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Comments
Steve, Host
Heck, it's a unibody, any damage is frame damage.
-juice
Anyway - 2 air bags, 2 air bag sensors, 1 air bag computer (single use item), 1 windshield (from normal passenger air bag deployment) 1 front bumper cover, 1 front bumper bar, 2 bumper shock supports, 1 headlight assembly (cracked lens), front grill, minor dent in edge of hood, remove the damaged stuff, bolt on the new stuff, paint the hood and bumper cover, pay the shop $7800. No frame damage, no fender damage, with the exception of the lip of the hood, no body damage.
That was a strange accident, but not as strange as the flying road sign. A tale for a different day.
Larry
My Forester was hit pretty hard in the rear bumper, I don't remember exactly but it was less than $2k in damage. That was for a fender repair + paint, bumper cover, and tail light.
-juice
This is one of the reasons I am so glad I reached a good solution for my WRX problem with the dealer. I had Lemon law lawyers calling me every other day just because I filled out a questionaire on their website! Using them to try to force something from the dealer was the last thing I wanted to do.
TWRX, your no education no fee teacher. Of course in the teaching business we are entitled to 50% of all profits made in later life by our students aren't we?
-juice
Question is: When can I switch to synthetics, and go 7000 miles? Will doing that effect the warranty? Currently, I have Penzoil from the dealer. Is the Subaru engine designed such that synthetics (Mobil 1) cannot be used, and will leak? Can 5W30 tolerate -30 F temperature, as far as cold starts are concerned, if I go out? (I have a heated garage in the apt. complex)
Thanks, in advance
Subaru has a schedule with 7500 mile intervals, synthetics can easily handle that.
-juice
I am not necessarily a "non-dyno" only guy, I just didn't want to change oil every 4 months.
John
Dyno is for dynomometers, to measure power. :-)
-juice
-juice
B
FWIW, I "think" the filter has enough capacity otherwise the intervals wouldn't be 7,500.
Brain, messing with warranties by not following required maintenance? = brainless, IMO.
John
There is no visible damage. But there is hidden damage. That was evident when the cargo cover came loose and apparently shrunk by a half inch. The initial estimate is $2000 plus any other damage they find after they start taking things apart.
I'm glad I picked a Subaru. I'm not too happy that I had to find out first hand how safe a car it is.
- Lou
On an unrelated note, 3750 miles is the severe-use oil change interval. The regular use interval (which I follow) is 7500 miles.
Craig
As to petroleum it is from invertebrate fossils. Microfossils specifically are its source. Microscopic crustaceans called Ostracods are a prime source.
T-Rex
TWRX
In case you had not gathered the play on words I use for my handle.
Finally located the plastic cover under the oil pan drain and filter with the assistance of the posts here. I loosen six screws, but was unable to get the cover to slide in the direction of the arrow. I tried to be as gentle as possible, but even applying minimal force one of the screws popped out of its socket and I can't get it back in. Again this job would be immensely easier if one were standing under the vehicle as opposed to lying under it. Does anybody have any tips on getting the cover to slide away as it was designed to do? This task appears to be like a child proof lock, that is until you learn the mechanics of the lock it's adult proof too. I suppose that the oil filter is low enough that Subaru felt that it was important to place some minimal protection under it for those few who actually take the Forester off road. Actually if I ever get the cover off I'm considering just removing it, as it's not worth the hassle and I will never drive my vehicle off road.
Second I can't find a suitable crush washer (or anything close to it) at the local Home Depot or Lowe's for the oil pan plug in spite of what an earlier poster stated. I met a customer at the HD (who use to work at Lowe's), who said that a brass or nylon washer would probably work okay for this application, if I could find one which I can't. Haven't tried the auto parts stores yet as I suspect that they will charge pretty close to the 75 cents (plus tax) for the washer that the dealer charges (bought one as a comparison). An earlier post said that the washers were 40 cents each, so his dealer must be more reasonable. The inside diameter (I.D.) of the dealer item is 20 mm. If I can't find an exact fit, is it better to go to a slighter larger or slightly smaller I.D. Does anybody have any suggestions? I can't believe that there are only a couple of Subaru owners who change their own oil. thx
bit
Seriously, just buy the proper crush washer from Subaru. It really needs to be a crush washer to serve its purpose, and the cost is peanuts. I pay less than $6 for the filter and washer.
Craig
bit
I`m away from home and my 2003 X Forester, and I`m looking into some nice chrome exhaust pipe ends. Could somebody do me a favor and measure the diameter of the exhaust pipe at the end, as there are quite a few choices here.
Thks,
Kid
When you go to reinstall them, let the "screw" hang out as far as it can go, then press the assembly back into the hole. Once you feel the screw's receptacle seat, then just push the screw in to lock it - you don't actually have to screw it in.
Once you have one out and in your hand and see how it works, you'll be fine. All the screw does is act like a pin to expand its receptacle to hold the cover and shield together.
Also, its sometimes necessary to use two hands to get the cover and shield to stay together while you're reseating the screw/pin assembly.
Get the right crush washer - its way easier than draining the oil to fix a leaky plug. Also, when you've applied enough torque to crush the crush washer, you know you don't need to apply any more force. Helps prevent stripping the pan or bolt.
HTH
Larry
Sorry to hear that, Lou. But think about it, if you had bought a RAV4 or CR-V, an impact like that might have forced the spare tire through the rear glass. It could have been a *lot* worse.
Bruce: you crack me up! And here I thought we used the slang "dino" just because it was the older type of oil, vs. synthetic I mean.
-juice
I think "winter gas" is with us already.
John
Bridgestone dealer says (of course) that it is not a manufacturer problem, but poor alignment. He said that it has been his experience that Forester's and Legacy's eat up tires pretty badly. He recommended that the tires be rotated every 5,000 mi. (seems to be consistent with what's posted on the boards) and do an all wheel alignment every 6 months.
That all being said, what I thought I would do is buy 1 new Dueler, place it and the spare on the ground and then run till the other 2 wear out (probably within the next 3 months) and buy 2 new again.
Does that make sense, or would I be better off buying a pair of something and putting the spare back in the trunk? Or say to heck with it and buy 4 new ones and be done with it?
Any suggestions for something besides the Duelers? I'm rather limited where I live as to choices with Sears, Bridgestone, Firestone, & Cooper the most easily accessible.
Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.
Subaru recommends that all four wheels be within 1/4" circumference. I doubt you'd be within spec with two new tires and two old, if they are as worn as you have described.
My wife has 22600 miles on her 03 Forester XS, and the Yoko Geolanders have worn very evenly, and have plenty of tread life left. I like those tires a lot.
Craig
Any how, I would definitely just get 4 new tires. Why not 3 and use the spare?
Well, the Dueler tires are lousy, IMHO. Mine only lasted 28k miles and the outer edges wore just like yours.
If it's the tire, then why have my Nitto NT460 tires lasted 27000 miles already and worn evenly, and still look almost new to boot! Get this - I have NEVER had an alignment, in 5+ years!
See, so it was the tires, and the tires alone. My alignment is fine. My new tires are fine. Get better tires and my guess is you'll be fine...
-juice
But, if they don't seem to wear evenly with proper alignment, why doesn't Bridgestone back them up a little bit. Is there anything I can say that would convince them that they should "come clean" and help me out a little bit on the $$ side of things?
What is the proper time and/or mileage for 4 wheel alignment?
All other vehicles I've owned (although none being AWD) never had it done more than twice in their lifetimes of 80,000 to 120,000 miles.
Never heard of the tire brand you mentioned. I'm not too concerned about having an "off-road" tire, just something that can handle all of the snow of a Northern Maine winter. Cooper have anything worth looking at? or anything Sears may stock?
-Frank P.
As far as alignment, I try to get one at least once a year if not more. I bought the liftime alignment deal from Bridgestone/Firestone dealer for I think ~$150, that was two years ago, at ~$75 a pop for 4 wheel alignment I got my money's worth in the first year.
Mike
After the storm, I again felt I had great lighting. In preparation for snow in the Dakotas, do I need to address this issue any further?
Do I need to go for the crazy white lights? What other options are there, and at what costs - both $$ and power consumption? I have read about Xenon HID, Hella, etc. (a zoo of lights - none seem satisfied/happy with what they have). Burn out issues are multiple. Blue light is not always better, etc....
Thanx in advance.
B
Now, if you do, ask for Dueler HLs, I've heard those are better (more passenger car oriented).
As for the lights, I had Hella H4+30 and would not recommend them because none of the bulbs lasted a full year. Imagine being on a two-week road trip and having a bulb burn out. At least have a spare with you at all times (not exactly reliable, eh?).
Ken has had better luck with another type, I believe. Ken?
-juice
Always kept the air pressure at the proper level and rotated the tires every 7,000 to 8,000 miles. Just bad "karma" maybe?
Think after reading these posts, I'll bite the bullet and buy 4 new tires and throw the original Dueler spare back in the trunk. The three that are passable sure won't be getting any better. Will probably look at the Yokahoma's.
Thanks all for input.
Don't waste your time with any "blue" or "super white" bulb. These bulbs use tinted glass to filter out light to make it give it a faux-HID look. The key word is filter -- the resulting light is lower in lumens than clear bulbs. Also, higher temperature light tends to scatter more in rain/fog. That's exactly why real fog lights often come with yellowish bulbs.
Also, stay away from higher wattage bulbs on your stock lighting system. The added load can result to the reflector housing melting or, even worse, an electrical fire in your engine bay.
The Philips Vision Plus are stock wattage. They're not sold in the US so you'll need to order them through some online store. Do a Google search and you should see some retailers.
Ken
"AC dings me by 4-5 mpg in the summer."
However back on Aug 07, Paisan said
"It (AC) may bring it (milage) down, but driving style outweighs it considerably. For instance I can drive the same trip at nearly the same speed aproximately 250miles and my milage is not off more than 1mpg w/AC basically if i normally calculate 28mpg with the AC on, with the AC off I calc 28mpg as well it might be 28.1 v. 28.8 but IMHO it's not that great a difference. On the other hand, if I drive like at say 80mph v. 65mph my milage varies by >1mpg.
AC units these days are pretty efficient."
That's a considerable difference from person to the next. Are both people correct or is one of the figures off?
MikeF
Since I only use the AC in the afternoon (mornings are 70 degrees), the resulting use is about 50% AC. Assuming 25-26 is the AC average overall, then I lose 2.5-3.5 mpg overall, and AC hit ends up being at least 5 mpg when it is on. Keep in mind, not all AC usage is the same--the compressor cycles less with cooler outside climates. For me, the compressor is on 100% of the time because it is 95+.
John
The reason I was asking is that a pet peeve of mine is that the AC comes on automatically on defrost or windshield/foot mix. I dislike running something when it is not needed and robbing engine power. Paisan's figures make it much easier to take, yours make me more determined to have this feature disconnected when I buy my next Sube. Even realizing the rationale for this feature, I would think that the worst case milage hit the cars take would have automakers not using it (CAFE calculations and all).
Curious variation from one car to the next.
MikeF
Winter 2002-2003: 24.4
Spring 2003: 24.4
Summer 2003: 24.8
Fall 2003: 26.6
So I guess the effects of oxygenated gas in the winter hurt mileage more than A/C in the summer! IMHO the A/C is very efficient.
Fall is better because we did a road trip to CT. Still, it's been warm and I use the A/C to remove condensation from the windshield. It was on the entire trip up to CT.
I'm on a hot streak with mileage - 8 tanks in a row I've averaged 26 mpg or better! Yeah baby! With my original spark plugs and 55k miles! :-)
-juice
John
I think it's more efficient than having the windows down. 24.8 mpg overall ain't too shabby, and we used the A/C basically full-time all summer.
-juice
The European Osram Silverstar clear, stock wattage
NOT the U.S. Sylvania Silverstar with blue tint
or the Philips Vision +50, also stock wattage.
I'm using a pair of the Philips bulbs, and they are excellent.
Either of these bulbs can be ordered from at least 3 U.S. sources:
http://www.murphskits.com/light.htm?id=67
This is where I bought mine, at $29/pair shipped.
or at:
http://www.suvlights.com
or at Daniel Stern's site (also an excellent source for lighting information:
http://lighting.mbz.org/
Craig