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http://www.kastleskorner.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3- 4
I used Turtle Wax colored wax on my last Forester's bumper - it comes with a crayon and some dye laden wax. It works really good for filling in the chips. I covered it with plain carnuba wax after it dried and it looked great.
Thanks again
Larry
I would let her warm up before wringing it out, and also let it cool down, just drive slowly the last mile before your destination (probably a neighborhood anyway). You should do that with any engine, really.
-juice
deadeye: overall I would not worry about turbo longevity.. these things are well engineered, the XT uses the same turbo as the WRX but with even less boost pressure, so that would lead to an even longer life, as well as the cooling system is designed to prevent any oil cooking when you shut down the engine. I've not really heard of anyone's turbo going bad in WRX over the last couple of years, except when they start playing with manually increasing boost pressure, etc..
-juice
Just called the service department and was told "tough luck charlie - that's the way it is"
I suspect when I go to pick up the car in an hour or so things are going to get contentious.
If Subaru wants to sticker a car out at over 29K and tell me that steering column is normal, they've got another thing coming.
Will keep you all posted......
Larry
That should be covered under the standard adjustments you can request for 30 days or however long that period is.
-juice
Per http://www.cars101.com/subaru/forester/forester2004.html :
Warranties-
Bumper-to-bumper: 3 year/36,000 miles
3year/36,000 Service Adjustment (adjustment performed one time)
3yr/36000 miles roadside assistance (through Cross Country Motor Club, call 800 261-2155)
3year/36,000 mile Wear Item Warranty covers keyless remote battery, brake pad/shoe linings, clutch disc lining, wiper blades
Roadside assistance: 3 year/36,000 miles
Powertrain: 5 year/ 60,000 miles
Corrosion: 5 year/100,000 miles
DaveM
Compare and let us know?
-juice
The song and dance I'm getting is "There's nothing to adjust". It bolts together and that's that.
I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow and let you folks decide. Its not terribly bad, and if the person that put on the boost cage had compensated by setting the gauge to counter the effect, I'd be more inclined to let it go. They also refused to remount the gauge.
Tonight I had my wife sit behind the wheel of the car for the first time - she noticed it right off and said it looked ridiculous.
My major gripe is that on a 12k Hyundai, I might tolerate it, but on a 29k Subaru, no way. If they want to compete at that level, they're going to have to learn what the competition is like it terms of fit and finish.
And if it really is bolted together correctly - what's causing the misalignemt? Is the whole unibody off? Is the entire dash incorreclty mounted? That worries me as much as anything else.
They've promised to call Subaru on Tuesday - I actually had the sales manager sit in the car and dared him to tell me that it was all right the way it was. He couldn't do it.
Larry
Looking for a bike rack. I think I'll settle on a Hollywood Road Runner HR310 - anyone have any experience with Hollywood bike racks?
2004 2.5XT 5-sp Silver.... ;-)
-Frank P.
No adjusmentents other than trying to shim the mounting somehow. Guess I'm just blessed with one of those rare(?) Subaru miscues. With a 29k sticker on it. Deeeelightful.
I couldn't get my imagestation link to work, but if anyone would like a picture, e-mail me and I'll be happy to send one.
If anyone wants to comment about my whining, feel free.....
Larry
Trying to be proactive about this mess, I dismantled my nice new 10 day old car today and ended up shimming the left hand side of the steering column where it mounts to the beam by 0.25 inch.
A friend of mine who works on GM products says that GM actually makes an official shim that adjusts from about 1/8 inch to 3/8 inch. That would put my adjustment right in the middle.
Why I've got the only Subaru in America that requires this is another matter.
My plan is to get the dealer and SOA to bless the fix so that there's no warranty issues down the road.
I also saw why they don't want to realign the boost gauge - there are two screws that go from inside the top of the shroud through a plate that attaches the boost gauge. All that would be required is to elongate the slots a bit and move the gauge down. BUT - clever fellows that they are, they didn't leave themselves enough slack under the dash to ever remove the shroud.
So well see what SOA has to say on Tuesday.
Larry
-Brian
Now have 2800+ miles on my Silver mt-XT, and mileage is still improving... over 23 on last commuting tank. It's now getting better mileage than the 100hp, '87 Nissan Multi 4x4 that it replaced.
Jim
Jim
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid77/pd20fd0d75b201460e3c8- adc3034eca36/fb3cacd8.jpg
Second - the shims
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid77/p94dc3ec161394fd02584- 35fd63151153/fb3c0147.jpg
Third - after the shims
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid77/p2c3e3b7a5c333061b9cf- f1b1070f5bab/fb3bffa5.jpg
Fourth - what a great job of replacing the scratched cover - too bad they trashed the dash
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid77/p1ecc965ab32d69cdd984- 4150d62ba446/fb3caccd.jpg
Brian - thanks for the tip
Larry
-Brian
2nd fill was just about 18 mpg
3rd fill was back down to about 14.5
mostly rolling hill country type driving. some stop signs and lights. no a/c on last tank. driving with moderate acceleration ( no above 4k rpm ). no buried foot on accelerator. no hard stops.
"The only faux pas in the powertrain's performance is the automatic transmission that is reluctant to downshift. And when it does finally shift - up or down - it doesn't do it smoothly. The automatic comes standard with a manual-shifting feature that allows you to get your gearchange whenever you please. But with only four gear ratios - necessarily widely spaced - it ain't that much fun to play with."
Has this been the experience of the XT AT owners?
Going from a 2000 Golf to the XT I took particular care to note the headlights. Low beams are much better in the Golf. The pattern in the XT has dark areas, and it does not shine that far out. Good around town maybe, but not in the boonies. The high beams are much better in the XT. The give good range, but still with some dark areas. The foglights make the difference when using the low beams.
I can't wait until it snows. I am jazzed.
One thing else I have noted, that I doubt anyone else will. The smell of the new XT interior is close to the smell of one of my favorite Cuban (that's right, Cuban) cigars. I have found that to be intoxicating. I know that there is no way Subaru has planned that, but holy cow I love being in the car.
If they had produced a car that smelled like Heidi Klum I would have bought that one also.
I guess the Cuban comparison is pretty apt!
Steve, Host
Mixed driving, A/C on 100% of the time.
Seems like the MPG is improving with each tank.
Also, just reading the posts, looks like the M/T's are getting much better mileage than A/T's. But then again, that is almost always the case, regardless of what the EPA number state.
P.S......
Only 60 miles left before the break-in is over
:-))))
- - - 2004 2.5XT 5-sp.
Reset the ECU while I was working on the steering column, we'll see what tank 3 gives.
jack - if you're still around interested in hearing your opinion / recommendation on the steering column - already had one friend suggest I get a lawyer and get Subaru to give me a refund and or another car claiming the car has structural flaws from the factory.
Another friend who knows much more than I do about body work says it can only be one of three things (none of which I like).
1) they put the steering support beam in cockeyed.
2) the beam is no good.
3) the column is no good.
1 or 2 being the most likely.
I'm thinking about dropping the $200 and getting the car put on a frame machine to confirm the major datum points.
Really curious to see what SOA and the dealer come up with tomorrow. Bet this is going to go on for a while, especially since the dealer sys he's never, ever, ever, seen one of these.
And contrary to conventional wisdom for the Subie boosters out there, when its your new car that's hosed it really doesn't matter how great the rest of them are, right then you only care about the one.
Larry
BTW, our steering column is perfectly straight. Sucks to be you :-(
We have auto, to me it is the smoothest auto I've ever driven. I have been playing with leaving it in D most of the time, it usually downshifts reasonably well for me. You do have to stomp it to force a downshift to pass, and it takes a moment, but it doesn't seem abnormal for an AT to me, maybe there are ATs that do it faster, but it seems pretty typical to me. The downside I found is that it likes to upshift too soon... We just hit 1000 miles on ours, so I was letting it all hang out, got to 6000 and barely let up pressure on the pedal and it upshifted :-( Not sure how it will do on long hills, it usually seems ok except when you try to rev really high.
PS: The XT at 6000 rpm is a MONSTER!! The gas pedal really motivates the hell out of this thing!!!
Ok, on to business: has anyone installed the Subaru security system add-on, done it themselves? I ordered a kit from subaruwrxparts.com, they had a separate listing for XT security kit, but the diagrams and wiring shown in the install document don't seem to match up with what's in the car, I'm wondering if it is really different than the X/XS and if they sent me the wrong kit.. PN# H711SSA200, it just says "Security System Upgrade Forester"
corkfish - If you get a chance take a look at the links I posted the pics to, Brian showed me how to get imagestation working - they display pretty quick. The shroud is "lockstepped" to the column, no rotational adjust at all. When I dropped the left column bolt, the column "unwound" to about the position I ended up shimming it to. Car definitely in need of minor alignment, i.e. steering wheel straight car drifts slightly left. I was planning on waiting until the 1k mark as its not that bad and its not that unusual to get misaligned new cars.
Larry
tidester, host
I am in awe!
Now, if I can just pull this off in my Legacy GT next summmer," Honey, all these new Legacy's smell like Heidi Klum."
Mark
Mark
-les
In any event I logged the case with Subaru this morning, and am going to call the service manager to set up an appt to have a Subaru rep look at the column.
Larry
Ken
Larry- Even the most ardent Subie booster will admit that there's always the potential of getting a lemon (same holds true for Honda and Toyota), just that the odds of it happening are less than with some other manufacturers. Of course as you pointed out, that's no comfort when you're the one with the problem. Why again was it that you accepted delivery with the steering column shroud so visibly crooked? ;-)
In any case, if you're happy with the fix and it turns out that there's no other damage, I don't see SOA voiding the warranty since it sounds like they would otherwise have to replace the steering support beam.
-Frank P.
Larry
Concerning the smell: Ahhh, the rest of you are so used to incense burners, and wouldn't know a pleasant smell if your life depended on it. Cuban cigars are rich, aromatic, and definitely worth the price of admission. One of these days go to another country and try one. May I suggest Cohiba.
Back to the Subaru. What a car! I can't wait for winter!
Cubans sure sound good in comparison!
-juice
Steve, Host
They were unhappy when I told them I opened a case with Subaru until I got them to understand I wasn't trying to grind any axes; that all I wanted was a slip from them (or Subaru) saying they acknowledged the problem, verified my corrective work was up to snuff, and my warranty was in no way voided.
I am now the proud possessor of said slip. Right into the file folder it goes for safe keeping.
They even agreed that yeah, maybe the boost gauge is still off more than it should be and they'll fix it when I bring it on for the 1k service. They'll even give me a loaner for the day.
I think when I left the sales manager was happy he was keeping me as a customer (figure I bought $75k worth of cars off them in the last 14 months, and they've made at least another 5-7k in retailing my trades - all 3 of which were sold from their lot within 3 or 4 days (OCD people are good people to get cars from).
The service manager was happy they didn't have to do the work, and more or less acknowledged the beam may not have been angled just right in the first place. I wanted to work hard to keep the dealer / client relationship viable as I do believe they're the best around here.
Also, I don't like to act like a knuckle dragging neanderthal until all other options are exhausted.
For the constructive advise and opinions, received from the usual constructive sources, my thanks to all.
Larry
And now i have a new layer of turbo wannabe anticipation...a car that smells like a Cohiba!
Mark
Amazing...TC
-Frank P.
Sam- 30 mins? So what exactly did you have to do to install the security system?
-Frank P.
More off-topic rambling (well, it's a Subaru, and it's a Turbo):
Follow-Up Test: 2004 Subaru Baja Turbo
Buffagm, this link was posted in the Highlander board this morning:
Why use premium gas when regular will do? (USA Today)
Steve, Host