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Comments
-mike
I only put up about 500 miles/month, regardless of tires, so they last time-wise, but mileages may be similar.
Cheers!
Paul
-mike
Let me fire off an e-mail to her just to ask if she's heard anything about gasket failures. She's at home though, so she's very limited in terms of what she can accomplish for now.
The smell might be the undercoating burning off. I call it Subaru New Car Stench, and it's nasty. Kind of smells like an omelette with sulfur tossed in. Mine had it bad, but note that I have 50k miles and never even burned a drop of oil, despite 7500 oil change intervals.
-juice
Well, here goes. I met with our area rep and service manager. We went for a spin. As an aside,it's about -10 celcius today and some roads are a bit wet from snow fall yesterday.
We stopped back at the dealership and although the odor was not very prevalent, it was evident when we bent over close to the driver's side rear wheel. The rep confirmed the odor. He knew it was not undercoating, admitting this odor is different. He also indicated that they have looked into this problem before and he has the same issue on his demo car.
This is the explanation given to me. Could be two things. From their experience (mine as well) the smell is much more noticeable when the roads are really wet and slushy. He explained that the Outbacks have protective shielding on the bottom of the exhaust from the engine through to the muffler. When its wet, gunk from the road (and he admitted he does not know for sure what is the culprit...something in the salt or fluids on the roads from other cars) splashes up into these heat shields. While the car is moving, there is is a cooling effect, but when it stops, the gunk or whatever gets baked by the high heat (especially the catalytic converter) causing an odor. The second possibility, is something to do with the metal used in the heat shields or exhaust. He explained that when hot metal is cooled quickly, it releases a distinct odor. He said it could be the slush (ie wet snow) getting up on the exhaust, cooling it quickly causing this noticeable odor. This actually seems consistent with my experience. When there is slushy snow on the roads after a snow fall, I find that if it gets up onto the engine or exhaust, the smell is much more noticeable. How I know the exhaust is wet is from the steam coming from the engine compartment and exhaust after I park in my garage.
Anyway, he explained that it may be either of these two (ie. gunk from road or the composition of the metal used in the exhaust)but not sure which. He also indicated that it may be an issue because the cars are designed in Japan and perhaps they don't take our harsher conditions (northern states or Canada) into consideration. He said that he had opened a file and would report the issue back to Japan and would advise if anything comes of it. BTW, he told me that many Japanese cars are experiencing this very same problem...ie Toyota, Nissan. Not sure if this is the case, but this is what he told me.
He assured me that its not a mechanical problem, and at worst its annoying. I agree with the annoying part! He said some people have had success by going through a touchless car wash and using the underbody spray to clean out any debris etc that may be caught in the heat shields. Alternatively get under there with your garden hose or the spray gun at the local do-it-yourself car wash and spray that under body. Reports back to him suggests that this seems to do the trick for a while, but it have to be done regularly to keep the odor at bay.
Admittedly, I would have liked to walked away with a permanent solution, but I am happy that they took the time to verify the problem, admit its there, and provide an explanation. I also appreciate the fact that they are opening a file and reporting it back to Japan.
I hope this helps some of you out there that have been experiencing this same problem. I know its been a thorn in my side for quite sometime.
Perhaps all of us could benefit from the experience of those of you who have this problem. Please post the conditions/situations in which you notice this odor (ie. temp outside, road conditions, city vs highway driving, short drives or long drives etc.) as well as the model and year of your vehicle. Also note if you have had your vehicle checked for fluid/grease leaks and for debris stuck to exhaust, or note if you recently have had a fluid leak (sometimes fluid can get caught in a part of the body and gets washed onto the exhaust when its wet out, causing an odor).
Thanks.
Like many of you I only notice it when it is wet outside and after a reasonably long drive at freeway speeds - such as my 20 mile commute home.
I have been more preoccupied with my failed wheels bearings, leaky head gasket, and short block replacement due to piston slap.
FWIW, I had a funny smell until I washed my undercarriage after going to the Outer Banks and driving on the beach. You should've seen how much sand came out!
-juice
-juice
Hope you guys are enjoying the 8" snow in the east. We had 8" in the Twin Cities late Sunday and about 2" yesterday. Finally! Winter! Skiing was great!
Steve in Minnesota
Steve
--jay (in chilly MN)
Ditto!!! Did you take Beekman Rd to the Taconic?
Steve
I now have it again, intermittently. I smell it in the passenger compartment under the same circumstances, after a high speed run, I smell it after slowing down. I have been checking oil consumption and I can see no evidence that any appreciable amount of oil has been used up in the 3000 miles since it was replaced (although a loss could be hidden by contaminants). I sure hope it is not another oil leak, because this time, it will be my expense.
Well this weekend I am buying my new 2003 subaru Forester...I am really excited... reading what everyone has to say about the forester and following up with a lot of my own research has been fun. I will keep you all posted. thanks.
Ed
My Forester was running great before the 60K service. Could something have happened during the 60K service that would have caused the timing belt failure? The timing belt was not scheduled to be replaced until the 105K service. I've not had ANY issues with my Forester until now. I'm not getting any satisfaction from the dealership either. I need someone to contact at SOA. I would appreciate any assistance and/or comments from anyone. I'm totally frustrated right now
-Frank P.
While I talked to the salesman..he said that the recommended belt replacement is 105k for 03's..and I got the impression at that time this was an increase over some prior year..Perhaps the 99 year recommended a lower mileage..I owned an 87 Dodge Omni some years back..it had a 60k recommendation..
One further thought..if the recommend mileage is only 60k, then your dealer should have done the job..
-Frank P.
Think I will get snow tires next year.
Greg
Gloria - Congrats. I love the look of the new Forester. Give us details when you get the car.
Greg
Phase II kicked in with the MY99 vehicles.
Ken
Jim
Cheers!
Paul
Somehow, they just don't understand that 4x4 does nothing when you're braking.
Jim
Thanks to all who have commented so far on my dilema.
mike k
IdahoDoug
Good point. Older 4wd were meant for slippery surfaces (didn't have a front-rear diffy?) and were not intended to be used on dry roads.
At any given time, something would be slipping. Not exactly good for traction in turns.
Jim
Thanks for all the info. on this subject as it has been a concern of mine for the past three years. I hope the explanation given by luck 11 is the cause.
Cheers,
Tom
The strong burning smell suggests it might be an oil leak. You smell it only when slowing or stopped because the fumes are left behind when you are moving but are noticeable when stopped. If it is a somewhat rubbery odor, it is likely oil and could be a seal leak. I have had two on my Forester.
Also drove the SVX into a snow bank on Saturday, left it there for a few minutes then drove it out the SP5000s just dug right down through the snow to get grip!
-mike
-juice
Now that they adjusted the valves, I would ask for a warranty on the work they just completed, since your regular warranty is about to expire. That seems reasonable to me.
-juice
I get the "smell" after driving in wet, high speed conditions - and then idling.
I like the "smell"....
:-o
Ralph
You can get more info by doing a Google search on engine breakin. Some manufacturers claim they break in their engines before the vehicle ships, but Subaru is not among them.
IdahoDoug
bit