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Comments
Jack
The first time I drove those models last year I noticed that. I don't like the way Subaru set that up for the H-6 models..
Bob
Try pressing and holding the Outside Temp button until you hear a beep (couple of seconds) The outside Temp will hen display until you next touch a climate control button.
Cheers
Graham
A timing belt broke early because of a faulty idler arm, I had to replace a solenoid. Other than that my repairs have only been maintenance items. I am meticulous in my maintenance and repairs, and after the initial year's $1500 at 7 years I have averaged only about 700 dollars a year in maintenance and repairs. My other cars average closer to 1200/year.
I have a Dodge with 170,000 miles and it really feels it's age. It runs well, but creaks and groans. At every repair I ask if it's really worth it. My Subaru runs every bit as good as when I bought it. It will easily go 200,000 miles. It is still taut, quiet, smooth, responsive and fun to drive. And I just bought the bottom of the line L version.
Most of the time you will avoid problems by careful maintenance. Follow only the Severe maintenance schedule. Run at least a synthetic blend oil and change every 5,000 miles, or the MONTHS specified in the owners manual. Change Radiator fluid at least every other year (I do it yearly). Do a transmission drain and fill every 15,000 miles. Replace brake and power steering fluid every 30,000 miles. Use a clay bar, and glaze and wax the finish at least twice a year.
I like American cars, but if you want some real horror stories see the problems with Ford or Mazda 626 automatic transmissions, or GM steering issues. Really, the problems listed on this site are minimal and not frequent.
If you're worried about the pinging issue, wait 6 months and the software fix should be incorporated into the newer vehicles already. If it is not, make it a condition of sale.
Don't be like a social workers who see only the families needing foster care intervention and conclude that the state of the American Family is abismal. The vast majority of owners are experiencing no serious problems. Even those of us with older used cars really love their Subbies.
Bob
I just had to replace a cut tire on my 2000 Outback wagon, and here is what I found out. First, the stock Firestone tires are a version of the Wilderness HT tire, though Firestone does not list it in their product catalog. As far as I could tell, the only HT that comes in the 225/60-16 size is the OEM Outback tire. I went in looking for a replacement, and that's what they came up with. It was an exact match.
The tires on the 02 models are labeled Bridgestone Potenzas, but they look suspisciously identical to the Firestone Wilderness tires. I am basing this on the product photos in the 02 model brochure which show tread, and this may be incorrect -- automakers have been known to get creative with PhotoShop in these brochures. It is possible that they airbrushed "Firestone Wilderness" out and added "Bridgestone Potenza" in just so they could reuse the old product photos. I guess I won't know for sure until I get a look at the real thing.
I have always had a steering wheel vibration on my Outback, from day one, and no manner of re-balancing, tire rotation, or alignment has fixed the problem (changed it maybe, but not fixed it). The vibration is not consistent. Sometimes the car is buttery smooth, sometimes the wheel shakes. No particular speed range, no particular road surface. It's really not repeatable. I have suspected the tires for a long time, but will have to wait until they are replaced to see if it's really the problem. I would appreciate learning about any resolutions to the issue. This is the only annoyance I have with an otherwise wonderful car.
Craig
You might try finding a shop with the Hunter 9700 wheel balancer. The 9700 can find stuff standard equipment can't. The url for Hunter is:
http://www.gsp9700.com/index.cfm
It is a $25,000 wheel balance system that not many shops have. It sure would be worth checking out.
HTH,
Greg in IN
-mike
My vibration is exactly as you describe. For that reason, my district service rep said the same thing that Greg said about the Hunter 9700 machine. The Firestone store that I went to wanted my dealer to use new wheels and tires off a new Outback and try it on my car to see if that resolved the problem. We did that test, and it seemed to take care of the problem. When I went back Firestone they said no problem about replacing all four tires. Unfortunately they didn't have the same tire and wanted to put the "HT" tires on my car which my buddy's Ranger has on his car. I didn't like that, so instead I came home and posted here as well as getting on Tirerack.com and Firestone.com. Did some homework, and called the folks at Firestone. Learned more about tires than any "civilian" needs to know! Anyhow, The techi guy at Firestone said that we would really like to see Bridgestone Turanza H Revos on the car, but that the retailer would probably only agree to put on the Bridgestone Potenza RE950, which is the retail version of the RE92 which is an OE model number and probably the OE tire on the '02 Outbacks. (Like I said, I have learned WAY too much about tires!)
So I called the retailer back, and he said that Bridgestone, by definition, is an upgrade from Firestone, so he would have to check with his district rep. So I'm waiting, but I'll keep you posted.
The Bridgestone techi also said that the Firestone Firehawk SH30 is a great tire, but that the Turanza H Revo is the best tire for the money and what he would put on his car. The ratings on Tirerack give the Potenza the best score.
Thanks to all who offered advice!
Pete.
I'm curious to find out who is paying for this repair, Subaru or customer. My dealership is "playing dumb" about this problem.
I've never had the brake squeak or the hesitation
but my rotors do have the grooves in them other people posted about it . But no problem with braking effort . I feel the brakes are very good .My brakes on old car 96 Honda accord were terrible . The one thing they need to change is there painting application . All you have to look at it for any length of time and it scratches .
Thanks again mike k
I think we are dealing with PhotoShop-ish retouched photos. There was a mix of '01 & '02 cars on the lot when I bought, and I looked at the tires on each. While I am no fan of Bridgestones (had them on a Datsun & Toyota as OEM - and was happy to eventually replace them), I specifically wanted to avoid anything that said "Wilderness" (whether from the Decator plant or not). While I cannot remember the UTG numbers on the Firestones, I noticed that they were different from the Bridgestone Potenza RE92's of 360/A/A. And I believe the tread pattern was sufficiently different to convince me that it was a different animal.
Steve
Negotiate, like heck. There's big markups on these.
I sold my 2000 Isuzu Rodeo to get an '02 OB. My Rodeo had the dreaded steering wheel vibration Paisan spoke of. I had the wheels and tires balanced on a Hunter 9700 to no avail. After lurking on the Edmund's Rodeo board for a bit, I heard enough folks find out that the OEM Bridgestone Duelers were flat spotted after the vehicles had sat on the dealer's lots for months at a time. I somehow convinced the regional Isuzu rep to swap out these tires for Michelin Cross Terrain SUV tires, and the problem was solved. It seems that lower quality tires may become flat spotted, and no amount of riding on them will return them to normal. Good tires will go back to their normal 'roundness' after driving on them. Just my .02
David
Greg
Later on, the tire manager out in the shop refused to mount the tires -- apparently, there is a bulletin out that says not to mount directional tires on the Subaru Outback. They would only stick with the original Wilderness tires. Wierd. So, I'm back to getting another three OEM Wilderness tires (they had to send a gopher to a nearby town to get them).
I don't know the details about the service bulletin, whether it's from Firestone or Subaru. But, the local shop doesn't want to install anything but original spec tires on my Outback.
Craig
Patti - any insight here?
-Brian
From what I hear (I really wish I had my own opinion on this!) don't go with Wilderness, at the very least go with the Potenza RE92s. Another tire that both technical Firestone people I spoke to raved about was the Turanza H revo.
My dealer is waiting for a call back from Subaru technical but Firestone technical didn't know of any reason why directional tires couldn't be mounted on an OB. Infact, when he asked around at one point, he was given examples of more expensive 4x4s and AWD sports cars that have directional tires as OE.
I'll let you know what my dealer finds out from Subaru technical.
Pete
-mike
Cheers Pat.
Craig, if you can, hold off a couple of days, and I'll let you know how the RE950s are, and whether they take care of the vibration (which has been lost among these directional issues!) Call the Firestone number I emailed you - I'm sure they'll satisfy you. Also, if necessary, find another Firestone dealer who will mount the RE950s.
Thanks all for your input.
Pete.
In the end, I knew the Outback should steer/ride correctly with the Wilderness tires based on my recent test drive in a 2001 VDC, and this reaffirms that experience (I still would like to buy a VDC someday, though). So I guess that is a valid benchmark!
BTW, I asked about the bulletin, and the guy who I talked to earlier had left for the day. So, I don't know the details. I also remember seeing directional tires on an SVX many years ago, but the guy I spoke to earlier said the bulletin was specific to the Outback and not Subarus in general.
If I had more gumption, I would head over to my Subaru dealer and ask for a refund on the alignment they did at 15K miles (for $89), and see if they would share the cost of new tires with me, since that was the ultimate solution to the vibration problem they were unable to diagnose. But, I'm happy that the car finally rides and tracks so well, and I get enough heartburn and stress at work! I probably don't have enough documentation either. I think I will just write this off as a learning experience and move on. My wife and I will be heading into the Shenandoah mountains of VA this weekend with the Outback, and I'm looking forward to the drive.
Now a side question: Where can I get a steel rim with the Subaru 5-lug pattern? I saved two of the old Wilderness tires, and want to setup a full size spare for off-road excursions.
Craig
Now, the Precept golf ball, which is manufactured by Bridgestone, is the absolute best deal in a golf ball available - equivalent performance to the top of the line Titleists at 40% of the price! Personally, I prefer the MC Extra Spin model, but...what's that? This isn't a golf BB? Sorry...
Call around to local dealers to see if they have any take-off steel wheels. You can sometimes get them cheap-cheap.
-juice
Cheers!
Paul
mike k
Keep after the dealer to find the source of the noise you could have a caliper mounting bolt that is not tight also.
The fact that it stops when you have a foot on the brake would make it seem indicative of a brake problem,however you do not want to be driving around with your foot on the pedal no matter how lightly, you can cause the brake fluid to boil as well as cause premature wear on the pads and rotors.
Cheers Pat.
Again, I do not know Subaru's well yet, but many disk pads do have free play and are dampened by 'anti-rattle' clips. These are bent spring stock jobs that attach at either end of the pads. The wear sensor tab is also sometime integral with them. I also had a noise that disappeared with light application of the brake on one of my previous Fords. Replaced the springs (parts guy had thicker ones - higher K value ??) and the noise went away.....
Steve
We did have directional's on the SVX. The only problem we saw was with folks that had rotation questions.
Patti
Pete.
Maybe there was a hidden reason, but I got the impression that the tire guy was being dead serious. Maybe he just got his facts wrong. I probably should have pushed to actually "see" the alleged bulletin.
Pete, I'm anxious to hear how the 950s do on your OB. Of course, if the car goes down the road sideways, then we'll really wonder!
Craig
-mike
-juice
-mike
Pete.
4 wheel alignment is a bit of a misnomer nowadays as all cars need a 4 wheel alignment.
Cheers Pat.
Before I had Firestone do the alignment, my OB had a bias towards the left, and I was constantly having to correct to the right. In addition, there was a dead spot on center, where I could saw the wheel and nothing would happen. Now, the wheel feels firm on center, and responsive. I should note that my Subaru dealer did an alignment at my 15K service, and basically made the situation worse than before. Thankfully, Firestone seemed to know what they were doing. It really feels great.
Pete: I agree with Pat, if you're getting 4 new tires, an alignment is a good idea. I think if you throw some extra business at Firestone, it might also improve your relationship with the local retailer (if that even matters in this case). I was very pleased with the service I received from them, and would go back again.
Craig
I'm losing memory cells here :-D
Anyway, the tech @ dealer had it all 'zeroed' and it's driving fine now.
-Dave
-juice
thanks
mike k
-mike
Does the factory wiring for the tweeter kit and sub woofer/amp work easily with non-Subaru stereos?
Has anyone seen the horsepower and torque curves for the 2000+ 2.5 L engine?
Thanks!
Sten