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Comments
The dealer recommendations---Norwood Subaru in Massachusetts were:
Oil pumpseal leaks $359
Both valve cover gaskets leak oil $397
PCV Plate/rear mainseal leaks oil $680
Both frt axles outer boots dry cracked $550
This from a car that was serviced regularly at the dealership and had no previous problems. What I do not understand is how a supposedly reliable car springs oil leaks everywhere seemingly overnight. Should I go ahead and make these repairs or could the engine experience these oil leaks again? Also, I have been advised that the prices quoted me by Norwood Subaru are very high. I have not gone back to them yet but I plan on asking them for a detailed breakdown of parts/labor.
Any advice would be appreciated and if anyone knows of a good independent Subaru repair facility in the Boston/Norwood Massachusetts area I would appreciate hearing about it. I really cannot afford a new car at this time as I am paying for my new 2003 Legacy!
Thanks
MJW
At 37.5k I had the normal service completed and also had the front bumper painted because of the low front end and a high curb encounter scraping the paint. After this everything seems to be breaking on the car. Right after the bumper was painted the car started to smell inside through the vent.
I called the dealer back immediately and they said it wasn't due to the paint and just drive it a while. After 2k of smell took it back in. They diagnosed a header gasket problem. They replaced the left header gasket and a rear engine oil leak. They also replaced the belts at the same time. The car now has a click in the engine which did not exist before. The dealer said it's nothing that they did and I probably didn't notice it before. They also can't hear it. It's loud in the morning having sat all night and it clicks when the accelerator is pressed. They think it is piston skirting and it's normal. That my car just wasn't showing it. They said all Subie's have it. If that was the case I would have never purchased the car.
Anyone had similar circumstances? I'm thinking had I not had the bumper painted I would had been fine. It's interesting to note that they painted right over the bumper including the air conditioning unit underneath the car. The dealer said that won't have any effect. Sometimes those things happen. Anyone have any ideas? Or know of a GREAT shop in Oregon to take a subie too? I'm tired of driving a car that sounds like a bike with cards in spokes of the wheels. This car use to be the best drive around and quiet. Now it's just plain noisy and I'm not sure what the next repair will bring. I'm not even sure the shop knows what it is doing. Truly frustrating.
Today I brought the car into Mr. Tire to get new tires, and also had it aligned (again!), figuring this would end my noise problems.
Wrong! It's till noisy, although not quite as noisy. I immediately went back to Mr. Tire only to discover, in addition to the old feather-edged tires (caused by poor alignment), I also have a bad right rear wheel bearing! Arrgh!
Now I've got to get that fixed too! This was one expensive weekend... So it looks like I'm off to my Subie dealer to get prices on this early this week.
Isn't this wheel bearing issue a common problem with Foresters? I think I heard Ken mention this a few times.
Bob
Thanks!
Patti
Thanks!
Patti
Patti
Cheers!
Paul
Paul, (whack, smack, stomp) now, come on (whack, punfh, oof, swack), tell us! Tell us! I don't want to have to continue to try to beat it out of you......
Patti
bit
I asked the service advisor on the phone how the mechanics put the wheels back on, if they used an impact wrench or torque stick and he didn't know.
I will specify that they use a torque stick this time to put the wheels back on, but this is getting a little silly.
Is there any other "sport" rotor that I can specify that may be heavier duty?
Second: What advantage is there going to a synthetic oil?
For the record: Everything else with the car is great, I like the car a lot, and wouldn't buy anything else.
Thanks for the input.
Cheers Pat.
George
Not that anyone should have to, but I'd recommend getting my own torque wrench or stick and resetting the wheel torque asap after I pick the car up.
You could even reset them on the lot before you drive off, caution however - if you do it on the lot you may also torque off the service department.
Larry
John
Thanks for all the help!
Mike
Paul and Pat: remind me never to get you mad...
-juice
Bob - that should be under warranty. Ask for the revised parts, from the Legacy parts bine. In fact, see if they'll do both sides for you, preventatively. It would be going the extra mile, but it can't hurt to ask.
Larry: same here, in fact you reminded me I have to re-torque the Miata's wheels, since I just had tires mounted.
My Forester, meanwhile, is on its original rotors, even pads! So my obsessing has kept my brakes working nicely.
-juice
Jim
Juice: It was an accident, honest. I had no issues with the car. No guns anymore, either.
Cheers!
Paul
That wheelbarrow reminds me of a miscreant mailbox that was haunting one of the topics a couple of years ago. A Blazer driver had rolled over trying to avoid it. Of course they blamed the mail box!
As if it had moved into the middle of the street or something. The driver later reluctantly admitted there was another distraction...
-juice
Bob
-juice
Jon
I've found that out from the 24psi inflated tires when they were supposed to be 32, the 75psi tires when 60 is the recommneded and 70 the tire's max, or the best was the Ford dealer who told me the lugnuts needed 100 lbft and when I actually asked the tech who did it how they knew using an airgun it was set to 100lbft, he looked at me funny and said , well I fingertighten it and then give it a half turn!
Patti is one of the major reasons I even looked at Subaru before I bought one. A year ago, when the Forester XT was just a wish, Patti and the Subaru team mentioned something about how there were no changes planned for the Forester but those plans could change and everyone here was saying that was Subaru-speak for, "there's something afoot." I held on and waited, nearly buying a CRV but low-and-behold the XT appeared on the horizon and I waited some more until I drove and ordered one this past August.
For the past year I've been reading this forum and a few others dedicated to other cars and nowhere have I seen anything like a Patti. She has been pro-active, helpful, courteous, and uncommonly dedicated to the people here. I bought my Forester because it's a great car and because Patti is here.
If we don't say it enough please let me do so. Thank you for all your time and hard work looking after a bunch of Subaru junkies like us. We love having you here and knowing that you and Subaru care what we think has made the Subaru experience something truly special.
Thank you, very much. I think I'll just go about my day with a big smile, courtesy of Jason if anyone asks!
Patti
-juice
Bob
Patti
Bob
The dealer says there is a problem within the radio, and sent it to a local repair place they say they have had good luck with. I'm expecting to end up paying about $200 in all, with repair and reinstall. I suppose the Forester thinks it's very entertaining to develop a problem only a few months after the b-to-b warranty is up, but I'm not finding it too humorous. Oh well, 3+ years with no problems except the rear window seal coming slightly loose, so I can't really compplain.
Faye
You can probably get a stereo off e-bay for about $100 if that much for an OEM replacement.
-mike
Don't worry 'bout it Faye, no biggie. Plus, you'll have a one year warranty on the repair. If you bought a used take-off stereo it could break tomorrow and you'd be back to square one.
Radio failures aren't very common, so don't sweat it.
-juice
-juice
Want a laugh, there is one there now starting at $600USD guy thinks that because they are around $1100 from the dealer $600 is a reasonable figure to start from.
Cheers Pat.
The Kumho 716s are only all seasons, the WRs qualify as actual snow traction rated tires.
bit
Ken
Cheers Pat.
-mike
-juice
Greg
Greg
Cheers Pat.
Thanks
Just one snag. I posted on this board way back about the check engine light coming on fresh from the dealer at 50 kilometers. Since then, it has been a persistent nuisance. For the first 9000 kilometers, it came on almost every week for a day or so. The dealer replaced the 'faulty control- soloniod drain valve', but that did not rectify the problem. On our trip across Canada, the CEL came on the first day on the highway, and then as usual every other day or so until we had driven about 9000 kilometers. Then, surprise, it went off and stayed off-- although nothing had been done by any of the dealers. So it stayed off for about 10,000 kilometers, all the way back to home.
When we got home, the dealer phoned and said Subaru had requested they replace the ECM-- which I gather is the computer monitoring stuff. (The trouble code, by the way, for the CEL was P1443). Well, about two weeks after this service, the CEL came on! A couple of days later, it went off, as usual. Now, a few weeks later, it is back on. I am waiting, as discussed with the dealer, until the 32,000 K service, as we live quite a distance from the dealer, and need also to take an expensive ferry to get there. The car seems to drive fine.
One other thing, it seems to me that the light usually comes on with less than half a tank of gas, and most often on the highway at higher speeds, like 90 kilometers an hour. And yes, I know about tightening the gas cap-- always been very careful about that.
Has anyone had any problem like this with a 03, or heard anything? Like I said at the outset, this is a wonderful vehicle, but I would like to solve this little problem. Thanks. Tim Kline, Sunshine Coast British Columbia.
-juice