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Comments
bit
I can't offer any technical help, but maybe some District Svc. Op. Mgr. advice.
I had a case a while back regarding my clutch. After being lied to by the Service Manager, I said I wanted to speak with the District Svc. Manager. He didn't even know it was his place to set up the appointment. I called SoA and told them. They said it was the dealer's responsibility but they would set it up.
Anyway, it took a little over two months, IIRC. One guy is the DSOM for all of Northern Jersey and usually sticks to his dealer visit schedule. I called SoA reguarly to get updates on the meeting. I finally met him and it was well worth it. He rolled up his sleeves and started looking under the hood while I was pressing the clutch. I think some name-dropping may have helped too. ;-)
I never got his direct phone number until I met him. I copied him on a couple of emails to SoA because the dealer was still being "bone-headed" on some things. After opening up the tranny twice, they finally fixed it.
I don't buy the part where they said you can't be there. That just doesn't make sense.
Dennis
-Greg
When the engine decides to ping and knock it will do it under just about any condition but most predominantly under easy acceleration between 20 and 40 mph. It will also ping and knock when simply holding a steady speed around 40mph on level ground in high gear (auto trans) and the A/C turned off.
Hopefully there will be some corrective action that I can post after I drive the car to make sure the problem has been fixed. As I previously mentioned the service people believe it's "sensor adjustment related".
Vince
new news is there's no news. dealer still has the car and will have it into next week because they've been unable, as of late friday, to correct the problem.
I'm traveling all next week and will be unable to pick up the car until the weekend (5/19), if its fixed. I will have my laptop with me and will post any corrective action that the service people have taken.
Vince
As i said I am new here and do not know who Patti is other than gleaning that she works at SOA from reading the posts. It sounds as if she is very well respected and dedicated so I am hopeful she can shed some insight/assistance if she wants to get involved. I dont know if her involvement will be limited by the fact that I already have an open case which supposedly is being handled by a senior cust. service manager? As I said SOA has not been overly sympathetic to the problem. In fact I have a letter from SOA saying engine redesign in 1997 to increase power and fuel economy has resulted in increased engine noise which they "are confident are not indicative of damage or a defect within your engine". Unfortunately the letter discusses cold engine noises which are not at all the symptoms of my problem. This is one of many examples of the poor level of communication occurring between the dealership, their SOA tech advisors and SOA cust service....if I could only figure out a way to find out who the mysterious District tech manager is for Massachusetts so I could arrange a face to face meeting. Dennis I too got nowhere with the dealer svc manager setting this up but so far SOA has provided only limited assistance and advised a face to face is not possible. Maybe this lack of a face to face is the preference of the local district manager but if it is, that is truly an example of poor customer service. Someday soon I suppose I will get another a call to leave the car at the dealerhip on a day when I am going to be away on business and the SOA calling circle will begin again...sorry for the sarcasm but I am truly telling it like it is. Subaru really needs to do something about this "beyond the dealer" process. Never in my life have I been unable to locate and discuss resolution of an issue with the corporate individual responsible for making the decision. To shell out $25,000 for this level of support is really shameful. Maybe and hopefully this case is just an anomoly.
Just so you know, I do not usually get directly involved in cases. I am the manager responsible for QC and Training for the Customer Dealer Services department. I will consult with the "Sr. Representative" for your team and make sure he understands what he needs to do.
1 clarification that I need (I can't access your case from home) - are you experiencing a knock or a ping? There are different noises from "normal" cold start piston slap to a "ping" on acceleration.
I can commit to you that I will get the best resources involved in your case. I'm sorry it has not been a good experience so far. I hope to change your opinion of us.
Thanks for your patience,
Patti
I'll post Monday!
Patti
Thanks again for your concern and assistance. I am appreciative of anything you can do or find out ....Mario
-juice
First 2 changes were done at dealer (first free, second 16.95), so they are the ones who did this, along with the lug nuts. BTW, punching hole in filter and letting it drain is a great idea - belated thanks on this one folks.
I put in Mobil 1 syn 5w30 - had to try it. Seems to run a bit smoother, but that may be the placebo effect the 4.50 a quart is having on my brain. We'll see.
-Tony
As I indicated in earlier posts, the district service rep. duplicated the noise on my Outback - mostly under moderate load at around 2000 rpm. However, he thought it was coming from the drivetrain area. He sent the datastream off to the engineers, so hopefully they'll come up with some solutions. I'm going to switch back to super unleaded and see if the noise goes away. If that works, then it's got to be an engine pinging problem, and not drivetrain related. I'll keep you posted on my experiences.
-Eric
Could this be the bad strut or is it more likely the brake rotor? I had the rotors re-surfaced at Meineke recently.
TIA,
Dennis
If you have new pads and they turned the rotors... hmmm, better just head back and have them take a looksee. ;-)
-Colin
-Brian
-Colin
Yeah, I'd have it checked. It's only going to get worse, and probably quickly.
-juice
Recently, I learned from the dealer that the rear diffy fluid plugs need to be broken open with a tool with a 2' lever arm because they come so over torqued from the factory. Not only do you need a special tool, but your vehicle also needs to be up in the air to do that.
Ken
Thanks Patti for the post I will contact SOA-- I want to be sure this is documented..(although I wasn't really impressed with them the first clutch repair..)
edit: I should have expected problems from a place that didn't
know how to remove the wheel covers. Instead of following the rotate
this way arrow, they proceeded to remove all 30 or so of the screws holding the cover.
Ken - That explains why I couldn't remove my rear diff plugs last weekend. I pounded and pounded the ratchet with a hammer and they didn't budge. I don't think my last dealer even inspected the rear diff oil at my 30,000 service.
Dennis
Cheers!
Paul
bit
I did my own 30K maintiance on my 96 OB. Getting the rear differential plugs out was a mighty effort. Then looking at them after they were removed I found a ceramic based epoxy like substance on the threads of the screw and the case. It took me an hour and a half with a dental pick to get all this stuff off. I really doubt the dealership does such things. Of course if you dont when you put the screw back on it is introducing ceramic grit into your rear differental (some of it powders or flakes when you take it off and stick it back in). Yummy, yummy.
Another Glue job you might want to avoid is the transmission pan. I wanted to inspect the screen (just like it called for in the manual). Undid a load of screws and discovered it was still tightly held. After much prying I got it off only to discover it had been glued on by some form of silicone based glue. Another 2 hours with a wooden scraper to get that stuff off!. Do yourself a favor and just get a reverse flush on the transmission fluid!
All trim removed but I cannot extract it from its housing
Are there any special tools
Thanks
Epoxy? Man, talk about a seal!
Sorry, can't help you on radios.
-juice
Any chance the color is brown? I definately noticed something that appeared to have dripped before drying around the diff plugs.
Maybe I'll just leave the rear diff alone and throw the gear oil that I bought into my wife's auto OB's front diff.
Dennis
And the answer is "Multemp AC-D or equivalent".
I hope that answers your questions!
Thanks for looking that up. I did some research and it looks like Multemp AC-D is a product made by a Japanese chemical company. I don't think it's something I can just buy at an auto parts store.
I guess the more relevant question is, will regular white lithium grease harm the shifter parts?
Ken
I don't know if epoxy is what it really is but thats the closest word to describe something used as a sealant that is a pain to get out...
heck of a seal though!
I don't remeber if the front diff uses the same stuff, I want to say it was tied up in the tranny fluid but I can't remeber. Also might have changed for the 00 and beyond. Check the manual.
bit
I'm glad it's better.
Patti
I felt like I was on Tool Time - I needed more power!!! ;~)
Patti
P. S. I have forwarded your comments to our tech. group so other power hungry dealer personnel can be reigned in like I was!
Patti
My calendar isn't too bad tomorrow, so you can ask for me.
Thanks for hanging in there!
Patti
Thanks so much for getting this ball rolling again...your influence was immediately obvious today! I flew out to Chicago early this morning and when I arrived there was a voice message on my cell from SOA (Chris) advising he was working on setting up a new appointment. Shortly thereafter I received a call on my cell from the dealer service manager saying the reps wanted to look at the car on the 20th. Fortunately Im in Town that day so I told then to go ahead. They still want me to drop it off with them for the day but supposedley they will drive it for an hour or so to make a determination of what is happening. Hopefully I will be able to personally discuss their findings with them but I will wait and see on that. Not sure what will come of this but I am very grateful for your dedication and help in getting this moving forward again. Busy travel day for me Tuesday but I will try to give yoyu a call if I can or perhaps later in the week....Thanks again Patti!
-mike
I'd imagine the price would be about half of what you were quoted for those struts. Shop around for those.
-juice
Dennis
Can rotors be turned after they've already been re-surfaced?
That's the last time I use Meineke.
Dennis
-juice
Dennis
-mike
Brake rotor resurfacing = 90 days.
(the earlier post was pre-coffee).
I guess I could ask the dealer to look and tell me what they think. If it's just the pads, I'll head back to Meineke. If it's the rotors ...
Dennis
Adjusting the sensors (??) didn't fix the problem so they checked the knock sensor that was replaced last summer and discovered the knock sensor now has a new part number. He decided to replace it again but with the one with the new part number. After driving the car for two days he believes the problem appears to have been corrected.
Since I'm on the west coast this week and my car is on the east coast I won't be able to "see for myself" until Saturday.
Patti, would you have any idea what was changed in the knock sensor and if a problem was found with the previous one why weren't dealers notified of a possible problem with the previous one? Just curious because this has been a long drawn out, and at times, frustrating problem to correct.
Thanks,
Vince
Patti