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Comments
Did you make any modifications to your vehicle?
Did you install any electrical/electronic device? Toll booth transponder? Antenna? CB? Cellphone?
Did you put any tools in the glovebox or dashtop compartment (or anywhere else in the vehicle)? Some tools are magnetized.
Any of these could produce a magnetic field that affects the detector for the compass.
Check out Gas Saving Gizmos & Gadgets too.
Steve, Host
Also, my 99 Forester downshifts when I brake if car is going over 50mph down a steep hill. To get it to upshift I can wait until the road levels, and it shifts automatically, or quickly downshift and then upshift and the transmission will return to the high gear. Do newer models have a simpler solution to this?
Your tranny is using a lower gear to get engine braking. That keeps your brakes from overheating down a long descent. That may be normal behavior, basically.
Only way to have full control is to get a manual, or choose a model with SportShift, like some Legacys and Outbacks.
-juice
Mark
Recently at a McDonald's drive through I bumped my Coke against the roof; the Coke spilled. Thought I'd cleaned it all up, but it appears some got inside the door.
Now when it's cold outside (I live in Colorado) my drivers-side door doesn't want to work.
Going in from the passenger side, working the latch from the inside, followed by another unlock or two on the remote did the trick this a.m.
That "fix" is rather time consuming, so I'm looking for something that'll last, hopefully without having to take the door apart.
Any ideas? (As to the lock issue, that is, not as to my diet. I know that needs to change).
thanks,
mike
-juice
-Dennis
-juice
I would follow this up with a spray of lithium grease.
MSRP: $27,939 Invoice: 25,848. Internet price: dealer (Bel Air Subaru in Maryland) took off $500 for ??? and another $1000 rebate?? ==24,348 + tax and a $100 processing fee. I was a bit disappointed in the trade in for my 99 Forester S, but it did have a bit of bumper damage and 70K miles. So I got $6200 for it. My hard bargainer wife !! said throw in a dog divider and we'll take it. They did and we did. Seems bigger than the 99, but the dimensions are almost identical. HUGE sunroof with an automatic wind deflector so I do not get the annoying "drumming" that I did on the 99. Spare tire is not a full sized one either. Changes from the 99 are mostly cosmetic, but welcome, including a weather band on the radio, a 6 disk cd, and a self dimming mirror. Easier to control the acceleration from stop on this model. Maybe because of the electronic throttle. It is a beautiful color, a more muted green than my 99. Since I prefer the key to the remote,(I like to travel light!) I have already had 3 incidents when the alarm went off. Apparently the trick is to push the lock button on the inside and close the door. But do not try to lock it again from the outside since this seems to arm the alarm. ) Recommened oil seems to be 5 w 30. Since I have been a 10/30 man for the last 40 years I wonder if the 5w has been working all right for others?)
I hope this helps. Good luck with your new Forester.
Len
If you see more than a few summer days of 90F+ temps, I would go with a 10W30 in the summer. 10W30's flow better today than a few years ago so depending where you live, you might be able to use it year 'round. 5W30 is in there from the factory.
-Dennis
Re: oil, for what its worth I've used Quaker state 5W-30 full synthetic, QS 10w-30 Synthetic blend, and Castrol 10w-30 synthetic blend. I get the oil analyzed about 2x a year. In all cases the 5W-30 did not hold its viscosity. The 10W-30 had the viscosity of a 5W-30 when analyzed. I change every 3000. Driving mix is 80/20 city highway.
HTH
Larry
Congrats on the new '06.
-juice
What was the approximate mileage on the car for the analyses? The wear-in metals in my XT were just getting normal at 30,000 miles and that's one way oil loses it's viscosity (especially if it's thin). I'm switching to Texaco Havoline in my wife's Outback. It usually shows good uoa results and has a lot of moly.
I run German Castrol Syntec 0W30 in my XT and it stays a high 30 weight for 6,000 miles.
-Dennis
My XT is about 27500 and the analysis has always shown better than average metals until the last report I had done at about 26500 - copper wear was high, but fuel dilution was high at 2%. That was also the first Castrol syn-blend I tried. That went in the crankcase as a 10w-30 and came out as a 5w-30. :surprise:
Been running 10w-30 QS syn-blend in the OBW (now at 36000 miles) for the last couple of years - the metal wear has been atrocious (aluminum in particular, but iron also high - kind of like an aluminum piston meeting an iron sleeved cylinder
Sorry for the digression
Larry
The highest my fuel dilution has been is 1% and I do a lot of short trips (five miles each way daily). My copper went from 6 to 10 on my last UOA. I'm a little surprise but not too concerned. My silicon remained the same at 15 and I expected a drop because I switched from an Amsoil air filter to OEM.
-Dennis
The best thing to do would try a few different brands and have them analyzed. Mobil1 30 weights are on the thin side, but they recently thickened up their 5W30 slightly. Anything that gives you the best gas mileage will not necessarily give you the best protection. That's why Mobil1 has "new" EP oils. They're basically the same as the old Mobil1 oils, but they don't meet the new GF4 fuel economy requirements that the regular M1 oils meet.
-Dennis
I have an old friend who does Amsoil. He told me ~15 years ago, when I asked him why he didn't do extended intervals like the ads blared, that he found that the molecular tails always sheared before 3,000 miles or earlier. It became a bit of a "why bother" issue with me then.
Steve, Host
It's not energy conserving though. You can't have your cake and eat it too.
-Dennis
Obviously Subaru has known about the CEL problem for at least 7 years but cannot seem to engineer it out of the Forester.
I like the Forester, but if someone asks my opinion, I can only tell them that there is a major glitch in their engine.
As long as the CEL is not blinking it's not a serious problem, let the dealer read the codes and reset it.
-juice
Especially when things are new, problems like this leave a foul taste and do nothing to encourage brand loyalty.
Or to flip it around another way juice, didn't your dad have terrible luck with his Ford/Mercury products? In my 3 years of Subaru ownership I've had way more issues than in 16 years of owning Mercurys.
Until someone builds the perfect vehicle, I think its all a matter of the luck of the draw.
Off my soapbox.
Larry
Who posts? The guy with a CEL, or the guy with no CEL?
What is "inordinate" anyway? No CEL is ordinary by any reckoning, isn't it?
;John
I had no problems with my seat heaters on the 99 Forester. Obviously people without problems do not post. The word inordinate means "exceeding reasonable limits."
And my point was that there have been a large number of CEL posts in the past -at least from 2001 to 2003 when they caught my attention.
Out of 213,000 combined miles (4 Subes), I just had my first CEL in my wife's Outback (knock wood). Turned out to be the knock sensor at 92,000 miles.
-Dennis
CEL are more common because of OBDII, which we can thank the government for. One single misfire or a loose gas cap must trigger a CEL, in fact it's required by law.
Sorry if I sound defensive, it's just that I consider 99% of these a non-issue, i.e. a one-time symptom with no real underlying problem.
That's my honest opinion, take it or leave it.
Under warranty a dealer will clear the code for free, at the next service, and if the light's not blinking that means it's not urgent and you could wait until your next oil change. There is basically zero impact.
Out of warranty, disconnect the negative battery terminal for 20 minutes and that clears it. If it goes away, that just confirms my suspicion that the code was insignificant to begin with.
I hear some AutoZone locations also will scan a code for you for free, perhaps tell you if it's a gas cap, or if you need to replace something like an O2 sensor (which is a wear-and-tear item anyway).
So no, I don't consider this a big deal. The problem my dad had with his Taurus wagon cost him several thousand dollars, it's that kind of impact ($$$) that you don't forget.
-juice
cruise control light started flashing at the same time that the CEL went on.
It's been on for a month.....no blinking
Fix?.....a little black tape.....
She still runs like a swiss watch..... :shades:
If you have Subaru Bucks, maybe consider it. Otherwise the insurance companies have it figured out and you lose money (statistically, at least).
I bought mine because it was my first Subaru and I was uncertian about what I would get into. So far it hasn't been worth it.
On the other hand, if you intend to sell it before the warranty expires, you should be able to get something back on resale, plus it should be easier to sell.
As they say, YMMV.
John
Thanks!
#14307 of 17116 sharksoup - CD player by speterson1 Apr 12, 2004 (7:39 am)
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I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I had a similar problem with the single-disc player on our 2001 Forester. That behavior marked the beginning of the end. Shortly after the behavior you described, the laser became very sensitive, skipping on very minor bumps in the road, and then shortly after that it would not read discs at all and just spat them back out after insertion.
We were past our warranty to get it fixed for free, but I am very happy now after purchasing a Subaru 6-CD changer off of eBay. In fact, I just searched and here's a link to the exact same type of stereo http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3293&item=3089271785&rd=1. If you're lucky you can get one really cheap, much cheaper than you could get from the Subaru dealer. Installed ours myself (with a very helpful step-by-step pdf file which I could e-mail you if you needed) shortly after Christmas and it's worked flawlessly so far.
Steve
randy
As far as I know, no SUV has ever gotten better than 4 stars; the '05 Outback came in at 15%. I think the best SUV rating for '05 is at 14% (Freestyle & Pacifica).
But please continue in the Subaru Legacy/Outback discussion (this one focuses on Foresters).
Steve, Host
randy
My state (Pa) uses it, I am convinced. Every year my 2001 drops in mpg in October, and gets back to normal sometime in the spring.