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Subaru Legacy/Outback Wagons Maintenance & Repair

8644 messages,  Last post on May 22, 2013 at 4:04 PM

You are in the Subaru Legacy & Outback Forum.

What is this discussion about? Subaru Legacy, Subaru Outback, Wagon

Messages Page 341 of 865

#3401 of 8644 2005 Outback Side Impact Rating by stownson

Aug 07, 2004 (9:17 am)

I recently bought a new 2005 Outback 2.5i and am pleased overall with the car but am very upset about the poor (marginal) rating of the just released side impact crash test. It seems that there is a problem with the side airbags not performing well. I am aware that Subaru frequently monitors this site and hope that a response is forthcoming. I have talked to their customer service center and they are well aware of the controversy but have no corrective action planned at this time. My desire is for a recall to correct the poorly performing side airbags. Both the dealer and the Subaru literature highly touted the new Legacy's safety design but it has much worse results than my 2003 Forester which doesn't even have curtain bags. I probably would not have bought this car if these test results had been available to me before the purchase and am sure that they will lose some future sales.

#3402 of 8644 Re: 2005 Outback Side Impact Rating [stownson] by c_hunter

Aug 07, 2004 (3:22 pm)

Replying to: stownson (Aug 07, 2004 9:17 am)
Well, a different side impact test performed in Australia gave the Legacy top scores. My take is that the Legacy may not perform great in an accident situation that mirrors the IIHS test, but it clearly performs great in another side impact accident situation. Since there are a near infinite range of accident scenarios, it's hard to say if any one test is relevant to real life, but I am not worried about the Legacy. Now if 4-5 different side impact tests all showed it to be a bad performer, I might get skeptical, but so far we have one "excellent" and one "marginal".
 
Also, your Outback may perform better in the IIHS test because of the extra ground clearance. SInce IIHS uses an impact ram equivalent to a large SUV, I would expect the Outback to do better than the Legacy because the floor is higher and more in the line of impact (to absorb energy).
 
Anyway, don't give up hope yet. While I am not thrilled by the IIHS results, I still love my new Outback XT and would not want to give it up at this point.
 
Craig

#3403 of 8644 stownsom by dop50

Aug 07, 2004 (3:24 pm)

I too, am looking at a new 2005 Outback. I currently have an '02 Legacy GT wagon and a '02 WRX sedan. I understand your concern, especially if you have little ones.
But judging by some of the recalls we have had on the two we have, I can't believe Subaru wouldn't do whatever they can to fix the problem. It may take a little time as does anything of this nature, but I'm sure they will do a lot of testing and correct anything that would be a safety issue. I am positive you will have a better result than you would get from the BIG 3.
 
That's just my 2 cents, for whatever it's worth.
I know it doesn't fix the problem, but maybe you can sleep a little better hearing from someone who thinks Subaru has a pretty good product and believes they will stand behind it.
 
Even with my trailer hitch issue, I still think they do a pretty good job! I've seen a LOT worse!
 
Ken

#3404 of 8644 Crash Test by grahampeters

Aug 07, 2004 (7:24 pm)

G'day
 
You might like to have a look at the results from the Australian testing that put the Liberty/Outback as the highest rated tested vehicle ever.
 
http://motoring.racv.com.au/racvm/whichcar/bestbuysarticle.cfm?ID- =E338BD55-8265-42B4-8C6C0F440967D981
 
Cheers
 
Graham

#3405 of 8644 Crash Test Results by stownson

Aug 07, 2004 (7:35 pm)

Thanks for the info on the Australian test. Hopefully the US version has the same airbag design.

#3406 of 8644 by ateixeira

Aug 09, 2004 (8:18 am)

Glad my advice was accurate, Ken.
 
stownsom: yours is an Outback, so I would go with the Aussies test scores as a reference for you. The IIHS tested a Legacy.
 
Maybe that's why the results were so different? Even then I'd expect similar results.
 
-juice

#3407 of 8644 '96 Outback Intermittent Hard Start by rickter

Aug 09, 2004 (6:31 am)

I have a '96 Outback wagon which recently has had intermittent hard starts. It happens when the engine is COLD. The engine turns over fine, with no 'hiccups' like it is trying to start. I did notice a prelude of 2-3 extended cranking starts before it just quit... It was dark, so I could't do much with the car until the next morning, when it started PERFECTLY. Since then it started fine for about 5 days and I'm seeing the same hard start symtoms...
 
Also: THERE ARE NO ENGINE CODES. The light never came on, but I checked it anyway... nothing.
 
I just had my 60k service about 6 months ago (new plugs, wires, fuel filter, etc), and about 3 months ago I replaced the crankshaft sensor to fix a different starting problem.
 
Any ideas?
 
-Thanks!

#3408 of 8644 by ateixeira

Aug 10, 2004 (9:33 am)

You could try an ECU reset. Disconnec the negative battery terminal, then wait 20 minutes, reconnect. Start her up and let her idle until warm.
 
After the reset the engine will run rich, but that extra fuel may help cold starts.
 
Just a thought, and it won't cost you anything to try it.
 
-juice

#3409 of 8644 another thing to try by steve_ HOST

Aug 10, 2004 (6:03 pm)

Wait 3 or 4 seconds after turning the ignition on before cranking it to "prime" the fuel injection system.
 
Steve, Host

#3410 of 8644 by ateixeira

Aug 11, 2004 (7:00 am)

Good point, you should let the fuel system build-up the pressure. It operates at a very high psi.
 
-juice

Messages Page 341 of 865

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