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Comments
You should have at least a 1-year parts/labor warranty on a dealer repair.
For future reference, Kunos in Redwood City (I know it's not exactly close to you) is a very good independent Subaru mechanic.
Ken
Steve
Your were right about small changes for aiming the head lights. Just a small turn (less than a 1/5 rev) raised the beam a noticable amount. A 5/16" socket did the trick for adjusting up/down. A phillips screw driver would work only if the battery was removed.
I went with the standard H1 bulb. Before changing the passanger side I could see a noticable difference in the new vs old bulbs. After 4 years they do get a bit dimmer. At $4.x a bulb cost wasn't bad at all.
--jay
I have been having a problem with sudden overheating that occurs when the car idles after driving it for awhile. The oil and coolant seemed to be full after this happened, but I saw what looked like a lot of dark colored gunk in the coolant overflow tank. I had the oil changed and the radiator flushed and refilled. The problem hasn't occurred since, but I haven't been on any trips over 10 miles.
Is it possible that it could be a problem with the head gaskets? I've read some posts about exhaust being pushed back into the coolant system when the heads are cracked, which would explain the dark colored stuff in the coolant overflow. Could there be another explanation for that? Thanks for any advice,
Patrick
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but yes, classic symptoms of the 'internal' head gasket failure common to the DOHC version of the 2.5. Subi SOHC motors leak coolant out, DOHC leak between cylinder bore and water jacket. Figure on $2k for gasket replacement, assuming no head warpage or block cracking. From most other reports, you can get away with one or two episodes if you catch it quickly without other serious damage.
Steve
~Colin
My wife had to travel out of town and didn't feel safe driving the car until after the problem was fixed. The dealership refused to loan her a vehicle. (I had offered her my 00 Legacy GT, but she wasn't comfortable with MT or the spoiler partially blocking her rear view.) She ended up renting a car on her own to travel out of town.
With a warranty repair (still in 3-36) and parts having to be back-ordered, should she have been eligible for a loaner car (even if not necessarily a Subaru)? Is this a dealership policy issue vs a warranty issue?
Thanks for any perspectives.
P.S. How much stock should I put in the presence or ABSENCE of any Subaru-certified mechanics in the repair shop? What reputation does the Subaru certification program have in the real world?
Steve
That is a dealer policy, though.
If you had the Subaru Gold warranty, you might have had better luck. We do and our dealer always gets us a loaner. We've had a van once, and the second time I mentioned I wanted a wagon (since our wagon was being serviced) and they gave us a Mercedes C240 4matic wagon!
Happened to be looking at the fog lamps on my wife's 03 OBW w/31K and noticed that the mounting brackets were covered in rust. By itself not the end of the world, but rust tends to transmit like a virus from one piece of metal to another - in this case the mounting area of the brackets.
I got two new brackets from my dealer's parts department and replaced them yesterday. Not bad, only took about 2.5 hours and that included using a dremel wire wheel and touching up where the brackets mounted to the car, which was definitely starting to rust.
I also brushed the rust discoloration off the lamp assembly. The protective grills, BTW, only attach in 3 of 4 possible points. There is no 4th point for them to attach to. And as long as I was at it, I tried to buff & polish the fog lamps' lens, which were really beat up.
Brackets are about $24 a pop, didn't try to get the dealer to do the work as its certainly not a "rust through" item, and probably wouldn't be for a couple of years. The dealer did offer up the parts for free as long as I returned the old parts. Couldn't pass that one up.
I was surprised the parts themselves, especially given their location, weren't more robustly protected, say by plasticoating them or something.
Also, if anyone tries this, don't forget to save the adjusting screw, spring, and plastic captive nut.
I hate rust, so I thought I'd put this cautionary tale out for all to see.
Larry
Wonder if it was trapping water there? Mine actually look clean, and it's a '98.
-juice
I actually have had mine out ('02 OBW) within the past few weeks while changing the bulbs (conversion upgrade). The brackets were OK, but the spring/adjuster screw was rusty. Applied some lithium grease, and put them back in. They are in a tough spot - direct hit for water born salt spray.
I ditched the grills. Never cared for them, and no other models has them.
Steve
What sort of bulb did you use to replace the OEM fog lamp bulbs?
Thanks,
vetmats
Steve
I have an "03 Forester that has 19,000 miles on it, all in Florida except for the last year in NH. No off road driving, very rare dirt roads. I took it in to a repair center for a NH state inspection and was told that all four brakes failed. I need new brakes and rotors on all four wheels for about $800. I can't believe my brakes would "look like the Grand Canyon" when they work fine and have so few miles. He said this is typical of Subarus. He showed me what he meant. The rotors had an orange/brown tint are not as smooth as glass but are pretty smooth, but I'm no expert on car repairs. I said I'd like to show it to the Subaru dealer (they don't do inspections because they're in VT) and he told me they'd probably say the brakes are fine. I spent $64 for this inspection and am wondering if I should spend another $64 for an inspection somewhere else.
Does this seem strange to anyone or am I just being paranoid? Any tips on how to assess my brakes and rotors would also be appreciated.
Dan :mad:
At most, I'd have them resurfaced with an on-car lathe. Under warranty, too. Call 800-SUBARU3.
-juice
Take it to a different authorized inspection center, pass with flying colors, and report the scam artist original inspector to your state DMV, attorney general and BBB.
~Colin
DaveM
And, ditto on the reporting the guy to the DMV, BBB and if you have a consumer affairs reporter on a local television station or radio show, let them know too.
I've seen to many people get stiffed by dishonest repair shops to show them any mercy.
Another 0.02
Larry
I was also surprised to find that the price for an inspection varies. I paid $64 at the first shop. The shop I'm going to friday charges $35. These are interesting lessons I'm learning.
If it turns out that my car's brakes fail again on friday, I'll take it to the subaru dealer for repairs, hopefully under warranty.
Thanks again for all the supportive advice. It's easy to be taken in by dishonest shops, and this may be one. Car owners are torn between wanting to keep our cars safe and running well, and not getting ripped off. I carry my two year old and my new 4 day old son in that car. If the brakes are not up to par, I'll pay whatever I have to. I think they play on this emotional approach to repairs. If I find that they're scamming me, I will be extremely PI$$ED off and will not just let it go without an effort to expose them.
Otherwise, the shop could say, "nope, sorry, failed," over and over for every little blip they "missed" last time just to cash in on the $64 multiple times for the same freakin' inspection.
The fact that it happened right after a head gasket change is suspicious. Wonder if they dumped a bunch of antifreeze into the crankcase when they pulled the heads. Bearing failure is often directly attributable to a lubrication issue.
Steve
IMO I would've never brought it back to the original dealer because I would've immediately suspected incompetent work or intentional sabotage. But 3 weeks is especially intolerable-- you should've posted sooner, and hauled the car away to another Subaru dealer if one was nearby. And even if not, I would've called Subaru to complain.
Btw that shortblock is not worth $4500. The shortblock itself is well under $1800, and there is no way in hell that $3000 worth of labor could be justified. They're gouging you.
~Colin
It is SOOO much work to pull a Subaru engine though.... I can see why it took them 3 weeks. *rolls eyes* There's not much more to say than what Colin already mentioned about that dealer. :mad:
-juice
But when I was driving the car home (after service closed in the afternoon) I noticed some clutch judder had been introduced. Geeze, the clutch was really smooth after it had been replaced around 35,000 miles after an oil seal leaked. And, of course, we left the next day for Portland, OR. I did contact the service rep the following week with the "good" news. So when we get back in early June, back in it goes.
So far the judder only is present when in rush hour traffic when you try to ease the clutch below 1,000 rpm.
MNSteve (currently enjoying the warm weather in Portland, OR)
But if you use a "cheap" air filter, you may need to change it more frequently.
I just spend the $12 or so and buy the air filter at the dealer.
DaveM
Stock = Purolator, by the way. Air and oil filters.
-juice
Thanks again for the support you guys gave me! I'll update you when this issue is resolved.
And lastly, when were the the brake fluid and anti-freeze last replaced?
You might be able to get the maintenance schedule from Subaru.com.
HTH,
Jim
Part of the argument was the synthetic blends availabale don't have to specify the true amount of synthetic they contain. Substituting one quart for five at least guarantees you a 20% blend, and might be slightly cheaper than buying blends.
Any thoughts? Does a synthetic blend potentially bleed out of an higher-mileage engine like a full synthetic might?
Cheers!
Paul
What's the reason for using a synthetic blend? Are you trying to acheive longer oil change intervals?
Honestly, for most normally aspirated engines, using a name brand conventional oil and sticking to about 5000-7500 mile OCIs should be just fine.
There have been some stories about people developing leaks when they switched from conventional to synth on high milage engines. The thinking goes that the synthetic cleans out the deposits on the engine that may have been helping the seals. However, that would only be an issue if you had an engine that was prone to sludge (Subarus don't seem to have that problem) or if you've neglected to change oil on a regular basis.
If it were me and I had a high milage engine that's running fine and has always been on conventional oil, I'd stick to it.
Ken
I'd heard about the leaks, but I think that was changing over to full synthetic from conventional.
I ususally stick to the 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' philosophy as well.
Cheers!
Paul
Thanks
In any event, if the OEM was dino, I just stick with dino. I change oil about every 3000 - 5000 miles on a normally aspirated car and more often on a car with a turbo.
-juice
Spread the word.
Fred
The accessories worked in "acc" but I couldn't get anything going when I turned it to "on" . Someone else is out in my office and I couldn't be late so my wife drove me to the bus stop. I'll probably have to call roadside assistance, but I'm hoping it isn't anything to do with my aftermarket alarm. The alarm shouldn't drain the battery because it goes into a reserve mode after it's been sitting for a couple of hours. I don't think any doors open because the alarm will alert me that something is open, unless I didn't set it when I was unpacking.
Any thoughts? I'm a little surprised that I couldn't start it with a jump. Now I recall that on Sunday it shut off by itself about 10 seconds after it started. This has happened about four times in the past.
-Dennis
My 2002 LLB Outback (which I dearly love) has a problem with the steering wheel vibrating between 68 and 78 mph. I live on a very bumpy and rocky road that at times is also muddy. I drive 3 miles on this road both coming and going to town.
The vibrating started shortly after I accidently hit a large pothole. (last November) We had the wheels aligned and tires rotated by a local place that did no good. Finally took it in to the dealer (Premier Motor Cars in Santa Fe) where I have had nothing but great experiences. The front brakes were done about a year ago.
They did not seem to understand what I was telling them. I am no expert and did not seem to communicate with them. They put down that I needed wheel rotation and balance. I asked them to check the shocks, etc. They did the 40 point check that is recommended at 65000.
So after two days, new rear brakes, an inspection and tire rotation, they suggested that I buy new tires (only two are worn on the inside edges) and that I get the mud off of the inside of the wheels.
Driving the 50 miles home discovered the vibration was exactly the same. No change. Husband and I agree that they did not listen to what we were telling them. I must call them back to get another appointment. How can I get them to listen to me? What should I ask for? It just doesn't seem to me that replacing my almost new tires or cleaning off the mud will solve my problem,
Thanks so much
Oma
So the lessons I learned are:
In NH, the inspecting shop can charge whatever they like for an inspection. I paind $64 and $35 for my two inspections.
In NH, the criteria for passing an inspection are enforced to varying degrees by different shops. I'm sure that shop #2 saw the surface rust on the rotors but decided it was not affecting the function of my brakes.
It seems that shop #1 acted within the law. Although I won't get my money back, I think it's worth a letter to our representatives suggesting that the inspections have more objective scoring, that the price for inspections be set, and that the shop that does inspections should not do repairs that are done as a result of the inspection.
Good luck!
I've read a few pages back and you all seem really knowledgeable and helpful! I hope you'll be able to help with my problem.
My 2004 Forester XT, with 12,000 km has been making a terrible noise on extreme right or left turns (like to get out of a parallel parking spot) since I got it. The problem seems to be intermittent and so the dealer hasn't been able to duplicate it so I'm having problems getting it fixed. It only seems to make the sound (a very audible crunching/grinding) after sitting for a good long while (like over night) and makes it more often when the temperature is around the freezing mark.
My first Forester (a 2003 - it was stolen) never made this noise, so I'm pretty sure it's not a universal Subaru problem. Any insight would be great.
Thanks so much!