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Subaru Outback VDC
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Comments
-juice
I would still buy a car there but I would just take it to Lou Fusz Subaru for service.
bit
Make sure you let us know if you are not satisfied. Our Reps. are happy to help when they can.
Patti
By the way, Nematode, I'm sorry to report that the salesman you mentioned, Gil Daniels, is no longer there. He was ours as well, and we miss him.
WThere are three dealers in St. Louis -- two are part of auto dealer "networks" where Subaru is a secondary brand, and the third is the independent, Webster Groves. We're veterans of nine Subaru purchases there for ourselves and family, and have been, with one or two glaring exceptions, extremely happy with their sales and service support -- they won us over when my wife's wedding ring somehow slipped off her finger while driving, and tumbled into the dashboard somewhere. She roared over to WG Subaru in a panic; the service manager Neil, calmed her down, gave her some coffee and spent 20 minutes looking for and eventually finding the ring somehow. And he didn't even charge us! I have to acknowledge that this made us highly partial to them, and we probably overlook gafs there that we would never tolerate at any other dealer.
I know there is a separate chatroom for this, but while I have folks' attention, I would be interested in hearing about sales and service experiences at Subaru dealerships in St. Louis. Seems to me none of the three have yet tapped into the enthusiast or cult aspects of the Subaru marketplace here.
As a folo to our VDC and ABS lights coming on after a bump-hitting ...thanks to all who offered input. All is well now. Meanwhile my own 5-spd OB with only 18.5K miles is in the shop (guess where?) because what I thought was a balky air-conditioner fan turned out to be a bad alternator. Neil is having one overnighted, but I must admit I'm starting to feel like I'm spending too much time with my Subaru mechanic.
-juice
The dealership is Subaru of Thousand Oaks, CA.
I've asked around and the information I'm getting is that the service is good and the man to see is Scott. The word is he's a very good mechanic.
From reading some of the posts, the problems some people are having with their VDC's seems to be from February,01 and on. My question would be "What did Subaru do differently from February on?
Bobby
...at 6-7pm Pacific/9-10 pm Eastern. Hope to see you there!
http://www.edmunds.com/chat/subaruchat.html
To Patti: the issue is not the difference in speed per se. It is the attitude of the service manager seeking to a) blow me off then by citing 10% as the allowed variance and b) gruding acknowledgement of the issue, but telling me that the his ability to resolve is based on a bizarre non-disgnostic test. I gave up trying to reason with him. Never argue with a fool, my mother says.
Here's another one: I also checked my bank account a few days ago and these guys also deposited my check 4 days before I collected the car (they said they would deposit it when I took delivery, which seems fair) and before my funds had moved over. They cost me $250 in bank charges.
We begged the bank and they refunded $100, now I want the $150 back from the dealer.
Oh by the way, in response to another poster lookig for dealer names: I would like to give this dealers a fair chance (despite their own actions) and I will not mention their name till I have a chance to speak to the sales guy there on Monday. I WILL provide their reactions once I know.
The guy I dealt with was really nice and the main reason I bought it there. He spent 1 1/2 hours when I came to collect the car, showing me stuff and he even went got his CD collection and told me how to make the Mac work at its best.
I apologize to everyone if I am coming off as a whiner. I swear I love this car -- it is beautiful to drive and to look at:
http://rockypond.homeip.net/mybaby.jpg
Gary
mpg: 25.3 going; 26.7 returning.
comfort: the seats which I was worried about were great with no fatigue; we drove 850 miles yesterday. The quietness, supple ride, combined with the stereo really made for a very comfortable trip, particularly compared to our former Volvo 850 wagon. The auto climate control worked flawlessly with ranges from 110 to 40 degrees.
Handling: We had to handle a lot of rain with mountain driving. This car was outstanding as would be expected. I never had any anxious moments.
Performance: A little disapointment here. The engine ran great, but I am still fighting the transmission to do what I want to do. The car has plenty of power when you get its attention, but it seems way too sluggish for just normal oomph, particularly in the mountains. Maybe this is just me getting used to it; it seemed better on the way back. I was used to the high pressure turbo power of the Volvo; I might be expecting too much. The jury is still out on this.
Problems. On my first hard climb over a pass at 11000 feet. Right before the summit, the "VDC off" light comes on for about a minute or so and then goes out at the summit. This never happened again. Any thoughts??
All in all, the car was great on this trip. Now, if I can just whip the transmission into shape.
Mike
And now back to the discussion of the Subaru Outback VDC. Happy Motoring!
Pocahontas
Host
Hatchbacks / Station Wagons / Women's Auto Center Boards
head unit: variant of MX406
Amplifier: variant of MC420M
Speakers: MSX486 (2-pair), MS10, and MSX487
The list price was something like $2500, if his (or her) analysis was correct.
Mike
thanks
Mike
bob
The dealers also want this feedback. The old expression "you can't fix what you don't know is broken" seems to fit here.
Thanks for giving them a chance to make it right.
Patti
The leather has been chemically treated and dyed but I don't know about a clear coat.
Saw your posting on the Zaino site. I've Z'd my VDC (white). Email me if you have any questions.
Incidently, I see mileage quoted here a lot. In my most recent 520 mile round trip I averaged around 27mpg in my VDC. This trip was nearly all highway, avg 68mph with cruise control on most of the time.
Does anybody know a better dealership arround? I wouldn't mind driving 150-200 miles. I already emailed Autobytel and Fitzgerald, I'll see if anything comes out...
Does anyone know if you're able to adjust/tweek the McIntosh system other than turning the control knobs ie. Can you adjust the amp?, etc.
In addition, does anyone know if there is a 6 disk cd changer available for the 2001 or 2002 VDC? I know a standard 6 disk cd changer is available but it's not up to McIntosh standards for frequency response, etc.
VDC Driver
I too have been told of the 10 % variance, both by the sealer and SOA. If you look you will most likely be off the same 3-4 miles per hour at 30. My VDC is off 3 MPH across the board, that means when it shows 10 MPH it's actually 7 MPH (more than 10 %) and at 70 MPH it's 67 MPH. My GPS reads dead on with the computer via ODBII scan tool. The computer reads correctly, the analog dial is off. This issue was never resolved for me!
Patti, I had left a message for you on my open cold start issue, still waiting. I guess the person I talked too didn't forward the message.
I checked the car into Subara in Natick, Massachusetts yesterday at 8:30am. I also mentioned steering wheel vibration at 70mph (indicate clock speed, really 66mph). The guy at the dealership told me new cars should have the wheels balanced.
I called in a 3.30pm and spoke to Don there. He told me they had found a variance in the speedo and had called SOA for advice. (Also, told me he found no vibration even though my passenger confirmed it in the morning). I asked him to put the wheels on a balancer. He said he would. He said he would call back shortly.
At 6pm I decided to leave when my lift arrived. I had no call as yet, but the service hours were to 8pm so I figure I'd to go over and wait.
I arrived at the dealership and it looked very quiet. The service area was locked and closed. I went inside and the cashier asked my name. Could not find my keys and went into the service area. Came out and said matter of factly, sorry your car's not ready. Why didn't Don call me? I don't know, came the reply. But there is nothing wrong with my car, it is only a diagnostic. A shrug was all I got. (I had the impression this happens a lot by her nonchalance). I asked if there service manager was here: No. I told her to give me my keys. I got in my car and got out of there fast.
So I guess I have my answer on how much the dealer cares. Even disgruntled customers get the shaft. I mean what if my lift had dropped me and gone home????? I live 25 miles from there!!!!!!
To Patti: I am sorry, but I cannot take the "give us feedback line". I want this resolved. All of my issues, including the bank charges. Please tell me who (I mean who, not an 800 number) to call who will resolve it. I also want to register a strong complaint to a person who also will take direct action.
I also want someone to tell me where in the Massachussets laws it states that a state trooper or local cop will give me the allowed variance you seem to be claiming. If I can be ticketed for a posted speed then my speedo better be damn close to it and not 4.5mph off. I have a friend who is a state trooper and I WILL be going through his speed detail soon to get the exact variance.
I am damned annoyed that such a piddly problem is being handled in a pathetic and unsympathtic way by Subara Natick in Massachusetts.
What a bad poster boy for a great car.
Oh yeah, on the way home I noticed the wheels still vibrate.
That's with a 5 speed Forester L. The VDC has a lot more torque, more weight (for stability), bigger brakes, longer wheelbase, plus it's an automatic.
-juice
bob
Bob
2. bought a VDC in late Nov '00. currently less than 8M miles (I also drive other vehicles). has been to local dealer (Capitol Imports, Columbia SC) twice for an illuminated check engine light. first indication was cylinders 3 and 5 misfired. second indication was cylinders 1, 3 and 5. dealer service rep indicates that SOA does NOT have a fix and does NOT know what is causing the problem although there are other H6's with same problem. Will SOA affirm or deny his statement. his suggestion was to recycle the warning light and ignore it. really need an answer on this.
3. suggestions for 2002+ .... it's a small thing but you can't see to insert the ignition key in the dark. even inexpensive cars have lights around the ignition switch. maybe I've just missed something?
Bob
A misfire could be caused by bad gas, so it's not necessarily a problem with your engine.
Besides, I'd be happy to get 8 million miles out of mine! ;-)
-juice
If I can be of some help--In the 8M Miles the M stands for MILLI. In Italian MILLI means thousand.
Bobby
While there, I asked them to check the vdc system since my "VDC off" light had come on while climbing my first mountain at 1500 miles; I also complained about the sluggish transmission. They and the computer could not duplicate the VDC problem (Only happened once). They called some VDC guru somewhere; his only explanation was that the computer had gotten confused but has since reset itself. I wonder if Microsoft was involved in the design.
The lead mechanic drove the car to evaluate the transmission; his comments were interesting. He said the shift delay I had noticed was normal to VDC's; it was caused by the concern by Subaru that the VDC system would overreact to any sudden changes and take control. He said never to let off the gas when accelerating because that would magnify the issue. Realistically, I have bought into his logic since lately none of these issues are bothering me; I think I have learned the VDC's characteristics and it has learned mine.
That's actually pretty good; after 30 plus years my wife and I are still working on it.
Great car,
Mike
-juice
I am sorry about the problems. Our Reps. are empowered to get results so they won't just be "noting" your feedback. With the sales issue you had, they can contact the dealer and help them do the right thing, but in all candor, they cannot directly interfere with a sales transaction. I'm not telling you this to discourage you, only to be honest.
I'm sure we can get this turned around. I'll look forward to hearing from you. I have back to back meetings today, so I may be hard to reach, but if you are dissatisfied with the way the Rep. handles your contact, please ask for me. You may get my voicemail, but I will call you back.
Patti
Thanks!
Patti
another bob
bobspelledbackwardswouldstillbe??????????????????
Patti
Thanks!
Patti
-juice
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