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Comments
I'll let you know if I "learn" anything.
Doug
I'm posting this message because my sister has an Outback and is having problems getting the key to turn in her ignition. She says she can put the key in, but that it won't move. I gave her all the advice I could think of, but I guess it didn't help. She even has two keys to the car and has tried both of them. She says she has had this problem before and that it just seems to fix itself if she returns an hour later. I don't really buy that - there must be some way to fix it (it can't be frozen right now), so I was wondering if anyone has experience with this problem and if anyone knows any tricks to solve it.
Thanks, Dana
Bearings - only an issue up to the '02 models, in '03 they switched to the Legacy's design and problems basically vanished. The gasket issue was addressed about the same time, mid-year 2002 models it seems.
Cross bars - stick with the OE ones. They're more quiet, and Yakima sells clamps thru Subaru dealers so all their stuff bolts right on.
Ignition lock - I suspect the same thing, make sure it's in Park and move the wheel left and right, it should wiggle in to place.
-juice
I'd bet that when your sister enters the car, she is yanking on the steering wheel to pull herself in. I've done this on occasion and sometimes when I do so, the key won't turn. And when she exited the car, she yanked it the other way.
As others have said, turn the steering wheel an inch or two one way or the other and the key will work. She will find that the steering wheel will be able to move in only one direction.
Since the subie AWD system requires all tires to be within what a 1/4 to 1/2" of each other in circumference, I assume you would rotate the spare tire in with all the other tires to maintain a more even sense of wear for when you had to actually use the spare due to a blowout in the sidewall or something like that.
But riddle me this: whichever tire is designated the spare between tire rotations once it is rotation time the spare wouldn't have the same circumference as the other tires would it? Maybe it wouldn't be enough to reach 1/4 to 1/2" for a 6000-7500 mile interval.
Any experience with this?
Thanks
Eric
Assuming you used the X pattern rotation, you'd probably want to rotate every 5k to keep all 5 tires at a comparable wear rate.
-Frank
Craig
Steve, Host
I believe the stock tires are 205 on the Legacy and 225 on the OB?
Jim
Cheers Pat.
Steve, Host
my 99 auto trans does the same thing. I have taken it to the dealer 3 times and private 2 times and other than tearing the transmission apart they cannot identify the problem. Please let me know if you figure it out. This has been going on for over two years and I'm afraid the trans is just going to give up one day. We changed the fluid and front filter in the trans. They said the linkage looked fine. Let me know if you come up with anything. I love the car but want to get rid of it due to this problem.
But with all the rain we have had here in No Cal I have a leak problem with the tailgate. Seems like water is getting in somewhere around the center fake tailight bar (contains the BU lights) below the rear window. The water collects inside the tailgate and then drips though the interior trim panel. I checked the drain holes on the gate and they were clear.
Is there a sealant around that red plastic piece? Could it be compromised? I did let the Legacy roll out of my driveway 1.5 years ago and tag my neighbor's PU. The tailgate was open and slammed down against the truck but no visible damage to it.
It isn't leaking through the tailgate seal as far as I can tell. Even when I dribble water on the edge of the light bar or key hole it gets right in there.
BTW - only damage to the Legacy was the bumper at $1k. New Chevy PU had $7k damage. heh.
Thanks,
bit
My wife's 2003 Outback had a similar leak. It would drip down from the rear tailgate trim when you opened the tailgate. It was under warranty at the time, and the dealer replaced the left taillight lens assembly. It hasn't leaked since (knocking on wood).
Hope this helps.
Len
I'm curious as to how the tailight change made a difference since it is outside the seal of the tailgate... in the fender and not the tailgate. That said, it was my right tailight that was replaced (thought it might have been damaged) and that is the side I get the leak.
bit
I bet the seal gasket around the light bar is leaking. They normally use a foam gasket, which compresses and can shrink over time (especially in cold weather) and open up gaps. This has happened to me on other cars, and I just removed the light, caulked both sides of the gasket in the leaky area, and re-assembled. You can usually see the leaky spot by looking for signs of dried water/dirt or dribbles. If it's leaking in too many spots, I would see if you can buy a new gasket.
Good luck!
CRaig
Craig
Incidentally I was considering going the rear mounted spare route eventually with some custom hardware, but if I couldn't rotate the 5 tires effectively and maintain equal tread depth, what would be the point of getting the full size spare and spending all the $$$ on mounting it?
Maybe the best thing is just bite the bullet when/if I get a blowout and buy 4 new tires... :sick:
I might try and come up with a tread depth to circumference chart to determine my max mileage interval between tire rotations as Frank suggested.
Or maybe at each oil change find the tire with the least amount of tread depth and swap that one with the spare and try to match the other tires higher tread depth up front and lower in back--since my outback has an auto tranny with a 90/10 torque split normally at cruising speeds--front tires seems to wear faster than rear.
Ok thanks for all the input,
Eric
Greatly appreciate any help.
Milt
Since the main difficulty in different tire circumferences is the gear oil in the differentials degrading to the point of thermal runaway, been thinking about going to a super-duper synthetic gear oil for extra protection in the worst case situation of being 100 miles from the nearest tire place in 100+F temperatures. :P
Thanks for the reply.
Larry
I could also use the fuse to change into FWD mode w/the temp spare on the back.
Eric
Your description needs more details for people to provide assistance. It could be that your battery lacks sufficient voltage and needs replacing to any number of problems.
Kevin
Jim
Jim
My Subaru service dept has admitted to 'hearing' similar stories from other owners, but won't go so far as to say it's a real problem. They keep suggesting that it just needs to burn in. I'm at 7000 km on the odometer and it's not getting any better...
Any ideas?
Jim
Car is great in snow. It is almost as good and in some ways better than my Audi A6, which costs twice as much.
3 others issues with the subie:
1.Doors are not self locking - nice safety feature to have
2.Car does not have an electronic stability program
3.Is it true if you don't shut off the heated seats when leaving the car they stay on. The manual says yes, but I think when the light went off when I first checked it out. I have not had the time to check it out thoroughly and make sure.
BTW
The manual says something to the effect : in order to downshift the automatic transmission press the accelerator to the floor. Something must have gone amiss in the japanese to english translation:)
Since it's a brand-new car perhaps you can get it done for free under the adjustment warranty.
~Colin
My 06 manual only mentions downshifting when more acceleration is required (passing, uphill, etc), at which point it suggests you press the pedal fully to the floor. I don't think it's a translation error.
As for the HVAC, I know a lot of people report on its quirkiness, but I've never really been that sensitive to temperature so it hasn't gotten on my nerves yet. I have noticed though that when it's cold outside it seems to want to pump hot air inside unless you've got the dial all the way to the blue "cold" dot past the 65 degree setting. According to the manual, the "auto" fan and vent settings take into account not only interior temp but also outside temp and sunlight intensity. My guess is when it's very cold outside, the car thinks that a lot of heat will be necessary to reach even a relatively cool 65 degrees, even though it might already be burning up in the cabin. :confuse: Definitely a flawed system.
Doug
bit
Don't overlook the wheel bearing issue, it can be pretty expensive. Many Foresters that had the wheel bearings replaced suffered the same problem again; the solution seems to be using the bearings designed for the Legacy. I'd see if they have any history on this.
I don't think it's an alignment problem the car tracks pretty straight but I will have them check it anyway.
The heat needs to be addressed. They will have to put another unit in and I'll wait for a non defective one if necessary.
The pedal to the metal does sound strange:)
There is some quirkiness with the HVAC. According to what I've read on the net, the sensor that drives the system has low air flow and therefore it takes a while to equalize the temperature. One way to deal with it, is to turn the fan dial off automatic and lower the heat. I know that defeats the purpose of an automatic climate control, but in the long run it's a real nit. The HVAC in hot weather works wonderfully.
1.Doors are not self locking - nice safety feature to have
2.Car does not have an electronic stability program
3.Is it true if you don't shut off the heated seats when leaving the car they stay on. The manual says yes, but I think when the light went off when I first checked it out. I have not had the time to check it out thoroughly and make sure
Agreed one hundred percent. However, I took for for some fun in an empty parking lot after the last snow and it takes some doing to throw it into a skid. One should not be driving like that on the roads with traffic. But YMMV.
As far as the heated seats, they don't shut off automatically and the high setting can get quite warm, but the heated seats work with the ignition in the accessory on position. When you're filling your car up with gas, with the engine off the seats can still be nice and toasty.
One last comment on the transmission, the PRNDL can't really be used for power shifting. I think that was done on purpose. Pressing the gas part or full-way down, winds the Forester up like it's shooting out of a rocket.
John and Sue
I'm glad the seats only heat with the ignition set to on or if engine is running; I was sure we would forget and run down the battery.
ESP is very useful to have. Along with ABS it helps keep the car going straight ahead when maneuvering too quickly or slamming on the brakes at high speeds.
Auto locking doors and ESP would make the Forester a "home run".
Patti has not been with us for about 18 months, so probably nobody at SoA is listening to your post. Try calling 1-800-subaru3 and tell your story to corporate directly.
Are you really sure that the smell is originating from under the hood? If you smell it that distinctly every day within the cabin, I would suspect that the problem might be within the heater core box tucked up behind the glove box under the dash. You might not see or smell a medium leak from under the hood, but even a microscopic leak directly within the ventilation system will quickly permeate the cabin.
Steve
have it checked.
~Colin
Any how, the Pioneer AVIC-N2 will fit, search on Crutchfield for it. They'll package the harness in the kit they sell you.
The Pioneer AVIC-D1 is double-DIN and they say that fits as well.
There's also the Eclipse AVN5435, 5495, and 7000.
Prices range from $1500 to $2400. Portables cost less, $250 and up basically.
You can get the hood that goes over the stock gauge pack, and custom mount a portable unit in there. The Garmin c series will fit. Get a remote antennae and it can be completely hidden away, too. That requires a bit of handy work, but I've seen it done, one guy in the CR-V thread did it on his Honda. I've also seen it done on one Forester.
01 - wheel bearings are a risk, consider a higher mileage 03, which should cost about the same but does not have the same bearing design (or associated problems).
Stutter - I think that's the throttle-by-wire cutting the fuel completely to save gas, causing that stumble.
-juice
Just the other day the cd changer quit on me. Just refused to go on. Can't eject or listen to them. All else works fine, including the tape player and radio.
Anyone out there have this problem or did? Most likely will have to have it repaired. If they send it back to Subaru, they can't send my cd's for up to 6 weeks, if they don't get damaged in removing them. They will put in a new cd at the dealership. It is still under warranty.
My Outback wagon (2002) got an accident two month ago and fixed (body work, replace radiator). After repair, I found coolant level in the coolant tank was decreased and smelled coolant burning. I brought it back to bodyshop and he said leaking from the upper hose between radiator and engine. So, he fixed it and test drove it and then said no problem. But, it wasn't. Happen again. Brought back again. Blame hose again and install new hose. I was nervous so check coolant level everyday after that. And I found it decreases again!! (but much lesser than last time). Brought car back again. Now, he changed the story. The leaking is from engin e head gasket. He called my insurance company and, after inspection, the insurance told me it seems not related with the accident. So, they don't want pay. They also said that they contacted several Subaru dealerships to ask whether this could be happen without accident and some of dealers told them it could be happen between 60,000 and 80,000 M (my car has 60K). Is it true?
Now, they say it would be possible that head gasket blown-up could be caused by driving a car after accident (I drove back to my house (0.2 miles) and towed to bodyshop). But there was no sign of overheating when I drove my car back to home (no change of temperature gauge, no leaking of coolant on the scene of accident). Also, I drove my car around 500 miles after the first repair. So, my question is if head gasket was the problem in the accident, the car has no problem for driving of 500 miles after that? I heard that, if head gasket is leaking, oil and coolant can be mixed and get into inside of cylinder and make some symtoms and engine failure. But I have had no problem to drive my car. Coolant can be leaked to outside of engine?