yameyer

Yes, you have it right. Even with the the hot oil smell, the car was not exhibiting any of those problems. That said, I drove it back from the dealership today and, while the idle remains erratic, the engine seems less loud. Not sure if I am just becoming used to it or if it indeed has quieted down. I still feel gas pedal vibration -- it tickles. I will take it on several long drives this weekend in the hot weather to check the car out. And I will take your advice regarding the chance to "make it good" and then taking this to the Regional Rep. Thanks. Regarding the 90K tune-up, I had planned on having it done at local repair shop but Subaru dealership said that it was not a good idea stating that repair shops only drain the fluids and do not use Subaru parts. Subaru dealership, on the other hand, says that they flush the system and use Subaru parts. According to the dealership, this is why they charge about $400 more than the local repair shop to do the tune-up. Is this a scam or is it in my car's best interest to have the tune-up done at Subaru? Thoughts? (Thanks for everyone's input!! Have not touched the ulcer pills in days!)

Thanks for the information, I will keep it in mind for my next trip to the dealership.

Oh, gosh, now I am confused. So would that mean that they had to replace the head gasket to fix the valve cover gasket? The Subaru dealership invoice says this: "Customer states headgaskets leaking. Advise. Verified headgaskets leaking coolant. We removed engine and disassembled for repair. We replaced head gaskets and all necessary seals and gaskets to complete repair..."

The headgasket began leaking more than six months ago, I think. We did not know that there was a recall so were waiting until we had enough money to pay for the replacement. One month ago, smelled burning oil (after driving for more than an hour in 80+ degree weather with AC on) and brought it into our local repair shop. This is what they said: "...looks as if there is oil leakage at the rack and pinion output shaft. Added tracer dye into the oil in order to aid in the diagnosis of oil leakage. After driving to reach normal operating parameters (approx warmed up +2 miles), found that the cylinder head on the right side (passenger side) is leaking at the seam directly above the oil filter and at the back end of the same seam also on the bottom. The left cylinder is leaking more profoundly at the rear of it's seam directly above the rack and pinion input shaft." The car has never overheated. Never had to add coolant. The only thing that clued us in to a problem was burning oil smell.

Hello again-- Well, I am on my way to pick up my Subaru again from the dealership. They said that they drove it around (the rep and a mechanic) and did not notice erratic idle, feel gas pedal vibration, or hear louder engine noise. The service rep suggests that maybe the engine needs to settle down after the head gasket, timing belt, wire and coil replacement. I asked, as per all the advice I received on this forum, if they checked vaccum hoses, air filter box, wires, etc. According to the rep, they did all this and everything looks fine. So I don't know what else to do. My $32,000 Subaru now sounds and drives like my old , run-into-the-ground, $1,000 Subaru 1981 and 1984 did (miss those old Subarus!) -- or my 91 Subaru, for that matter. So I am taking it home to drive it some more and document problems, once again. I will try this one more time and then begin to contact the "higher ups". I plan on changing out spark plugs. Any ideas on other things that I can replace in an effort to mitigate this engine noise and gas pedal vibration? I want to begin ruling out things so that I can keep ahead of the dealership. General advice or thoughts on my situation? Thanks for all your help!

Thanks for the advice! I have had this car for about three years -- I am the second owner having purchased it directly from the first owner. It was originally purchased in another state.

Hello All, I recently had the head gasket, timing belt, and coils and wires to spark plugs replaced on my 2000 Subaru Outback (85,000 miles on it) by Subaru dealership. (Head gasket was replaced free of charge due to recall and I had the other items replaced "while they were there" as they did need replacement.) Since receiving the car back from the dealership, I have noticed that the car now needs an idle adjustment, the gas pedal vibrates, and the engine sounds very rough (my 81 Subaru used to sound like this when it needed an oil change) and loud. Brought the car back to the dealership and took a ride with the mechanic who says car sounds just great--that if there was an idle problem, the 'check engine light would go on" and, anyway, that they cannot do anything about the idle because the computer does that. As for engine sound, said that it sounds like any ole Outback should. But, I KNOW my car and something is wrong. The idle is definately off (although intermittently) and the gas pedal vibration and engine noise are new to my car. I am bringing my car back to the dealership tomorrow but expect that I will be dismissed as "silly woman" so I want to be armed with an understanding of what might be going on with my vehicle. Does anyone have any idea about what might be going on with my car? Thanks so much for any advice or thoughts....