online.com/home.htm

    They're only sold in Europe so most vendors I've seen are across the Atlantic.

    Ken
  • stevesteve Member Posts: 10
    Dave,
    No, you are correct about the level; a cold reading should read lower on the stick. That's why I thought it might be over full, as the level was .5 inch above the full level on a warm engine. I added Dexron III fluid this afternoon, and I'll keep an eye on it. I don't think I'll get the chance to run it by the dealer unless the light comes on again. Thanks for your help.

    Steve
  • toboggantoboggan Member Posts: 283
    The Autolamps web site does not carry the 9007 bulbs I need for my '98 OBW. Darn. Anybody have the URL for the Phillips bulbs?

    Thanks.

    MNSteve
  • hondafriekhondafriek Member Posts: 2,984
    Try www.powerbulbs.com for the Phillips bulbs.

      Cheers Pat.
  • declansdaddeclansdad Member Posts: 120
    I just had my rear bearing replaced; I experienced the same kind of noise too. See if your dealer will cover the repair (mine did and I'm 11K over the warrantee).

    Good luck and turn up that radio.

    Michael
  • leo2633leo2633 Member Posts: 589
    Michael,

    Thanks for that info. Did they have to replace both rear wheel bearings or just one? Do you happen to know if Subaru is using a redesigned bearing or do they use a replacement with the same faulty design? Any idea what the cost would have been if not covered by Subaru? Thanks again.

    Len
  • maverick1017maverick1017 Member Posts: 212
    Had the rear bearings replaced twice within 30K of each other. I assumed the first time wasn't done correctly. Replacement bearings would be Legacy bearings, all the techs I talked to said there are problems with the 1st gen forester bearings. Its gonna cost about $500 to replace both sides, but its worth it. believe me, if one goes, the other is sure to follow not long after.

    Mike
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    Ahh, what a great name! Anyhow.... ;-)
    Unfortunately, the Philips Vision Plus with the higher ECE spec output is only available in 3 (?) popular European sizes: H1, H4 & H7

    H1 fits the current Outback low beam.
    H4 would fit very early Outbacks (?)
    From here it gets somewhat confusing, as the H4 has several near-equivilents and should interchange with the HB2 and 9003, if the chart from Daniel Stern's site is correct. The HB2 is used in the Honda Odyssey, so I am thinking of placing another order.

    Steve
  • 98redgrey98redgrey Member Posts: 15
    My first CEL occurred today (constant-not flashing)on my OBS. Everything seems to be running fine.

    I made sure the gas cap is clean and clicked 3 times etc and did an ECU reset (disconnect the negative terminal for 30 minutes) and the CEL has gone away. If it happens again I should probably have the dealer look at the code. Ah, a self-healing car, right:). So, What are the major and minor reasons why this may have happened and if the ECU reset worked should I worry?

    I've never had a car where the CEL comes on. Is it fairly common in Subarus ?

    Could this be related to my topping off the gas tank with a gallon or so even after it automatically stops (contrary to the manual)?

    Thanks.
    Jon
  • kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    Alas, I believe there are no Philips Vision Plus made for the 9007s. Unfortunately, the 9007 is really a poor bulb (check Stern's website). I think the only way out is to get overwattage bulbs.

    Steve -- H4=HB2. Exact same form factor.

    Ken
  • montreal1montreal1 Member Posts: 12
    Bought some Philips HiVisibility/Premium ,p/n 9007/HB5 , rated 55/65W from www.suvlights.com last summer.

    Very satisfied with the improvement.

    Cheers
  • canpaulcanpaul Member Posts: 10
    Now that the warm(er) weather is here I will soon be changing some of the fluids in our Subaru. It is a 1999 Legacy L Sedan, with the 2.2 and automatic transmission, and about 65000 kilometers. I would like to use Mobil 1 synthetic fluids in the front and rear differentials. The owners manual spec's 80W90, and I can only find 75W90 from Mobil 1. Also I would like to use Mobile 1 synthetic ATF in the transmission. If anyone has any experience with these fluids I would appreciate any feedback. Also when replacing the coolant, should I go to Subaru for the coolant, or would something like Prestone (suitable for aluminum) be fine. I probably will run a descaling agent through the cooling system and flush the rad when the coolant is out. The coolant was replaced at about 35,000, but the other fluids are original.
    Thanks. Paul
  • declansdaddeclansdad Member Posts: 120
    My dealer only replaced the one faulty bearing. I'm under the assumption that the new bearings are from the Legacy lineup, not the Forester.

    Here is a list of the parts:

    28016AA030-PT180303 Bearing
    28015AA110-Oil Seal
    28015AA100-Oil Seal
    28015AA050-Oil Seal

    Talk with your dealer, see if they can help out; if not, get in touch with 1-800-SUBARU3.

    Best of luck.

    Michael
Sign In or Register to comment.

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles