Subaru Legacy/Outback

senturi

The driver's side window no longer works in the AUTO down mode. My wife says it worked only one time since she got the OB this past December. Is there something I can check or is this a service call? The owner's manual says to press the switch until you hear it click, then release the button. I have tried this procedure and I never hear a "CLICK". The window does go down, but you have to hold the button. Any ideas??

Thanks

rsholland

The switch has two stops. Have you pushed it down all the way?

Bob

senturi

Bob,

Yes. I have pressed the AUTO down button until the window stops completely in the down position.

Any other suggestions? Perhaps the relay stopped working.

rsholland

Beats me. The next time you have the car in for service, let the dealer look at. Maybe the switch is faulty.

Bob

jamessubie02

Just took delivery of a 02 Outback Ltd. No complaints just yet, except one thing.

Has anyone noticed shaking from the front end when braking at higher speeds - like off an exit ramp? Feels almost like warped brake discs. Doesn't seen normal but wasn't sure if it is attributed to ABS or something. It has been so long since I have owned a car it may just be me!

Thanks!

ateixeira

I would have it checked out by a dealer. You're still under the 12k adjustment period, so they should fix it no questions asked. I would suspect the rotors, too.

-juice

tshin99

Hey all,

Just thought I’d let everyone know that I’m now the owner of an Outback, picked it up yesterday. I’ve been reading these message boards for a month and have posted some questions and gotten great feedback, so I figured I’d share the news.

2002 Outback LL Bean Edition (Wintergreen)
Cargo Net
Premium Sound Package (6-disc in-dash CD and subwoofer w/amplifier)
Rough Road Package (acrylic hood deflector, rear differential protector, rear dust deflector)
Wheel Locks

The MSRP on this is $31,006.
Invoice price is $27,895.

I got it for $27,598 plus tax plus $90.50 for doc fees, tags, title and tire tax (I kept the tags from my trade-in and save $30).

Traded in my beat-up 91 Honda Accord for $1,200.

Got it from Wilkie Subaru in Philadelphia. I had gotten an offer from another place in Philly for a similar Outback (same except no Rough Road Package) for $27,848 ($100 over invoice) and the people at Wilkie said they’d beat any competing price by $250 (which they did) and then I got the Rough Road Package tossed in for free (after some haggling).

A couple of weeks ago, I almost got an LL Bean from Rye Ford/Subaru in Rye, NY (where my parents live) for $28,283 (and it didn’t have the RRP, wheel locks, or subwoofer/amplifier) and they were only giving my $450 for my Honda (it was having some mechanical problems at the time). Luckily, my dad saw it for the ripoff it was (this is the first time I’m buying a car) and I didn’t get it.

Thanks for the all the help, everyone. I’m totally digging the car, especially the wintergreen. Am looking to add a rear gate bar and maybe some window tinting (live in the city and don’t want people to see any crappy stuff I might have) in the future.

Tom
P.S. I'm posting this to both the dealer pricing and the outback board in the subaru section. Sorry to those of you who are reading it twice.

ateixeira

Congrats, that price seems pretty impressive, too.

-juice

c_hunter

James: my first Outback (2000 model) had warped rotors when it was brand new, and the steering wheel would shake like crazy when braking. The dealer machined the rotors at about 2000 miles, and the problem was solved. They did have trouble acknowledging the problem, since it only happened after the car had been driven a while and braked (so the rotors could warm up).

Tom: welcome aboard. I have been absolutely thrilled with my 02 LL Bean. About 3 months of ownership and 3500 miles so far. Really great car.

Craig

bkaiser1

I noticed this past week that the driver's window on my year-old Outback is getting scratched all to hell from the power window mechanism inside the door -- anyone else experiencing this? Although I am SUPER retentive about my car and would not normally roll down dirty windows, it was unavoidable to do so last week and I had to roll the window down at a toll booth after going over Donner Pass.

The window was pretty dirty, but I didn't expect it to immediately damage the tinting. Now there is a visible "track" mark about an inch wide running down the middle of the glass. I'm going to have the window looked at tomorrow at tomorrow's oil change/service, but I know they won't fix the tinting. All of my previous cars (not Subies) have been tinted and none have ever shown any wear after years of use.

Is this common with this model?

jregen7243

Is this something new from Subaru or did the dealer make that up. I've never heard of Subaru offering a Rough Road Package before.

Jon

herbruss

Is this new way for us in CA to take advantage of you folks from NV? I normally take the back way (88).

Sound like you may have a misadjusted guide in the window mechanism.

bkaiser1

OK, so that didn't read the way it sounded in my head...

In my head, I thought "Agricultural inspection station" but I typed "toll booth." Long day at work I guess

Brian

c_hunter

There is a 1 to 1.25 inch wide pad that keeps the window glass from rattling. In fact, there are a couple of them. They press on the glass from the inside, and are adjustable. The pads are covered with a fuzzy material, but I imagine it may waer down over time. Shouldn't have an effect on glass, but I can see how it would scratch plastic tint film.

I suppose you could loosen up the pads, but then the window glass would probably rattle.

Craig

paisan

What on earth is that?

On a side note, the dealer will not do anything about the tint or the window. Since it's not evena subaru product that you want them to fix. They'll probably take the tint off and say "look it works fine now"

-mike

jfl

When you drive into Calif, they ask where you are coming from in the hopes of preventing anyone from bringing in fruit flies and other insects.

At times they also do this at some airports.

paisan

To bring fruit across state lines? Wow CA *IS* the communist state I've heard all about!

-mike

seayakker

Just check out all the picnics going on right before you get to the California border - "I'm not throwing a single one of these apples out - eat up!"

Jillian

ateixeira

Brian: the windows seals are a little tighter due to the frameless design. My tint film has a few scratches, but they aren't that noticeable.

They have stations like that crossing the border from Belize into Guatemala, but for good reason. You can kill an entire crop if you bring in just one new species of insect.

-juice

tshin99

jon,

if you look up the ll bean edition here on edmunds.com, it's listed in the options as the rough road group (L01). It's just 3 separate options that they packaged(the acrylic hood deflector, rear differential protector, and the rear dust deflector). The MSRP is $265, which is the same as the options added together separately. Even though i was thinking of getting the dust deflector added later, i told the guy that I didn't want/need that package and didn't think I should be paying for it (it was already on the car).

tom

tshin99

Looking to get people opinions on the Subaru Gold Extended Warranty. when i bought my OB on monday, the F&I guy was pushing it on me but I declined, as I've read here and many other places that these warranties can be a waste of money. The price he quoted me was $1,221 for 6 years/60,000 or 72,000 (not sure of the mileage) miles. I did some searching on the web and found a place selling the same Subaru Gold EW for half that. I'm guessing this is something that can be negotiated. Anyway, I was wondering that since I found the warranty offered at so much of a lower price, does it make it worth it?

The reason I ask is because the honda I traded in was having tons of problems in the last year or so (11 year old car) and I don't want to go and start paying through the roof again to keep it running and this warranty might help with that. Not that I'm expecting this OB to break down, but just a little concerned is all.

any feedback greatly appreciated.

thanks,
tom

ateixeira

I used to think they weren't worth it, but for my next car I'll probably get one. Our Mazda 626 is a reliable car, but it's still needed $2000 of work in the past year or so, with about 70k miles total.

I'd push for 70k or even 100k miles, though. For under $1000, IMHO it's worth it.

Put it this way - I could have purchased an extended warranty for that Mazda AND my Subaru, and been covered for several more years.

-juice

jkinaz

My Haynes Repair Manual discusses four OBD I modes, including the user-friendly "U-check Mode." But I can't find the test mode connector (to disconnect it) for entering this mode. According to Haynes, it is under the driver's side dash. Spent quite a while there upside-down. Any tips?
Any suggestions on obtaining equipment for a full analysis? Thanks!

johnnyrf

I find myself adding a quart of oil every 1000 miles to my 96 outback which has approx. 80K miles on it. It aint leaking so I assume I am burning the oil. Anybody out there to shed some light on this issue?

ateixeira

What viscosity are you using? You may want to go with 10w30 is you're using anything thinner than that now.

Make sure when you change your oil that you check it on a level surface, to be sure it's really full. The boxer layout means even a slight incline messes up the oil level reading.

-juice

llbean30

Hi all, Haven't posted in a while , just thought I'd give some feedback to tshin99.I bought my ll bean in june 01. I too was going to buy from wilke in phila., but colonial gave me more for my trade. I paid 100 below invoice for the bean,with amp and 6 disc(premium sound pkg 3)& cargo net as the only options.The extra 300 that i got for my trade made my decision to buy at colonial.In hindsight I would not go back to colonial, because of the poor state of delivery the car was in when I picked it up.Also they promised me certain dealer installed options at a certain price and after waiting 2 months ,supposedly for them to come in, the price they wanted was more than the agreed on price for those items.(I got them myself from liberty subaru online and saved a ton).I've had a few quality issues with the car, especially the firestone tires. At 7000 miles they still vibrate at speeds(did so right from the day I got the car) and I'm now fighting with firestone to get them to do something about it.(the car has been allighned and the tires have been balanced twice by the dealers.)The subaru dealer says the tires have a slight hop to them when spinning them to balance them.Subaru cust ser told me to go to firestone with the problem.(Firestone dealer told me the tires are only very slightly out of round, but within their tolerance).I'll let you know what happens.
I have the gate bar and the rear spoiler. I also tinted the windows from the rear doors back. Now thinking about tinting the front door windows ,they are annoying when the sun is strong.
Sorry for the long post--luck to all----jack

99gs

I would be very tempted to buy the added coverage if it were half the cost you quoted. I looked up the pricing on a dealer site and it looks like your F&I gi was asking full suggested retail price. Would you share your internet contact? Thanks Jack

tshin99

llbean30 - the two places I was choosing from was Metro Subaru (and the Phila Airport Automall) and Wilkie. Wilkie is 2.2 miles away from where I live, so the convenience factor is huge for when I will/might have to bring it in for service. Colonials' too far away for me, but that's good to know they're freaky. How do you like the gate bar? i think it looks cool, but is it good from a useful standpoint?

99gs - I went to subaruwarranty.com. I don't drive my car to work and drive less than 10k miles a year, so I'm looking at the 6 year/60,000 mile plan, which I believe is the one that was quoted to me at Wilkie. My plan is to go back to wilkie and see if they'll beat any competing offers and then show that price list to them. If they don't and if I do get a warranty, it will be from that site. I haven't found any better on other sites.

tshin99

Anyone have an opinion on these? Are they worth getting. I play ultimate and often have muddy cleats and/or shoes when driving and don't want to mess up the carpeted mats. Do they smell highly rubbery and, if so, does that fade after a while?

Thanks,
Tom

leea4

I have a 02 VDC, and live near Lake Placid, N.Y., ordered the floor mats just as soon as I picked up the car. I think they are well worth the money!!

kmclean

Brian -

Your story reminded me of our trip down Highway 1 (and 101) last year. We took our time, and of course the car sat out all night - getting nicely damp from coast fog - then getting a thorough dusting of highway grime the next day. By the time we got to San Francisco, putting down the driver's window elicited a loud scream from the car - accompanied by a couple of vertical streaks on the (outside, I think) window. Cleaning the window helped some, but only a thorough washing took care of the problem. Hasn't happened since.

And, yes, we got to have a "picnic" crossing from Oregon to California as one of my daughters had brought some grapes along from Seattle (which probably came from CA in the first place). Funny, they didn't say a thing about those crates of RPGs in the storage area!

Ken in Seattle

c_hunter

Came as an option on my Bean (along with the standard carpeted ones). I put them in during a snow storm in early Jan, and left them in until I vaccumed the car out last week. They trap water, snow and dirt quite well, and look really good. I didn't notice any smell. My only gripes are that they take away a little bit of legroom because they are quite thick (hard to believe I would notice another 1/2" of thickness, but I did), and they are a bit smaller than the carpeted mats, which exposes a little more of the floor carpet.

Craig

canoeist

I have an '02 LL Bean, great car that I am really enjoying after driving a Grand Cherokee for many years. The car is in the Wintergreen color, which isn't too bad for showing dirt in between washes, but the back hatch really gets coated with dust/dirt/salt quickly. Do the rear dust deflectors really help keep the hatch clean or are they mostly for looks?

armac13

I can't really speak to the Bean, but with my Forester, the deflector made a world of difference. I do a lot of driving on forestry roads in the summer (I fly fish) and the 1st year it was almost impossible to see out the back. In Vancouver, we also get a lot of rain and the roads are often (usually?) wet. Rufus was probably the worst car I've ever had for back-hatch filth. Since having the deflector (not the spoiler!) installed, the back window stays remarkably clean under all conditions. To me, the deflector would have been a steal at twice the price even though I think it to be ugly as sin.

Ross

subaru_team

Just make sure that you look for the name "Added Security" if you do buy an extended service agreement. That is the only one that is backed by Subaru. There are others out there. I'm not sure where the www.subaruwarranty.com is going. Maybe a dealer is offering it via that site? I'm going to check it out later and I'll post what I find.

Thanks!

Patti

99gs

thanks for the info on the warranty. I'll wait to see what Patti posts about the site. BTW I have a rear gate bar on our '01 LLB and would get it again on the next car. It makes using the gate more convenient. Jack

paisan

I have one built into my Trooper and had one built into my Rodeo as well. They work nicely to keep the rear window clear, although I rarely have a need to look out the rear windows

-mike

ateixeira

Another vote for "they work". I went to an orchard with a buddy, and his Explorer had one, while my Forester didn't. Mine accumulated enough dust that you could write your name on it. His was clear.

True, we have a rear washer and wiper, but then your stuck having to wash the filth when you get home.

-juice

tshin99

I revisited the subaruwarranty.com site and it does use the term Subaru Added Security.

It also distinguishes between the Classic and Gold plan. Is there also a third plan that is called the Gold Plus plan or is that just another way to say Gold Plan (as in it's plus from Classic)?

Thanks,
Tom

peterson10

Yes, get the rear deflector. If you're reasonably tool-smart (and have a "threaded insert tool") you can install it yourself, otherwise, leave the drilling to your dealer (provided they are tool-smart and have a threaded insert tool; mine isn't/doesn't!)

Armac 13: nice to know there's another angler on board. I keep wondering if fly fishing might be a frequent profile of Subaru drivers, anyone else out there? I know of place where you can buy genuine L.L.Bean zingers for a buck each: could be a nifty accessory pinned to your sun visor. Tight lines and all that,
YetAnotherDave

ateixeira

The LL Bean store at Tysons, VA, supposedly has a tank where you can test your fly. I haven't seen it yet, though.

-juice

leeduncan

Jack - You may be flogging a dead horse trying to get a decent balance without using a Hunter 9700 tire balancer. I had a problem with balance that couldn't be remedied until the shop acquired the Hunter 9700 tire balancer...I ended up with a warranty replacement. What makes the 9700 different is that it has a pressure roller that measures sidewall flex characteristics. That combined with using the pressure roller on the wheel itself, allows for the best balance by balancing wheel eccentricities against flex characterisitics. HTH Greg in IN

goosegog

Canoeist: I have the spoiler on my 00 OB and it does work. Here in Vancouver the enemy is spray, especially at freeway speeds and it means you don't have to use the wiper at all as long as you can keep it above 60 kmh.

It's not quite as good as the one I used to have on my old Dodge Aspen wagon, which had a flat rear window, but it's good enough. It does not take care of the edges very well. I think it improves the look of the car quite a bit, and it doesn't look like a tacky add-on as the black deflector does IMO.

nygreg

Tom - Congratulations.

James - my MY01 OB had a warped rotor when new. I noticed it on the test drive. They wanted to cut the rotors, but, I insisted on new ones since cutting them reduces the thickness for future cuts and thinner warps easier. They gave me new ones and cleaned up the rear. Great since.

I also have the rear gate bar. I would definitely get it again. Now I am wondering if I should get the rear deflector installed. Tired of dirty rear ends.

Greg

smithda1

I don't think the warranty offered by subaruwarranty.com is a genuine Subaru warranty. I inquired with them previously and their warranty is not offered in Canada. Their site states "Honored by Subaru dealers all across America" which means US only. If you break down in Canada... too bad.

The genuine warranty is good throughout North America. Including Canada and Mexico.

llbean30

Hi all, thanks for all the response to my post.
I find the gate bar to be useful, when opening or closing the rear gate, the bar falls right to where your hand has a natural inclination to grab.
Also it is usually cleaner that the door,I would get it on any vehicle where it would fit.You can get it at, www.newsubaru.com,(LIBERTY SUBARU,1 888-SUBY4WD).They charged about $35.00+s&h.Installation time about 1/2 hour--easy.
As for the rear deflector, I had one on my 97 mountaineer, I thought it was a waste of money, saw no difference in the amount of dirt that drew to the rear window. I have the wing on the bean I feel it is somewhat effective in reducing the dirt factor, maybe about 50%, plus I like the look of it.It does tend to keep rain of of the rear window,when traveling at highway speeds.
You can get it also at ,LIBERTY SUBARU,It comes either painted or primed, the painted is a bit more expensive, but it is a perfect match to the factory color.It cost me $206.25, and the installation took me about 45 minutes, following the directions and being very careful.It's quite easy and no special tools are needed.
As for the firestones and the hunter balancer, these tires have about 3/32 runout,(according to the firestone dealer).He says firestone's tolerances are 4/32.He will ask the engineers if they want to take these back(I haven't gotten an answer from them yet--not holding my breath).
I don't think any balancer is going to make a difference, I had the same problem with my 97 mountaineer (they were balanced 3 times in 18000 miles) , and the problem was solved when ford did the right thing and bought them back and put a set of michelins on, I thought it was a different vehicle it rode so smooth.
Sorry for the long post again--luck to all--jack

tshin99

How easy of an install is it to do yourself? What tools do you need?

Also, can you order it to be the same color as the car or is it a uniform color (like black).

Thanks,
Tom

postmodern

Hi everyone, just popping in for a moment...

I just checked out the subaruwarranty.com website as I've been thinking about adding an extended warranty eventually (have about 4700 miles on the odometer, so I don't need to rush ;-). The warranty offered appears to be the genuine Subaru warranty. According to their 'About Us' link the site is operated by Curry Subaru in Chicopee, Mass. There's something to be said for shopping online -- when I bought my 02 OBW from their sister dealership in Yorktown Heights, NY back in December the in person price for the 6year/100k Gold warranty was $1698 vs. the website's $1184. Sue Bee has been absolutely trouble free so far, but 100k miles without any problems is too much to ask even from Subaru...

Lyn

subaru_team

I did check it out. It is being offered by a dealer and it does appear to be Added Security based on the information that is there. It should be honored in Canada, but it may be that the person that answered the question did not know that. I would still make sure to use the Added Security name and make sure it is on the paperwork when you get it.

Patti

aps5

I noticed that the "Auto" button on our new 02 Bean outback's Climate Control system has a flaw. OK, it's really small but....

At night, I noticed about a 2 mm loss of black paint on the button, allowing the green light to shine through between the "A" and the "U". I rubbed it slightly, and more paint/black plastic came off, making the A and U connected by a bright green light when looking at the knob at night.

Now, I can live with this, and even cover the word "AUTO" with some black electrician's tape. I called the service dept and asked if they can just replace the knob, and he said they can't just pull out the climate control unit, they have to take apart the dash. I don't want to do this since the car is one of the most rattle free ones I've owned, and I'm sure that putting the dash back together risks a sloppy outcome. Anyone know if the knob can be pried/twisted off and replaced?

Thanks