Subaru Crew: Official SOA Presence (aka Patti)

ateixeira

Good suggestion. I've found these even on very old cars!

-juice

c_hunter

That's the first thing I thought of (a la WRX) but there weren't any stickers.

Craig

kens

Patti,

One other 05 "quirk" that I've logged at 1-800-SUBARU3 is the shift lock mechanism noise on the 5EAT. Every time you depress the brake pedal and release it, a latch in the center console goes in and out. It's a hard plastic-on-plastic "clack" sound. Unfortunately, it's considered normal right now and there's no fix to quiet it.

Hey if you ever need owner feedback, just drop me a line or you can refer others at SOA to me.

Ken

paisan

Same noise on a ton of cars, not just subies, it's the solenoid IIRC.

-mike

bluesubie

Yeah, I thought it was an all Subie quirk. My wife's 99 OB does that (really loud clack). You shoulda got a manual. ;-)
Sometimes if I'm just sitting and waiting on someone, I make the clack to the beat of the music.

-Dennis

kens

mike: It's definetly not the solenoid. I actually had the dealer check it out and they opened up the covers on my center console and showed the plastic tab go in and out with the brake pedal.

Dennis: I've driven other non 05 models but I don't recall that noise. Or maybe I just didn't have my full OCD ears on since they weren't my cars. :-)

I think the 05's being so quiet inside makes the noise stand out even more.

Ken

tsy

Patti, I agree with Craig. These tires are not a good match for this car. Not only do they make a lot of noise on the freeway, they don't even stick to the road very well! They are by far the most limiting factor in the handling and braking of this car. It really doesn't take much to get the ABS to kick in or to get the car to drift in a turn.

I just havent' decided whether to add 18" wheels or keep the 17" and change the tires yet. In the meantime, I plan on wearing these tires out over the next 5-10K miles. ;-) It's sad when a $25K TSX keeps up with a $30K AWD performance subaru. I wonder how many potential buyers they lost to the Acura or Volvo because of these C&D and R&T articles.

tom

subaru_team

the noises in my test vehicle and get some attention on the issues. I appreciate the information. Sometimes you can fix what you don't know is broken!!

Patti

c_hunter

I hear the solenoid when the car is in park and I hit the brakes (here, it blocks us from shifting out of park without brakes), or after coming to a complete stop after forward motion (which is probably part of a reverse lockout mechanism). That is what you're hearing, correct?

On my 02, it made a rather loud plastic click as you have noted (but only when in park). On my 05, it's a very dull and muted "crunch", and barely noticeable. If yours is making a lot of noise, maybe it's defective or needs to be adjusted.

Craig

tsy

Is it a slightly used recently given away on tv Pontiac G6? In which case, I'll pass. ;-)

tom

subaru_team

but for anyone that's wondering, we can't talk about it here. We had fun on the chat tonight. Y'all will just have to show up next week to play with us! See you in the chat next week!

Patti

paisan

How do you think the plastic moves Ken? It's the brake-interlock solenoid! I have it on all my AT subies, on the Impreza L it's real loud cause there is no interior!

-mike

stever

There was a chat tonight? Dang, Bob forgot to remind me.

Steve, Host

rob_m

Thanks Patti! It was fun.

kens

mike,

Yes, I know it's a solenoid that drives the motion, but the sound is caused when the plastic tab/stopper that is being pushed by the solenoid comes into contact with the plastic housing of the shifter area. The solenoid itself isn't making any noticeable noise. This I know for a fact since the dealer had my center console open and we were trying things to make the plastic-to-plastic contact noise less.

Anyway, it's one of those things that would bug a new owner unless one knew that it was a non destructive noise.

Ken

tsy

Better than a slightly used Pontiac G6? Ooh, used oil filters? Used spare tires? Rusted mufflers? ;-)

I'll try to get there earlier next week!

Thanks Patti

tom

hypov

my '99 OBS does that pretty loud too, only at a standstill. Don't notice it when driving.

-Dave

fibber2

Mine only fires when the tranny is in park and you press on the brake pedal. With the tranny in any other position, all is silent.

Steve

alpha01

2100 awesome miles so far on our 2005 Legacy 2.5i 4EAT sedan.

Patti, and others here- is Subaru aware of any issue regarding the rear in-glass antenna and the rear defogger? The stereo in our car turns completely to static when the rear defogger is engaged, and only when the rear defogger is engaged. Any guesses as to what might cause this?

Otherwise, I'm loving every chance I get to drive this vehicle (its actually my dad's, I live at home still, tryin to save some cash, TRYING the operative word, lol)....

Patti, thanks and keep up the great work! I hope to hear from you soon.

~alpha

ateixeira

Must be a short...have the dealer check it out. That's not normal operation by any means.

-juice

subaru_team

I had a similar issue with a 2002 test vehicle. The dealer should be able to take care of it right away. I went out and double checked in my car to see if I noticed anything after reading your post and nada - so...let me/us know if you have any issues with the dealer appointment. Sorry about the problem. I know it's dissappointing to have anything amiss in a new car.

Patti

subaru_team

check out both issues. No whistles in my car and not many cases. Also, I think I must be immune to the tire noise because I'm not hearing it and we're all on the same tires. Since I'm not permitted to "document" complaints via these boards, please send in an e-mail to us at Subaru.com so we can start keeping formalized track of the comments. I do share general information, but actualy complaints have a bit more weight and get more attention if it is reported into us vs. "Patti says". The suggestions forum works great for info. exchange. This is just a bit different. I'm looking out for the issue and I'll let you know what I hear about changes/improvements. I don't expect much improvement this M/Y related to the tires, but the whistle should be able to be resolved.

Thanks all for the heads up- -

Patti

c_hunter

Thanks for following up on this! Do you have the 16" tires on your car?? I'm sort of remembering that you got a 2.5i Ltd model this time around. As far as I can tell, only people with the 17" tires are noticing the hum -- I haven't heard any complaints from the 16" crowd.

Craig

c_hunter

I just found out -- if you do have a 2.5i model, the tires are definitely not the same RE-92A that are on the XT and H6 models. For one thing, the RE-92A don't come in the 16" size used on the 2.5i. It's also noted in the brochure that the 2.5i has performance all-season while the XT/H6 models get high performance all-season.

I am guessing the 2.5i has the regular RE-92 like I had on my 02 Outback. They were actually pretty good tires.

Apparently, the RE-92 "A" is very new, they just started showing up on 04 and 05 cars.

Craig

lfdal

Patti, I posted this on another board, but thought I'd ask directly here, do you know if the engine additive is standard on the Forester XT (2004) engine? I'm having coolant loss issues and don't want the dealer stuffing the additive in the engine if its not right for the car.

Thanks

Larry

pattipc

during production but it is not a scheduled additive during normal maintenance. What's up with the head gaskets on your car? I've not heard of this issue for the newer models. Are you going to call it into us so we can check it out?

Patti

dcm61

Patti - To what model years and engines does your statement apply? Just the turbos? Or any 2.5 NA or turbo after a certain year?

DaveM

lfdal

Patti, thanks for the response. I've actually been told by someone at SOA that the additive is standard in all new engines. He also said there should be a sticker in the car in the vicinity of the radiator indicating that fact. I know that the 03 OBW doesn't have a sticker, nor does my 04 XT.

I do know that the contents of the recovery tank on the OBW was very sludgy in the bottom at 22000 miles, and that the XT had basically zero sludge in it at 16500.

In any event what I'm experiencing is a slow loss of antifreeze. It seems only to occur when driving for prolonged periods of time, i.e. if I make a drive of greater than 200 miles round trip.

I (and thankfully others) can smell it when the car is hot and the drivers side window is down. You can also smell it from outside of the car, again only when its been very well warmed up.

I can find no trace of it on the ground, and when I last checked, no trace of it around the heads. I asked the dealer to pressure test it when it was in for service last time and they said it was fine. I had an oil analysis done and its not getting in the oil.

I saw from Elissa's post last night that her dealer told her coolant consumption in an XT is normal. That's a new one on me. Also doesn't jive well with the fact that I used zero coolant for the first 10k.

After I removed and cleaned the reservoir I saved some of the contents which to my mind has a large level of black particulate contamination. I was going to bring it to the dealer with me when I next bring the car in. The OBW had sludge but no contamination. After I replaced the reservoir I put in some of the old coolant (strained through a filter so I wouldn't be putting crud back in). I then ran it for a couple of days. Then before its first start of the day I topped off the reservoir to the "Fill" line with the car parked in the same spot I always have it in. The coolant level has since gone down about 2 inches in 5 weeks.

The engine runs well, and the temperature gauge is consistent with where it was the day I drove the car off the lot. It has never, ever, run hot nor over-heated.

Lastly, after this next trip I'm going to schedule an appointment with the dealership to have them look at it again. I understand there is a dye that can be added to the coolant that shows up with a special light and glasses. I don't know if the dealer knows about this or not.

If I can provide any more info please let me know. As of now I'm stumped. Sorry for the long post, but wouldn't want you to think I wasn't trying to do my homework :<)

Thanks
Larry

snowbelter

I own an 02 VDC which has had coolant loss similar to that described by Larry (#1975). Seems to be a little bit over a period of weeks and then perhaps more after a long trip. I haven't seen any contamination in the reservoir. Also had a giant loss after dealer did a drain and refill at 30k which was probably an air bubble. The dealer has checked for leaks and pressure-tested more than once and tells me evaporation of coolant is normal. I've never owned a car before that had coolant loss unless there was something leaking. What is normal? My wife's 04 VDC with 5k has a simialr coolant loss.

amsbear

Patti,

I must admit that it is still bugging me that my year/model engine is not being addressed by this campaign. Any info on my case?

Alan
98 OBW Ltd

locke2c

black particulates in the coolant overflow tank is generally an indicator of a head gasket problem. something is permitting combustion gasses to get into the cooling system. that could be a variety of things, but a head gasket is the most common and least expensive.

however what I've generally seen is exactly the reverse of what you're experiencing-- the coolant tank continually overfills because combustion gasses pressurize the cooling system well beyond the usual 1.1-1.4 ATM, and this forces it past the radiator cap and into the overflow.

therefore I'd investigate an air bubble first. elevate the front of the car and remove the radiator cap. run the engine until it reaches the normal warm range and then observe the coolant swirling as the thermostat opens fully.

reinstall the radiator cap and lower the car, then a few days later repeat the process. elevating the front of the car is critical so that the air bubble can make its way to the highest point of the system and out of the open radiator.

good luck,
~Colin

c_hunter

I have heard that a somewhat common "bug" on WRXs is that the cooling hose to the turbo is not clamped on properly and results in an external leak. It can be fixed by reseating the hose and clamp. You might want to look down in that area on your XT to see if there are any signs of seepage or dried coolant (because of the high temps down there, it burns off pretty quickly).

I have noticed an ocassional whiff of coolant smell on my new Outback XT, and the turbo cooling hose is the first thing I plan to check next time I get a chance. No coolant loss noticed yet, though its only been a couple weeks. I didn't see any signs of leakage around the heads, but then again, I can barely see the heads in this particular installation of the engine!

Craig

lfdal

Colin and Craig, Thanks for the good ideas..... I'll try to check them out this weekend.

Head gasket the least expensive?? Holy Moly.
The uphill test will be a wee bit tricky, given the tank sits on top of the engine and should spill really easy. No access to the radiator.

Re: coolant line to the turbo, that looks like another holly jolly place to work. Think I'll try getting in there with an inspection mirror. If there's room.... Recently saw a post from someone else that said it took 3 hours or so to fix, at a shop. Wonder if the dye would work there? Or burn off w/o marking?

I've got the downloaded shop manual, think I'll go take a look at the plumbing.

Thanks again
Larry

locke2c

I did some sniffing around on The Other Forum and I'm liking Craig's suggestion more and more.

That would be where I would start. Heck, make your dealer do it!

~c

lfdal

"sniffing around" - good one considering the topic....

sduford

Hi Patti, I posted this on the Legacy/Outback forum but thought it would be worth repeating here.

I have totally given up on the ACC system. It is a total piece of crap. I thought it was due to this being a new model year, but now I learn that Subaru has had similar issues with ACC for years, and that an individual even came out with a fix for the Foresters.

I find it hard to believe that Subaru's obviously very talented engineers are not capable of producing a decent ACC system. This is a disgrace on Subaru and the single biggest annoyance I have with my otherwise brilliant Outback XT. It should be renamed RCG for Random Climate Generator.

How about starting a petition and demanding that Subaru recall these units and provide a fix for the ACC? Afterall, when I bought this car I did expect an ACC and I paid for one. The fact that this ACC system is really worse than having none at all could be construed as false advertising.

I think we should all start writing to Subaru right now and complain about this useless ACC.

locke2c

I believe the sensor is in a poor location. maybe there are fixes for it on other enthusiast sites. --I don't have a vehicle with one, so I haven't looked. but I do know it's in a bad spot and have read all the problems with its (in)ability to hold temperature.

~c

paisan

The ACC in my SVX works flawlessly. Just an FYI. Although they are automatic, there is probably a bit of user tweaking that needs to be done, it's not like a house thermostat where you set it and forget it.

-mike

ntk1

Patti - Just out of interest, has the turbo engine stuttering problem made it to the list of top issues ?

Pete

lark6

Given all the continued fuss over the automatic climate control in recent Subarus - most notably the '03-04 Forester XS and XT - I guess it bears repeating that the unit in my '05 Forester XT has worked flawlessly since day one. The cabin sensor is in the same location as in the '03-04 cars, so I don't know for certain what has been done to the system to improve its performance.

Perhaps someone with access to both models and time on their hands should do some hands-on research?

Ed

locke2c

either they changed it in '05 or some people are just less critical, or less observant.

~c

c_hunter

The auto climate control in my 05 Outback XT is working fine, just like the system in my 02 did. It's certainly not perfect, but I don't feel like it's out of whack or anything.

Craig

lark6

either they changed it in '05 or some people are just less critical, or less observant.

All valid observations. I can complain with the best of them, and feel a pea under a mattress. ;-)

Ed

jfl

You're fine as long as it's not pee you feel. 8~o

Jim

Sorry folks, couldn't resist!

locke2c

ROFL

alpha01

Juice, Patti, thanks very much for the advice. I'll have the radio/defogger issue checked out at the first oil change... in about 400 miles.

Sorry for the delayed response.

Happy Motoring!
~alpha

lark6

Patti: Please see my message in the Cafe, and pass along my thanks to the Drive staff who saw fit not only to use my letter and photos but to send me complimentary copies of the issue.

Thanks again,
Ed

subaru_team

our Parts Dept. folks should be selling them! Maybe a partnership with Lil Tykes? We've also heard from customer's that want that car. You've started a ruckus!

Patti

subaru_team

from what I understand, it has been part of production from mid-2001 engines - all models, but it doesn't have to be replaced when the cooling systems are flushed. I never received a requested explanation for that one.

Alan - I know you are disappointed about your vehicle not being involved. I still do not know why, but for this campaign, it was for a specific failure with specific criteria. If I remember correctly, your Subaru had pretty high mileage? Can you nudge my mind along? I just want to be sure why we didn't help with your situation.;

Thanks!

Patti

subaru_team

but I've been digging for the issue to come onto our radar along with turbo hesitation - nothing so far, so please - send the complaints in if you have the concern. I have shared it, but there can be strength in numbers.

Patti