Subaru Outback VDC

rsholland

about the VDC sedan, good or bad. I don't think I know of any owners who have posted on Edmunds. I could be wrong.

In any event, I don't think you have anything to worry about. It's still a Subaru.

Bob

rsholland

Can we get this forum linked to the Subaru Crew?

Bob

cecile_daze "Subaru Outback Sedan" Aug 20, 2001 7:21am

nygreg

Given the 01 VDC Wagon, I expect the sedan to be a great car. Nothing really new to worry about, except you can't do donuts. ;-)

Greg

ateixeira

You can with the new off switch. :-)

The sedan is lighter and may be a tad quicker. It's also $1500 cheaper or so.

-juice

revka

I'll forward your request onto our Sedans & Owner's Clubs hosts. ;-)

Revka
Host
Hatchbacks / Station Wagons / Women's Auto Center Boards

nygreg

the off switch kick back in at 37 mph?

Greg

ateixeira

I doubt you'd hit that speed doing donuts.

-juice

sbcooke

I am going to test drive a VDC tomorrow. I am thinking about buying one. What is the deal with this timing chain thing? If I buy one, will I need this repair too? Or do you think it is an isolated incident?

nygreg

There have been a few incidents on this board, but, overall they seem to be fine. The timing chain is intended not to need replacement like the belt on the H4. However, the belt only needs to be replaced at 105K. Others here can probably give you a more accurate answer. Still a great car.

Greg

pdubois

I just traded in my 2000 OB wagon (non Ltd) for a 2001 VDC wagon (wintergreen [I think that's the right color, it looks light teal]). Main difference noted so far: leather seats much more comfortable that the fabric, good MacIntosh CD system (I had a pretty good aftermarket system in previous one as well), much quieter engine and, of course, much better pick-up when I floor-it.

I had been debating for a while between this car and the Camry 2002SE with VSC and Trax. The only thing I will really miss from the Camry is the extra width and the curtain airbags.

I am looking forward to driving this car in the winter.

Cheers!

Pat.

slh11

Whew! I have now scrolled thru all 913 messages to see if anyone has a dual light problem between the engine light and the VDC light. Subaru is stumped. They have replaced the computer and a valve of some sort, but the lights remain. The car was built in Feb., purchased in Aug (I got a great price), and has 4K miles. It lives in a family with a 5 wagon (GT, LS, LSi, OB Ltd) pedigree back to '86 - so Subaru's are a known entity. I bought the car for my husband (I drive a '99 Mercedes wagon - after a Subaru falling out with the '97 OB Ltd - they cheapened that car below my standards) and it has now been in the shop a week with Subaru saying they don't have much experience with this car and are not certain how to resolve the problem. SO it lies in pieces at their shop. I'm exasperated. I am looking for anyone who has heard of a similar problem and what the resolution was. Patti, please chime in... I would think that Subaru doesn't want to lose me again.

(PS spellcheck on this board doesn't recognize Subaru)

Suzanne

miksmi

Pat:
Congratulations, glad you're still in the Scooby family. H6-3.0l... niiice!

Suzanne:

Sorry you're having such problems. Sometimes it happens in the first version of a product (vehicles, electronics, software).

If you haven't already, call 1-800-SUBARU-3 and open a case so Subaru of America (not just your dealer) knows what's happening. If you're unsatisfied with your dealer, ask SoA to meeting with the District Service Manager.

Regarding Patti, here's an excerpt from: pattim3 "Subaru Crew - General Maintenance & Repair II" Oct 4, 2001 3:05pm:

I've been having a bit of a crazy week and I haven't been as attentive to this board as I usually try to be.

Also, see Ken's suggestions for working with Patti: kens "Subaru Crew - General Maintenance & Repair II" Oct 5, 2001 9:12am

To simplify Patti's work on these fora, I encourage everyone to post in the maintenance topic she regularly monitors. Select Town Hall, Owner's Clubs, Subaru Crew, General Maintenance & Repair II.

Good luck.

..Mike in MD

pdubois

I had ordered the electrical circuit manual from Qsubaru for my 2000 OB. I would like to order the circuit manual for the 2001 VDC but I understand there has been some financial problems with Qsubaru.

Would you know where I can order (safely) the manual at a discount?

Thanks!

miksmi

At the top, select Catalog, Search. I haven't ordered from them, Pat, but from the research I've done, they're the least expensive online. Also try Troncalli [sp?] in Atlanta, GA. No online prices; requires a call. Don't know of any Canuck (hope that's a friendly term) online stores.

..Mike in MD

sbcooke

I went to the dealer today and test drove a LLBean and 2.5 Limited. I definitely like the 6 much better. Very smooth. They didn't have a VDC for me to drive this week. They think they will have a couple next week, and said if I buy one they can get it in a couple of weeks. My question is about the VDC system? Is it jerky? sometimes computer controlled systems are not smooth. I don't want to just want to order one without driving it, and getting your input.

They also said they would do a few hundred over invoice.

pdubois

Thanks Mike, I'll give them a try.

brucel1

Got my car back on Friday 10/05/01. The technician showed me the changed out parts. He did not know wether Subaru has updated the parts or wether they are the same timing chain parts. Anyways they put in two new chains, two new tensioners, and new guides. Just a note, the guides are plastic and after some miles, it appears that the guides may crack. My old Toyota truck with a 22R had hard rubber bonded to the metal backing on the guides and these guides lasted over 200K. The Subaru guides have plastic bonded to the metal backing. Plastic timing chain guides seem kind of weak, but I guess only time will tell. To make a long story short, the engine still has the same knock noise and I'm getting ready to bring it back on Monday. This car is really starting to piss me off. Lemon law??!!!!

vdchawk

The only time VDC actually made any corrections in my vehicle was in deep slush/snow, and a forced hard turn. It as smooth as you can expect trying to dump power and apply brakes to keep the car under control.

I have never had the system activate on dry roads or during normal driving. I have even tried to slide the car on wet grass, no corrections from the computer.

Concentrate on how you like the car, ignore the VDC system it will be there when you need it!

Keith

brownwj

DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY PICTURES OF THE DISASSEMBLEY OF THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT THAT IS REQUIRED TO TAKE OUT THE AIR FILTER.

OR MAYBE SOME DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE MECHANICALLY CHALLENGED. I SAW SEVERAL SCREWS ON THE FRONT. IS THERE ANY ON THE SIDE? DO YOU TAKE THOSE OUT AND THEN PULL THE GLOVE BOX OUT OF THE DASHBOARD. AND WHAT THEN? IS IT OBVIOUS HOW YOU REPLACE THE FILTER.?

ANYWHERE TO GET THE FILTERS BESIDES THE DEALER?

Sorry for the all caps. I forgot that is shouting.

Also, does anybody have trouble with leaking after a self oil change. I used a new washer but I still have a couple of dribbles every night. size of a baseball stain. I have changed oil on lots of other cars and have not gotten a leak like that.

bill_ca

I took an '02 VDC for a test drive the other day--definitely was able to get the VDC to engage in the dry--going around a moderate curve at about 40 mph...was driving fairly aggressively, but not crazy. Does anyone else find it kicks in early?

In general, I'm tying to decide between a Bean and a VDC. What prices are people paying these days?

bordsource

Car and Driver found VDC to be intrusive in their test of a VDC wagon along with a BMW 325iX wagon, an A4 Avant Quattro and a VW Passat 4Motion.

mikenk

- I now have 6000 miles on my 2001 VDC and am still very pleased. I have had no problems; am getting 20.5 - 22.5mpg in mixed driving and 27.5 on my one trip. I love the firm but compliant ride, the quietness, and the seats are very comfortable especially on long trips.

- The VDC has never kicked in to my knowledge.

- The apparent hesitation on accelerating when I first got the car has totally gone away; I don't know whether it was just a break-in issue or me and the car adapting to each other.

- I have the brake squeek big time in the early morning back out. I have decided it is a safety feature to scare my dogs away from the car in the morning.

- Does anyone know what the a/c compressor logic is when the system is in "econ" mode? I am guessing that the compressor only operates when the desired temp is lower than the outside temp. The manual is kinda fuzzy on this.

- The Mac stereo is really amazing. I found one of my audiophile cd's that really shows it's stuff; it is Classical Gas, American Gramaphone, Mason Williams / Mannheim Steamroller. Solid bass, crisp highs, lots of differentiation on instruments. great for demoing for you show-offs.

- I still dislike the plastic dash.

Mike

vdchawk

If I remember correctly the glove box had 10 screws, but it was necessary to remove the console side panel to access the 2 botton left screws. Two of the screws on the top are slightly recessed and hex head, the rest are phillips. If you can wait till the weekend I can post step by step directions.

Keith

ventanabike

Juice,

Great photo. Columbian I assume?

Since 99.99% of my time is on hot, dry, Central Valley roads...do I really need a VDC?

Still test-driving...everything...maybe I should make it my vocation.

Wish I had more time to hang here on the boards, very informative...and entertaining. I can either ride my bike or surf the net...choices, choices

Like Arny says..."Ah'll be baaack...!"

Jesse
Citrus Hts, CA

ateixeira

Jesse: need? Maybe not, but desire, yes.

Sean: the chain should require no maintenance and will save you money down the road. The problems seem rare, any how.

Pat: congrats! Glad you remained in the family. Seems like a lot of Subie owners are stepping up to the H6. If they had a 5 speed, my wife would have one, too.

Beware of the service at subaruparts.com. I'm still trying to get a rear bumper fascia, weeks later. It took them weeks to give a quote, a week to quote shipping cost, and two weeks later they have still not processed my order. I would grade their e-mail response serice a solid "F". I have never in my life seen such slow service, never.

Alternatives? I'd love to hear them.

Mike: Patti did mention something about a fix for the brake squeek. Something about installing a shim. Ask your dealer if he's heard about it.

-juice

happyh6

Has anyone had a problem with reception on the Mac. I listen to local FM stations and on two of them I get the ocassional bit of static. I asked at the dealer if there was a way to tune it to the stations that I was having problems with (remember the adjusting screw in the cassett door) and was told that everything on the Mac was digital and there is no adjustment. It truly is a great sounding system but the static is really beginning to get to me. For those in Canada I was listening to CBC one and two while driving in Toronto. I am open to suggestions to fix this problem.
Thank you,
Paul H
BTW My initial hesitation also went away after 2 months. Next oil change pure synthetic!

pdubois

Paul, have you tried listening to the same stations on another radio (i.e.: in another car)? In Vancouver, I can't get CBC classic without static in either of my 2 cars, and there are a couple of other stations which give me the same problem or work fine only in certain parts of the city.

An antenna amplifier would possibly help a bit in such situations, however, the VDC already has an antenna amplifier for the glass antenna so that would not help.

If you can hear the same stations without static in another car, you should ask your dealer to check the amplifier and the radio in case they are defective (and check for proper grounding).

I don't think there is an antenna tuning screw on the MacIntosh, however, I don't know the unit and I may be wrong...

dukephoto

I brought the VDC with 1800 miles(not bad for 2 1/2 weeks) in to Sharret Subaru in Hagerstown Md to change the oil over to Mobil 1.
While there I asked the guy who serviced the car if he had heard about the brake shim fix for brake squeals. I also mentioned the reprogramming of the ECM for the cold start problem some of us have. He had heard of neither of them, and didn't know about any shims or ECM problems. He asked where I had heard about them- "On the Internet??"
He said he had seen no service bulletins on either one.
Maybe I'll print a few posts from the board and bring them in for him when I switch over to Redline for the tranny. Or get him to subscribe to the board.

drew_

Regarding the CBC classical radio stations (which I do listen to occasionally), I have found that sometimes switching between 92.1FM and 105.7FM helps. It seems that the higher frequency is better in some areas, and the lower frequency better in others. I programmed both stations to the same button for my vehicle, so it's easy to switch from one to the other. That said though, sometimes both are staticky, but usually one is better (sometimes significantly better) than the other.

Good luck,

Drew
Host
Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards

ateixeira

Duke: I think Patti responded in another topic. To summarize, not all dealers know about it yet.

-juice

pdubois

Yes, I have noticed that as well. Basically 92.1 is *very* noisy in my neighborhood, 105.7 is much better but still has some static. I guess this is due to the location of the transmitter antenna.
Pat.

taxman10

I feel like chiming in on this. I have an 2001 Bean, hope you VDC guys don't mind me butting in, with standard radio setup which, with CDs, I find to be a good sounding unit.
FM is another story and I blame the window antenna - who's idea was this? My new Passat with the short whip on the roof is head and shoulders better. I don't think there is a good substitute for a real world antenna.
Mike T.

vdchawk

I find that my in-glass antenna performs as well as the real world whip on my truck. The truck also has a clear height advantage, but performs no better.

Keith

hypov

Antenna aren't always to blame, all the time. Clear reception of radio frequency depends on location of transmitting tower, terrain and high voltage cables in the area. I guess the only non-static or non-screening transmission would be digital, but I have read about interest in that yet.

-Dave

jregen7243

I have to disagree. Although I can't speak for the Outback wagons (I have an OB sedan and the antenna is in the back window), my FM reception is about as good as it gets. Many new cars have built-in antennas now, and you rarely hear complaints about them.

Jon

paisan

My trooper has built in antennas on the 2 rear side windows. No problems with it so far.

-mike

mikenk

I have had no problems with reception on the VDC. The range seems to be the same or better than my cars with traditional antennas.

Mike

rsholland

We have one in our Forester. It seems to work fine.

Bob

dukephoto

I recently bought a VDC at Valley Motors in Baltimore.
Before that, I was negotiating with Fitzgerald on one that they had in late August. The problem was that there was an apartment I was selling in NYC that had to go through before I could afford the car. It looked like the deal on the apt. would close in early September (it finally happened in mid-September). Fitzgerald wanted the sale for August, and told me that they would have the salesman drive out to me (about 75 miles) and I should give them a check for the full downpayment which they would hold until I told them it was good. I refused, and found the VDC I bought online at Valley (who matched their price).
About two weeks later, to my surprise, I got a letter from SOA congradulating me on my purchase of a car from Fitzgerald (complete with VIN number), and inviting me to start my online maintenance program.
When I mentioned this incident to the salesgirl at Valley, she said that the only way that could happen is if Fitzgerald had actually put the sale through,even though it never happened. She also said that once the sale is put through, the clock on the warranty starts ticking, and whoever buys the car will have had the warranty start in August, irregardless of when they bought the car.
I don't think this is very fair to the final buyer of the car, and was kind of shady on Fitzgerald's part.
I am wondering if this is why I haven't gotten another letter from SOA congradulating me on the actual purchase of the vehicle I DID buy. I hope they do send one, as I would like to start with the online maintenance tracking service you kindly provide.
And by the way- BOY DO I LOVE MY CAR!!!!!!!

DUKEPHOTO IN WEST BY GOD VIRGINIA

ateixeira

Fitz goofed. They should fix it.

-juice

otis123

I own an LLBean, having retired a 92Camry with 161K miles to a friend for 3K (great resale) back in February.

The Camry had an upgrade radio/antenna with "diversity reception". They offer it on the Camry and Avalon today. It pulls in distance stations like no other radio (including my home Yamaha receiver) I ever owned, including the LLBean. Not sure if it is the antenna or circuitry in the radio....

teslamania

Hey Taxman, what do you like about the passat? Did you consider a 4 motion?

taxman10

I'd rather not dirty up the Subie board with VW talk. I could contact you off line if you're interested. Or, go to VWVortex.com. They got all the VW info you could ask for.
regards, TAXMAN

paisan

I'd bet that isn't the only shady thing Fitz does... It's hard to sell cars so close to invoice w/o having some under-handed things going on... I in no way have any info that could validate this, but if the price is too good, it usually is

-mike

bill_ca

I don't know whether Fitzgerald Auto has shady dealings or not, but I suspect they do just fine selling cars at "invoice"--after all, $s are made on financing, extended warranties, volume, and holdback--in addiotn to selling price over invoice. So I don't believe they or anyone else has to resort to anything underhanded to "make up" for selling cars at a discount--especially if they can do volume.

dukephoto

The salesman told me one of the reasons that they can sell cars so close to invoice is that they make lots of money on the service department. That would certainly give me a good feeling about using their service dept.

DUKEPHOTO

bill_ca

I'm in the market for an Outback VDC wagon. Any thoughts on a reasonable price these days? also, what about extended warranties and service plans from Subaru--good deal or not??

rsholland

make their money on service, not sales.

Bob

pattim3

I hope you have started a case with us. If not, please call us so we can get moving on your situation. I'm sorry you are having a problem, but we are usually able to straighten most out to peoples satisfaction. I'll follow-up tomorrow.

Thanks

Patti

pattim3

Sorry for the aggravation. Fitzgerald has been a pretty good dealer for us, so I don't think they did anything fraudulent. This does happen to a lot of dealers. While getting the paperwork moving, the sale can get registered by just clicking on the wrong field. We fix the warranty start dates as soon as we find out about it. If you get a chance, call us on Tuesday (Monday's are a bit crazy and you might have a hard time getting through). If you have the VIN from the Fitz car, we can get that straigtened out with a phone call. We can also check on the car you bought if you have that VIN just to make sure the address is okay.

Thanks!

Patti