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My 05 Impreza does the same thing! Usually only when it's cold first thing in the morning. I've always driven manual trannies, so I know it's not me. That whole "drive by wire" thing makes me nervous. I'll bring this up to the dealer when I get my next oil change. I thought it was weird, but since it doesn't happen all the time with my car I figured I could just deal with it. Bah, humbug!

Citabrikr- Sounds like you bought my 96 Legacy after I gave up on it and traded it in for an 05 Impreza!

I had a Legacy (not the Outback) wagon, now have an Impreza (not the Outback Sport) wagon. My gf has a Forester. The Legacy has lots of room lengthwise. The Forester is about the same length as the Impreza, both are maybe a foot shorter than the Legacy. The Forester has much more room heigth-wise. I moved a couch in her Forester, and both our bikes fit in it fine. My bike fit ok by itself in my Legacy, no room for hers. My bike barely fits by itself in my Imp. (it's a BikeE recumbent, so it's an odd shaped critter.) My dogs (a rottie and a mutt) fit just fine in the "trunk area" behind the back seat of the Legacy and Forester. The mutt is cozy behind the back seat in the Impreza due to the slant of the roof and back windshield. The rottie never got a chance to ride in the Imp.... sigh. All 3 "basic" cars have the same engine these days. All 3 are great cars. My favorites are the Forester and the Imp. Between the two we have just about all our car needs covered. If I could only have one, I guess I'd choose the Forester so I could haul a family's worth of dogs, bikes, paddling gear, etc. Even though the Forester is a little taller than the Imp, it doesn't lean anymore than my Imp. My Imp is pretty new, and the best mpg I've got was 38 on the highway with 92 octane. Haven't managed to do it again, seem to be steady at 34-36 mpg these days.

As far as navigation systems go, you can buy a FABULOUS hand-held and dash-mountable system for around $500. (i get by with a $99 Garmin eTrex) Check out www.geocaching.com for GPSr info. For the price difference I'd certainly get the subie and a GPSr! (but then, I'm a geocaching nerdling and have wacky prerogatives!)

I love my 05 Imp. My mom loves her 02 Imp. My gf loves her 02 Forester (which is really an Imp). My uncle loves his 99 Imp. I had a Honda Accord (1987) and a D/R Subaru GL (1986) and AWD Subaru Legacy (1996) in the snow in Michigan. My favorite was the Subie Legacy in the snow. Right now I get 38 mpg highway if I use hi-grade in my manual trans Imp. City I get about 30 mpg, but I only do short 3 or 4 mile drives to work which doesn't even let the poor Imp get up to temp. I loved my Honda, but love my Subie Imp more. Since I got it at the end of the model year it cost me around $16K. I looked at Hondas (yes, I still like Hondas) but to get similar features on a CRV or Element would've cost a huge amount. Check the Costco price on the new 06's. Oh, and my Imp RS has a pretty sexy growl......

Teamhood - do you want my old dog barrier from my Legacy? Its worn, but hey, it's free! I sent you a PM.

Get those cone-shaped Legacy bearings for the Forester. It's a beautiful thing....

Except that they are so much more expensive than the Imp. Is the inside really worth another $8,000? My first car was a Saab (1969 9-6) and I loved it. I called a Saab dealer about the price of the Saabaru, just for old times sake. I was pretty surprised.

I bought the subaru mat for the back of my Imp wagon. With the wacky angle of the Imp ceiling I don't even need a dog barrier. (though he does hang his head over the back of the seat and drool a little when we go to the dog park). I really like the OEM mat, because my monster mutt has a history of tossing his cookies in the car. The OEM mat covers EVERYTHING with no gaps. Gotta love that. I found a lot of good stuff at Pet Edge (I think it's petedge.com but don't quote me on that). If you want the dog on the back seat you could also try LL Bean's seat cover.

Lots of Washingtonians here, too. Is your dealer doing the Lo-jack? When I bought my 05 Imp (subie number 3) the dealer specifically told me they didn't do Lo-jack and that if I had it done it would negate my warrantee.

Yup, my Imp's headrests feel the same. I reclined the back one click and it seemed ok. Then I found out I had a chronic neck injury from an old car accident that means I could end up with a baaaaaaad problem (C1 spinal damage) if I ever extend my neck in an accident again. So I put up with it, cuz I'm a whole lot safer with pushy headrests.

I always yammer on about my sister-in-law's diesel VW 2001 Jetta.... she runs about 50-75% biodiesel and gets 54 mpg.

My gf has an 02 Forester (manual) that had a very similar problem. John at Williams Subaru in Lansing MI diagnosed it as a bad oxy sensor. Apparently the oxy sensors on those critters were exposed a bit more to the elements than usual and "burnt out" occaisionally. He replaced the bad sensor and no problems since.

Subiesport magazine is doing a "zero to hero" project where they are working on an 05 Impreza to make it zippy. Maybe check that out to see if there's anything you could/would do to your subie?

The dealer told me the OEM rack accessories are actually Yakimas.

Dealer told me that the expensive Subaru cross bars and rack attachments are just Yakimas with Subaru painted on them.

Yah, the clinic I work with always bills the auto insurance in a motor vehicle accident. You really should get checked out by a doc, soon.

Took it to the dealer, they couldn't find anything wrong. I was told "some just tick". Now, I'm not pleased with the thought that my BRAND NEW car has piston slap. In fact, I'm feeling intense grumpy sensations. I did notice that on days when it ticks the oil is 1 inch overfull on the dipstick (before or after I first start the car) and on days when it DOESN'T tick the oil is exactly at the full line before and after I drive it. (been checking the oil a lot) I mentioned this detail to the dealer because I thought it was important, especially because of the light-sabre noise and my concern about the oil pump. That got blown out of the water. Basically, I'm just stuck with it. But I still think there's something amiss.

With the hike in gas prices, I got into a discussion with my mom about speeds (remember 55 mph?) and fuel economy. Just for fun I drove back to my place at 65 mph instead of my usual 70 or so. (I was in the slow lane, I promise!) I got 36 mpg! My usual is 32 mpg on the highway. So even though my dear Impreza has PISTON SLAP at a mere 3k, I suppose I really shouldn't complain.

Oil was changed at 1,000 miles. (not my idea, but the dealer did it when I brought it in for my plates and some accessories). I'll be getting it changed again in a couple weeks. I'll ask if they wanna keep it overnight. I'm kinda perturbed... my 3rd sub, my first brand new one. Grrrrrrrr.

Well, dang. I love my new suub, but... it's already ticking! Got a whole 3,200 miles on it, and it ticks in the morning. The classic tick: speeds up with engine speed, sounds like badly cared for diesel, echoes off buildings, etc. It continues all the way to work (15 min drive). I can turn the engine off and restart (for a visit to the ATM) and it still ticks. So far no ticking on the way home for lunch or at the end of the work day. Plenty of oil, but it sounds like a low-oil noise. In the depths of my hysteria and paranoia I wonder if the "light sabre" noise is a screwed up oil pump and the ticking is cuz the oil just isn't getting moved efficiently. My poor car! The dealer said they couldn't hear the "light-sabre" noise. By the time I drive up to them (1-1 1/2 hour) it won't be ticking. What do I do now?

My 05 Impreza is picky about octane. (or else I just buy cheap gas... well, might be me) Anyway, it shakes at idle and knocks like it's gonna stall if I use 87. My 96 Legacy did the same thing (think it might be where I buy my gas) so I switched right away when the Impreza started hiccupping. I always use 89 or 92 now and have no problem.

I just bought an 05 Imp. This came with rails, but not cross bars. When I talked to one of the folks at the dealership, he said the towers and rack that are sold by the dealer are just Yakimas. So I'm planning to buy Yakima short towers and the bars, hully rollers and cradle from the kayak shop when (if?) I get the money to buy my kayak. The shop gives a 15% discount on all the goodies when you buy a boat. 'Course, the boat is just about as long as the Imp... Necky Chatham 17. Wooohooo!

I don't use ArmorAll on the dash just because I don't like the glare it creates. Most of the disaster my dog, kid, and I create inside the car cleans up just fine with Trader Joe's Zen Cleaner. And it smells nice... Betcha one of the folks on here would be willing to photocopy their owner's manual for you. Too bad I don't have my 96 anymore, I'd run off a copy.

My 05 Imp does something similar, but it's pretty managable in my case (so far). If I use cheap gas, Citgo or AM-PM or Costco, I HAVE to put in mid-grade at least or the car shakes at idle. Hitting the gas just a *hint* as Commuter mentioned makes it go away. My old subie did that, so when the new one hopped on the bandwagon (after its first tank of cheaper gas) I swore off the 87 octane and now only use 89 or 92. It just isn't worth the 10-30 cents a gallon to listen to my car suffer. I hope yours perks up. Would the computer be getting confused by you switching from low-grade to premium every few tanks? Kaja