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Subaru Legacy/Outback
11746 messages, Last post on Dec 06, 2011 at 12:51 PM
You are in the Subaru Legacy & Outback Forum.- Your Host is KCRam@Edmunds
What is this discussion about? Subaru Legacy, Subaru Outback, Wagon
#1302 of 11746 Transmission failure / other stuff by dle01
May 05, 2001 (8:53 am)
I'd like to thank those of you who replyed to my post about the transmission failure in my 1995 Legacy at 91,000 miles (see post 1212 for the full story). I suppose what I've gotten out of this is what everyone told me at the time: 91k is alot of miles, and while it is unusual for such a serious problem in a Subaru it is not unheard of in a car that has been driven hard. I may have had a car with a unique flaw in an internal bearing that showed up after 5 years of driving.Some specific replys:
Peterson10 -- Yes, David is my real name. We have alot in common in that we both lost the transmissions in our Subarus, but at least your failed while under warranty. At the time I was very down on Subaru, and swore I would never own another. I've settled down now, and after reading the posts on this list I'm secure in knowing that they are generally good cars. The WRX sport wagon has already caught my attention - I wonder what the insurance is on one of those things?
Ateixeira -- As you note, 91k is alot of miles. But I've known many cars to go many more miles without such a failure. My father owns a construction company with a fleet of large domestic vans and pickups, and rarely replaces transmissions before 150k, even though they are used in the most severe circumstances. I drove my car hard, but not THAT hard. . .
Francofile -- Your diagnosis of the input bearing sounds right on. However, the transmission shop noted a similar noise in 3 of the other gears so there were other problems too. It was not a $6000 job. $6000 was for a brand new transmission, direct from Japan or wherever they are made. The repair job would have cost an estimated $2000.
Other thoughts:
Reliability -- The tone of this site seems to be an almost fanatical devotion to the brand. One other poster mentioned Saturn as having a similar devotion. However, no car is perfect, nor should we assume that every car will be completely trouble free. My 95 Legacy was the most reliable car I've owned so far, but I'm comparing it to a Chevy Blazer and a Ford Taurus. The repair and maintenance items started really cropping up after the 50k mile mark and included, among other things: A crank sensor which failed, rendering the car unstartable (later recalled, Subaru reimbursed me for the repair); two oxygen sensors which caused the check engine light to appear ($100+ each time); the fuel gauge failed, and was repaired by replacing 2 sensors, one of which was near the gas tank and required the removal of the rear seat ($300+); a nasty oil leak at about 80k miles that required the dealer to remove the tranmission (it took them over a week to fix this because they ordered the wrong parts, and to compensate for my inconvenience pretty much charged me $100 for a $600 repair and gave me a loaner car to drive); and the mass airflow sensor failed rendering the car undrivable ($300+).
After writing all of that, I wonder if I didn't get some kind of Subaru lemon that was started Friday afternoon and finished Monday. It was the first year for that body style. Again, compared to my domestic cars this experience is acceptable, but then again it did not leave me jumping up and down about how little trouble Subaru's are compared to any other car.
Regardless, I do not hesitate to recommend Subarus to other people, and may in fact own one again some day.
Legacy vs. Outback -- somebody recently wrote in with some questions about buying a used Legacy for use on bad roads in Vermont. I would strongly recommend buying the Outback over the Legacy. I was always disappointed with the suspension and ground clearance of my Legacy. The small tires and weak struts were easily overcome by rough roads and off road use. Initially, I thought that the Outback was just an appearance package with "tough" looking fog lights and big tires. But I have since had the chance to drive several of them owned by friends and have found the suspension to be far superior. They ride better too!
Also, as per the room in the back of the Legacy / Outback -- the seats fold down and the amount of cargo space rivals many small and mid sized SUVs. My wife used to have a Pathfinder at the time when we also owned the Legacy. We would use the Legacy to haul stuff because the cargo area was larger and more accessible.
Enough ranting for a Saturday morning. Thanks again to all who replied, and for those of you who have not yet read my post 1212 give it a look and let me know what you think.
David
#1303 of 11746 outback sedan limited edition by cgd1
May 06, 2001 (7:05 am)
Has anybody recently purchased a 2001 outback sedan? I'm wondering what kind of discounts I should expect--does invoice or below sound unreasonable?? We have 2 outback wagons ('96 5-speed and '97 automatic) that we love! Haven't found anything negative yet about the new outback sedan--could this be the "perfect" car??#1304 of 11746 Carol by rsholland
May 06, 2001 (9:06 am)
Nothing wrong with the Outback sedan, that a little extra horsepower couldn't cure. With that thought in mind, you may want to wait till later this summer when the '02 Outback sedan will also be available with the H-6 and VDC.Bob
#1305 of 11746 Just bought a new car (slightly off topic) by nematode
May 06, 2001 (9:48 am)
My 1990 Taurus gave all that it could but finally became too expensive to maintain. All in the same week it lost the AC and radiator. I looked at the Impreza among other things but I got the Mazda Protege ES 2.0. I needed a commuter that would be super easy to pay for. At under $15k with all the rebates ($900 total) AND 1.9%......I could not pass up the ES. I dont know about reliability but the ES feels like a BMW 325 minus some grunt. My brother who just got an Subaru RS was torn between the two and I can see why. I also had a pretty good offer on the RS too but UNDER $15k for the ES was just too good to pass up.#1306 of 11746 Bike Rack for 2001 OB Ltd by powderfinger77
May 06, 2001 (12:05 pm)
Hi all,Just turned 3,000 miles and loving it. Any recommendations on the best bike rack for the wagon?
Thanks
Caleb
#1307 of 11746 Legacy rack options? by spacegrass76
May 06, 2001 (5:22 pm)
Hey all, Just got a 95 legacy wagon--which is great, by the way--but it's got the factory racks on it. I'd like to put some Thule bars on it, but am not finding any good options for less than $180...any ideas out there? I'd like bars to carry skis, canoe and bike (not at the same time though). thanks for any help...#1308 of 11746 Outback Manual Shift by 59er
May 06, 2001 (8:18 pm)
Hi, I am considering an Outback Limited. I heard that Suburu has had a problem with their manual drive cars-- something about a burning smell. Has this problem been corrected? How do owners of 2001 vehicles like their manual shifters?#1309 of 11746 Insulation or tar? by subyaudidude
May 06, 2001 (8:22 pm)
Okay, here's the dealio - my mom's got a 2001 OB Ltd. wagon. Today she had me look at her driver's side window, and there was this big hunk of black goop at the bottom of the window. It was so big and sticky, it prevented the window from going down. I started picking at it. I sprayed some citrus degreaser on it, which loosened it. Yet, the more I got out the more there seemed to be, deeper down between the window and the door panel. I stopped picking at the stuff, fearing that I might have been pulling out some important insulation. It feels a lot like tar, but it seemed like an awfully big chunk to have gotten down as far as it did. I'm considering taking off the inside door panel to investigate more, so that my parents don't have to pay a dealer if it is actually tar. Anyways, my questions are these: (1) does this sound like just tar, or is it some sort of insulation? and (2) how do I take the door panel off? TIA.#1310 of 11746 Manual by originalbitman
May 06, 2001 (9:05 pm)
I had a 2000 and now have a 2001 GT wagon. Both manual transmissions. I love this tranny and never had a problem... smell or otherwise. It shifts great especially after it is broken in a little. I would never trade it for an auto.bit
#1311 of 11746 Rust on the hood by jurek2
May 06, 2001 (10:35 pm)
I have 2000 outback wagon and I found 4 rusty bubbles on the front edge of the hood,just underhood defector which I took off for cleaning.
Is here anybody who experienced this problem ?
Thanks for any info. Jurek
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