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Comments
Craig
The coolant should be at the minimum (cold) line when the engine is cold. It should increase to the maximum (hot) line as the engine warms up, then go back to the minimum line when it cools down.
DaveM
~colin
The time has come to replace the tires on my mom's 02 Forester L. Any suggestions? 31K on the Duelers which I understand is about 5K more than most people get!
On another note, how about a Forester with a few more inches of ground clearance, bigger beafier tires. Now that would definately qualify as a "truck" - and be fun too! ...but would it make the front page of the NYT?
-Pete.
Half green stuff, half distilled water. You can find it for $4, not $25 (!).
Welcome back, Pete. 215/70R15 tires should fit and give you a little lift, but keep in mind the spare won't be an exact match.
I do a Plus One like I did. Actually I went to a slightly wider/taller 225/60R16, with a wheel offset that puts the tire farther from the body.
Outback will be a truck, so in all likelihood so will the next Forester. Outback will get 8.7" of clearance, too.
-juice
I have a Subaru Gold warranty, 7/100. No worries for 7 long years, bumper to bumper, with roadside assistance the whole time to boot.
It ain't cheap, but your repair would pay half of it right there, and you'd still have 4 years left. Next time think about it. We've really gotten the royal red carpet treatment.
-juice
~c
Don
I had to BEG for 2 years to get the clutch fixed (because "they all do that"), and many times when I brought the car in to have the windows fixed the service writers would act as if they weren't sure if the warranty would cover such things (2 faulty regulators, 2 worn gaskets). It was like pulling teeth to get things fixed on that car, Gold warranty or not.
That's great that there are some dealers that seem to care that you forked over $1500 for an extended warranty, but I'm not convinced that most dealers really go the extra mile for extended warranty customers. In my previous experience with Mazda's extended warranty program, too, warranty work was more of a hassle to them than "paying customers" and they made no secret about it.
When I traded the Outback for a WRX last year, I just had to laugh when the same finance guy who sold me first service contract again offered me a warranty on the WRX...needless to say, I passed on the Gold program this time around and I'll take my chances doing without Subaru's red carpet treatment.
Brian
Plus now we know about 800-SUBARU3 and Patti, just to be sure.
-juice
What kind of driving characteristics are you looking for in a new tire? For example, is off-road traction more important than dry-road handling and being smooth/quiet? What did you like/dislike about the Dueler?
-Ty
I put it up on ramps and crawled under it last night. There is coolant dripping from the crossmember brace, but I could not tell the original source -- will have to leave that up to the dealership shop.
Perhaps I spoke too soon about the head gasket . . . but I thought the head gasket was more limited seepage until it reaches the catastophic failure stage. Mine is somewhere in between, although it has definitely worsened with the much colder weather, although not sure if the two are related or just conicidental. I just did a visual inspection in the daylight and it looks as though the hoses and tubing that run behind the engine/near the #4 cylinder have something on them - wet/greasy/oily. Oh-oh.
I am a little frustrated that I bought this car (last March) partially so I would have something capable in the snow. It was in the shop last month (for the broken front sway bar) during our first snow storm of the winter, and now it will be laid up for the predicted second snow storm of the winter. I know it is just bad luck and bad timing, but frustrating nonetheless.
--K9Leader
Patti, by the way, is an invaluable resource to have monitoring these boards and is someone that other auto manufacturers would do well to make note of. It's not often that owners are able to get such immediate, personal service from the internet!
Brian
Warranty - Since we put 20-25K miles on each car per year, the 100K mile warranty would only last 4-5 years. If you consider that you are most worried about powertrain failure (for argument's sake) then you are paying for a 40K mile warranty (above the 60K original).One of the major reasons for buying the brands I do (Subaru, Toyota) is so I don't need to purchase the extended warranty.
Greg
-juice
Greg
I have a friend with an 02 wrx that never does better than 21mpg...I kept telling him that he either shifted too late/early was on the gas too hard/erratically...etc. We traded (I have an 03, other than mine having been reflashed and the color, there are no differences between the two...wait, mine weighs more with a hitch) for a few tankfuls and my wrx under his right foot got 25mpg while his got 19 under mine.
I think the difference is too great for it to be just a tolerance variation between vehicles.
Do you think the way the car was broken in has anything to do with mileage?
How did you break in your XT? My friend really babied his while I mostly kept it under 4000 rpm but wasn't as 'soft' with mine.
Just a thought.
Do Suburbans really get as high as 18mpg?
Don
- I replaced my tires (same size) to a heavier model with more role resistance, and my MPG dropped 2 miles per gallon.
- Also, there seems to be disparities between models. An example would be the C&D WRX that did 0-60 at 5.4 secs., while their 40K mile test car did it in 5.9 secs.
- There will always be anomaly vehicles in any production line that will differ from the originals. One guy posted getting around 14 mpg with his vehicle.
- A Suburban could get 18 mpg on the highway due to the very low final gearing of most Chevy V8s. Drive on the highway long distances (little traffic) at around 60 mph, and you can do it.
I (wife drives mostly) have a Tahoe (4x4) with the 5.3 liter and get 18 to 19mpg on the highway in the summer. Currently (winter) in city is about 14mpg.
I average 27mpg in the summer and 24 to 25mpg in the winter with an OB Wagon.
--jay
Fascinating. Have you two ever squared off to see which is faster? It would be really interesting to see whether the faster of the two is also the thirstier of the two.
Do you think the way the car was broken in has anything to do with mileage? How did you break in your XT?
My opinion: A car that's 'babied' during break-in (as mine was) will no doubt require many more miles before it finally reaches the same fully-broken-in 'loose' state as one that was driven hard during its break-in. However, once that fully-worn-in point has finally been reached by _both_ cars, however many miles that takes, I don't think their opposite early break-in approaches would cause their ultimate MPGs (or HP) to differ in any material way.
Do Suburbans really get as high as 18mpg?
Descending Pike's Peak?
My wrx has been reflashed...it is faster and torquier than my friends 02 especially at part throttle...and gets around 20% better gas mileage. Strange isn't it.
Don
Oregon does test every 2 years, but the state's limits are nowhere near as strict as Fed new-car rules. So, there is a possibility that a reflashed code in my XT might materially improve MPG without sacrificing power (or perhaps even improving both) without causing the engine to fail the only emissions tests that matter to me.
I have heard mixed reviews of Yoko Geolanders, but the ones on my wife's 03 Forester are great. They are holding up very well after about 27,000 miles, and have been great in snow and rain. Quiet on the highway too. I would definitely get this tire next time around.
I think I read that this was a new tire design for the new model Forester, so I'm not sure how it fits in Yoko's lineup or what sizes are available.
Craig
This is an amazing service that you offer here (I didn't see any manufacturer reps on other boards) and is certainly a reason for me to once again consider a Subie for my next purchase (and as Juice advised, maybe going Gold). Thanks again.
Mike
I have minimal sleep requirements!
Enjoy the weather in the east folks! I'm heading out driving first thing in the AM!
Patti
While I am somewhat annoyed at having to deal with the problem, I am relieved that if it was to occur it occurred now at 47 months/44K miles and still under warranty rather than 13 months from now when it is out of warranty.
I've never had to have such a serious/big ticket repair done under warranty on any car I've owned (has always been little stuff - a loose O2 sensor on the '98 Sienna, a broken clutch cable on an '88 Mercury Tracer, a faulty cooling fan switch on the '83 Subaru, stuff like that), so I am girding myself for a fight at the dealership. It would be nice if the dealer turns out to be honest and decent and ready to do the right thing, but my pessimistic streak keeps telling me to get ready for the runaround.
--K9Leader
"Some people see the glass as half full. Some people see the glass as half empty. I see a dirty glass that someone else left lying around for me to clean up."
That said, if you are loosing that much coolant at a shot, gasket replacement & retorque is probably the only course of action. I cannot see how a 'swelling agent' or leak stop added to the coolant will fix it.
Steve
Let me say that my concern is not based on any previous negative experience with this dealership or on any second-hand complaints I've heard about this dealership. I've only been to this dealership once before with my Subaru and was satisfied with their work and service, and I had been there several years ago with my Acura and was satisfied (although in sticker shock at what a timing belt replacement cost). My concerns are based on previous experiences with other dealerships (yes, one of them is the other Subaru dealer in my area with whom I will never do business again)of several different makes in several different cities in which I've lived.
Perhaps I'm paranoid -- my wife tells me I need to be more positive. But I do have reasons to be skeptical and guarded. If there were more Pattis and her team in the world, I would be more positive/less skeptical. As it is, I am feeling less anxious about the situation thanks to Patti (and Barb, the CSR who is handling this).
--K9Leader, Newark DE
Did you choose a body shop yet? I highly recommend B&B Auto (Rt 9 Fishkill 897-1710). They did two 'deer' accidents for me.
Steve
Greg
Greg
Steve
So if you want to avoid extra hours of restorative work, you need to retract the shoes first so that the ridge passes cleanly over them. Do this by removing the small rubber plug (it is in the backing plate around back - axle side) and back off the star gear that preloads the shoes towards the drum surface by a few turns. A flat blade screwdriver inserted into the hole will work. If you reuse the rotor, remember to strip off the rust ridge and reset the shoes close to fully extended. Even with a new rotor, you will need to set the brake shoes manually, as there is no auto-adjuster on the star gear like there is on conventional rear drum service brakes.
Steve
The aftermarket one looked and felt like hard plastic so I was worried it would perform poorly in cold weather...so far it has performed flawlessly...A lot more rattles have popped up inside the car but the steering rack bushing remains quiet (service tech said it could get noisy in cold) in the cold.
Don
Don't even look back, that's sweet. Best I could find was 535.
-juice
I thought it was too good to be true, but it seems I did get a great buy @ $39.99. It also has a 36 month free replacement warranty and a 100 month limited warranty. Now to get it installed and return the old one for the $5 deposit. I hope inside my garage is warmer than outside.
Russ
3Year full replacement and 10 year pro rated warranty, can't beat that.
And the price was about $180CDN taxes included.
Cheers Pat.
I'm hoping I can slide by with it on the car for the next 8 weeks, then I'll be re-installing the alloy wheels.
The steel rims are the regular 03 Forester's.
Here's my question - should I
1) ignore it and use it that way next winter - its still holding air ?
2) ditch the rim and get a new one ?
3) get the wheel broken down and try to find some place to fix it?
New OEM steel wheels from the dealer are about $100 a pop, and I only paid $150 for this entire set on eBay. :<(
All advice welcome.
TIA
Larry
-juice
Although I was hoping they wouldn't get that much of a beating....
Larry
-juice
And you just can't dodge them all.
Larry