betzilla

I have a 2001 outback wagon with some brake noise. I had new front brakes put on 8 months ago and have had groaning noises from them when I use them after I have driven for a while. I have taken the car back to the shop that installed the brakes and have been told that there is nothing wrong with them. The rotors on the front brakes show circular scarring. The rotors on the back don't show any circular scarring. I have experimented with braking in reverse and find the noise absent or very minor. When I use the brakes on an uphill stop, there is little noise. When I use the brakes on a downhill stop or a level stop, there is more noise, sometimes a lot. When I am just slowing, but not stopping, I usually do not hear the noise or hear it just slightly. Any ideas? Also, sometime about that same time as the new front brakes, my mpg seems to have dropped from a consistent 20 mpg city driving to 18 mpg. Could it be related to the brake problem? That may be a silly question, but I was just wondering. Thanks for any help on this.

I had my timing belt replaced at 59K when the engine leak/ head gasket problem was corrected under warranty. That was 5 years ago. I saw a reference in this site to replacing the timing belt after 5 years. Is it 5 years or 105K? Also, I still have the original water pump. So, should both timing belt and water pump be done at the 105K service?

My 2001 Subaru Outback Wagon Ltd: The solid black trim above the side windows is losing its black paint(?). More and more showing silverish metal. Any recommendations on how to fix this?

I'm down to the end of my Potenza's.... 35K. In San Diego, no snow, little rain. When I was shopping before, I was advised by tire retailers to get less of a tire for my driving style and weather conditions, but wanted to go for the possibilities of going in snow. Well, little time in rain and snow, looking for a longer lasting tire with comfort, decent behavior in rain, perhaps snow. Costco has Michelin Pilots for $126.99 with $60 rebate for 4. Other retailer offers BFG Assurance TripleTrek with buy 3 get one free.. $420 for 4. Which way to go? Open to other ideas. Subie Outback Wagon Ltd 2001 has 80K on it, doing fine. Should I buy for another 4 years or think about getting a newer version Subie?

An update on the electrical problem.... Eventually, at 75K, the car just quit and after the battery and alternator were replaced, it was behaving well again. At 78K miles, the starter went...my mechanic said that was early for a starter to go out, but after I told him about the electrial problems the car had suffered, he said that he was not surprised by the early demise of the starter. Now, with a rebuilt starter in place, car is running fine again.

Just an update on the repair. I had the left front hub bearing replaced and that corrected the problem.

I think I have a front left bearing going out. I see many of you do your own repairs on bearings but it seems that you very much need to know what you are doing. I don't. So, I would like to find a mechanic or shop that does know how to replace bearings on my 2001 Outback. Can a mechanic who doesn't specialize in Subaru's do it right? Would I be better off going to a shop that just does suspensions/alignments/etc? Should I take it to a dealer? Any recommendations on an independent mechanic for this Subie in central San Diego?

I just went thru that myself! I have a 2001 Outback Wagon. The problem was very intermittent at first... 3 weeks between first (dials) and second (braking and charging system lights) occurrence, 3 weeks until the third. I had an independent mechanic check it out twice and was told battery and alternator okay. Finally, it showed up and didn't go away... seemed to be related to weight on the back seat. I found a wire under the back seat which had a small piece of a broken window under it and was perhaps shorting out. Anyway, I just had dealer do a diagnostic and was told battery and alternator needed to be replaced... both were bad and so far, with new alternator and battery in place, the car seems to be fine. It has been 4 days now. My research on this site for similar symptoms... same light and dial behaviors... found someone who had had a short in the hatch door circuit. Other research online ... battery can be hurt by a bad alternator. My battery was 3 years old so I was okay replacing it.

Thanks for your response. I look forward to hearing from you after the diagnosis.

I have a 2001 outback with 75K miles on it, with all-season Bridgestone Potenza's, 30,000 miles on them. Recently, the front left tire seems to be making road noise... like a tire-to-the-road hum, that is most noticeable at higher speeds on bends in the road. I have had the tires rotated recently to see if the noise would go away. Also, aligned. Some wear pattern on tires... the tire shop says cupping. The shocks are fine, I am told. I had a cv joint on the right side replaced about 4 months ago. Is that related? Could this be noise from bearing problems? Could it just be noise from worn tires?

I have a 2001 Outback showing signs of electrical problems. On the road, dials suddenly quit, then eventually the car quit. I noticed a week ago that my less-than-3-year-old battery had drip-tracks on its sides and a small deposit of corrosive debri in battery tray. A few days later, after being on the road for 15 minutes, coming up a hill (is that important?) my speedometer dial and rpm dial quit. About 10 seconds after that, my radio faded. Then there was a little bucking, but the car still ran. I was close to home, made it the next few blocks, almost got the car parked and then it died. I let it sit for a while, tried to start it up and then everything was fine, tho I haven't driven it around yet. I started it up this morning and all was normal. What is going on? What next? Replace the battery? Should I take it to a dealer or local mechanic?