Subaru Legacy/Outback Wagons Maintenance & Repair

kens

Which model do you drive?

I think juice is right that you're feeling the electronic throttle control. Is your car new? It may just need some time to adapt to you driving style.

The whine is probably coming from the transmission. Some turbo Subarus have more aggressively cut gears to help handle the torque. The downside (depending on your preferences) is that it increases noise.

Ken

ope

Hi, we have a 2004 outback station wagon. Air seems to be coming in through the base of the windshield. Not sure what borders it if/and it needs tightening or what. Is this something anyone has heard of? I'd be most appreciative for feedback.

Thanks,

Gus

ateixeira

Was it ever replaced?

I guess you could spray a soapy solution at the seams, then maybe blow air from the inside, and look for bubbles. I've used that to find leaks in tires. It might be hard to build up enough pressure inside, though.

-juice

xwesx

In order to help us out a little, what are the symptoms that lead you to that conclusion? Other, of course, than feeling air movement in the vicinity of the bottom of the windshield (for example, localized whistling....)!

dbell1

I've had my 2001 Outback for 2 months this Wednesday and 1500 miles. Noticed some problems, did a search and would love the 'expert' opinions on whether to take it back to the dealer or try my local mechanic.

Front seatbelts have noticible slack and no return when 'tugged' on. Since I'm a safety freak, it's driving me nuts! I don't expect whiplash, but they could at least fit! Dealer said 'this may be covered' under the classic warranty (paid $1100), but I shouldn't expect it to be.

Next issue - driver's side door is either off alignment or there's a seal issue - I hear the wind more than when the windows are down. Dealer "it may be covered."

Almost last issue - retractable cover in the back - the spring has sprung. I used it 4 times. Is there a cheap place on the web to buy a new one? New one (w/o labor) is $130 at dealer.

Last question (I promise). The engine knocks like an overeager salesman in the mornings. I let it warm up (like a good owner), but it's annoying. It gets regular gas (what the manual said to give it). It takes about 10 minutes to be 'normal'.

Other than this, I'm overall happy with it. It was cheap enough and has handled well in nasty rain. It's in beautiful shape outside and my 10 year old son's friends think it's cooler than a minivan.

TIA.

fibber2

Seatbelt - Going to have to take that pillar trim off to see what is going on there. Wouldn't be surprised it the previous owners kids used the top slot as a piggy bank!

Wind noise - There was a tech service bulletin about poor fitting gussets (the black triange near the mirror) that might apply to your car. Also, get some vinyl/rubber lube (Meguires, etc. - the good stuff - skip the Armorall) and go over all of the rubber until it is clean and black. Clean off any transfered gunk on the glass where the rubber seals. This will help a bunch. Last resort, one of our members, Craig, wrote up a procedure for adjusting the door glass angle that would put more pressure against the seals. But try the easy fixes first.

Rear cargo shade - try calling local junk yards. Try taking it apart (?). Try one of the on-line Subaru dealers. They typically sell for 20-25% less than your local dealer.

Engine knock - It probably isn't octane related ping/knock as you might expect. Subaru engines are prone to something called 'piston slap'. Again, there is a tech service bulletin out on this. It happens when short skirted pistons vibrate in the bore until everything comes up to temperature equilibrium (about 10 minutes or so when really cold). In the summer, I barely notice this. When it is near zero' F, the sound can be hard to stomach. Yet in most cases, it is considered normal. If it goes away, you fit right into the model. If it does not, the pistons might have to be changed out for oversized ones. A few members with severe cases have suceeded in getting this done.

Did we cover everything??? Sorry, no more questions. You used up your quota for this month

Steve

thepdmm

yes it is a 05 Legacy GT Manual

so your saying that the ETC will adapt? I am not saying I try to get the best 0-60 rating at every stop light.. The car just feels like it is hesitating when I do a hard shift into second and give it all the gas it wants. disengaging the engine out of first is fine.. so you think throttle is just not allowing full go right away? by the way normal easy shifts are fine.

I guess I can just keep practicing.. which isn't a problem:)

the whine isn't a bad thing.. I mean you can only really hear it through 2nd gear with the windows down.. and honestly it kind of sounds good..

bat1161

The one thing I can answer (I did it a month ago) is about the car cover.

Liberty Subaru has the cover for roughly $100 including shipping and handling. I was able to use my Subaru bucks to pay for it. There should be no labor charge, because all you do is throw out the old, and clip in the new.

Mark

jay_24

I also have a 2001.

No issue with the seat belts, but I'd guess its covered since its a safety issue.

Wind noise, I hear its a fairly simple adjustment.

Engine knock. like another said, its piston slap. I had pistons replaced which made it go away for 20K miles but its coming back now. Its not a problem other than noise.

Retractable cover. I have mine in my garage for the past 5 years collecting dust. Brand spankin` new.

--jay

dbell1

You guys rock! :shades: I'll take it back to the dealer and ask about the service bulletins. Can I ask a question about my original question - or is that part of the quota? :P If a Service Bulletin was issued, do I have to pay?

I checked the belt closer tonight - it twists and catches, which slackens it. I'll look into the Meguires, but I really think the door's out of alignment, it happened a lot on my Saturn. I may go check ebay for the cover. It still works, but won't retract.

I'm enjoying the wagon more than I thought I would, though - I hauled mums, hay, pumpkins, craft supplies and groceries on Saturday - did it all in 1 trip and still had room in the back seat for more stuff!

llbean1

You may have a problem that is similar to mine. The local dealer replaced my transfer duty solenoid, and clutches in my tranny. After I left and called back with the same noise of the solenoid engaging when the car was not running they sent a response back that they had not replaced the clutches (although the service order and recorded voice message from the service manager state they had performed that service). I wonder if anyone else has had this problem and gotten it resolved satisfactorily for it seems the dealer messed something up that is under the 3/36 warranty and does not want to have to fix it. The District Service Ops Mgr is supposed to look at it sometime in the future. Help anyone?

fibber2

OK, ok.... one more answer....

TSB are not recalls, as they typically don't deal with safety issues, and are not required by the NHTSB (da government..). They are really designed to help the dealer get to the root cause and fix a problem quickly, or provide info to tell the customer that it is a 'non-problem'. Subaru pays the dealer for this work done during the warranty period. If it is after the warranty, the dealer typically must get prior approval before doing the work, otherwise they will not get reimbursed (and you know who pays when they don't collect from the factory!!!).

My advise in this situation is to go in armed with data, but be nice! Remember that you are basically asking for a favor. You need the dealer to go to bat for you against the district manager, and you will get nowhere if you piss them off.

Steve

mgmbigdog

Hi: I am having the same problem with my 2005 Subaru Outback (manual transmission). Dealer told me they think there is a short in the steering column and are going to replace some kind of switch. When asked, they didn't know if this would fix the problem or not with the cruise control. I asked why they just couldn't replace the entire ECM, but they told me that still may not fix the problem.
Has anyone had this problem fixed correctly?
Thanks,
mgmbigdog

ope

Exactly, localized whistling, sounds a bit like a pot of water on light boil. We hear it only when the car gets past 15mph or so.

xwesx

I would recommend trying to troubleshoot it first, in order to reasonably locate the point of failure. This may sound somewhat crude, but if you are fairly certain that it is the windshield vs. some other location then you could add duct tape around the edges of the windshield - perhaps starting with full coverage and then removing it in sections until the whistle recurs. The only vehicles on which I have ever had a window seal failure were old ones where there was an obvious separation.

lfdal

Wes' idea about the duct tape is a good one. FWIW, my 03 Forester XS came from the factory with a leaky windshield.

If it is a leak, and you're under the 3/36 make them pull the windshield to reseal it. Goop around the edges doesn't usually work for long. Took me 4 trips to the dealer before they finally got it by pulling and resealing. All they did the first 3 times was move the leak around.

BTW - it wasn't really the dealer's fault - they were sending it to a glass place and the folks there were afraid of breaking the windshield.

One last piece of advice - if they do pull the column trim to work on the windshield, give it a light tug /feel when you get the car back. In my case the trim was so loose it rattled. Why? Because the clips, at least on the Foresters are designed to be removed exactly once.

HTH

Larry

dpk99

My girlfriend's Legacy's engine started rattling last night. It only seems to make the noise right at 1000 RPM, but NOT when the RPMs are above or below that.... only rattles at 1000 RPM. She took it to a mechanic and he told her that the car needs new tires. Could that possibly be the correct solution? I mean, the engine rattles only at 1000 RPM. Shouldn't it be something else besides teh tires?

xwesx

Well, I am not discounting the fact that the car may indeed need new tires, but that does sound like an odd "solution" for the rattling issue!

Explain the "rattle" a bit more - is it a noise? A physical movement of the engine? Does it happen at any time or only when stationary/moving? More details are better...

kens

Possibly. Other folks over at legactgtdotcom have noticed that throttle response is quite different when you stomp on it vs. rolling on. It may be an ETC thing or just the nature of the turbo. Also, the ECU does limit max boost in 1st and 2nd gears to protect the transmission as well.

Try checking out the aforementioned site for how people are getting smoother launches. I think most people have found that mashing the throttle actually gives less than optimal response.

Ken

ebony5

The driver side radio speakers both front and rear (original equipment) in my '96 OBW are not giving any sound. The passenger side seems to be O.K. Any ideas what is wrong and how difficult/costly to have repaired? Thanks.

famof3kids

The drivers door speaker died on my 03 Legacy a few weeks ago. The speaker in the passenger door is making an odd rattle noise, probably busted. Still under warranty, so, I'll head on over to the dealer before too long to get them fixed. I'll let you know what I find out about it.

mfhyatt

I have a 1998 awd subaru legacy the only wheel that engages is the right front. I have changed the fuse, still does not work

tkanic

My understanding is that fuse makes it into a FWD car, remove the fuse for AWD.

I suspect you are in FWD mode, and just due to some internal bias it appears like it's just the right side.

mfhyatt

I quess I did not understand the guy who looked at my car. He put a fuse in to see if would make a difference and it did not, so he removed it. Some one told him it might be a mpt clutch in the back of the tranny.

mfhyatt

I misunderstood the guy who looked at my car. He put a fuse in to see if it would make a difference and it did not so he took it back out. Someone told him it might be the mpt clutch in the back of the tranny. What is you opinion on that, and how hard is it to change?

xwesx

I know this may be an overly obvious suggestion, but is it possible that somebody may have accidentally bumped the balance? I know the knob for it is close to the volume, so maybe while turning it on/up one day the balance was shifted fully to the right. If they both stopped working at exactly the same time, I cannot think of anything other than balance unless it was a hardware failure in the head unit. :confuse:

outbackowner1

My 2000 OB went in to fix a flat. They told me I needed 4 new tires due to wear. They also said the brake pads were halfway worn. I asked if it was necessary to do the pads now ($600) and they said no. So I just got the 4 tires. I picked up the car at night, and found there seemed to be enough friction to prevent the car from rolling with the brake not pushed. The next day, in stop and go traffic, the brakes were definitely rubbing without being pushed. Later, when traffic sped up, the opposite problem: I had to push the pedal to the floor before I felt the resistance and the brakes started working. The next day, after the car was sitting 10 minutes running, the brakes were so sticky I had to rev it to 1500 rpm to make it move, and when it did, the front end lifted a few inches. The pedal had hard resistance to being pushed even the normal first inch. Then, suddenly, the brakes released, I went to the shop, who found no problem at first, and a few hours later says I need 2 front calipers because the right one sticks, and they want $600 for this. They claim nothing they did when checking the brakes or changing the tires could have possibly caused the problem, yet I never had a problem before. Any ideas what to say to the mechanic, or should I just take the car somewhere else? BTW, I never use the emergency brake, so its not that. Also, no brake warning light went on. Hope someone can help me!

icfc

when it rains my Subaru Legacy wagon drips water on the drivers side under the dash where the hood release is located. I have cleaned out all the areas and can't find where the problem is. Dealer states bring it in and a third company comes in to find and repair the prob. Am I going to be hosed here, but need to stop the dripping of water when it rains.

orangelebaron

They want your $600 one way or another. Of course you should bring your car to another mechanic. You can probably get the same job done (if needed) somewhere else cheaper. Even if you can't get it done cheaper... I don't trust this shop from what you are saying.

Ask you co-workers, neighbors, etc to recommend a mechanic. You don't have to bring it to a Subaru dealer. Not at all. There are many good shops out there that can work on Subarus.

xwesx

If this started happening as soon as you picked it up, then most likely that first shop is being dishonest with you - they want that $600! I agree.... definitely take it somewhere else. Also document everything that has been and will be done, including dates/times of conversations and with whom you spoke. If it ends up being an expensive repair, you might need to go after that first shop or log complaints with BBB, etc. Dinking around with a vehicle's safety systems is no game....

xwesx

FWIW: If you can do so, always take the tire off the car and use the temporary while you get the tire fixed. The less opportunity you give a shop to rip you off, the better. Tires can be the worst ones because you often have to stop at whatever shop is closest to get the tire repaired and you have no idea about the shop's reputation... :sick:

xwesx

Sounds like something may be coming down from the pillar. Is the 99's antenna mounted over the driver's head? There may be a leak there or at the front roof rack mount. I'd check those areas first - pour some water over the roof around them and check the interior for leaks. Oh, and if the 99 still had the roof protection strips inside the roof rack area, one of those screws could be leaking. It might be worth pulling the screws, adding some silicon, and reinserting them.

Good luck....

sgaddy

Where is this fuse and how do I get my 98 in fwd only ?

sstevek

The dealership checked my car today. There was in fact a head gasket leak on the left side. (I should have asked if that meant the driver or passenger side) They gave the coolant treatment that I've heard about for no charge but admitted the success rate is not 100%. I should bring the car back in about 1k miles to have it re-checked. If it's still leaking they'll probably end up replacing the head gasket under warranty since the car has a little less than 60k miles. Fair enough. They couldn't reproduce the slight pinging that I noted, that doesn't surprize me as it's so slight. This time of year when driving the windows tend to be closed more often so it's even less noticeable. It seems like the dealership is being cooperative so far.

mfhyatt

The fuse is on the right hand side of the fire wall and it says fwd on it. Open cap and insert fuse.

hammerhead

Randy,
If you're referring to the heater control backlight, I have an old e-mail saved at home that walks you through the fix. I can email it to you if you'd like. Let me know.

Cheers!
Paul

hammerhead

My first guess would be the heat shield is loose. You're getting just the right vibration at 1000 rpm or so to cause it to rattle. Tires would be a stretch, IMHO.

Cheers!
Paul

tkanic

Why would you want to use it in FWD mode, my understanding is it won't save any gas, since the rear wheels will still turn the 'non-powered' parts of the drivetrain, but just from the opposite end (using the turning of the wheels to power them), and you loose the advantages of AWD?

The only time you would really want to use it is if you have different size tires, though I think you need to keep the same size on the front.

icfc

antenna located rear drivers side and not an issue here. I have cleaned out the area where the wipers sit and put the hose on the car and still leaks, Don't think the roof is the problem. Water settles where you rest your left foot as you drive. Seems to be dripping from the release knob for the hood.
baffeled

langweer2

Could you e-mail that same fix to me? I've been living with that problem for some time.

Thanks!

ebony5

I too have no back lights on the heater section of the dashboard. It seems there are a number of us with this situation, perhaps you could post the remedy here.

grahampeters

G'day

My guess ld be that the water is faling onto the release cable from some point further along and then running along the cable before dropping off.

The most likely culprit is that the drains from the air inlet area immediately in front of the windscreen have become clogged. To check them, use a fine bored plastic coated witre, or better still a semi rigid plastic hose to poke up from the base of the drains under the car. To check where the water drains, pour some water down the windscreen with the car parked on a flat dry surface.

Wth the Outback, I found the areas in the front wings (I think fenders to you) immediately in front of the front doors filled up with mud if I had been driving on dusty roads.

I fabricated a piece of 4mm (say 3/16") drip irrigation hose (fairly rigid black plastic but bends to curves easily) into a hose fittng, sealing the gap with silicon. This allowed me to deliver a fine high-pressure spray against mud inside the drain, reversing the normal water flow. This simple tool is very effective.

The other possibility is the drain from the air conditioner unit or possibly some problem with the drains from the sunroof, if fitted. These run down the inside of the A pillars, I think and might conceivably have been pulled away from thir connection into the fromt of the sun roof. However if the sun roof was closed their should be only minimal water coming this way.

Cheers

Graham

outbackowner1

Thanks for your replies, guys. Besides the fact that they worked on the tires and examined the brakes, are either of you mechanics or knowledgeable enough to say that this type of intermittent brake problem is, or is not, possibly caused by a mechanic being in that area? Because I have had my cars worked on there for 10 years and I have to say something when I tell them I'm having it looked at by another shop. For example, when looking at brake pads to determine that they're worn, does one have to put it back together in a way that, say, a loose bolt will cause the caliper to cause intermittent problems? Or does looking at brakes require no touching of them at all? Thanks for your help.

pat

Paul, rather than emailing it to folks, why not post it here? That way it will be helpful to people reading now and also many others in the future when they are reading back posts.

It's better if we have the conversations right here on the Forums for that reason - a lot of times folks can find the answers to their questions without having to ask them over and over if someone will be generous enough to share a solution right here.

xwesx

I am not a professional mechanic, but I have never had to open up the calipers to inspect the amount of pad left on my brakes. it is very easy to see just by pulling the wheel and looking. New brake pads are ~3/8" thick (or maybe a bit more) and your squealer is going to sound at around 1/16". I just replaced my rear pads for the very first time @ 193K; the fronts were replaced at.... hmm..... can't remember. About 3years ago, so maybe 130K?

I am sorry to insinuate that there could be dishonesty at your shop since you've been such a long-standing customer, but it seems very odd that this would have started immediately after having the car there. I'm suspicious, that's all.

xwesx

If this is a file that could use hosting (if not copyrighted), I can put it on my site if you'll send it my way, Paul. Then I will pop a link here; the offer is open.

-Wes-

jfl

I agree with Wes.

I rotated my tires this weekend and inspected the pads in the process (2000 Legacy). You can easily see the lining on the outer pads. The caliper has a horizontal slot that allows you to see how much lining is on the inner pad. It's not necessary to remove the caliper at all.

And yes juice, I waxed the wheels inside and out!

Jim

pat

That's a good idea, Wes!

hammerhead

Can do, Pat - If I had known it was such a popular topic, I would have posted it to begin with! Let me dig it out of the archives here... stand by...

Wes - It's an e-mail text... I'll just copy & paste, but thanks for the offer.

Cheers!
Paul

hammerhead

This is the text of an email I rec'd from an Edmunds contributor (IdahoDoug) describing how he performed this routine on his 97 OB. Neither he nor I would claim to know how it applies to your specific situations.
Hope it helps.

Cheers!
Paul

Subject: Re: HVAC bulb

Actually, the operation is incredibly simple. Pop out the cupholders and
remove the two LARGE phillips screws (don't touch those teeny ones) that
hold the cupholder assy in. Pull out the cupholder. Pull out the ashtray
all the way (push down on the spring loaded "lid" and it comes all the way
out) and look in the now vacant hole for two phillips screws fairly close to
the rear edge (vehicle's rear) of the "roof" of the vacant hole. They're
impossible to access with a normal screwdriver - I used a bicycle multi tool
but you can also use a phillips bit and a pair of pliers to complete the
half turn it takes to loosen them enough to remove by hand.

Now pull out on the top edge of the trim piece that surrounds the radio
until it resists further leaning. All you need is for the top edge to come
out about 3 inches - DON'T try pulling this out all the way, meaning don't
try pulling up on it to pull it's bottom edge out of the slot. Leave the
bottom edge pinned between the front edge of the center console and the
center of the dash. I pulled this trim piece out when putting a stereo in
my nearly identical '97 last week and it was a pain to put back.

Now point both center vents all the way down, providing a ledge at their
bottom edges to grip the trim piece with several fingers and pull back and
down at a 45 degree angle, wiggling it side to side to help free it. It
takes a surprising amount of force, but then two plastic clips at the
vertical centerline of the vents on each edge will pop out of the dash
opening. They're not fragile at all, but just don't break the trim piece
that defines the bottom of the vents - spread the load with several fingers.

Once it's free, there's a wiring harness to the emergency flasher switch to
disconnect - I think the catch is on the top surface of the white connector.

Now you've got 4 phillips screws holding the HVAC unit in place. Remove
them, then lift it like the hood of a car and see two small silver phillips
screws. Remove these (key here is don't drop these into the dash) and you
can now wiggle the part they held onto the back of the HVAC unit away about
a half inch. These screws hold the cable mechanism that moves the water
valve. Now put the HVAC unit back down (again like a car hood) so it's
close to its normal position and you'll see you've opened up a half inch gap
into which you look. At the bottom you'll see a white 'wire tape' that's
the wiring connector and the thing that limits you from pulling the gap
wider. On the rearward face of the slot you've opened up, you'll see the
back of a circuit board and on it are 3 green plastic discs about a quarter
inch in diameter. These are the light bulbs. Use a small standard blade
screwdriver to hook a crevice on the edge and rotate the uppermost one
counter clockwise about 1/16th of a turn. That's all it takes to remove
them as they're kind of a 'push and turn' install. Once you've pulled this
easy one, it will help you get the harder two that are down deep in the slot
you've created. Note that the one by the fan switch is longer - the other
two are identical. Once they were loosened, I used a pair of needlenose
pliers to reach down and gently remove them from their holes. Kind of like
that old game of "Operation".

This whole thing should take you no more than 20 minutes. Now slap the new
ones in, remembering the long one goes by the fan switch and button it back
up. The bulbs again take just the slightest rotation to lock them back in
place. A penlight helps you see the holes they go in have notches in and
position them with the needlenose.