Quest

Actually portable booster pack was one of the first things I got once I got back, along with a number of key tools. The concern regarding distance I could use the spare actually came from calling Subaru service. Thanks for the input.

Thank you for the responses, great information. The reason for the concern with the spare was that I originally thought the Owner's Manual was warning against driving over any obstacles. In re-reading, I see it is just talking about the clearance being reduced. The other issue was needing to go 160 miles to get to a place that could work on and/or provide tire needed. With your level of knowledge, I would be very interested in you expanding on why it is not good to drive Subaru Outbacks offroad. I mostly am doing forestry and logging roads that are dirt or gravel roads and only very short distances are done truly off road in open clearings. Are there concerns with all these?

I am a longtime and loyal Subaru owner. I am on my 3rd Subaru and almost everyone in my family owns one. I am writing to express concern about what I believe is a real design flaw with my 2013 Subaru Outback 2.5. I had the vehicle up in the mountains and ended up with a screw in the tire sidewall. I read in the manual that the spare could not be really used off road, so ended up doing some patch work. I am not thrilled with the limitation of the spare, but this is not what I am writing about. What happened is that I mistakenly used an air compressor without the car running. What happened next was that I could not start the car as the battery was too low. Then I was shocked to find that I could not remove the key, no matter what I did. I checked that everything was correct that the key should be able to be removed. I then found that the headlights and fog lights were still on even when I turned them off inside the car. Now I was at risk of completely killing the battery and had to act fast. I had to leave my car unlocked with the key in it to go get a generator and charger as it was in location another car could not get to. As soon as I got it started, the key could then be removed and lights once again could be turned on and off. I am guessing that the key not being able to be removed might be a result of anti-theft feature, even though it still had some power, and the lights not being able to be controlled as something must require more power than available to drive controlling these. I would but be very interested in others thoughts?

I have found a way to lessen the impact by slowly working the plastic casing around the seatbelt clip to twist so entire seatbelt mechanism will lie flat. I now make sure it is lying flat and cover them and part of back seat with 1” foam square piece. So far that seem to be doing the trick.

I have been checking the temperature and average fuel consumption accuracy in my 2013 Subaru Outback Limited Multi-function display. I have found the car to be consistently 3 degrees higher (when driving) than the actual outside temperature and the average fuel consumption is always exactly 1 mpg higher at fill-up than the actual gas mileage. Just curious what others have been experiencing.

Found an extensive thread that includes a number posts on this exact same issue http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/104-gen-4-2010-present/23264-clicking-sound-under-hood-when-releasing-brake-paddle.html

The sound comes from the pedal itself. Almost like it is snapping back up with nothing cushioning or slowing its return.

A little discouraging the response I got from SOA… "Thank you for taking the time to write to us about your new Outback, there is no way to push or allow the seat belt pieces to fold down or keep from creasing the seat. They are designed for short term use in folding the seats down and not prolonged use of them being folded down. The cargo area is meant to be large enough for most everyday applications and then the seat folds are meant for those trips when its simply not enough. I would recommend folding the seat back up or relieving the pressure when not in use."

With 2013 Subaru Outback, is it normal to hear a clunk from releasing the brake pedal? Doesn’t happen all the time and more consistent when releasing the pedal faster.

Thanks for the thoughts. My 1997 Subaru Outback had the hard plastic holder and the rear seat would come up, but the new car doesn't have the holder and it doesn't appear from what I can see that the rear seat comes up... am I missing something??? The worst thing about it is the rear seat belt clip mechanisms are stiff and point straight up into the seat you are folding down.

I realize that most new cars have tons of plastic parts that love to click and make noise. I recently purchased a new Subaru 2013 Outback limited and have found the brushed metal looking strips below the center dash heater vents that run down along the center console on each side along the stereo and heater controls clicks/pops when hitting certain bumps or can become constant when on certain types of freeway roads. I can reproduce it by pushing lightly at different spots and seem to be able to reduce it by applying slight pressure in certain spots. I am interested if anyone else has encountered this challenge and found a trick to reduce or prevent it.

I recently purchased a 2013 Subaru Outback 2.5 Limited with leather interior. I noticed after putting down the rear seat and later returning it to the upright position, it had some very dramatic indents/creases from where you click in the seatbelts. There does not appear to be a way to remove seatbelt mechanisms and the owner’s manual doesn’t even mention doing anything with these. I can try to push them towards the folds and/or cover with towels, but I am wondering if I am missing something. I wouldn’t worry about some marks in the seats, but after only two weeks of being down, the biggest indent actually shows wear on the leather and I fear it could eventually rip. Thanks for any suggestions or help!

Great site... but is there a good place to post dealership reviews?

The dealership does not currently have the exact car I am interested in (2013 Subaru Outback Limited), so I will be ordering one. If I add wheel arch molding and side molding to the car, do they get installed at the factory or in port? If in port, where is this done for cars headed to Washington State dealerships? What is the process used to prep the car for installation of this type of accessories? I just want to make sure that, by choosing these options, I don’t risk subjecting the paint to harsh auto car washes or brushes.

I have been checking out the new 2013 Subaru 2.5 Limited and have been very impressed. The only negative is with the Harmon Kardon premium audio system, as it has a very noticeable hiss over the speakers up in the dash. The sound gets louder for a few seconds after using the navigation console or even doing other electronic operations, such as turning on the high beams. I noticed this in every car I checked. I thought I was going crazy so I asked the technician at the dealership and he was aware of the problem with the audio system. He indicated that Subaru of America knows about it and is working on a solution. He said it is a capacitor issue. I am hopeful that someone might know when or if Subaru has corrected the issue on the new cars being made? Wanting leather, dual temp, moon roof, nav, etc. locks me into the limited with this stereo. L I really like the car, but don’t love the idea of what might be required to resolve this issue later.

My problem turned out to have an easy fix… spark plug wires. I replaced them and now the car is running awesome.

The check engine has not come on. The gas was from Costco. I just ran the tank down and filled it up at Exxon with the middle grade to see if it will change anything. I will report back my results.

I have a 2001 Subaru Legacy Sedan 2.5-liter 4-cylinder with 61,000 miles. I took it in for its 60,000 mile service just 4,000 miles ago. I first noticed the problem just recently when accelerating on to the freeway. Though my foot remained constant on the gas pedal, the car reacted a couple times as if my foot had come off slightly. When it was happening, the car had a slight hesitation and minor loss to the acceleration. When it happened the second time, I carefully watched the RPMs, which did not change in anyway. It does not happen when running at a constant speed. Now with the recent colder weather, it has also started to chug when idling – feels like it wants to die. The RPMs are still staying steady though. Since it has just been in for the 60,000 mile service, I assume the fuel filter and sparks plugs are new and not the issue. In searching the web I see other possibilities include catalytic converter, fuel pressure regulator, fuel pump, oxygen sensor, etc. I am also wondering if it could be as simple as bad gas and am running the tank out and will fill up and see if anything changes. Any thoughts on how to narrow down the cause or how to approach this would be very appreciated.

I have a 1997 Subaru Outback automatic with the 2.5 engine. I don't think the following is a problem, but it does have me curious. If the heater is on defrost, the engine is almost at 1800 rpms, and the car is just about to shift to 2nd, but I brake, instead of going to its normal 750 rpm idle, the rpms will go to 1000, back to 1200 for 2 seconds and then resume a normal idle speed of around 750. This makes the engine race slightly, pushing against the brakes. The interesting thing is that I can reproduce this by hitting the brake just at the right time when the defrost is on. I'm assuming the air conditioner compressor might cause an adjustment to the idle speed, and that there is just a challenge adjusting fast enough when the scenario above is present, but I want to make sure this is not a sign of something that should be looked into?

I have a 2001 Subaru Legacy Sedan and need to make an adjustment to my headlights. I expected to find two screws. One that would move it side to side and one that would move it up and down. There is one large adjustment screw that I can see that you can put a socket on, but where is the other one?

Whoops... It was accidentally put in valet mode. Valet mode or alarm off: alarm light (red dot center dashboard display) rapidly flashing 3 times means the alarm is in "Valet" mode and is not setable. The light will stop flashing when you start the car. To set valet mode or just to disable the security alarm system: 1. unlock all doors 2. physically open the driver's door 3. hold the UNLOCK button on remote for 2+ seconds or so. The red 'security' light will then flash 2 times a second until the car is turned on

I have a Subaru 2001 Legacy L Sedan and when I returned to it tonight, the alarm indicator was flashing. The good news is no damage... the bad news is that I cannot reset it or turn the alarm on. I have tried following the manual instructions of opening the door and going from lock to on twice followed by closing the door and going to on. This did not work. Please help!

I have about 130,000 miles on the engine and burn about 1/2 quart every 3000 miles. I have been doing oil changes around 4000 to 5000 miles. I have seen recommendation range from 3000 to 7500, so I split the difference. I am sure this has been discussed a number of times… is there a consensus? I tried some of those quick lube type places, but found they were really risky. They did such things as get into a running car and turn the starter… overfill fluids… not put on caps correctly… so on. I now take it to Carter Subaru… does anyone know if they have a top off program?

Here is the response from the dealership service department... "Yes you need to use the same weight if at all possible - 5W-30 - since we use a blend you can add either petroleum based or synthetic oils. Castrol 5W-30 Syntec Blend would be the best choice though."

I need to add some oil, but in checking the oil tag in the window, found out that Subaru dealership used Castrol Syntec Blend. Do I have to go out and find this exact blend or is okay to mix with regular oil? Do you always need to make sure you have the same weight too... if so, does the Subaru Dealership have a certain weight they always use?