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Subaru Legacy/Outback Wagons Maintenance & Repair

8642 messages,  Last post on May 20, 2013 at 10:18 PM

You are in the Subaru Legacy & Outback Forum.

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

Messages Page 444 of 865

#4428 of 8642 Re: fog lights legacy 95 [jfl] by 95legacy

Mar 17, 2005 (7:55 am)

Replying to: jfl (Mar 15, 2005 11:58 pm)
Jim - that's actually one that I've been picking through. I was also looking in subaruparts.com. That was pretty good. It seems like the 95 was almost a forgotten year though. It was the first year of the new body style. The thing is that in 1996 Subaru changed the front bumper by making the fog light input about 2x wider. So, I don't know if the 93 or 94 have the same setup or if 1995 was the only year with this style fog light.
Anyway, still looking.
 
Thanks Jim,
  Colby

#4429 of 8642 Re: car stalling at stops but starts fine [raja3] by 95legacy

Mar 17, 2005 (7:59 am)

Replying to: raja3 (Mar 16, 2005 9:34 pm)
Is it a stick?
 
What kind of turbo is it?
 
Colby

#4430 of 8642 Chat night! by pf_flyer HOST

Mar 17, 2005 (8:43 am)

Woo woo... it's Thursday again!
 
PF Flyer
Host
Pickups & News & Views Message Boards
 
The St Patrick's Day party...err... SUBARU CREW Chat is on tonight. Hope to see YOU there! Check out the schedule

#4431 of 8642 Re: clunking noise in front suspension [c_hunter] by ndtommy

Mar 17, 2005 (11:05 am)

Replying to: c_hunter (Mar 16, 2005 2:43 pm)
Thanks for the suggestions....funny, I was just monkeying around with the bushings when I changed the oil last. I'll try the lithium first....thanks all.

#4432 of 8642 Bad gas mileage and other problems on my '04 Outback by charlotte7

Mar 18, 2005 (2:39 pm)

I bought a automatic '04 Outback in June 2004. I did a lot of research before buying the car, and I know several folks who've got Subarus and love them.
 
Unfortunately, so far, I have not loved mine. I'm interested in knowing if the experiences I'm having with the car are typical, or unique. My current dissatisfaction with the car and the dealership where I bought it has reached the point where I am seriously considering selling it.
 
Two weeks after I bought the car, it started failing to start on the first turnover a few times a week. When it did finally start, it would surge and rev itself, which you could hear and see on the tachometer. It has continued to do this for the last eight months, in both hot Texas summer weather and our version of "winter" (30-40 degrees.) The dealership insists that since they're not getting any computer codes from the car, there's nothing wrong.
 
While the owners manual and the dealership told me the car ran on 87 octane, it does not. It detonates ferociously on anything less than 89 octane, and even then, it still periodically pings. It even pings intermittently on 91 octane. I know higher octane gas is better in general, but I bought this car to be my economical dog/bike/camping gear hauler, and I want it to run on 87 octane. My previous car was a Z-28 Camaro, and it required 93 octane. That was cool, because it also had 285 horsepower. If I'm going to have to pay for expensive gas, I'd like some torque or a turbo to go with that, you know?
 
My car averages 16 mpg in city driving. I drive about 3 miles one way on city roads to work every day, and I'm definitely not putting the lead foot down. The best gas mileage it has ever gotten was 26 mpg, and that was on a trip out of town on mostly highways. Is it me, or does this mileage seem very low for a 4-cylinder car? None of my other friends with Foresters or Outbacks get 16 mpg city. I complained about this to the dealership recently (Austin Subaru in Austin, Texas) and they told me the mileage estimates that Subaru gives out are EPA estimates and thus, are mostly fiction.
 
I asked them to do a mileage test themselves on the car. They did, by topping off my 89 octane-filled tank with 91 octane, driving it 27 miles, topping it off again and proclaiming to me that it gets 31.3 mpg. There is no way in Hades that it gets 31.3 now or has ever gotten 31.3 mpg, but the dealership service manager adamantly insisted that it does and that if I don't get this mileage, it must be my driving.
 
Have any of you EVER gotten 31.3 mpg in city driving in your automatic Outback?
 
I love the design of the car, the room, and clearance, and the interior. I'm beginning to think, though, that my particular Outback is not so sound.

#4433 of 8642 X Post by ateixeira

Mar 18, 2005 (3:08 pm)

No cross-posting please.

#4434 of 8642 Re: clunking noise in front suspension [ndtommy] by hammerhead

Mar 18, 2005 (3:12 pm)

Replying to: ndtommy (Mar 16, 2005 11:17 am)
My 97 OBW does the same thing - worse in the cold, I think, when the rubber contracts a bit. It also seems worse when my snow tires are on. I agree it seems to be the front sway bar bushings.
 
Mine is noticeably better after I liberally spray the bushings with lithium grease, as previously suggested. I just do it concurrent with oil changes every 3k miles.
 
Cheers!
Paul

#4435 of 8642 Re: car stalling at stops but starts fine [raja3] by paul25

Mar 18, 2005 (9:09 pm)

Replying to: raja3 (Mar 16, 2005 9:34 pm)
It seems like I have exactly the same issue, only I have 99' Outback, 5sp (68K miles). What scares me is that when the dashboard lights start flashing (all of them - Battery and BREAK first, then, Check Engine and Oil Pan in a couple of seconds), the accelerator does not work. It could be a coincidence, but when it happened today I pressed alarm lights (blinking lights - trying to steer off the road) and the problem went away.
Also it did stall two weeks ago when I waited for traffic light.
I even have an extended warranty untill 70K, but how can I reproduce the problem (it is very rare)?
 
Any help will be greatly appreciated.

#4436 of 8642 Re: Bad gas mileage and other problems on my '04 Outback [charlotte7] by c_hunter

Mar 18, 2005 (11:07 pm)

Replying to: charlotte7 (Mar 18, 2005 2:39 pm)
Your 3 mile commute is the killer -- that is an extremely short drive. You probably spend a lot of fuel starting/stopping and there is very little actual driving in the middle to make up for it.
 
Whenever the car is not moving, you get 0 mpg. It takes an awful lot of driving at higher mpg to weight out the 0 mpg events. That is why stop and go city driving is bad, as well as short trips. On the highway, the car is not necessarily any more efficient, but you tend to have longer "runs" and far fewer 0 mpg events. So the average goes way up.
 
So, in the end, it's probably not the car -- it's the simple mathematical reality of driving a short distance.
 
Craig

#4437 of 8642 Scubies by garandman

Mar 19, 2005 (5:23 am)

Some of you should start checking out Subaru enthusiast sites, where the head gasket issues; hesitation; and poor mileage are covered in detail, including fixes and responses by dealers and SOA.
 
- Warm hesitation seems to be a common complaint on Subarus, with lots of theories but no cure. Mine has done it for a long time. My wife won't drive it.
 
- Subaru is taking care of more-recent customers on the headgasket problem. The issue is that they are doing nothing for the 97-99 owners that 1. put the Outback on the map, and 2. are in the market for a new car. After I complained to SOA about replacing my headgaskets, they sent me a six-month coupon for $1,000 off a new Subaru. Despite this, the dealer (Manchester Subaru, Manchester, NH) I bought a Honda Accord instead.
 
- We live in the city and in pure city driving got 20 mpg. The best mileage we have ever gotten (two different 97 OBW) was 28.4, and that was once. Taking it easy we get up to 27. Average mixed driving is about 25.
 
These forums here at Edmunds are funny. The Subaru owners ave lots of happy talk, while places like ulitmatesubaru.net report lots of problems. Honda Accord owners seem to report lots of problems here: but on VTEC.net they're mostly happy. Nissan Quest owners here are positively venomous: every one I've met in the RW loves their Quest.

Messages Page 444 of 865

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