Subaru Legacy/Outback

hammersley

Are the wheels the stock Subaru variety, or aftermarket custom? When I first put new, non-Subaru wheels on my 97 OB, I had a pretty severe shake at freeway speeds. A return to the tire/wheel place cured the problem: the center hole on the wheels was ever-so-slightly oversize, and snugging up the lug nuts didn't guarantee a balanced installation. A set of inserts in the wheel hub holes to snug up the fit cured the problem. Something else to look at, or at least to rule out.

Good luck with it!
Cheers!
Paul

modej

1998 Subaru Outback Wagon Limited Edition just acquired. Anti-theft alarm goes off 1) during thunder storms (just beeps once with lightning and thunder) and 2) full alarm went off on a clear day. Storms could be due to vibration. Clear day?? Don't use anti-theft alarm now because we don't trust it. Any ideas what could be causing it to go off?

ateixeira

Earth quake after shock? Just kidding, I hope!

Maybe a neighborhood animal?

-juice

evilizard

Sounds like the shock sensativity is turned up to much. You should be able to either turn down the sensativity or turn off the shock sensor all together.

I learned from long, painful personal experience of many, many, many hours of frustrations that auto alarms can go off at the slightest shock or for no particular reason at all.

When I was in collage my dorm faced the parking lot. Whenever a shuttle bus would go by (every 10 minutes or so) 3-4 car alarms would go off. The bus was over a block away from the furthest of these cars. I also witnessed them going off for no discernable reason whatsoever. Clear day, not a cloud in the sky, nobody in the parking lot, no buses, motorcycles, construction equipment, birds or burglars. Alarm just up and goes off.

kens

Yes, the sensor is set way too high. My Forester factory alarm sensitivity is supposed to be set so that it will go off if you bump the steering wheel with your hand. I'm sure the Legacy alarm should be calibrated to something similar.

Ken

luvs2fish7

Does it make a difference if I use a Subaru oil filter compared to others? In the summer months, what type/weight oil do you all recommend? I am about ready for the first oil change, and want to know if I need to go to the dealer or not.
Thanks for the advise.

ryoon

Does anyone know (Patti?) of any possible plans on Subaru entering the minivan market? When I bought my Legacy 8 years ago, it was only my wife and I. I am so happy with my wagon (130K mi.) but now with three kids I need a minivan type vehicle? I'm hoping to stay with Subaru but I can't hold out much longer!!!

oclvframe

Next best thing to a Subaru minivan: either the Acura MDX (not really a minivan, no where near as practical, but does have AWD) or Honda Odyssey. I have hear rumors of the Ody coming with AWD in 2003. I would sell my '99 and jump on that if it comes out to be true. You can't go wrong with the FWD version, though. Great vehicles: Excellent gas mileage, smooth quiet ride, very convenient.

Robert in Atlanta

ateixeira

Purolator supplies the filters for Subaru, and they are of good quality. So are Car & Driver and Mobil 1 filters, per that filter study that circulates every once in a while.

Stick with 10w30 oil in summer. If it gets extremely cold where you live, consider a 5w20 in the winter.

You do not have to change oil at a dealer. Just save receipts and keep accurate records of the date and mileage.

Subaru will have a bigger SUW in 2005, that's the closest thing we'll have to a minivan until at least a few years past that. I'm hoping it'll have 3 rows of seats; we'll see.

-juice

kmclean

Julie -

No need to go to the dealer for either the filter or the oil change. Of course, you can buy a filter from the dealer (it comes with one of the metal gaskets for the oil drain plug). Or, you can buy a little bag of the gaskets alone (somewhere around $8 for five gaskets) and use an after-market filter (my approach). I use Fram; others here have panned Fram (with no supporting data) and suggested Purolator. I personally think they're all pretty equivalent (no supporting data for that comment, either). Unless you're in a very hot climate (daily highs in the upper 90s or hotter), the recommended 5W30 should be fine. If it's hot, 5W40 or 10W40 would do it. The point is to change the oil regularly (I change oil and filter every 3500-4000 miles), and make certain to check frequently that it's filled to the proper level.

Air Filter observation: Bought a couple of OEM air filters for my 2000 H4 from Subaruparts.com, and darned if they didn't look familiar. Pulled out my spare filter for my '97 Max, and the two could be twins (I'm not certain, but I think the Fram number is CA-4309 - it's the only one for that year Max, in any event). When I come back from my California trip and change the filter in the OB, I'm going to see if that Fram fits as well as I think it will (all three dimensions were essentially identical). If so, I'll switch to Fram (hey, $6 beats $14 any day) when I use up the second filter (I swap 'em every 15K miles). Anyone else noticed/tried this filter in their newer H4? I'll let you know what I discover in a couple of weeks.

Cheers from the PNW!

Ken M.

jonathanv_00

Hi, all. Just entered the world o Subaru ownership last night. Now the proud owners of a 1999 Legacy L wagon, 37K miles, regularly maintained. Now it's time for the first tank of gas . . . Owner's manual implies Regular Unleaded -- sys 87 octane. Is it best to follow tht rec, or go higher?

Thanks in advance.

j

toca

based on the link I've seen where oil filters were sliced and diced, I'll stay away from the Fram's and use OEM. An extra buck or so isn't going to break the bank.

stinkynelson

Just bought my first OB wagon ('02, blue, 5-speed) this morning. After much weighing, I decided against the H6; just couldn't justify the big price difference..... can't wait to pick it up.

I wanted to post a bit of my buying experience for anyone else who's considering.

The dealer was super sticky on their sticker price (pun not intended) and were trying hard to get me to take one of their few remaining '01s in the lot. I had my heart set on the Blue '02 so I felt it was worth the extra $$.

Bottom line, the Outbacks are gaining major momentum in the marketplace; the dealer knows they don't have to go too far below sticker to make a sale. My trade-in didn't help that much either ('95 Explorer Sport)... seems their tough to move these days, especially with 115K miles.

Anyway, a new chapter begins ... Chapter Subaru.

originalbitman

Congrats on the new OB. You will love the 5speed. Good choice.

bit

cptplt

there is no reason to use anything except what the owners manaul recommends unless your engine pings.
My 3 Legacys have all run fine on 87 octane. If you want to increase profits at Amoco then use higher octane.

crawdadking

Got our Bean in March and checked mileage on very first tank. With a very light break in foot I barely got 20mpg. I really didn't expect it would get much better but since I have about 7k on it I decided to check it again. With a much heavier foot (can't resist running it up to 80 or so on these long uphill pulls (PNW) which is not exactly conducive to good mileage, I got 25.3mpg. I was so shocked I had to do the division again just to be sure. My Honda Accord wagon usually got about 26mpg but with a heavier car and 72 more hp I'm sure not complaining.

Everything else is also good. Maybe just a few minor problems (squeaky brakes and such) but nothing to worry about. Hey, it's a machine and no machine is perfect. Still say its the best driving car I've ever owned and this makes well over 50.

Sharon: I've been following your posts and I wish you the best of luck. Maybe SOA will come to thier senses but I wouldn't hold my breath. The sad thing is it's such a great car. But who can tolerate what you are going through. Anyway I hope an equitable solution can be reached. Keep us posted.

Guy

jonathanv_00

Thanks for the comment, cptplt. I'm going with the 87. Don't want to make the same mistake as with the Nissan.

Now, here's our next issue. Since it's a Legacy, and not an Outback, it has less ground clearance than we'd like. I suspected this would be a problem with the driveway when we got home, and sure enough, it does a nasty scrape on the black plastic on the bottom of the in the front. The tow hooks scrape, too, but just those and the black plastic part.

What are our options? We own the house, so I suppose we could have the driveway redone . . . Would a 2x4 or ramp of some sort give it enough elevation? Should I be concerned about this in terms of whacking the thing two or four times a day?

cptplt

If its barely scraping I guess its not a big deal, just go gentle. One other option may be to use "higher " aspect ratio tires like those from an Outback. It may give you just enough clearance. What it may do to your handling though I don't know!

ateixeira

Just go up at an angle. My buddy's house does not have an apron, it's strange, but it has a rounded off curb that leads up to his driveway.

I can get my Miata up there without touching, with an approach at about 45 degrees. If a Miata can, any Subie surely can.

Congrats, stinky. Enjoy the new car stench (some Subies really stink until the undercoating burns off) and hang in there because your mileage will only improve with time.

-juice

wrobelc

Concerning oil and air filters, I too recommend using the Subaru OEM filters. The only supporting data that suggests FRAM filters are not very good is the opinion of a few respected mechanics. As mentioned in other posts, the difference is only a few bucks so my take too is why take a chance.

A few weeks back, I asked for some tire recommenations to replace my Bridgestone Potenza RE92. At current rate of thread wear, I'll need to replace them around 35k. One post mentioned that they should get around 80k. I checked the warrenty for the RE92 and it is for 40k so I wanted to ask what mileage others have got on these tires.

Finally SOA, gave me the following link to find tire replacements www.tirerack.com which is a great site for tire comparisons.

ferc

I got the Bean too and also not very happy about the gas mileage (average 20mpg, 50/50 in local and highway).
Next Monday will be my first service, but I don't expect much improvement after that.
About your post at July 31, it's interesting that when you pressed harder with the better gas mileage. (not a small different, it's 25% improvement)
Could you mind to tell me more???

Thanks in advance.

yellowbikedon

My LL Bean now has more than 6,00 miles miles on it. I can tell you the average mpg just driving around is 21-22. Since I live in Florida, the air conditioning is on constantly. I also have a bicycle rack on the roof.

When driving to Florida in late April I averaged between 26-27 mpg. The best run was 27.1 on the highway, driving between 70-85 and with the A/C blasting.

I'm sure you'll note increasing mpg with increased miles. Be patient.

Don

ateixeira

Mine improved by about 2mpg when you compare my 2nd year of ownership to the 1st.

-juice

ferc

Thanks for the response.
i'm just wondering how the guy at post#2166 having the 25% improvement just by "With a much heavier foot".
Another problem... a 'click' sound coming out from the door when open the driver's window and the same sound happend sometimes when turning right (yes! only turn right!).
Other than that, i'm pretty happy with my Bean.

cptplt

I got maybe 30-35 K on my RE92s. Anyone who gets close to the x0,000 mile warranties the mnaufacturers claim must be driving like the proverbial grandma to church on sundays only or are wearing them down till its dangerous or never see rain or snow. Whats legal tread minimum depth is not the same as what is safe!

supersoob

Bean's are rated 21 - 27 mpg with the high end of this range in optimal conditions. If you are in the 22mpg range for 50/50 driving with a new Bean you are probably right on the money. So don't worry about getting an extra 1 or 2 mpg now as that improvement should come sometime down the road. I wouldn't read to much into crawdadking's mileage either (#2166). His post indicates he has checked it only two times in 7K miles. Not much of a track record there.....

crawdadking

for some reason it would not post. One thing that probably affected the mileage on the first tank was a fully loaded car. Four adults and lots of luggage on a weekender in our brand new car. I did take it easy on the throttle tho. Now supersoob is right about a high probablility of error since this is my first check since new. However, I'm 61 years old and have been checking mileage for some time. The problem here is it's my wifes car and I don't drive it that often and she never checks it. She was in the hospital last week so I took the opportunity do it for her. I filled up at a self serve and did not add fuel when it shut off. I drove 375 miles and filled up at the exact same pump and did not add fuel when it shut off. It took 14.8gals to fill up. I don't know any better way to do it than that but I still grant that it needs to be checked 3 or 4 more times to be sure it wasn't a fluke. I am inclined to believe the big difference is weight. Most of this tank was with me driving alone.

BTW on the tank before the check I filled up with regular just for curiosity. If there was any difference in performance I couldn't detect it, and absolutely no ping. You might ask "if that is so why didn't you continue using regular?" Guess I just can't bear to not do it by the book.

I will check it a few more times since my curiosity is now piqued.

Guy

stinkynelson

Any recommendations on steps to best protect my new OB's finish? I've heard from friends about a product called Liquid Glass (http://www.liquidglass.com), but when I called a local auto store, they had no idea what it was. It supposedly protects the paint from those inevitable little scratches and also makes cleaning really easy, leaving the paint with an always-new appearance.

Any suggestions welcome!
Thanks in advance.

jay_24

On my previous SUV (91 GMC Jimmy s-15) I got 75,000 on the uniroyal tires and then about 94,000 on the next set (Duralon tires manufactured Firestone). Both sets had OK tread left but were each about 4 to 5 years old and the sidewalls were showing signs of cracking. Just looking at the tread they we not even close to the bars showing low tread. Those tires saw lots of snow in northern Wisconsin and performed well.

I think it comes down to what kind of roads your drive on. 95% of the time my GMC was on interstate commuting to work. If your not breaking and turning corners hard, tires just don't wear as fast.

oclvframe

About the finish on your car...the guys over at odyclub.com are real keen on zaino products. Go to http://www.zainobros.com for more info.

Robert in Atlanta

evilizard

Try going over the the Zanio forum on edmunds and ask
"Does Zaino Really work?"
It would be like going to a good old Southern Baptist revival and asking "Is Jesus Real?"
I can't think of any other products that have such a zealous cult like following. Not even Subaru.

shoobsube

I bought my 2001 OB Ltd. manual tranny in November, 2000. I've been reading posts on this board regularly for over a year, and I've noticed some talk of chattering clutches and clutch replacement under warranty. I never thought it would happen to me! At about 5,000 miles I started noticing the occasional chatter/shudder once or twice in the morning. It has since become a bit more regular--maybe 50% of mornings. It didn't bother me that much, but what did worry me was the first time I parallel parked on a steep hill in San Francisco at about 5,000 miles...a terrible burning smell was inside the car, and this was on a cold night. I figured that the clutch was just new and it wouldn't happen again. I don't park on steep hills often--I've probably done it 5 times in the past 8 months. Every time the clutch was under that much load on a steep hill, it produced the burning smell, even after only a few seconds of clutch work. I took it to my longtime local mechanic and he test drove it and told me that I should have Subaru replace the clutch and machine the fly wheel. He told me the clutch was going fast, and I only have 15,000 miles on it! Let me preface this by saying that I've been driving manual vehicles for 20 years and have never burned out a clutch! My current Toyota pickup has 150,000 miles on it, and I replaced the clutch proactively prior to a long road trip at 115,000 miles! And I have never smelled a clutch-burning in any vehicle I have ever driven, and I used to live in San Francisco on a steep hill! From reading past posts on this forum, my suspicion is that these vehicles have inherently weak pressure plates, and that this is causing the chattering and the premature burned up clutch. I also think that while some people with similar problems experience chattering, they don't even know about the burning while under heavy load since most people don't have hills as steep as S.F. Anyway, after my mechanic told me to have Subaru replace the clutch and machine the flywheel, I took it to Redwood City Subaru and had one of their mechanics drive with me to show him. He agreed that all was not right with the clutch. I left it for the day and at the end of the day, Robert, (Svc Mgr?), told me that he spoke to his Dist. Mgr and that they would replace the clutch as a "one-time goodwill gesture, since the driver of the vehicle burned out the clutch". While I was pleased that they were replacing the clutch assembly and pressure plate, I was very upset that they were blaming me for the very premature failure of the clutch! Like I said, I'm a very experienced clutch driver, am somewhat conservative, and have only experienced the burning smell perhaps the 5 times I've been in steep hill parking situations, the first time being at 5,000 miles! It is very concerning to me that the faulty clutch/weak pressure plate issue is being blamed on me, the owner. Even if I drove it like a NASCAR driver, which I didn't, the clutch shouldn't be chattering and burning under load at 5,000 miles. I did, by the way, take it to Stevens Creek Subaru at 6,000 miles and mentioned the burning, and they said it must have been some oil leaking and that would produce a burning smell.

Patti, I would like to get in touch with the District Manager, (Northern California, Redwood City Subaru), in order to clear up the matter of what went wrong with my clutch, and discuss what happens if the next clutch/pressure plate performs as poorly as this one did right from the start. I don't expect to pay for premature clutch replacements in the future--this should be covered under warranty! And I don't appreciate being blamed for destroying what was obviously faulty to begin with.

Any feedback would be appreciated!

ateixeira

If you have records of the 6000 mile visit, you'll have a much stronger case. Did they document that complaint/visit?

I think the standard adjustment period is one year, so that would fall within even that short period of time.

-juice

oregonman

They are really helpful to me as I look to replace my 99 Outback with a new one. I had assumed that the 6 cyl would get a lot worse MPG, but from these posts, it doesn't sound like there is much of a hit to the mileage. Mine is a 5 speed and I've averaged 23.5 MPG. Here in Oregon, we have oxygenated fuel in the winter and that degrades the gas mileage. My best was 29. If anyone else here knows their MPG and hasn't posted, it would be great if you could post it.

ateixeira

My Forester has averaged 25.1mpg since April 2000. E-mail me at ateixeira@ifc.org and I'll even send you an Excel chart detailing every tank. My high was 30.4 on a trip, and my low was 20.7 off roading on the sand at the Outer Banks.

Needless to say, with gas around me at nearly $2, I'm glad I didn't pick a less efficient SUV.

-juice

subearu

I think it was being discussed a bit on this board too. I did a little test and posted the results in the Subaru Crew area:
subearu "Subaru Crew - Meet The Members II" Aug 1, 2001 4:43pm

the short: even in 95+ degree temps and 75 degree dew points (read that as really humid), I couldn't get my '00 OB to ping.

-Brian

mrdetailer

Try this site for some good information on Waxes.

http://www.properautocare.com/whywaxyourcar.html

I have experience with Meguiars #7 show car glaze, and Meguiar's #26 Hard Yellow and absolutely love them. If done on a regular basis with a machine, the process can be fast if done on a regular basis.

I won't consider Zaino because of a few problems: cost, time involved, and streaking if improperly applied.

Besides part of enjoying the car is that just finished shine. You also learn a lot about your car when it is detailed regularly, and can identify problems quicker.

drew_

...at 6-7pm Pacific/9-10 pm Eastern. Hope to see you there!

http://www.edmunds.com/chat/subaruchat.html

mikenk

after buying the VDC and already owning a Toyota Supra, I decided to get serious about detailing the cars. I researched the Edmonds forums and found it to be largely pro-Zaino, almost religiously so; I researched the Autopia forums and found it to be pro Klasse, although less religiously so. Because of the difference of clearcoat on each car, I decided to go with the Klasse although both seem to be great products. I have bought the Klasse AIO and the Klasse SG, a water bandit, some microfibre towels, some charisma towels, some clay; some dawn. These cars better look good or I am going to be p----d.

Mike

kturner1

We had a Jeep that had play in the power steering when it was new. More than one dealer kept it overnight but couldn't fix it. Normal Specs, Seems Fine To Me, etc.. Took it to a private alignment shop who fixed it in about 2 minutes. They charged me their minimum which I was thrilled to pay. I took the receipt over to the dealership (like next door) and they cut me a goodwill check. You shouldn't have to do this but maybe getting an expert second opinion would help fix the pinging.

nygreg

in here! Hellooooo. You people are vacationing too much.

Shelby - sorry to hear about your clutch. Hope things are fixed to your satisfaction. From other folks in here, it appears that Subaru really strives for customer sat. Hope you get the same feeling - let us know what happens.

Greg

jregen7243

I had the pleasure (or so I thought) of driving a brand new 2001 Lexus GS430 yesterday on a 100 mile drive. I was shocked at how cheap it felt. There were squeaks and rattles all over the place. Even little bumps completely upset the chasis. It reminded me a lot of my old '94 Z28. Right after that, I got back in my '00 Outback Sedan and couldn't believe the difference. A nice quiet ride, no rattles, and you barely feel the bumps.

mybenje

I am ready to buy one of these, I am curious if any body had looked at LL bean Outback or a 4 Runner.
I can afford the Outback, but I am struggling with spendind an extra 20K for an All road or 10K for the 4 runner.

Which one is the best buy in the long run?

Thanks

99gs

I am about to buy an llbean. After I drove it the first time I couldn't believe what a great total package it was. I tried to find something better and couldn't. It will carry the toys we want (bikes,kayaks,skis,etc.), it has the same size cargo area of our CR-V, smooth and quiet, and handles great. Aside from that it should drive at least as good as front wheel drive in the snow.

I drove a Pathfinder a week or so ago because the reviews said it was the most car like ride for an SUV. It's a great ride if you want to haul 5,000 lbs. but I don't. The Outback pulls 2,000 lbs. and handles and rides much better than the Pathfinder. The LE version with leather is trimmed about the same as the llbean. Price on bean was at least $5,000 cheaper. Just my opinion.

Jack - Ohio

aakerson

My two cents worth --have driven the 4Runner, find it not fun to drive, not enough head room (I'm 6'3", very over priced.

Allroad -- have not driven one; audi has a good AWD reputation, complicated suspension would worry me; the the sticker price is ridiculous; the styling (for me) just does not work as well as the conventional wagon. Would go for a Passat 4Motion LONG before I'd ever consider the allroad.

Bean -- we have a VDC; my wife worships it. Comfortable, very drivable on the curvy roads, good room front and back, beautiful leather, wonerful audio. I love looking at allroads, 4Runners, volvo XCs and the like because they show me how smart we were and what a bargain we got with a Subaru.

pattim3

Good Morning! Give us a call at 1-800-SUBARU3. Ask the Rep. to let me know when you have a case file. Make sure you let them know you want to talk to the field rep. about what you were told.

I'll take a look at the case and see that your issues are addressed. Sorry about the problem.

Patti

cardhu1

Has anyone installed the rear cargo net on an outback wagon? I recently received the net and am having trouble deciphering the instructions. Where is the location of the top hooks on either side? It is unclear from the directions. Alternatively, if you have a factory/dealer installed cargo net in a 2001/2002 outback could you please post/email be a description of the location of the upper hooks?

Thanks in advance,
tac

nygreg

Check out this months CU which evaluates the "traditional SUVs" (Explorer, 4Runner, Pathfinder, etc). IMO the Outback/Allroad and the SUVs are different animals. Do you want good handling, gas mileage, etc or do you want to climb Mt Everest? Also, in a snow storm give me the Outback or Allroad / Quattro. Now comparing the Audi to Subaru is a matter of $$$$. Subaru is the better value and the more reliable choice, however, the Audi is more status and not a bad choice. My wife liked the look of the Subie and the $$$ difference is just too convincing. BTW, we purchased the base OB with a few options (AWP, Auto, Security, Cd). Next time I would like to go for the VDC or whatever version is available at that time. Good luck.

Greg

subiowner

You guys were right on the dot! Balancing and rotation cured it. But was wondering why did it happen 3K miles prematurely than the scheduled maintainence?
Any way I am happy now! When I called up a local Subi dealer here the rate he quoted was $60 for balancing!! thats a ripoff.

paisan

It's usually about $10/tire. Give or take a few $. But @ 3K they should probably do it for free.

-mike