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Comments
What color would the flakes be if it were the clearcoat? The flakes are the titanium color -- would that be the color coat/pigment bonded to the clearcoat?
--K9Leader
-mike
When was that? What was that? I checked the board very infrequently during most of April, so I must have missed something.
--K9Leader, Newark DE
If gold metallic stuff is flaking off and you don't see black plastic underneath, I suspect that's body-shop paint.
Craig
Mark
How to you "re-bed" your brake pads?
The dealer admitted being able to reproduce the problem after the third visit. I also called 1 800 SUBARU3 to log the issue and they followed up with the dealer who I have to say was much more responsive since then. The transmssion was replaced as it was still under warrantee (<60K). Car was in lot for more than a week until the transmission part came in.
The car is now okay although the transmission feels very different than before. The old one was a bit jerky when starting from a stop giving the sense of power and I always thought it was normal. The 'new' transmission (which by the way I am not sure if it is new...) is more smooth.
ventvisors or something similar for the side windows.
I have not been able to find a listing for any. The closest year I could find was 2000. Does anyone know if the vehicles are close enough between 2000 and 1996 or have a source for any?
I'd also flush the ATF after 30k miles.
Hope this one is better. We don't see a lot of auto tranny failures so I hope we can rack it up to bad luck.
Vents? They stopped selling those in the US because they were too noisy, apparently. You might have to find a supplier from Europe or Japan.
-juice
My .02
Larry
The problem is: First, I have to turn the ignition for a long time (about 3 to 5 seconds) before the engine will start. Then, the engine won't rev properly--I need to give it gas and hold it at about 3000 RPMs for about 30 seconds, otherwise it stalls out. Occasionally, giving it gas did no good and the engine kept repeatedly stalling. Once the engine's warmed up, though, I had no problem starting it for the rest of the day. But then the next day, same problem all over again.
I took it to the dealership in April 2004, after the situation got much worse. The morning I took it in, it took at least four tries to get the car started. The service guys at the dealership let it sit, inside, for two days before they tried to start it. When they went to start it, they had no problem. I suggested they keep the car outside overnight and try it again. They did so, and again, no problem. They repeated this a few times. No problem. So, I took the car home.
For the last month, since my trip to the dealership, the car has started okay, though I still sense a "hesitation" when I turn the key. I'm especially sensitive to this, since we had a 1994 Legacy wagon that never gave us a problem (until it was totalled in an accident). It would start in half a second, even in temperatures 10 degrees below zero (F). I'm concerned that the problem with my Outback will return, and I'd like to take preventive measures. But noone knows what caused the problem.
Has anyone had a similar problem, or have any suggestions for solving my mystery?
My Bean is ocassionally finicky about starting if I just go in and crank the key. It could be because I park on a hill, who knows. But, if I let the fuel pump pressurize the system, it starts like a charm every time.
Give that a try for a couple weeks and see if your problem goes away.
Craig
Thanks for the advice. I'll give it a try and see if it makes the difference.
SF
-mike
-juice
Patti
Patti
Obviously it's your call to "unload" the car if you can't get an answer, but I think it deserves some investigation. I'm sorry you had such a scary experience and I hope that you take my advise and get it checked out.
Patti
All kinds of stuff. Anything in particular you are planning on using this for? Or just general upgrades?
I'd start with rims and tires, then move on to struts/springs/swaybars, then brake rotors/pads, and finally onto power upgrades after that.
-mike
I did get a transmission flush and fill recently but don't think that i srelated and is probably just coincidental.
HTH, Owen
Craig
That sounds like a solution, I will check the belt and see if any cracks exist (car has 42K miles on it). I did try to spray some silicon lubricant but was cautious. It doesn't impact driving the vehicle but it is annoying. Thanks.
Finally changed the OEM firestones (at 41K) with BF Goodrich T/As. So far so good but there is only 1K miles on the new tires. But the original Firestones caused lot's of frustration. They seem to always need balancing. The car rides real well as expected with the new tires so a true rating will take some miles and time to determine. Price was real good. Got the tires for close to the price on Tirerack.com and adjustments for installation and balancing etc, only added 10 dollars a tire.
I, too, feel that if they can't find anything wrong and you choose to give up on Subaru as a brand you'd be making a HUGE mistake.
Cheers!
-Ian
If something is on national back-order, we work closely with FHI and get the part or we use a system that allows us to search dealers inventory around the US. Dealers will sell their parts to other dealers.
Now - your shop may have had other issues, but I'm guessing there was more to it...
Patti
If you just want an exhaust for some sound enhancement, I believe Borla and Stromung make units for your year car. Heck, I have a dual tip WRX muffler collecting dust in my garage that might work for you with some modification to the piping. Don't expect more than 3HP or so from a muffler, in fact you might not even notice the effect. You'd have to couple the muffler with other exhaust modifications to see anything out of it.
As for intakes, I like to point out that many Subaru engines come stock with a resonator, which tunes the standing wave pattern in the intake system for the best performance over a particular RPM range. Any modification to the intake that involves removing the resonator will have to be pretty darn good to make up for the resulting loss. In other words, just slapping a high performance filter and intake tube on is likely to have little or even nagative effect.
Craig
Checked torque on wheel nuts after and retorqued all down from over 150ftlb to 70. Hope this prevents any further warping.
Gordon
-mike
Has anyone ever experienced or heard about this type of issue? I know that these 2.5L 4's are notorious for the oil leaks I mentioned above (especially the cam seals), but I haven't heard about any common ATF leaks. Any advice is much appreciated...
Jeff
-mike
We just got rid of our Acura MDX for just that reason (premium only).
I also heard the '04's suffer from great lack of LOW end torque......... I like decent, quick acceleration (had an Acura TL before, too). What's YOUR opinion ??
I have an 02 LL Bean Outback with the H6. It's always been plenty powerful for me, and I have loaded up the car with four people and their ski gear numerous times for weekends in the mountains. But, you really should drive one yourself to decide. Note that the transmission will shift like a granny if you are gentle on the throttle, which may lead to this perception of poor low end torque. If you engage the accelerator pedal rapidly off the line, the transmission will go into sport mode and the acceleration should whip your neck with the torque -- it's pretty good if you ask me.
You can run regular gas, but you will lose a little pep and the timing will be retarded. I think you lose about 10HP at peak, but the effect is present through the whole RPM range. I have always bought premium fuel and it's never been a big deal (even with recent fuel prices). Typically the difference betwen regular and premium is a couple hundred dollars per year, and that's not enough to really impact my budget on a vehicle with a $30K MSRP!
Craig
I did not drive one yet as I worked Saturday and the Subaru Dealer was closed yesterday (Sunday). The truth is.... this will be 99.9% my Wife's vehicle and SHE just started "looking" for a vehicle this past Friday. SHE drove one (6 cyl.) as well as the 4 cyl. model, and SHE was actually the MDX driver in the past (I was the TL driver). She absolutely depised the "pick-up" of the 4 cyl. Outback, but just think, after driving the 250HP MDX, almost anything would seem "sluggish". She also tried a RAV4 (last Friday) and thought it too was "underpowered".
Don't laugh, but I am a Service Manager of a Connecticut Chrysler Plymouth Dealership (HATE to admit it to most people, but I just did, and "nationally") and see too many "lemons" each and every day. Believe me, I will go for a THOROUGH test drive/inspection/negotiation in the '04 Outback if SHE decides to go through with buying one, but as far as PREMIUM FUEL ONLY, it was a headache last year when we lived in Florida and a migrane this year in Connecticut. We are NOT rich people and the extra 20 cents a gallon does add up.
From searching the postings it doesn't look like a solution has been found yet. Anyone have a solution? I'll ask about torquing the lug nuts. I asked a long time ago and I think it was 85 ft-lbs (or maybe 75, I'll ask again).
I assume this is covered under warranty too.
Steve
Also, consider the XT models with turbo. They really rock. Unfortunately, they also require premium like the H6. My guess is that the H6 would cope with regular gas much more so than the turbo.
Craig
I'm planning to replace the rotors with new ones whenever my front pads need to be replaced (I'm at 37000 miles now), and maintain a vigilant watch on wheel lug torque. I always torque to 65 ft-lbs myself, but the dealer kills the lugs -- sometimes I have needed a breaker bar and pipe to get them loose. That would definitely cause a problem!
Craig
Steve, Host
I had been doing around 70 for only about 15 mins prior to exiting the expressway. But, due to where I live vs where I work, I drive almost exclusively on local roads, usually not faster than about 50, so I guess you can say the tranny was working harder than it usually does. I actually ended up driving the car to the dealership that evening after things cooled down... didn't do more than about 40, but it was about a 20 or 25 minute ride and things seemed OK - no smoke, no burning ATF smell. Looked underneath after I parked it at the dealership, though, and there were a few drops... not sure if the tranny was continuing to leak or if it was just fluid that had leaked earlier and was now dripping off.
Last ATF change would have been at the 60K service (done around 63K), but I'm not 100% sure that it was actually changed then... Subaru maintenance schedule says to *inspect* the fluid at that service, but I'd guess they most likely replaced it. I'd have to check my service records.
I'm hoping you're right about the water/moisture... don't really wanna be shelling out the $$ for major tranny work!
By the way, due to the high cost of gasoline I switched to the lower octane fuel (87)...no pinging and no real change in performance. Actually, I think it runs better....
Thanks for the advice...
jon
I change the air filter myself either at 15k or yearly, depending upon how cruddy it looks - the OEM filter was only about $15. One thing you can do yourself, that I've never seen a dealer do is actually clean the plenum and air filter box. The box on the OBW had a lot of silt and sand in it that made it through all the other intake piping to get there.
I think the fuel filter is part of the 30K service - that was also I think, about a $20 part and only took about 10 minutes to replace. My guess is that the dealer would get about $60 parts and labor for the filter and installation.
Tire rotation - if you can do it yourself and have a torque wrench, you can save yourself some money and over torqued lug nuts by doing it yourself.
I think the 30K maint checks the tranny and diff fluids. I'd replace the fluid but have been accurately described as very OCD regarding maintenance.
Free advice and worth every penny.
Larry