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Subaru Crew Cafe

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  • joybelljoybell Member Posts: 275
    ...so taking a new car home to show him is not possible anyway. He loved the Forester before this happened. He is just balking at another Subaru engine while admitting that there is nothing else wrong with the car. The engine is the heart and soul of a vehicle so a bad engine equals a bad reputation - period. As for test driving a new Forester....I suppose they all sound good when they are new anyway - or so he would say and he's right. Personally, I'd rather go for an Impreza if it has a different engine (the Forester's engine problems are on my mind too). Looks like we have to go shopping a bit next spring.

    Will the rebuilt engine affect the trade-in value?
  • joybelljoybell Member Posts: 275
    or so it seems when looking at the Subaru website. I'm suppose to pick up the Forester tomorrow so I'll ask then. They gave me a loaner, a 2007 Legacy Sport? which the kids think is a cool car but it's not practical for us and I think that one has the same engine too.
  • lucien2lucien2 Member Posts: 2,984
    I'm still dismayed the car needed an engine. I think your husband's fears are based on what miiight be a dealer gone wild. I have never ever heard of a 2003-era engine needing to be trashed because "it was making a noise." SO even if it really did need one (which I need more evidence to be convinced of), it was a highly, and I mean highly, anomalous event.
  • joybelljoybell Member Posts: 275
    Seriously. I didn't even have to wait for an engine block, they had one there already. What I was told was that it was a problem with the pistons and that if I had taken it in 3 -4 months ago they would have just repaired (or replaced?) the pistons involved. But now the block had to be replaced. I was told that I was very lucky that this was due to a known problem and not something I did! Huh? I didn't know exactly how to take that! I checked on the internet as soon as I got home and found that piston slap is what it is called and it was (or still is?) a problem with some of these engines. It has something to do with temperature? I'm not mechanical and although I was given the full explanation by the service rep I didn't retain much. Sorry, but I was in shock.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Hmm, none of my Subarus ever gave me an AC problem even in the worst NYC heat and humidity over the years, even sitting in bumper to bumper traffic.

    -mike
  • jeffmcjeffmc Member Posts: 1,742
    Subaru is consistently among the leaders on Consumer Reports' reliability lists, and Forester is one of Consumer Reports' most reliable vehicles. But, no manufacturer is perfect, and, unfortunately, sounds like your vehicle was one of the rare problems.

    I had a bad experience with a Honda, but I still know they make reliable vehicles, so they'd still be on my list of manufacturers I'd consider. Hopefully your husband will see the big picture over time. You can always push the safety aspect of Subarus, as well... they're at the top of all the crash tests.
  • joybelljoybell Member Posts: 275
    I did drive one of those and didn't find it as much fun, but when I checked the internet last night the CRV ranks ahead of Subaru for reliability.
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    The CRV is an excellent car. My daughter has one, and she's very happy with it.

    However, the AWD system is an on-damand unit, meaning it's FWD and that the rear wheels kick in only when slippage occurs to the front wheels. I prefer the full-time Subaru system. If I recall, you travel on some bad farm roads, so that could be an issue.

    Also, the CRV can only tow 1500 pounds, whereas the Forester can tow 2400 pounds.

    My recommendation would be to wait till next spring, when the larger all-new Forester arrives; then make a decision.

    Bob
  • joybelljoybell Member Posts: 275
    ....and maybe tempers will have cooled a bit...:-)

    Actually, I loved the "on demand" AWD that Subaru used to have. I had a "Chaser" and a "Loyale" with that system. Most of the time I drove in winter without the AWD engaged since lots of times the asphalt was bare. But I used it quite often to get through the snowdrifts from the road to the farmhouse, and up hills. I thought it was a great system - putting the driver more in control just like the manual transmission does. I guess it's a matter of personal preferance, but that wouldn't put me off a CRV at all. What does put me off is that it doesn't drive like a Subaru.
  • p0926p0926 Member Posts: 4,423
    Hey Juice, next time you're out this way I just might let you drive it :P

    -Frank
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    The on-demand system the CRV and others use is not at all like the one you used to have on your old Subarus that you mentioned.

    On those old Subies YOU! controlled when you wanted to use the 4WD, as you had a lever to do so. Not with the new CRV, as it is automatically controlled, with no driver involvement whatsoever. You just hope that it makes the right decisions. I don't like that.

    Bob
  • p0926p0926 Member Posts: 4,423
    I was told that I was very lucky that this was due to a known problem and not something I did! Huh? I didn't know exactly how to take that!

    He was telling you that if they could have figured a way to blame you for the problem then the new engine wouldn't have been covered under warranty.

    Yes piston slap is fairly common with older Foresters (and Imprezas and Outbacks) but it's more annoying than anything and rarely leads to replacing the engine.

    Your husband's position isn't uncommon, there are lots of people who swear off EVER buying another (insert brand here) because of one really bad ownership experience. However, if the only problem you've had was the piston slap and it resulted in the dealer replacing the engine under warranty... that doesn't sound like it qualifies as a "really bad" ownership experience.

    But if he remains dead set against getting another Subaru, Honda and Toyota both have somewhat better reliability ratings than Subaru so your best bet for minimizing any future problems would be to get one of their models. Of course even the most reliable car companies produce the occasional lemon so there are no guarantees ;)

    -Frank
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    ....and maybe tempers will have cooled a bit...

    Actually, I loved the "on demand" AWD that Subaru used to have. I had a "Chaser" and a "Loyale" with that system. Most of the time I drove in winter without the AWD engaged since lots of times the asphalt was bare. But I used it quite often to get through the snowdrifts from the road to the farmhouse, and up hills. I thought it was a great system - putting the driver more in control just like the manual transmission does. I guess it's a matter of personal preferance, but that wouldn't put me off a CRV at all. What does put me off is that it doesn't drive like a Subaru.


    You didn't have AWD on those old subies, it was 4wd meaning it couldn't be used on dry pavement.

    -mike
  • jeffmcjeffmc Member Posts: 1,742
    "Honda and Toyota both have somewhat better reliability ratings than Subaru..."

    Consumer Reports just downgraded Toyota's reliability rating due to problems with newer models... and they no longer automatically give upcoming Toyota models the "recommend" seal of approval because of it. Honda & Subaru are their top 2 (in that order).

    Of course, Consumer Reports is just one source.
  • bat1161bat1161 Member Posts: 1,784
    I can kind of understand where your husband is coming from. We had a 2000 OBW that had a few problems (including the piston slap) so when we wanted to replace it my wife was a bit hesitant to go with another Subaru. As others have pointed out sometimes you get stuck with a "bad lot", but we went for a newer OB 2 years ago and have had a great experience since, which we both enjoy.

    Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

    Mark
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    We will get out to AZ again, my wife's best friend lives there.

    They have a baby and are trying for a 2nd, so maybe we'll go for the baptism if/when she has her 2nd child.

    Where are you again? We flew in to Phoenix but drove to Tucson.
  • p0926p0926 Member Posts: 4,423
    We live in Scottsdale which in relation to Phoenix is comparable to Alexandria and DC. My work is about 10 minutes from the airport.
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    Info on the Subaru 2008 STI FIA Group N rally car can be found on the Straightline blog below.

    http://blogs.edmunds.com/Straightline/3640

    Mike, ya interested?

    Bob
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I'll give you a heads up and try to see you next time we fly down. I'll have the family in tow, though.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    It's nice but not my style. I like a lower more road-course type vehicle.

    -mike
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    A friend of mine got a new laptop, what's the best way to transfer her iTunes from her old laptop to the new one?

    Her concern is not losing any of the music she's paid for. What's the best way to do this?
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    Buy a Mac laptop, as iTunes comes standard. ;)

    I use iTunes all the time on my Macs, but I don't buy any of the music. I just use the radio aspect of iTunes, which is fine for me. That's all I need or want—and it's FREE!

    Bob
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    She had a work-issued PC, and already has a new home laptop.

    To be honest I didn't even ask if it was a Mac!

    I think she just has to re-authenticate the iPod on the new laptop, but I'm wondering if anyone has done this recently.
  • robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Yes, but I got 32,434,234,243,123,123 hits. :D

    Thanks...
  • robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    I only got 1.4 million for: move itunes library to new pc.

    My link was the first one.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    OK, new problem.

    She left the corporation and her login credentials expired. So we can't access her old profile right now.

    So we have the songs on her iPod, is there a way to hack it, get those songs on the new PC without access to the old one?
  • robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    So this is how you get bonuses and promotions - getting people on the net to do your work for you!! :)

    Try this link:

    http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/copying-music-from-ipod-to-co- mputer/
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Um, cough, mumble, uh...

    :D

    Actually, she left us to work for another arm of the corporation, but I'm trying to help her anyway.

    Plus I use iTunes but only a little, and I haven't used a Mac much since my Desktop Publishing days. I do miss them - especially when we do any sort of video.

    Thanks.
  • robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    I use Itunes only because my 10 YO son has an Ipod. I have no need to carry the world's entire musical library in my pocket.

    As for using Macs - I use them in college but am seriously considering getting one for home.
  • ladywclassladywclass Member Posts: 1,713
    Go online and look for a program called Tune Transfer to take the songs out of the iPod.
  • jfljfl Member Posts: 1,397
    I'm hoping I've solved this problem by having all my music loaded onto an external 250GB HD.

    If it turns out that my plan doesn't work, I come crying here first.

    Jim
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Are you sure that won't delete the songs from the iPod? I thought it would...
  • ladywclassladywclass Member Posts: 1,713
    We've never been able to move music from iPod to iTunes ... only the other way around ...
  • hypovhypov Member Posts: 3,068
    I'm only aware that reformatting the iPod would erase the song.
    But better safe than sorry - check with Apple.

    -Dave
  • hypovhypov Member Posts: 3,068
    Just checked the iPod to iTune transfer.
    Looks like you could only transfer songs if it is in the "Purchased" folder in iPod.
    I've not bought any songs using another computer to test the transfer,
    but seems to be the way to go.

    -Dave
  • bat1161bat1161 Member Posts: 1,784
    I am looking for an education regarding winter tires vs all seasons, specifically the difference in size. Are winter tires typically one size smaller than All Seasons? Is it that big a differnce or can you just get the same size as the all seasons?

    Allways curious so I figured to ask the "experts".

    Thanks,
    Mark
  • volkovvolkov Member Posts: 1,306
    You can just install same size winter tires and go. With more and more vehicles now running bigger rims with smaller aspect ratio tires it is also common to get winter rims down one size and then run taller winter tires to get the same circumference. This gets two benefits. First, the rubber band winter tires can be hard to find and ++ expensive. Second, the taller tires add a little cush for the rougher roads we had here in winter. Biggest issue downsizing rims is brake clearance.
  • robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    Further, by downsizing the rims you get a higher sidewall and a narrower contact patch. You want a narrower tire for winter so they don't have to clear as much snow to get the vehicle through.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    I'd go with stock size or perhaps 10mm narrower. In our area I wouldn't go more than 10mm narrower considering we rarely get snow.

    -mike
  • grahampetersgrahampeters Member Posts: 1,786
    G'day

    This is seriously off topic, but bear with me. This is dependent upon a widely read community of Americans being able to amswer a query from a foreigner. Juice is indirectly responsible, having written of his frequent trips to his coastal holiday home. Comparison of Subaru v other modes of travel discharge the Subaru part of this post.

    I have a long standing love of American Literature, markedly different from all other literature forms and often challenging for a non-native. As a bored student at an Australian Boarding School in the early 1970's, I devoured the pantheon of American Greats, whiling away many happy hours whilst listening to such luminaries as Frank Zappa and Alice Cooper (we are talking quantity, not value, on the music front - we would listen to anything with a groove on it - would probably even have listened to advertising jingles if they had been on an LP record!)

    I'd like to share the pleasure with my now fourteen year old daughter

    Somewhere in amongst Vonnegut, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Steinbeck, Poe, Arthur Miller, myriad Science Fiction writers and Xaviera Hollander, I read a well crafted novel of a family killed in a Hurricane which destriyed their coastal home. My memory, perhaps inaccurately places this on the Outer Banks. Maybe I confuse it but Cape Hatteras seems to feature. The contrast between an Atlantic storm and Virginia or somewhere similar rings a further bell, but I could be mistaken.

    The era was probably 1920's or 30's but again I could be just plain vague.

    The theme of a family lost through such a storm was grabbed by Joe David Brown in Addie Pray (filmed as Paper Moon with Ryan and Tatum O'Neal) where the really big con, portrays Addie as the long lost orphan grandchild of a woman who had believed her whole family lost in a 1920's storm. It is definitely not that tale, but something much earlier and written as literature rather than a potential movie script.

    Actually, thinking about it, the Addie Pray story is as good a link back to motoring as this post requires, Addie's possible father, Long-Boy Pray progressively hotting up the old truck they get around in as the story moves on.

    Straying back to my long lost novel, can anyone remind me of the author and story?

    Cheers

    Graham
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    Sorry Graham, but you got me on this one. However, I'm curious as to your interest in Xaviera Hollander. ;)

    Bob
  • grahampetersgrahampeters Member Posts: 1,786
    G'day

    It was an all boy, boarding school. I'd read absolutely anything that went by, including the cornflakes packet. Inevitably, the racier literature was hardest fought over!

    Cheers

    Graham
  • pathtomaxpathtomax Member Posts: 215
    Hello everyone. I did not see any area where they are comparing Subaru vehicles to the new Nissan Rogue so I thought I would put it to the Crew Guys! I am looking for my next potential commuter car, in NH so need AWD. Currently own a 2001 Outback Wagon Ltd with 115k and looking for a small-ish SUV-type thing. I drove the new Outback and was pretty happy with it. Then, I drove the Rogue- great options that I need (Bluetooth for a sales guy is always good!) and I don't really need Nav.

    Being in NH, I was wondering about their CVT with their "Intelligent AWD". I have had Nissans in the past (Pathfinder) and found their reliability up to if not slightly higher than Subaru.

    If this is not the right Forum, I apologize. Thanks for reading!
  • lilbluewgn02lilbluewgn02 Member Posts: 1,089
    Graham, the book "Addie Pray" is by Joe David Brown.
  • jeffmcjeffmc Member Posts: 1,742
    You might want to hold out a few months... the new all-new Forester debuts in January, expected to be on sale in March. Also, Bluetooth is now available as an option for the new Impreza, so I'd expect it to be offered in the other models soon.

    I don't have any real Nissan experience (besides being a passenger in an old Sentra hatch loaded w/gear, w/no air conditioning, through 100F+ temps, down the highway through Ensenada, Mexico and then off onto rutted gravel roads into the mountains in northern Baja!). But, I can tell you Consumer Reports just put Subaru as their #2 most reliable manufacturer, after Honda and before Toyota.
  • p0926p0926 Member Posts: 4,423
    Graham I wish I could help you (and I grew up in North Carolina) but I'm drawing a blank.

    Serge- You must have missed in Graham's post where he said it wasn't the novel "Addie Pray" by Joe David Brown.

    -Frank
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    I haven't had a chance to look at the rogue yet but, I have a 1990 240sx that has 250k miles and the AC still works. My 04 Nissan Armada runs like a tank, towing well more than it's 9100lb towing capacity w/o issue. So overall I'm happy with the Nissan products, but I'd wait to check it against the new Forester as well.

    -mike
  • p0926p0926 Member Posts: 4,423
    I've had several Nissans and for the most part they were problem free. There was a cracked cylinder head with one but driving 100 mph on a regular basis before the engine was fully warmed up might have had something to do with that :blush: (hey I was living in Germany at the time :P )

    So reliability wise I don't think there's enough of a difference to worry about. How did you like the Rogue's CVT? From what I've read it's the feature that gets the most criticism but if you've driven one already and like it then it's a moot point.

    IRT Nissan's "Intelligent AWD"... this is a Subaru forum so of course we're biased towards thinking that Subaru's "Symmetrical AWD" system is one of the best ;)

    -Frank
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