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The B9 Driving Experience

PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
edited March 2014 in Subaru
Share your thoughts on how the B9 drives and handles here.

Comments

  • beanandmebeanandme Member Posts: 26
    Just wondering what mpg everyone's geting. Mine seems dismally low, only 18 mpg for mostly highway driving, and 13 mpg around town. I have the 7 passenger '07, and usually I have only 2-3 people so it's not weighed down. I'm putting premium gas in, which is 91 octane here in CA. I'm bummed about having to fill it up so frequently!
  • PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
    You might want to pop over to the Subaru B9 Tribeca - Real World MPG Numbers discussion. That's the place where folks are discussing the B9's mileage performance.

    Mileage aside, how do you like the way your B9 rides and handles?
  • bgunit68bgunit68 Member Posts: 18
    I have had mine since June of 2005. I have almost 50,000 miles already. I have the 5 pass. When I drive I get over 18 city and anywhere between 20 and 22 highway. When my girlfriend drives we get about 15 to 16 city. Other than a few issues of that being the first year car, which were very quickly resolved by my dealer, the car is awesome. I am 6'8" and 350 lbs. This is the most comfortable car I have owned. Great ride. I will be buying a new one probably next year. I will get it loaded this time though.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    50k miles, wow! Do you ever park it? ;)

    -juice
  • occkingoccking Member Posts: 346
    Just got back from trip Prov RI out to central NY State, 900 miles. Actual fuel consumption was 22 on the button. Per trip computer was closer to 23. Consumption for the 12,000 miles I have driven the vehicle since I got it (was a demo with 10,000 miles) is 21.9 per computer, actual around 21 even.

    I am a conservative driver on the highway (obviously with all the miles I rack up a lot of highway driving) usualy go low seventies & do avoid many jackrabbit starts.

    Interesting on the trip mentioned above I ran regular on two of three tankfulls & noticed no difference either in performance or actual mpg. The jury is still out, for me, if high test really necessary
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Interesting. Do you normally use premium? What are you using now?

    -juice
  • occkingoccking Member Posts: 346
    I have been using premium more often than not, particularly if difference only around 20 cents gallon. I have not noticed any difference at all in gas consumption (mileage) or in performance.

    A poster to this board recently suggested the difference in performance, while doing a lot of highway mileage would not be that significant, more so on city driving. I kind of thought I would run regular more often during highway driving as a tankful would "disappear" in just a few hours of driving. I just want to be sure that I am not going to "pay" for using regular instead of high test down the road, via more maintenance required, or poor performance that might eventually result by not using high test. If there is no danger of that at all, no reason why I should not use regular exclusively. Average miles 35,000 per year divided by 21 mpg average = 1666 gallons. even at a difference of 25 cents per gallon, that's only around $400 per year, $35 per month, $8 per week, $1.13 per day (and so on.....) So we have it down to this, for the cost of one cup coffer per day (not quite, DD now for small coffee averages around $1.40 around here)will my car be much happier???
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    You drive a lot of miles. It might take me 3 years to drive that far.

    -juice
  • terry92270terry92270 Member Posts: 1,247
    "It might take me 3 years to drive that far."

    You should consider an electric car/cart. :P

    Now to the question/post at hand...

    So long as you are not traversing mountain passes or towing, typically activities that will stress the motor, and are not hearing any "pinging"/ misfires, you are certainly good to go with Regular Unleaded. It will not do any damage.

    The Nissan Murano originally was listed as Premium only, but has since said Regular (87+ Octane) was okay.

    Now you should note, however, tests show a slight increase in MPG using 90+ Octane, further off-setting the price difference. So, I would say your "real" savings would be about half that $400 per year you estimated, given your real-life driving experiences.
  • pro5mohpro5moh Member Posts: 29
    Hi Tribeca Owners out there..

    Iam planning on buying the 7 Seater Limited in a day or two..
    Test drove the vehicle twice already, but the following question pop'd in my mind (after seeing the actual specs on the space).

    Iam 5'10 and tried sitting in the rear seat earlier with no problem.. But after looking at the Rear Head Room Specs on Consumer Reports, noticed that there is'nt enough head room space for the rear seats -- I do not remember noticing the space left out when i was sitting...

    Anyone has any comments / findings.. on this??
  • flgirlaolflgirlaol Member Posts: 51
    Hi, This question isn't necessarily Tribeca related, even though I'm driving a 2007 Tribeca!

    My husband and I disagree on the proper way to get down a mountain. Maybe you all can help. We have a vacation home on a steep mountain. Is the best way to go down the mountain is to use the Sports gear and go into 1st or 2nd gear? I use this so I don't have to brake all the way down. But I hear the transmission seem to whine as I'm picking up speed but 1st gear is keeping the car slow and in control. My husband thinks this is no good for the transmission. He thinks it's easier to brake down the mountain. I think the constant braking is no good for the brakes.

    What's your opinions?

    Thanks! :confuse:
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    If the brakes are not overheating (you don't smell them burning at the bottom, and you don't lose any brake pedal feel) then you have to ask yourself...

    Are $50-100 in brake pads more expensive or a replacement transmission at ~$3000-4000?

    -mike
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,762
    A combination is the best way to go. Definitely use a lower gear to assist the descent, but also be sure to brake occasionally to keep the RPMs on the engine down (keep the transmission from working too hard).

    I had 220,000 on my AT 96 Outback and down-shifted all the time (multiple times per day). Never a problem with the transmission and the brake pads lasted 144K for fronts, 196K for rears at their first replacement. Granted, only a little city driving for me, but still a respectable life span for brake pads. In first gear with the Outback, I would keep the car around 10-15 mph, about 25-35 for 2nd.
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    But you drive like a granny wes! :)

    -mike
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,762
    But you drive like a granny wes!

    :surprise: :blush:

    That I do (at times), but I always get there. Well, okay.... I almost always get there. :D
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I'm with mike, use the brakes. Last set of brake pads I changed for my sister were $17 (front axle, both sides).

    Last trans my dad replaced on his Taurus set him back $6000.

    I might use 4th to help a little, but not much lower than that.
  • occkingoccking Member Posts: 346
    I have posted on this board on several occasions about problems I have had with a very harsh, noisy ride on my 2006 Tribeca. Got the vehicle as a Demo August last year with 10,000 miles on it now have turned over 40,000 on odometer.

    For the most part very pleased with the vehicle, I do like the appearance quite a bit, much more so than the 08's which I just saw first one recently. It really does look like, at least from the front end, just like a Chrysler. Sure the improved motor would be a plus, and apparently the visibility is a little better than the 06's and 07's but otherwise essentially the same vehicle.

    I have averaged just about 21 mpg on my vehicle, and that is pretty accurate based on fuel consumption, not just what the computer says. I thought the 08 was going to get slightly better gas mileage, and with the new criteria for gas mileage for 08 vehicles I thought it would remain at 18 city, 23 highway. However, I noticed on the sticker it shows now only 16 city, 21 highway. I don't see therefore, any improvement over the 06 and 07's.

    At any rate, back to my comments about the harsh ride. After complaining for quite some time, the dealer finally installed new control arm bushings. They were supposed worn or broken. Unfortunately, no change in the ride.
    I complained further, but they the dealer I had purchased the vehicle from (Carls's in Pawtucket, RI) went out of business so I went to another dealer, Somerset Subaru in Somerset, MA> I have had vehicles serviced there in the past and they are always very profession about working on vehicles not necessarily purchased there. To make a long story short, it was determined that the bushings and bushing brackets for the stabilizer bar were worn, and those were just replaced today.

    Although the ride is still not "the smoothest" it is now much improved, similar to when I purchased the vehicle.

    Any one else out there experience similar problems like this?
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Had a similar problem on my 04 Armada. Turned out to be a loose front sway bar aka stabilizer bar, after the dealer tightened them, my ride improved back toward stock and no more banging.

    -mike
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Yeah, make sure there's grease on all the bushings so things can move around smoothly.

    Every time I rotate the tires I spray some lithium grease on the bushings, that's convenient because it's accessible at that time.
  • ixxiixxi Member Posts: 4
    Surprised I havent seen more about the Beca's sluglike acceleration when the engine and tranny are cold-- especially when the weather is cold. I love my '06 but it is remarkably, surprisingly, horrible to drive for the first few miles on cold mornings. Dealer says "they're all that way; its Subaru's way of protecting the transmission until the pressure builds up corectly" or some b.s. I am not a car guy, but I'm not an idiot either and have never heard an explanation like that.

    Anyone know of any tweaks or workarounds for this? I am not looking to blast off with a stone cold car, but really, even pulling onto a busy street from my neighborhood can feel a little sketchy.

    Is there such a thing as revised software that could re-tune the engine or shifting or something? PLEASE? I really like the car despite this; but something this strange would definitely keep me from recommending it to anyone. (Oh, and don't mention the 08. That thing is atrocious.)

    Age: 41.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    What about getting an engine block heater?

    Or remote start?

    I'd address the issue of warming up the engine more quickly directly.
  • ixxiixxi Member Posts: 4
    Seems like overkill. We're talking Portland,OR here where our temps and conditions are hardly extreme. I've owned many many cars here and none have ever experienced anything like this. While a remote start or engine heater might *help* it seems like an extreme measure to institute for your car to operate under pretty normal daily conditions...
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,762
    In general, what temperatures are you talking about? It seems like normal winter temps (lows), might be anywhere from 5 degrees at rock bottom bot about 35 or 40.

    Adjusting your fluids may be the best solution. I noticed a marked improvement in my '07 Outback when I put Amsoil 0w-30 in the engine and synthetic 75w-90 in the manual transmission and differentials. This was March 16, and we had about two weeks of daily -20F rising to +30F temperatures following that. It was like driving a slug before the change and was silky smooth afterward. Note that I do run a block/oil pan heater for a couple hours before morning start up at temps below zero. But, the car was sluggish even with the heaters so I suspect the most significant difference was the gear oil.
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I've used synthetic gear oil and noticed similar improvements.

    Never tried synthetic ATF, though.
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