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Comments
I wish you luck with your Honda.
Greg
When I am on my skates, I always remind myself 'tuck low, and arc your back', I once bombed down a hill with a pack of inline speedskaters topping 40 miles/h, I was on ten wheels(five-wheel skates), and alignments of the frame and wheels have to be perfect, otherwise you would wobble into oblivion....
From now on, I will be anti-juice, whatever he is for, I am against...
-Dave
1. the so called “whistle noise”, from day one, dealer acknowledged it, said it sounded like a normal drivetrain noise.
2. CEL came on. Went to the dealer, they detected a leak in the fuel system, blamed me for not tightening the gas cap. I always tighten the gas cap, so that was not it. Light never came back on since then.
3. had the “hot smell”. Told dealer about it, they claimed they did not do anything, but smell disappeared after that visit (at 20,000 miles), and never came back.
4. transmission hesitation from a dead stop. Has gotten worse in the last few months. Tried using premium gas only, with no improvement. Last Sunday started the car, put in Drive, gave it gas, and the engine stopped after 5 seconds. CEL did NOT come on. Restarted the car, and it ran fine after that. This is my third new car, and none of the other 2 ever did that. I always get brand name gas, from the same places (Sunoco, BP, and Sam’s Club – whatever they sell there).
5. at 20k I noticed that the steering wheel shakes when braking at highway (70 mph or so) speeds. Bad rotors after only 20k, never had this problem with any other car I had, new or used.
While the first 3 things are at most nuisances, I think 4 and 5 could be safely called “problems”, with a car this new. So I went to the dealer this morning at 8:00. At 9:30 the clerk came and told me “we are resurfacing the front rotors”, it’s going to take another 30 min. 10:50 came and no car, so I went and asked for an update, and she said “the mechanic could not fix it, we will need to replace the front rotors”, at no charge for me. “How about the transmission hesitation?” “Could not duplicate it”. I said, “Well the engine stalled 4 days ago, did you check the computer” and she said “Yes, we test drive them, and then we check the computer. There were no error codes”. Rescheduled for Monday to have the rotors replaced. Got back in the car, drove away, and boy, they messed the brakes real good. Now the steering wheel shakes violently when I brake at pretty much any speed. Total disaster. Dealer is Subaru Beechmont in Cincinnati. I think it’s nice of them not to charge me for any of this, but I would prefer them to be less nice and more competent. Will keep everybody updated.
Patti has proven herself to be an outstanding ally of the consumer, but you have to give her a fighting chance to do her magic. Dealer records poor/incomplete/inaccurate/missing/fraudulent? No great surprise here. Seems to happen all the time. Patti and I are working thru something along these lines currently. Somewhere at home you probably have the documentation that might make it possible for Patti to do something positive for you. It is up to each of us to make sure that the dealer properly types up the complaint and documents the actions taken. Even if it is 'cannot duplicate' or 'no trouble found'. SoA knows that some problems exist, the conditions needed to make them happen, and the proper fix. And the owners manual strongly suggests that you keep these receipts in the event of a need to file a claim. Give it another try before venting further.
Do you like the car otherwise? Has it served you well? If so, consider turning your anger towards the dealer, rather than SoA, or members (like Juice) of this board. If it wasn't for these boards, most of us wouldn't even know that there were solutions to many basic problems!
Steve
Check the spark plugs and wires? Replaced the PCV valve at 15K? Fuel filter? Run through a bottle of fuel injector cleaner? My first guess would be lack of fuel or lack of spark.
That's very nice of them to replace your rotors for free, since they are a wear item. When you say they still vibrate, are you braking gently as per brake break-in procedure, or driving in your normal fashion? Pads and rotors do need to wear in, and the fact that you wore through rotors in 20K without enough left to resurface indicates you might want to lighten things up for a little while.
For the record, when a dealer documents "no problem found", you can still open a call with 800-SUBARU3. They even have a name for it: "Customer Says".
I'm sorry you weren't aware of that at the time, but then that's what forums like this are for. You should have sought help earlier.
What am I for? I am for informed, educated consumers sharing useful knowledge and experience in a constructive manner.
Clearly, you are against that. That's a shame.
-juice
Regarding engine stalling, I have not done any of the things you said. But wouldn't those things not working properly set an ECU error code? Also, I reset the ECU once, and that solved the problem temporarily, but then it came back. Engine stalled because the RPM's dropped when I gave it gas. Sometimes, at traffic lights for example, I give it gas, RPMs stay the same or drop a bit, then after about 2 seconds RMP's go up suddenly and the car starts moving. Almost feels like trying to drive with the hand brake on, and then you release it.
Rotors - they only resurfaced them today, and the results were so bad that they decided to change them. But I had to run to work, so the rotors will be replaced Monday. I agree that the dealer is nice to replace them for free. But I drive very conservatively, never had ABS engaged except couple of times on ice and snow. In other words, I never brake hard. Rotors should be designed to last more than 20K, IMO.
Also try easing into the throttle instead of flooring it suddenly, let us know if that helps?
The dealer is aiming to please so keep working with them. Good luck.
-juice
It shouldn't have taken this long and (I went on vacation as of 5 - so I can't investigate this further for now) I don't know why. I will look into that.
I contacted someone who is still in the office and they read the file to me. I'm sure you'll be satisfied with the resolution you'll receive tomorrow. I only ask that you be reasonable in working with the dealership about this problem. I am confident in the dealers ability - there were communcation issues. I do,sincerely, apologize.
Thanks!
Patti
On a professional level, I know that I have to do the right thing and look beyond the "personality". Personally, it can be a challenge.
Patti
Any further negative comments toward another user may be deleted at the discretion of the Host and in accordance with your Member Agreement.
This topic has a reputation as one of the most helpful and useful in Town Hall, and I trust we can all work to keep it that way.
thank you!
MrShiftright
Host
We can see what the dealer has done with the vehicle and try to find a way to help.
Thanks!
Patti
To be honest, based on many posts on the Subaru forums, I think the transmission hesitation is a design flaw, not a problem with my particular vehicle, so I am not expecting much there. I understand that Subaru is still a pretty small company, and they don't have the resources to fix everything like Toyota for example. I guess I am just a bit dissapointed, after carefully researching my purchase for the best, safest, most reliable small AWD vehicle, to have to deal with these things.
Thanks again,
Daniel
-juice
Thanks.
Jon
-mike
I notice the hesitation the most when acelerating very slowly. I've thought about the throtle position sensor.... but never have replaced parts, other than 30K service which didn't help.
--jay
Hesitation: I had a severe case on our 626 V6. It would almost choke and stall, then finally wake up and get going. Then it felt OK, just a little sluggish.
We tried plugs, plug wires, fuel filter, all the tune-up stuff, but in the end what made the difference was a throttle body service the dealer did. The engine ran like new. I think I'll do this at 30k on my cars from now on, as preventative maintenance.
-juice
Daniel
At a minimum, test and clean it. Blow into it and air should go out, but not back in. Wipe it clean and put it back on.
But for a couple of bucks, I thought why not just change it?
-juice
A Subaru factory representative dropped by my dealership on 8-1-03 to verify that my WRX does pop out of first gear under normal driving conditions. He verified the problem and I was told by my dealership I would be hearing from them once the results of his report were evaluated. In the mean time the condition has worsened. Sorry to say, my experience with Subaru's warranty defect resolution continues to disappoint and mystify me. Warranty problems encountered with our 1999 GM product were repaired without delay.
Why make me wait two more weeks plus to resolve a problem that I first reported on 12-23-02?
-Water
ctwrx1: Patti is on vacation, she'll be back in a week.
-juice
It was never the intention of the Town Hall community to serve as The Complaint Station or as a soap-box for the disgruntled. We are the Solution and Information Station or at least try to be.
So keep that in mind if you choose to post again please, and do not personalize your remarks.
Any further arguments on line will fall under a violation of the Member AGreement and will be deleted post haste. Any problems of policy should be addressed to me off-line on e-mail.
Mrshiftright
Host
What also makes the situation interesting was that I was much more on top of a slowly degrading seal because of the information shared on this Board.
As per Patti's post above, you should be getting some help as well. Please let us know how it turns out.
Steve
Steve
Steve
-Dave
Thanks in advance,
Larry
Greg
Greg
-Dave
Jon
He's at VIR to debute the L at the track till Sunday
-Dave
Unless this type is properly set up it does not hold very well either.
The drum in rotor style is much better.
Cheers Pat.
I did the 60k myself and there isn't anything that's really difficult. One thing to remember is that it doesn't ALL need to be done in one day. So I did mine over several months.
Above saving the $400+ the dealer would have charged, I purchased most of the parts with Subaru Bucks!
Jim
But...if you are having any other electrical issues, I'd research the single point groun modification discussed on Nabisco. E-mail me if you don't know what I'm talking about.
masan: you may have a faulty knock sensor. It should be dialing back the timing a bit when it hears that ping. Right now it sounds like the timing is too advanced, and that creates a ping under load (A/C).
My Miata has manual timing adjustment, and I've played with it a bit to strike the right balance.
Karen: the local dealer we use basically charges the same for Subaru and Dodge services. Actually there is a small difference because the Subie has 2 differentials to service, but the cost difference is not significant.
Around here, Honda service is pricey. I'm not sure about Toyota. The only other reference point I have is Mazda, and actually Mazda parts cost more than Subaru parts in my experience. Example: $28 gas cap for my Miata. Ouch.
-juice
-juice
-mike