Subaru Crew - Meet The Members

ateixeira

You seem to have gotten a lemon. Push a bit harder for the repairs, perhaps with Patti's help. The complaints you make aren't universal, even among people that do autoX.

Frank: welcome back. Funny gas story! At least you didn't have to get out and push

Yes, women are smarter consumers when it comes to buying cars. They're more practical and are not swayed by flavor-of-the-month styling. They also drive more carefully, get in fewer accidents, and therefore get lower insurance rates. They also purchase the majority of Foresters. Smart indeed

Colin: thanks for the autoX perspective (fuel tank). BTW, I measured the tires, old and new. The new ones are about a full inch wider, and almost an inch taller, much more than a calculator would suggest. I'll show photos later today.

Lucien: you want an "AWD model with ECVT". Justy, anyone? OK, no hybrid powertrain, but how much work could that be?

We should go to Subaru/Panoz driving school. It would be nice to learn in a Legacy GT, though it ain't cheap.

Mark: don't lie to the insurance co. They may not cover you! Also, given you have the shop, I'd pass on the extended warranty.

paisan: the auto-leveling suspension I was refering to exists on the Forester Turbo models in other markets (Japan, Dominican Republic, etc). Haven't heard of any problems with it.

L8r.

-juice

p0926

Couple of things:

A. Patti: I'd like to second the suggestion for a turbo option here in the states.

B. A couple of previous posters mentioned that the rear wiper needed more than an on/off setting. I think that SOA has already acted on that suggestion since on the 01 Forester, while it still only has on/off, the on is preset to a 12 second interval...which seems to work pretty well.

Frank P.

amishra

Here's a link to the winter Drive issue on the MY 2000 Legacy/Outback designs. (I'm sure many of you saw this already - but us Canadian readers, don't get Drive. Btw juice, nice photo!)

Interesting notes:

- the sedan was the first to be designed
- and then the wagon
- the interiors were done in Japan

The sedan was designed in the US, but the wagon was done in Japan.

miksmi

Kathy, First, let me thank you for taking after juice and not me and posting useful information

I missed your post about brake pedal problem in your Outback (I searched most of the topics first). What was the post# and/or what were the details? Inquiring minds want to know.

..Mike

despe

Hi all,

Took my first test drive last night of a MY00 Outback. Have to say I really loved it, with one exception. The car we took out was an automatic. As we left the lot, I stepped on the gas to get into traffic, and to my surprise the car acted like it was thinking to itself "Nope, I don't feel like accelerating right now...maybe later". Needless to say I was quite disappointed. Now mind you, I'm no Mario Andretti (I've been driving a 4-cyl 87 Buick for the last several years), so I didn't feel my expectations were too high. Anyway, so I let my friend take the wheel for a while and it performed like a champ for her! At this point I'm a little confused, so I take the wheel again. It seemed to make a significant difference where you placed your foot on the accelerator and what your style of attack was. Is this common for auto Outbacks?? I mentioned this to the dealer and his response was that it was simply a new engine that hadn't been broken in. Anybody have any comments? Needless to say, I'm going back in the next few days to take a 5-speed for a spin. Thanks for the help.

-just another Dave

hciaffa

Kathy thanks for your post on the Service Bulletin numbers. Was your problem like ours, the pedal feeling mushy or soft, and now that its been repaired do you notice a difference in the feel. By the way, does it state on your work order what they did to repair the problem. Again thanks for the numbers.

kens

Paisan, juice

I believe the self-leveling suspension used in Japan is based on oil pressure, not an air-suspension system. The system uses the forward motion of the vehicle to activate pumps that level the vehicle.

On a side note, air suspensions are not all bad. Lexus has used them in their flagship LS400 for quite some time now.

paisan

Oh yeah, I have the air suspension in my XT6 also, and it's great. But the XT6 was $20K in 1988, which equates to something around $30-$35K nowadays. An LS400 that costs upwards of $50K probably has a great air suspension. But I'm sure that the subaru market as it stands now, wouldn't be interested in dumping extra $ on it. It's a price/value thing. They could put a ton of stuff in their cars, but it would price em right out of their core market in the US. Just like if the WRX and the H6 are significantly more than the RS and Outback Limited, people will flock to Audi and other cars that are in the pricerange.

-mike

davechen

EJ25: I'm very sorry that you got a bad paint job, MAS, door seals, and treatment from your dealer. I really am. That kind of stuff is really AGGRAVATING. But quite frankly, I think you are overreacting to things that are not huge problems, just annoyances. And they are annoyances that you should do something about.
Rather than flaming Subaru, you should look at overall reliability statistics and realize that the problems you have been having are simply not the norm. Thus the solution isn't just to get a different brand of car, or give up and fix it yourself. You should demand that your crummy dealer fix the problems.

Again, I'm sorry that you were unlucky, but every fine, reliable brand of car still has their lemons. Mazda? Friend's RX-7 had the tranny replaced twice in the first year. Mitsubishi? My Diamante has burned a quart of oil per 3000 miles from day one, plus had a water pump go out early on.

And, you said it yourself, you get what you pay for. You didn't pay for extras. I also *want* HID lights, traction control, more power, etc., but I'm not willing to pay for those things. If I were willing, then yes, I guess I'd have to go with a different make/model. But for $23k, my Outback does everything I need it to do.

Go raise heck! And good luck.
Dave

locke2c

The impreza does have thin paint. I got a nice stone chip within 30 days of having my car, but have been fortunate not to get any more. I have only one door ding, but it's very obvious this paint is very, very thin.

I know others who have complained about the paint. Most were told to stuff it, although there is the odd person that managed to get their car repainted under warranty.

ej25 never said specifically what was wrong with his. mine's thin too, but really there's nothing wrong with it. (yet!)

-Colin

gtdriver

Since Patti or anyone else has not yet addressed the seat question, I'll offer my two cents: I believe the reason for the discontinuation of fold-down rear seats is upcoming regulation by the NHTSA resulting from injuries to people who were sitting on rear fold-down seats that had not been properly locked when restored to their upright position. This also creates concern for users of child safety seats. I think it makes no sense because the seat belts are not anchored to the seat back. If the passenger is buckled in or the child safety seat is attached properly, it really wouldn't matter, especially since the fold-down portion in my '97 is more like a hatch within the seat back. Most likely, a few unbelted rear passengers were, unfortunately, seriously injured or killed in an accident. Investigators may have found the rear seat backs pitched forward at the accident scenes, and incorrectly concluded the improperly locked seat backs to be the cause for the injury rather than the failure of the passengers to buckle up. Similarly, the NHTSA attributed faulty rear lift-gate locks to the deaths of people who had been ejected out the back in serious accidents. While it's true the locks were poorly designed and needed to be recalled, the real cause of the deaths was the failure of the passengers to buckle up, and in at least one case, the failure to properly lock in the removable back seat.
EJ, regarding your paint on your RS: First, you need to determine if your car was damaged prior to delivery and repainted. Although unlikely that is the case, it does happen. I had a '92 Legacy that exhibited the early stages of blistering paint/corrosion along the edge of the left front fender within 5 years. There wasn't even a hint of it anywhere else on the car. I argued that the delivering dealer, who was no longer a Subaru dealer, must have damaged and improperly repainted the car prior to delivery to me. The dealer I now use worked with the Regional Manager and got the fender repaired.
Second, I don't believe that "thick" paint is necessarily better than "thin" paint. In fact, a thinner layer of paint is better able to resist the "crow's feet" effect from expansion and contraction with the climate. It also will flex better with the more flexible panels found on cars today. You definitely shouldn't be seeing primer on the inside of the trunk deck, though, and you need to pursue that with your dealer and regional manager. But, believe me, I've had stone chips on every car I've owned; no paint can resist those, but I've noticed that repainted hoods always chip more than factory finishes.
Be warned, you'll need to spend thousands to get a better finish than what you have, and even then the workmanship will probably be subpar to the computer-controlled factory-baked paint.

lucien2

I can pinch hit, as I will be in town all week. Email the duties if you don't have anyone already

work: lwalsh@the-wine-source.com

home: abiyu@erols.com


Cheers,
Lucien

2ndwnd

>>...on the 01 Forester, while it still only has
on/off, the on is preset to a 12 second
interval...<<

Hmmm, wonder if I can buy that delay circuit and splice it into my Legacy. Any thoughts out there if this sounds feasible?

Dave #274

ateixeira

Tip for those complaining about the rear wiper: use Rain X, then, if that isn't enough, get the rear wind deflector. I almost never use my rear wiper, and I'm only using the Rain X tip.

despe: test drive a GT for more off the line oomph. Or a Forester. Both are a bit lighter.

KenS: thanks for the tech bulletin on the overseas suspension.

Hmm, this talk got me thinking. You can get headlight upgrades, and boost power easily in the aftermarket. You can't blame Subaru for that.

OK, let's have Lucein and paisan as stand-ins for next week. I'll be back on Thursday. Duties? Be nice, active, and try to get questions answered for folks. It's that simple.

-juice

paisan

Ok, so we'll make sure the ship doesn't sink while on our watch

-mike

ej25

There is noticeable discoloring on the front of each front fender, there are two spots close to the sun roof where the paint seems to be fading or not painted adequately to begin with. There are what can only be described as blister marks in my paint on the top of the car infront of the sun roof. I can see primer on the inside of my trunk, and in spots on the underside of my hood. I had tried to get it resolved with the dealership. I tried for a couple months. I talked to SOA more then once. Each time they said that I need to get the dealership that I bought it from to verify it is a problem that should be covered under warranty. That is why I am going to pay about $3K to get the cars exterior repainted. The wheel bearing really had no reason to go out. The car runs great. It just has alot of things that seem to be going wrong with it in the first year I've owned it. My point was that for $20K I don't want the world. I just want what comes with this car to last longer then the initial drive home. I thought it owuld be good to give a varying opinion. Not everyone is satisfied with their car. I love my car but I don't love the problems I've had. You'd figure that SOA would at least say sorry for the trouble and either knock $3K off of the cost of the car or give me the extended warranty for free. I'd of been happy if they'd of just taken care of it last year.

blane

ej25:

What you've described sure smacks of the vehicle having been damaged front and rear, then having been repaired and repainted. The problems with the paint on the roof sound like perhaps you may have an aftermarket sunroof that may have been improperly installed and the roof may have had to be repainted.

Have you any reason to believe that your dealer (or another dealer that yours may have traded the car from) is/are less than totally frank and honest?

Perhaps a reputable body shop can take a look at your car and give you an opinion as to whether it was ever repaired and repainted.

locke2c

um, a sunroof is standard on the 2.5rs.

-Colin

newobee

Mike and hciaffa: here is the trail of posts re the brake pedal that I was able to find.

Under the Maintenance & Repair Topic, post #293 Patti refers to brake pedal travel at the end of the post and commented that the sevice bulletin changes "the 'illusion' but does not change 'normal'". She offered more follow up if anyone wanted it.

My car is new and I was unaccustomed to as much travel in a brake pedal as the OB had. So I asked for more info and so did hciaffa.

Patti explained more about it and how it is adjusted ( the booster rod) here (Meet the Members) in post #24.

hciaffa, I would have to say that the adjustment is mostly "illusion" based on mine...I don't really notice much difference. My work order does not say precisely what was done. There is still quite a long stroke to the pedal...but the car brakes very well so I guess it is me who will have to adjust now!

I have an appt to go back to dealer again next week to have grinding power window motor fixed and for them to take another shot at curing the leftward drift. Fingers crossed. Too many of the 1050 miles I now have on the car have been acquired by driving it back to the dealer. Just kidding!

--Kathy

luckyrollover1

brought home my timberline green 2000 ob ltd 5 spd. yesterday. got adjusted to the clutch and brake really fast due to a 25 mile back-up on the xprsway on the drive home. gotta love my car!! rides alot better than my truck which was trashed in an accident and i do not notice any drift, wind noise or window noise. just a really nice drive home-which took 3.5 hours!!! now if i can just get through the owner's manual!! and like newobe i'll be reading these boards alot for tips.
thanks to juice and yellowbike for advice and support. my first purchase mostly on my own!!

mary ann

miksmi

Bravo Kathy! Thanks for the explanation and taking the time to locate the posts. I thank you with a hyperlink gift that might help others: Brake Pedal Travel/Stroke (subaru_team) and
So many comments, so little time (subaru_team).

Mary Ann, Congrats! And glad to hear you haven't had any issues with what just might be the top 3 FAQs (frequently asked questions): steering drift (alignment), roof rack or mirror wind noise, and (frameless) window noise. Welcome aboard!

..Mike

newobee

Those hyperlinks are way more efficient Mike! Thanks.

Now, still another question...you referred to FAQs...is there a compilation of them somewhere that I overlooked? The alignment issue is a frequently occuring one? And if it is why does that make me feel better?

Is there a S'BARu pSychologist available here too??? *smile*

Congratulations mary ann. This was the first car purchase I ever made "mostly on my own" too. And it feels good. Having research resources and follow up help like this available sure helps.

--Kathy

miksmi

Sorry, no FAQ; I've been toying with the idea of putting one together but my excuse is.. time, like everyone else If you look at my profile and scroll to the end you can see I have exactly one entry. [edit: now two!]

Alignment is just a frequently reported issue (that's not good or bad, I just see it often). I read two types of posts:
a) my ride was correctly aligned at the factory, or
b) my ride was either misaligned at the factory or became misaligned during shipment but the dealer corrected it.

S'BARu pSychologist: LOL! You got the "correct" pronounciation in there too; you have read Ken and my exchange "pronounce Subaru like a native".

..Mike

locke2c

The longish brake pedal travel is thanks to a dual stage brake booster. Join me here in telling Subaru that we don't want it!

The first 1-2" of brake travel is squishy. This makes light to moderate braking a bit difficult to moderate for those unfamiliar with the car. After that first 2", the pedal becomes much firmer and considerably greater effort is needed to increase braking force.

What I like is a single stage booster. There is consistent effort at all points of pedal travel. If FHI wants the pedal to be softer, use a different booster or alter the pedal's lever arm. Don't give us this lame dual-stage junk, even if other manufacturers are doing it too. (If we wanted a camry's squishy brakes, we would have bought camrys.)

Anyone else agree?

-Colin

miksmi

I'm with you, Colin, though some do like it and there's nothing wrong with that. I like the Passat's brake pedal feel much better but I don't know if VW uses a single or dual stage booster. But it's still a Passat

Oops, sorry Ken I know you've got a Jetta; no slam on VW. But you place more importance on the driving experience and less on the cup holder than I. snicker (actually I haven't a clue about the coffee drinking or driving experience in a Jetta) Can you tell I'm less than two days away from passing the baton to paisan and Lucien?

..Mike

barresa11

I've had my Granite Pearl OB Ltd since Feb and have been more than pleased! Haven't experienced any major problems. Gas mileage has been a little lower than I expected but is improving as the car gets broken in (BTW, I have the auto.). I'm constantly amazed at the interior quietness and the smooth ride. Anyhow, once again congratulations. Keep visiting this board and let us know your impressions. Of course, you know that we all are (especially our rep, Patti)a pleuthora of information and are willing to share!

Stephen

francophile

Hi again. My, my, the place has changed in my absence! Welcome Patti; kudos to SOA and Edmunds and whoever else had a hand in making it happen. Thanks also to Mike for posting my ramblings.

As for my closing commentary on Japanese culture: the short answer is that by no means was it meant as any kind of slur, backhanded forehanded underhanded or any other handed. If it was taken that way by anyone, please accept my sincerest apologies.

Longer answer: mikesmi got it pretty close to right. My comment was simply and merely a personal insight based on my own assumptions and the effects of the book on those assumptions. I have a great deal of admiration for, and curiousity about, many cultures, including the Japanese. People are people wherever you go, and I am people too; people make assumptions, and I do too. One of my assumptions, based on personal knowledge, friends, stories in popular media, and reports from travelers, was that, in general, Japanese culture operates on a -much- higher moral plane than American culture. _Memoir_of_a_Geisha_ altered that assumption; now I think the Japanese are only maybe 100 years or so ahead of us instead of 1,000 ;-)

Again, my sincerest apologies to anyone who may have taken offense. It is an understatement to say that such a thing was as far as can be from my mind when I wrote those words.

Regards,
WDB

miksmi

WDB, You're welcome and Welcome back! I really enjoyed your road trip reports. I'm always fascinated how the written form of communication can be misinterpreted sans facial expressions and intonation. Anyway, glad you're back. ..Mike

fayes

After thinking about getting a Forester for a few months, and reading every post in all the Subaru forums, I've finally got a deal ironed out and should have the Forester in a few weeks. The buying process was quite a saga, which I won't bore you with. But my Sedona Red 2001 with premium package is supposed to arrive sometime in July.

I didn't think I was in a hurry when I started shopping, but now I'm getting impatient. Not to mention, nervous about hail damage or an accident messing up my trade-in.

It's great to see all the positive comments here, and the willingness to help those who are experiencing problems. And having our very own Subaru rep is really wonderful!

Faye

kens

Mike,

No offense taken. FYI, the cupholders in the Jetta aren't very good either. They place the drinks right in front of the stereo controls and the vents. Hey, I look for consistency in my vehicles.

Ken

miksmi

LOL Ken! Bwahaha! But I bet you like that Jetta suspension! ..Mike

armac13

I lurked for about 8 months. Pulled the trigger 10 days ago. I absolutely love my "S". Hope your patience is equally well rewarded. Enjoy that sunroof. (I'm jealous - in Canada we have to take the leather if we want the 'roof, and I hate leather seats.)

Ross

p0926

Congrats Faye!

My special order Forester took 7 weeks and I was definitely getting antsy towards the end. But it's worth the wait!

Frank P.

yellowbikedon

Mary Ann,

Delighted you're safely back in Indiana with the new Outback!

May you experience only safe driving experiences from here on!

Kindest wishes!

Don

gearhead4

Colin,

I agree with you.

The brake pedal feel is somewhat disconcerting on my 2000 Legacy L. I can't believe it is designed to operate that way.

However, I have adapted to it. I don't want to take my car to the dealer to adjust it. I have no reason to mistrust my Subaru dealer, but every time I took my last car (96 Stratus) to a dealer for an adjustment, things just got worse (this was at 3 different dealers!).

I have the service manuals, so I think I will research this to see how this is all put together.

In general, my feeling is "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".

gearhead4

bonnie_rick

As per juice's post, and paisan's and lucien2's offers, the Club is covered for the July 4th holiday week.

Thanks folks!

Bonnie Rick
Conference Manager, Town Hall
Edmunds.com

lucien2

Goody. Do I get a mitre and orb or something? I can't promise I will be as prolific a poster as the Mighty Mighty Juice Man, but I can at least stay in the game.

Faye- Congrats on your new ownership! My OB is now 1 year 1 month old (15K miles) and makes me smile everyday.

FWIW, I got the shimmy fixed with a re-balance. Apparently I threw a weight at the Highway Safety School.

Hey Patti, this nice weather got me thinking...How about an Impreza RS Roadster?

locke2c

Gearhead, if your handle gives any indication of your mechanical aptitude then the fix is fairly easy-- convert to an older single stage booster from a donor subaru. You might grab the master cylinder too, it's possible you'll need it.

I can't do it and stay in the same autocross class, even though I like foraging at salvage yards.

I want SOA to know that at least several customers don't like this "feature".

-Colin

armac13

Intersting thing about the brakes. I test drove a Forester L and found the brakes very spongy. The 2 S's I tested and the one I bought were all very good. Mine has even better feel than my Golf which just had the brakes redone a few months ago.

Ross

torek

and test-drove the L model of the Forester, and yes, the brakes on the S are definitely better. But disc brakes generally are. :-)

Even so, I prefer the feel of the brakes in my 1991 Acura Integra GS. I assume (never looked) that it has one of those single-stage boosters.

The Integra also has a nice green "cruise on" light in the dashboard display, between speedometer and tach. It is more useful on the Acura though, where the `engage' button sometimes does not, and there is no `disengage' switch -- you have to tap the brakes or clutch lightly, and sometimes I do it too lightly.

Chris

rsholland

Honda introduced the cruise control "engaged" warning light way back in the late 70's when they first offered cruise control on the Accord. A number of other brands have since decided it was a good idea. It simply amasses me that Subaru still doesn't have this feature.

Bob

2ndwnd

>>The brake pedal feel is somewhat disconcerting on my 2000 Legacy L. I can't believe it is designed to operate that way.<<

I have never posted on this topic and this is likely to be the only time. After spending nearly eight years driving a Plymouth Voyager, and occasionally driving my Wife's Mazda Protege, I got my 2000 Legacy L and the brakes have always felt perfectly normal to me.

>>Honda introduced the cruise control "engaged"
warning light way back in the late 70's when they
first offered cruise control on the Accord... It simply amasses me that Subaru still
doesn't have this feature.<<

I can't believe anyone wouldn't know when their cruise control was engaged. I'd rather not have the light.

Dave

rsholland

Having driven many vehicles with and without a "cruise control engaged" light, I can tell you, I feel much more comfortable with vehicles that have that it.

Bob

texsubaru

Actually, I'd have to say that the brakes in my Forester (a '98 L) feel a lot like the brakes in my old Mazda 626, which -- although it means I didn't have to readjust to the Forester's brake feel -- isn't necessarily an altogether great thing. I always considered the brakes one of my 626's relatively few weak points. However, the Forester does stop much more straightly and with better stability than the 626 did.
On cupholders, I certainly understand why some folks don't like the dash cupholders positioning, but I sorta like the way the air conditioning vents help keep my beverage cool. (I'm not much of a hot coffee drinker, though.) And I sure prefer the dash cupholder over the terribly awkward center console one! Oh, and I do only have the single dash cupholder, not the newer dual model, which I suppose might be a little worse about obscuring buttons and whatnot with two beverages in it.
Plus, I might be relatively easy to please, cupholder-wise, since my '91 Mazda didn't have any. Just learned to wedge drinks between the parking brake handle and the side of the seat. Worked well with cans and most bottles -- less well with actual cups -- except hard braking would send beverages sliding (if not outright flying) forward.
And, just tossing in a totally random observation, the coolest cupholder I've ever seen is the one in a 2000 Saab 9-5. It slides silently out of a thin vertical slot and then gimbles smoothly over into a horizontal position. Pretty darn pointless and probably rather overengineered for just holding a cup, but oddly impressive nonetheless.

paisan

It's ridiculous that they can't do it. The rodeo comes off the same line in Indiana and has the Engaged light. Afterall Isuzu is an arm of FHI (a lot of the buttons on my Trooper/Rodeo are similar to the Subie ones) I've found a lot of nice things on my Isuzus that I wish they would implement on the subies (power folding mirrors on my trooper are awsome)

-mike

paisan

Hey all, did some light off roading with my trooper and my cousin's 2000 OB. The trooper has great ground clearance, but the front end and rear ends kept hitting rocks... They need to move the wheels further out, the rear could be done easily. I'm not sure of the front ones.

-mike

aling1

that the Outback is a wagon, no matter how you put it. It was not designed for anything more than light off-roading. However, it does its job very well at combining the foul-weather capability of an SUV with the ride and handling of a mid-size wagon.

evercruise

I need a new car and it looks as if Subaru will fill the bill. I drive appx. 150-200 miles per day and about once a week need to haul appx. 1K of cargo. Can you tell me if the Forester or the new 6cy. OB can handle the abuse I tend to heap on a car better? Being in Seattle, the car seems to be ideal for our seemingly unending wet weather. Thanks for any info you can give.

c_hunter

After a few weeks of shopping for Foresters, I noticed that the pricetag of a base OB wagon was actually $200 less than a Forester S. So, I drove the OB today, and fell in love with it (I was already thrilled with the Forester). I found the OB's cockpit, controls, and seats to be even better than the Forester, and I didn't notice much of a performance penalty going to the bigger wagon (comparing 5-spds). The fact that the Forester and OB manage to get nearly the same MPG from the same engine confirms my observation (at HWY speeds, I'm guessing the OB has much lower aerodynamic drag).

Anyhow, I found a 5-spd OB wagon in Timberline Green / Titanium, and bought it tonight! After driving an auto OB, I found the 5-spd to be much more responsive, and the clutch and shifter are among the best I've ever used. I was thrilled to find a 5-spd in stock (they are scarce around here), and that green is sweet.

MSRP was only $23280, which seems like a bargain. I spent about 5 hours making the deal, but I did well -- got the car for about $21600, which seemed fair to me.

The drive home was fantastic -- this is one quiet and buttery smooth car. I can't wait to go back out driving tomorrow morning!!

Some questions for you other OB owners, which will probably be the first of many:

1) what's that little flip-out thingy in the center console cup holder? (the one betweeen the seats)

2) my OB came with no license plate brackets at all -- the plates are screwed directly to the bumper in front and to the liftgate in back. Is this the way it's supposed to be?

thanks!
Craig

deadbolt

Craig,
The flip out thing in the center cupholder is a tensioner. If you have one of those cups with the really skinny bottom, when you have that thing flipped out, it is supposed to hold the cup more securely than just having it sitting in there. The tag mount locations are designed to bolt on directly to the bumper and liftgate, your dealership should have plate brackets for the car though in their parts department that will cover the outside edges of the plate.