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Comments
Lots of times people try too hard to get things into their cars, when truly portable units are more versatile.
For example, you could have a single unit for the family, and use it in your whole fleet.
A while back one of our staff looked into these, and it was a few hundred bucks or so. I'll ask him if he ended up buying it and get back to you.
-juice
I have seen in some places that you can buy a stand for a portable gps in your car. so if u really want to have one that is most like an in dash on so that you don't have to be picking it up to use it, and you can as juice said, install one (stand) in each vehicle u own, and just keeep switching the unit
-teddy_b
P.S. BTW, i am juice's brother, Jose (newbie)
(bet your thinking, "no wonder he is on juice's side!!"
-mike
-Bryan
-mike
that my dealer has not been able to diagnose after 4 tries since early May.
The dealer has lubed the strut tower, rubber bumpers on hatch, hatch catch, hinges,
and taken apart the rear suspension to lube bushings(?). I personally have taken apart
and lubed the spring loaded "rest pads" for the hatch as read about here at Edmonds,
tightened hatch catch, & trimmed sheet metal muffler shield that was touching trailer hitch.
I have searched most of the Edmond's Subaru boards and have found posts by bkok, david35,
andyt, babaoriley, luck11, and vince14 who seem to have similiar sounding noises in their
OBs & Forresters. Wondering if any of you still have the noise in your car, or has it been
fixed (hopefully) and what was the problem?
This noise has gradually gotten louder and more often, but with no pattern as to when
& how loud the noise is - such as hot, cold, on start up, etc. My brother-in-law,
employer, wife, & myself have come to believe the noise is coming from a body flex
movement and not in the driveline or suspension (just like bkok was thinking).
I have another appt. with the dealer & Subaru regional rep. Larry Tanzer Mon. Aug 21
(last chance for Subaru to fix before I file for a replacement under the Lemon Law)
Tanzer has already listened to the noise back in May, and said it was probably
the Uhaul trailer hitch. They removed it & the noise was still there.
What really bugs me the most, is that they (Larry Tanzer and Subaru
USA senior rep Dene Witt) will not acknowledge anyone else having a similiar problem
anywhere in the country.
I really like this car and the way it drives & handles, but this annoying noise
is "just loud enough and often enough to make the car feel cheap" (quote by vince14).
I really hope there is someone out there who can help us stop this noise.
Please respond here or email me at dougstor@msn.com. Thank you.
Doug
-mike
-Frank P.
Brett
..Mike
..Mike
-mike
Maybe if the WRX is out in March, I'll get her a surprise birthday gift. Something tells me 230 horses would convince her better than I could!
-juice
Thanks!
I don't think it's a wheel balance problem as most stretches produce no vibrations at the same speeds.
Is it normal for some road surfaces to produce this? Is this a result of the stiff shock/soft spring setup?
All tire pressures are a bit high (about 36lbs cold)from the dealer. I'm going to try lowering it to subaru specs to see if this improves the situation.
Thanks,
-Tony
What was the previous car? Subarus do have a pretty long travel strut suspension, and its tuning is considerably different than domestic cars. The Subaru way is soft springs compiled with linear or even progressive damped struts. This allows them to actually make use of the long travel but still handle decent and not bottom out over big bumps-- jumps, even.
-Colin
-Colin
Dave in N. Alabama
pamcran -- Do you have a keyless remote? If so, the unplugging of the battery will cause this. I believe you can reset it by hitting the button located under the steering column or holding "unlock" -- check the manual to be sure.
I experienced something similar when I got my 00 Legacy L Wagon. Some stretches of highway caused a humming or rumbling sound that could also be felt. I realized when I read your post that the vibration had disappeared after a week or two. I can't remember hearing it or feeling it for a long time. Unless I just got used to it, buy I don't think so. Maybe the rubber in the tires softens up, or the suspension breaks in?
Dave B
Then to my suprise, Dene called me this morning at work, said she had just got back from a Subaru road trip, and that she would call me back in a couple days after she confers with Larry and others.
Patti, I do hope that I truly end up believing that the Subaru commitment to their customers is alive and well here in the great Northwest.
Thanks again,
Doug
It does feel like a tire out of balance, but the fact that it smoothens out completely has me concerned. Slowing down does seem to reduce the effect and I've never felt it at less than 55mph (but on different roads).
Thanks, I'll try some experimenting with tire pressure and speed.
-Tony
-Frank P.
Dave: do you wipe the area surrounding the drain plug after draining the oil? The only thing I can think of is that the oil pan gets hot, and any oil left will get thinner and then drip off.
Then I'd try a new drain plug. I think it's a 17mm bolt, but check first.
Pam: let us know how you resolve the battery issue. I don't have the alarm, does yours?
-juice
From my experience with a new OB, and from what I've gleaned here in the past 2 months, it's not entirely uncommon for a new Subaru to come from the factory with wheels out of balance. My dealer had to re-balance all four wheels on my OB -- it had some serious shakes at about 65mph. Thankfully, that did the trick.
Craig
Bit
I've had wheel balance problems before on other cars, but it never was this severe or as intermittant.
-Tony
I'll try a new plug from the dealer. I'm careful to wipe everything clean after the change. Not much to go wrong there, threads, seating surfaces between plug and pan, or worst case a hairline crack in the pan. I think a crack in the pan would leak more than I'm seeing.
Dave in AL
Thanks!
-juice
Uh, yeah, um, Patti, I have this problem with, um, washing and waxing my Outback, and think it might be a, oh, uh, defective surface finish control unit. Maybe you could, um, have the dealer take a shot at, uh, fixing it for me?
:-)
Craig
Can you make it appear again?
-juice
I visited my dealer, Madison Square Subaru in Madison, AL today. I explained my problem and made arrangements for them to look it over this Tuesday. I'll let you know how it works out. Thanks.
Dave in AL
Any thoughts?
Jerry
Craig
Also, drivetrain whine is normal for these vehicles, but it occurs at all speeds.
Did your car (now with 17k miles) always do this,
or did it just start? I've heard of problems with wheel bearings in Subarus (mostly on pre-'01 Foresters) due to a mfg problem.
-Tony
Jerry
My dealer suggests oil changes about every 2500 miles - additives normally in the oil are used up by then, or so they say (they use a Sunoco/Kendall oil) & OE Subaru filter). Only 20 bucks for the change, and they wash the car, so what the heck!
Cheers!
Paul
-Frank P.
-mike
Jerry: try removing the cross bars, see if the noise goes away. If not, I'd have the wheels balanced, then the alignment checked, then the suspension inspected by a dealer, in that order.
paisan: in light/highway use the schedule is actually every 6 months (or 7.5k miles).
-juice
Paul, based on the dealer's recommendation, you'd be changing the oil 3 times for every 1 recommended change on the normal service schedule! I doubt the filter even gets dirty in that short amount of time!
Mike, I have seen evidence that oil filters can last through several oil changes (sorry, can't remember where). Many new cars only require a filter replacement every other oil change. Where did you hear about the 3 month intervals for light use? Is this an issue with the engine? I know oil routinely sits on the shelf for months before being sold, so it can't be an issue with the oil itself.
Craig
However, I'm in the process of ridding myself of this car, after the 2nd time now it has left me stranded in the middle of nowhere.
In April, a fuel injector failed on cylinder 1 with only 20,000 KMs on the car (12,500 miles).
Over this labor day weekend, the fuel injector on cylinder 3 failed with only 28,000 kms on the car (17,500 miles).
When these injectors fail, it basically means they are sticking, which causes the engine to run rich and vibrate heavily at all speeds. Needless to say, not driveable.
I am not very happy with my 2000 OB. It might be just my car, but I've owned 4 other cars before this (including 2 GMs), and not one has ever left me stranded in under 100,000 miles.
Then there's the issue of the dealer who redefines the word "rude".
I will not buy a Subaru again, and I definitely do not consider them reliable. For the money, you can buy a vehicle with more ameneties, more power, and reliability for thousands less.
Ash Mishra
I know you're in Canada, but maybe our SOA rep Patti can recommend someone from SOC to look into your problem (and spank the rude dealer)?
I know you must feel very disappointed, and I cannot blame you. But I'd give Subaru a chance to make it up to you.
FWIW,
-- Kate