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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 599 of 865

#5978 of 8642 Re: Should I stay with Subaru or not? [kodiakrocks] by gearhead4

Apr 17, 2006 (10:44 am)

Replying to: kodiakrocks (Apr 16, 2006 10:46 pm)
I appreciate your indecision. I would like bring up a few points.
Your Outback has the old Dual Overhead Cam engine. Outbacks have been propelled by single overhead cam engines since 2000. I have heard the SOHC design is more reliable (but Subaru recommends using their cooling system additive to help preserve the head gaskets).
Regarding the new Outback vs Toyota, I can't say anything bad about Toyotas. My wife's 04 Camry has been a gem.
My 06 Outback 2.5i AT is only a month old, but is incredibly smooth riding. I have been averaging 24 MPG. My 05 Legacy 2.5i (5spMT)averaged about 28 MPG, so I am a little disappointed with the Outback MPG (I think it's largely due to the auto trans). The Legacy also performed better with it's 5 speed manual trans.
The hybrids are intriguing. I know two people with Prius' s. They both love the cars and are very happy with the MPG. The Highlander won't do as well, and the price is very high (at least $6000 higher than an Outback). Even with gas at $3/gallon it will take well over 100,000 miles of fill-ups to make up for the incremental cost of the hybrid.
If you are considering the RAV4, you should compare it to a Forester, not an Outback. The Forester is less expensive and performs better (quicker and more efficient) than the Outback.
I figure we won't see a Subaru Hybrid here in the US for at least 18 months. They say they're are working on it, but seem to be far away from having one ready for sale.
Subaru is currently offering $2000 rebates on the Outback and Forester. That may make your decision a little easier.
 
Let us know which way you go.
 
Jim (gearhead4)

#5979 of 8642 Re: Should I stay with Subaru or not? [kodiakrocks] by xwesx

Apr 17, 2006 (11:18 am)

Replying to: kodiakrocks (Apr 16, 2006 10:46 pm)
I'd hardly call the head gasket problem you are having with your '98 a car-killer and I certainly would not recommend complete replacement of the engine as a fix. The head gasket failure is a mix of poor design and age. I think that you probably would have had this failure even if there were only 50K on the car today. Heck, at this point, I'd buy your car for dirt and fix it myself for a '98 with only 113K! But, transferring to the replacement topic since that seems to be where you have headed:
 
Are you looking at auto or manual? I drove an '06 Ltd auto and it sure had a lot more pep than my '96 auto! If you are driving a decent mix of highway and city, you should get better than 21 mpg out of a new 2.5. I am sure you must have been getting better than that when your 98 was newer. I was getting a solid 27 mpg out of my '96 2.5 for the first year I had it, and it was at 83K when I purchased in 2000. If it is burning oil, then your compression surely is not as good as it once was and therefore mileage will suffer. Once broken in, I would expect 24-25 quite consistently out of a base '06 Outback.
 
In the end, it should be whatever fits your needs best, but do not allow the current head gasket problem to factor too heavily against Subaru as you will most likely not have that problem again with either a new one or your '98 should you opt for gasket replacement.

#5980 of 8642 Re: Should I stay with Subaru or not? [xwesx] by tkanic

Apr 17, 2006 (1:44 pm)

Replying to: xwesx (Apr 17, 2006 11:18 am)
My 05 Legacy 2.5i (5spMT)averaged about 28 MPG, so I am a little disappointed with the (one month old) Outback MPG (I think it's largely due to the auto trans).
 
More likely due to the break-in, When I got my 2.5i I got low miliage, it creapt up to the 27 over 10,000 miles - yes it took that long.

#5981 of 8642 Re: Should I stay with Subaru or not? [kodiakrocks] by kens

Apr 17, 2006 (4:16 pm)

Replying to: kodiakrocks (Apr 16, 2006 10:46 pm)
As a Subaru owner, I'm going to give you the biased answer of staying with Subaru.
 
Why?
 
As for your engine concerns, the Phase I DOHC engine used in your 98 Outback has gone through a few major revisions since it's inception. The headgasket problem primarily afflicted the earlier models (Phase I) and earlier Phase II models. Although Subaru never did a recall, they were very aware of this problem and have addressed it in later designs.
 
As for the pick-up, did you drive a 2006 model? The OB gained quite a bit of weight with the 2000 model change and then lost some in 2005. I'm not sure where it stands relative to the 98 model, but it may still be a tad heavy. Also, are you taking into account that any 2006 you test drive is still not broken in and will be a bit more sluggish.
 
If at all possible, I would use the $5K to purchase another OB rather than put it into your current model. As you suspected, you'll probably run into other wear and tear items.
 
Also something else to think about with the Prius -- Consumer Reports did an analysis recently on the cost-effectiveness of Hybrids and most of them did not come out ahead in terms of gas savings. Of course there are some assumptions with that analysis, but it shows that unless you're absolutely enamored with the "green" side of hybrids, you really don't make up for it at the pump.
 
Ken

#5982 of 8642 Re: Should I stay with Subaru or not? [kens] by slickdog

Apr 18, 2006 (10:26 am)

Replying to: kens (Apr 17, 2006 4:16 pm)
As for your engine concerns, the Phase I DOHC engine used in your 98 Outback has gone through a few major revisions since it's inception. The headgasket problem primarily afflicted the earlier models (Phase I) and earlier Phase II models. Although Subaru never did a recall, they were very aware of this problem and have addressed it in later designs.
 
Not sure if it was a recall per se, but I have an '01 Outback with the Phase II and they did extend an 8yr/100Kmi warranty on the head gaskets to some cars (including ours), on the condition that the car had to have Subaru's special coolant additive put in at a dealership by a specified date.

#5983 of 8642 Re: Should I stay with Subaru or not? [slickdog] by age2

Apr 18, 2006 (1:02 pm)

Replying to: slickdog (Apr 18, 2006 10:26 am)
i found a 2002 OB that peaked my interest until i heard about this gasket issue. this one has 37,000 miles and has had the gasket problem. the second owner purchased it a year ago, and the gasket has been replaced under her ownership (she has kept maintenance records). my sense is that if this has happened so early on, it's likely to happen again. is this a reason to pass on this one?

#5984 of 8642 idle issues by maddy5

Apr 18, 2006 (4:02 pm)

I am looking for a little help on an idle issue I have with my '06 legacy 2.5i wagon (manual trans.). Recently I have noticed that when the clutch is engaged but with my foot off of the accelerator the engine idle will go back and forth between 1000 and 2000 r.p.m. as if searching for an appropriate idle speed. It will repeat this pattern over and over until the clutch is released. Has anyone else noticed this on their '06 and/or able to offer any explanation/solution for it?
Thanks in advance.
Maddy

#5985 of 8642 Re: [xwesx] Surging by kidchellin

Apr 18, 2006 (4:27 pm)

Replying to: xwesx (Apr 06, 2006 10:28 am)
We had this problem in our 2000 OB. Dealer FINALLY believed me and changed out the O2 sensors (twice I think) and a couple other exhaust system parts. It fixed it for only a little while then seemed to build to doing it again more frequently. After they did n't believe us...it actually did it on test drive for them! Yeah!
they replaced the air filter, did some other "stuff" and it has been fine since.They dont' know what they did to fix it actually. I had no idea there was a recall on the O2 sensors until I saw your posts and this explains why they did not charge me the first time they "fixed" it.
 
We do experience this flux in RPMs that you are referring to with the torque converter when we are going over the high bridge we use to get home. the change from level to climb to down hill to climb seems to be tricky for the TC to handle smoothly. Can this behavior be eliminated?
vicki

#5986 of 8642 Re: idle issues [maddy5] by andyvt

Apr 18, 2006 (7:29 pm)

Replying to: maddy5 (Apr 18, 2006 4:02 pm)
Hi Maddy,
I have an 06 Outback Ltd Wagon 2.5i 5 MT and had almost the same problem. The engine would rev at 2500 rpm when the clutch was engaged during the first few minutes after a cold start (this WAS NOT a cold idle issue). I brought it to my dealer three times and they kept telling me SOA knows about the problem and is working on a solution. Finally, last month they said SOA had a partial fix. They sent my ECU to Indiana and reflashed it. Sure enough, the problem went away. (Actually, on occasion, I still get an occasional rev when I make a hard left like when pulling into a parking space, and I've depressed the clutch; I guess that's why the dealer told me Subaru had only a "partial fix." This sounds more like your problem) You can find a lot more on this at subaruoutback.org and search for phantom rev problem. --Andy in Vermont

#5987 of 8642 Re: [xwesx] Surging [kidchellin] by goosegog

Apr 19, 2006 (11:41 am)

Replying to: kidchellin (Apr 18, 2006 4:27 pm)
I do not recall any discussion about O2 sensor recall. Can you direct me to the post(s) please?
 
I've just replaced mine after getting a code indicating that it had failed.

Messages Page 599 of 865

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