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Subaru Crew Problems & Solutions

18396 messages,  Last post on Dec 07, 2009 at 9:45 PM

You are in the Subaru Crew Forum. Your Host is kcram

What is this discussion about? Subaru Impreza, Subaru Outback, Subaru Forester, Subaru Legacy, Coupe, Sedan, Wagon, SUV

Your Community Leaders are ateixeira and rsholland.

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#41 of 18396 Response to #39, Poor gas mileage by joe_sin Jun 28, 2002 (10:18 am)
We're in (almost) the same boat. My Forester is also 8 months old, and I've been going back and forth with various dealers and SoA for the last 6 months. So far, the catalytic converter, front O2 sensor, and plugs have been replaced. My mileage is up to 20.7, 50/50 mixed highway/city driving (which is still lower than the 2001 Forester I used to get), and I'm still getting rotten egg smell. Do you get that?   From various conversations I've had with Subaru, I get the impression that there may have been a problem with the catalytic converter on many Foresters delivered 8 months ago. When that was replaced, my mileage jumped up to 20.5 mpg.   The dealer's advice is just goofy. So far, I've had dealers tell me that 13 mpg (!) is normal, that I'm using bad gas, and that the car takes 15K miles to "break in". Don't believe a word of it. Call Subaru and get a case going if you can't get the dealer to make it right. I have a variety of postings on the Forester forum and the Subaru General Maintenance and Repair II forum detailing the whole story if you're interested.   My car goes back in on Tuesday for more diagnosis by an increasing number of people from SoA. 6 months, 8 trips in for servcice, 27 days without the car. I'll be posting on Tuesday with the latest outcome.
#42 of 18396 break in and mpg by cptplt Jun 28, 2002 (11:11 am)
dunno about newer Subarus but both my 92 Legacys did indeed take up to 10K+ miles and then mileage got a lot better! But we are talking just under 20 improving to mid 20s. My 98 Legacy didn't have that problem IIRC. Too early to tell on my 02 WRX.
#43 of 18396 Re: Rotors and Forester gas mileage by rexaroo Jun 28, 2002 (11:46 am)
Patti--thanks for the brake info. Hope you have a great vacation!   teetime2--our 99 Forester has always gotten great mileage on hwy runs--28 to 29 mpg, but the mileage around town has always been a little less than the EPA says at 17-20 mpg. I think a lot depends on your driving habits. The Forester is fun to hot-rod around town when the opportunities permit, and this is going to lower mileage substantially if (like me) you are prone to bursts of quick acceleration. Also, the amount of time warming the car up and the amount of time you spend at red lights (obviously) makes a difference. And there's a slight chance you are getting watered down gas at the place where you are filling up. You might try filling up at a new BP-Amoco station (which I feel is very trustworthy for quality of their product) and see if this makes a difference. if not, then at least you've eliminated that possibility.
#44 of 18396 by Mr_Shiftright HOST Jun 28, 2002 (11:49 am)
watered-down gas?   means what please?
#45 of 18396 . . .is gas where . . . by rexaroo Jun 28, 2002 (12:16 pm)
either unintentionally, or through some skullduggery on the part of the gas-station owner (to increase profits at the expense of the customer), the gas is contaminated with extra H20. Some older stations with old, corroded gas tanks can easily have gas quality compromised with moisture condensation and/or other crud mixed in that goes into your tank. This is why I think it's important to buy gas from a newer station (ie. with new, clean storage tanks) and one that has a trusted reputation (Amoco, Phillips, Exxon, etc.). "Bad" gas is probably more common than most of us realize and can cause everything from poor gas mileage, clogged fuel filters, and engine misfires.
#46 of 18396 . . .gas mileage by teetime2 Jun 28, 2002 (12:47 pm)
joe sin: I don't get the rotten egg smell - thank goodness! That would really upset me! Fortunately, everything else works fine.   rexaroo: I do mostly town driving, and do sometimes accelerate too fast from the stop light. And I'm buying my gas most of the time from Chevron, which is supposed to be reputable. But I might try another brand and see if that helps.   The explanation I got from the Subaru website was that the EPA numbers on the sticker are purely estimates (duh!), and shouldn't be taken at face value, and what you get is what you get! In other words, not a lot of help.
#47 of 18396 low mpg by jregen7243 Jun 28, 2002 (1:15 pm)
15 mpg is definitely on the low end of the scale. Have you gone on a long highway trip and checked your mileage?? I'd be curious to see what that was. Even driving around town, it shouldn't be much less than 18mph or so.   Jon
#48 of 18396 alternator-car not starting by jregen7243 Jun 28, 2002 (1:17 pm)
I don't know why the alternator was causing this. However, when my cars did it (in the 80s)...it wouldn't even crank. I would turn the key and nothing would happen (car did have power though). After sitting for a few hours and cooling off, car would start again. After they replaced the alternator, problem went away.   Jon
#49 of 18396 low gas mileage, bad gas, EPA estimates....pheh by joe_sin Jun 28, 2002 (3:01 pm)
The idea of bad gas is nice, but it doesn't gel in the long run. If you buy your gas at the same place every time you get fuel, it might make sense. If you had trouble with the car for 1 tank of gas, it might make sense. It doesn't make sense to blame 15 mpg on an enivironmental factor after 8 months of driving. Who buys gas at the same place every time? Are all the gas stations where you live old and contaminated, or nefariously adding water? I've been back and forth with the nice folks at the EPA about my own situation, and I'm pretty convinced that whatever might be wrong with the car, it's not the gas.   The sticker on the car gives a broad range of EPA mpg numbers, of which the 22/27 number is just an average. Even so, 15 mpg is out of range. I had a Subaru customer service rep tell me flat out on the phone that such poor mileage indicated a problem with the car.   The reps I was chatting with the other day started laughing when I repeated one dealer's advice that it would take 15K miles for my car to break in. I'm 1500 away from 10K miles now. If my mileage suddenly jumps, I'll eat crow and be glad to do it. By the way, the same dealer told me I should avoid Amoco, Mobil, and BP fuel. Since Exxon and Mobil are the same, I guess I can't use that either. Pretty soon, I'll have to start drilling and make it myself.
#50 of 18396 don't think so either by Mr_Shiftright HOST Jun 28, 2002 (9:14 pm)
the engine would run like hell with water in the gas--it would be barely driveable.   I thought maybe you meant by "watered down" the idea of selling 87 gas as if it were 91.

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