subsince77

Right nick, no final conclusion until I fill up again tomorrow. I don't believe the computer either. It has never been closer than +-2 mpg so far. But I have been so fixated on how many miles I am getting by 1/4 tank, and 1/2 tank, that I can guess pretty close on how much the fill will be at the particular tick that the needle is nudging right now. I've got to get a life.

37 on all four tires? Aren't we supposed to keep the rears a couple of pounds lower than the fronts? The more I drive it, the more it think part of it is exactly what zyewdall was saying. I noticed today that although I am not intensionally pushing it harder, I think I have actually been going up the passes faster than I was in the 97. If the car is that much heavier, then certainly that would be a factor. Also, I am still getting used to the different power curve, and where the transmission is going to shift, since I have always picked the shift points myself before. I think I have been pushing it more than I thought. Today, I spent more time just trying to feel where the car was comfortable. I found myself at a little lower rpm, going up just as fast as I used to, and I got 28.8 on the leg of the trip that had more downhill in it. We came back up, and I haven't refilled yet, but judging by the gauge and the miles, I'll bet it will be between 24 and 25. That would mean an up and downhill combined average of around 26. With two adults, a dog, some gear, two bikes on a hitch rack, and an empty rack on top, I could live with that. Especially since everything else about the car is SO STINKING NICE!!

I have been noticing something interesting in the way this AT works. Remember it's my first. I wasn't sure it was really happening until today. When I am driving up a long incline, a mile to three miles say, I have noticed that prior to an actual gear shift, there is something that happens that raises the RPMs just a little and gives just a small boost in power. I thought I was imagining it at first, but today I really documented it. Several times I would be cruising uphill, still in fourth, at about 2250 rpm. As the hill steepened just a little, putting a slight bit more demand on the engine, but not quite enough to force it to shift to third, I would feel, hear, and see, the RPMs rise about 250 to 300 rpm. So it would go from say 2250 to 2600. It did this several times. Sometimes that little boost would be enough to keep it in fourth ( I think it has done it in third also). Other times, either the terrain, or I, would force the shift, and it would jump to the new gear and up something like 700 rpm or more, depending on what I did with the throttle. What the heck is that? Has anyone else experienced this? I am as certain as i can be that i am not causing this with my foot. It almost feels like some kind of half step when the car is nearly ready for a shift. Spooky, or cool, depends on what it is.

Humph...

I may have used the wrong term, but yes, front in the air, rear wheels on the ground. I was told it was only towed a short distance, a couple of miles. Sounds like far enough to me.

BTW, turned out we only got 23.8 on the highway today. Air filter is new, oil is Ashland oil ( Valvoline) synthetic 5/30. Syntheics in both diffs too. That is the same oil that was in the 97. Same road, same driver, same mountains, same gas. Gas does have ethanol. I can't get any without. The dealers tell me they can't get any without in the whole state. One of our stations kept ethanol free as long as he could, but he can't get it any more. I am running regular, which is 85 octane. The manual calls for 87, but so did my old one. At 8000' 85 is fine and 87 is pretty much non-existent. You are right about the mountains, but the other car was running the same mountains. The only real difference is the AT. The only reason I went with an AT, my first, is because of all the glowing reports I had read on this and other Subaru sites claiming that the new ones got as good or better milage than the manuals. I sure hope I dint make a big mistake with this 4eat. I love every other aspect of the car, but this is a big and expensive difference. Is there any such thing as advancing the timing any more?

I'm really scratching my head about the milage on this new Outback. I keep talking to people around here that say they get 28 to 30 on the highway with their 08 and 09 AT Outbacks. With a combination of town and rural highway driving I am only getting about 23.5. Today on a 120 mile road trip, 65 - 70 mph, we got about 25. My old car would have gotten at least 28 today, probably 29, or 30. I can't imagine that it could need plugs and wires at 18,700 miles. It seems to run well. I am wondering if there is any possibility of the timing being a bit retarded or something. We live at 8000 feet, but with the newer cars you don't ever change the base timing anyway do you? Any ideas out there?

I saw an 02 outback that I know being towed on a dolly about two weeks ago. I don't know how far they towed it, but I figured it was toast. I doubt any drive shafts had been removed.

I might need that in about 250,000 miles. Maybe I should stock up now:)

Thanks. That's what I wondered all along. How could the fuse do anything when the car presumably isn't running anyway? I always had an MT before, and have never been towed professionally, but I did think I remembered reading about in my old owners manual. Common sense always told me I would insist on a flatbed - period. He came to the same conclusion yesterday when we were looking at my car. He has always used his flatbed for AWD cars, but had understood that in a pinch it could be done. Thanks for the confirmation. Loading up the bikes and heading up over the Sawatch range for some mountainbiking today. Fun driving, fun riding, I love this car.

I have a friend that runs a tow company. He was asking me if it is still OK to tow a Subaru with an AT with the rear wheels on the ground if the fuse has been installed to put it in FWD. I remember that my old book said that you could do that, but on the 09 the only application in the owners manual for the FWD fuse is when you have had a flat and are using the donut. Anyone know?

I bought it used, and I always change everything right away no matter what they tell me because that way I know what I have. Thanks though, in that case, it was definitely not black, and was probably fine - again, it shifts great. I'm just used to draining out nice clean fluids from an MT.

So I had a sunny afternoon with a little time today, so I did a drain and fill on the new 09 Outback transmission. Nice that that is so easy, and that I can get under this car without jacking it up. Couldn't do that on the 97. This is my first AT, but I thought the fluid looked kind of dirty for only 18K miles. I'm really glad I did it. I used the Idemitsu ATF HP that I got through the local Car Quest. The old stuff was sort of brown, not very transparent in the measuring cup, but didn't smell or anything. I got almost 4 quarts out. If I get another warm afternoon in the next few days, I will do another round and see how it looks. The car has been shifting just fine. Once I get it cleaned up, I think I will go to a one D&F every 12,000 schedule. I also drained the front dif and refilled with Valvoline 75/90 Synthetic. Couldn't get the drain plug off the rear dif, so that will go to a mechanic friend tomorrow.

I don't know if they all can, or do, order through world pac or not. That is where they seem to be able to get a lot of things that are not standard Car Quest items. You might have to ask.

Yup, did the knock sensor - you kidding? That's kid stuff compared to the rooting, yanking, and installing I did:) So far I like the 09 a lot. It is newest and nicest car I have ver owned by far. I am 53, but I call it my grownup car. It is very quiet and smooth. Seems to have a fair amount more power, and so far no real downside. I just hope it is as Delia el, minus the HG issue, as my old one. When I think back on my first Subbie, the 77 DL, even that was a fantastic car. Took us everywhere. It is a well know fact that my wife lured me in with that 4wd Subaru's ability to get us to trailheads. We've been sold on them ever since.

There is a really long thread somewhere on this board about it. I changed every sensor imaginable, multiple sets of plugs and wires, the ecu, coil, checked all the injectors, actually put on a new intake manifold with a new wiring harness once, even the neutral switch on the MT. We ran it with a vacuum gauge hooked up for a month or so, just did all kinds of things. The interesting thing to me was when the engine was changed out and the light came back on again on my way up out of Denver! I couldn't believe it! I was sure I had left the problem behind that time, but no. Since then I have known several 97's and 98's that have this same issue that was never resolved. The only thing that I can think of that was never changed was whatever wiring exists between the ECU and the harness in the engine compartment - but who knows. The car did that for the 9 1/2 years that I owned it and never in its life did it have any perceptible miss or hesitation of any kind. In ran beautifully. BTW, I have what is probably a perfectly good ECU from a 97 OBW sitting in the garage if someone wants it. Things that make you go hmmm....

After we got the 09 a couple of weeks ago, I started getting the old 97 ready to sell. These cars are so sought after around here, I knew it wouldn't be too hard. I put an ad on Craigslist last Thursday night, and had a dozen or more calls over the weekend. The second caller bought it yesterday by noon. It had 241,000 on the car, the engine was a CCR rebuild with 45,000 on it. It was running very strong with no leaks or evident problems. All of the axels were MWE rebuilds that were installed after the engine. Good tires, brakes, clutch etc. The body and interior were still in great shape. The buyer was really happy, and seems inclined to take good care of her for whatever time she has remaining. He is serving in the army, and currently in school. Nice guy. That car served us very well, aside from a bout of HG illness at 196K. The only problem it had, and still has, was the mysterious check engine light, caused by a supposed #3 and #4 misfire that I could never resolve. That problem started on the fist engine and continued with the second. Many of you helped me try to eliminate it for months, and many pages of suggestions on this forum. All to no avail, but the car always ran perfectly anyway. I just wanted to thank everyone for all the years of help keeping that car running so well. I expect to pick your brains from time to time on the 09 too (already have). So another great Subaru passes down the line to a first-time owner. May she go another 150K.

I found out today that my local Carquest can order Idemitsu ATF-HP through World Pac. It cost me $7.69 a quart. Not bad. For those of you, who like me, live hours from a Subaru dealer, this might help.

Well, yeah, but it was all uphill for the old car too:) That milage is combination town and highway, up and down, some flat. Just compared to the old car. But, I have only put about 700 miles on the new car. I'm still getting used to the best way to drive it in the hills. I have to say that without the Sportshift and manual modes I would hate this thing in the mountains. I still have a few tricks, synthetic gear oil, haven't changed the air filter yet, haven't even found the fuel filter yet, plugs and wires really shouldn't need to be replaced yet, but this is what I would have expected from an AT. I just thought they had improved them. I'll get used to it.

Just so you can all stop losing sleep over this, it looks like the coolant problem might have just been the cap. We came all the way home with no issues today. I pushed it up the climbs pretty hard. The temp gauge did not budge, and we didn't lose any coolant. I may still buy an STI cap for it next time I get near a dealership. But for now, all is well. My only complaint at this point is the lousy milage. One reason I went with an auto this time is because I had read a few threads saying that the new ones get better milage than the manuals on the highway, and about the same in town. So far, this car doesn't even come close to my 97 MT. I like the tranny OK, but I think it lacks about 5 mpg from an MT. Oh well, it's mine now and it's a nice car.

No. It took about a quart to fill the radiator yesterday, then more in the tank. My problem seems to be an inability to get a cap to seal properly, but I'm not sure yet. Today should tell if it is still a problem or not.

When we picked up this 09 Outback 2 weeks ago, I noticed that the coolant in the overflow tank was down to about 1/2 inch. The car ran fine over the mountains, showed no tendency to heat up, and I couldn't smell or see evidence of a leak. It took me about 10 days to acquire some blue coolant. In that time the overflow tank stayed exactly the same with about 1/2 inch in it. A day or two after I had filled the radiator and tank, together they took a pint or so, I noticed that the tank had dropped about 3/4 inch below the full line. I had been told that if that happened the rad cap was probably bad, and to just replace it. No dealer nearby so I got one from Car Quest. My 97 was OK with those, but the 09 doesn't seem to like them. Today we left on our first road trip in the car. Two adults, 200 pounds of gear, two bikes on top, and a dog. On the first long climb (4 miles of 6 & 7 percent grade) I noticed the temp gauge going up. Outside temp was only in the low 30's. It just went up to a click or two below 3/4 in the white, no where near the red. When we got down the other side, I pulled into a dealer and checked under the hood. Super Blue was all over the place right behind the rad cap. I bought a new Subaru cap and some coolant. It took just over a quart to fill the radiator and overflow tank. We continued the next 70 miles to our destination and a Subaru dealer that I trust. There was no sign of any further leaking, but I had them pressure test the car. They found no problems and no leaks. We drove around the rest of the day, probably 30 or 40 miles. Tonight I checked again, and the level in the overflow is down about 1/2 inch from the full line. There is no sign of any leakage around the cap or anywhere else. I am hoping that it was just some left over air, or the difference between the coolant temp from being on the highway for 3 hours, and now that it has really cooled down. I topped it back up to the full line, and I will see what happens tomorrow. We have to drive the 2 1/2 hours back home, and it is mostly uphill. I guess I learned not to put a generic cap on this car, but I am wondering what is going on. Love the car, but this is a real pain, especially since the nearest Subaru parts for me are 1 1/2 hours from home. Any thoughts. Sorry this was so long. Just trying to be thorough.

Really sorry you had a problem, but many here, including myself have had great service from CCR. I have 44,000 on one of their EJ25's and it runs like a champ so far. I expect it to last a long time. They have always been there to answer my questions and went out of their way to make sure everything, even some things that had nothing to do with their engine, were right on my car. So not everyone has had a bad experience with them.

Where the heck is the fuel filter on this thing?

Clever place for a filter.