mountainwalker

You are probably right that a big pothole could do it, but don't be naive about the dealership's tactics - I'm going off prior history with them - our own as well as others - the Subaru dealership service center tried to drop hundreds of dollars of repairs that were Subaru's responsiblity on us, and had we not been resourceful in researching with other reps and proving that the repairs were their responsiblity, we would have been ripped off. According to other posts, this is common, though to be fair it's probably par for the course with most auto brands' dealerships. The dealerships simply earn more money on uncovered retail than on covered work. Also keep in mind that it could be that the dealership just made up the steering sensor alignment to hide a covered repair, because it's not clear if the steering sensor misalignment would be covered. They do this all the time. I'm sorry, but I've seen them do this "live" to other customers with the same policy, and I've heard of other Subaru customers who have gotten the same treatment. Though again, I'm certain it's not just Subaru dealers who do this. Almost forgot to add - they use VIN# tracking so that the dealership and national customer service can collude to get on the same page, namely the dealer's page, when the customer calls to complain about the dealer and enforce the policy. Experienced this twice already, which is why I started calling and asking questions without giving a VIN #. And I was able to get info this way that proved the dealer was responsible.

Bootstrapping software startups we have to watch our budget. But the worst part is the time - I just don't have the time to do it well with the work I'm doing, and if I did, I'd rather be backpacking, skiing, biking or hiking. To save time, I find myself outsourcing some things I used to do on my own. Would the next major maintenance interval be 120K miles (I think it's every 30K)? For trade-ins, can you only trade in at Subaru, and can you trade in for a used Subaru instead of a new one? How much value do you get on a trade in? I hate the idea of buying a brand new car knowing how much value it loses right away - I much prefer to buy 1-2 year old cars.

Thank you, you just put my wife and I at ease. We were leaning toward not taking any coverage as the car is in great shape, has been maintained very well regularly and we'll continue to maintain it well. As former E Coast city dwellers and now suburbanites in Silicon Valley, this is the first time we've kept our own car in many years, and this is our first Subaru and we've been very happy with it - great combo of utility, foul weather handling, ease of maintenance, great mountain car, etc. The Gold Plus policy we had came with the car from the previous owner, so we enjoyed the benefits without paying for it. But I must caution anyone thinking of buying that policy from Subaru that even the Subaru dealers work that policy like a scam, and you have to fight hard to make sure the dealers don't weasel out of their obligations, and they have lots of tricky open-ended holes they can use.

OB99W, thanks for pointing out. I'm sleep deprived out of my head today and if I'd spent a minute playing with the interface would have found them. I vaguely remember a time after USMB moved to a new server or host that some threads were unavailable, so thought the old ones might not be available anymore.

We've had Gold Plus Subaru coverage that came with our Subaru Outback 2003 VDC 3.0L H6, which was good to tomorrow or 100K miles. Our car has about 92K miles on it, has been maintained very well and is in excellent condition. We don't want to get hit up with big repair bills, so the idea of similar after-market repair coverage, which covers the power train and is very reputable, is very attractive. Is quality after-market coverage worth it in your opinion? Can you suggest any good, reputable after-market warranty companies and policies? The dealer said they could only provide extensions on cars they sell, but that if we buy after-market, we should get the highest inclusive policy (usually called Platinum or Gold) and check that the insurer had a very good reputation.

OK so dealer service rep called 15 minutes ago and asked if we'd done any kind of wheel alignment lately or had had some small accident (car has never been in accident, not even minor, and wheel alignment was done BEFORE 90K servicing). Then said that the reason that we've been getting the ABS/VDC failure lights is that the steering sensor was knocked off by 12 degrees, and that this could have only happened if someone had knocked it out of place when doing service, or had been jarred hard. No other system in the car or record shows any evidence of any accident, so that's out of the question. Then said he had to call Subaru national to see if that would be covered, which is code for "let's get Subaru to play ball with us and make sure this isn't covered." The way they do this by asking for your VIN # when you call for any information or lodge any complaints, and then the dealer twists national's arm to make sure they tow the dealer's line. Seen this twice already. I've gotten around it by making calls to confirm information or policy and get the rep on record without giving our VIN #. They give you a lot more information that way, and that's how I got our policy enforced. Said that the reason they couldn't find this cause when we did 90K servicing in winter was that the sensor was throwing only temporary error codes, which are cleared from memory in a short time, and thus memory didn't show the errors. But when I drove in this morning, since the temporary error code was fresh, they picked it up. IF this is the cause, they should have picked up on it during the 90K servicing when we identified the problem if they were checking thoroughly. Any thoughts?

Thanks Nipper, very helpful, much appreciated. Just put in email for dealer service guy.

Hi all, been a while since my last post, lots going on family- and work-wise. I just dropped off our 2003 Subaru Outback VDC 3.0L H6 at the dealer before my Gold Plus warranty policy expires. Our subie has been running great (thanks again for all the great advice in purchasing it last year). There are only 2 issues we brought the car in for while still under warranty, one we're more concerned about, the second minor. 1) The ABS and VDC lights are still coming on sometimes, not always, usually at highway speeds between 50 and 70 mph. I notice they also tend to come on if we're on bumpy highway or an open stretch with a lot of head or side wind. I've asked about this before, but couldn't pull up the thread in search or from my control panel (think these may not be available after USMB migrated to new servers/host). Anyway, had this problem before I brought the car in for its 90K servicing, the dealership said it was fixed, and it started recurring about 1-2 months later. It doesn't happen every day, the only pattern is that it tends to happen on bumpier highway or on open stretches of highway with high frontal or side winds. The VDC anti-slip and general good performance in bad weather and snow were key reasons we bought the car, and we want to make sure we're not losing out on ABS and VDC, especially at highway speed. Any idea what could be causing this? Another dealer service desk I called suggested it could be a loose chip or chips, loose connection, wheel speed sensor not working properly and problems with rings on each wheel hub that the speed sensors read. I should mention the dealer tries to weasel out of their warranty commitments all the time with very tricky language, though I've been quite successful in enforcing them with careful documentation and calling other Subaru offices. If you are curious about what the dealer tries to do - imagine bringing in a car with the ABS/VDC indicator lights on at the very moment you drive in - proving there's a problem - and seat heaters that clearly aren't working - and the dealer telling you that if they a) can't duplicate the problem (no need to because you can prove it on the spot) and can't find the source of the problem or c) somehow establish some "outside" cause (even though the car always dealer serviced and no one has messed with these systems other than the dealer), they'll have to charge you full diagnostic fees instead of your $50 deductible. It's quite a scam. 2) The seat heaters stopped operating properly last winter, which I've read here and in other forums is very common. Heard the element usually goes on those after a certain number of years. It used to be on High they heated up very fast, bottom and back (about 30 seconds to a minute) and stayed very warm, and on Low they heated up quickly bottom and back but stayed medium warm. Now on Low you can barely feel heat and only in back or bottom and only in one seat; and on High you can feel little heat, and only in one part of the seat. BTW, another Subaru dealer suggested that you can make them use a heat sensing gun to prove that the seat heaters are not operating within spec.

OB99W I was pretty sure the 2 problems (HVAC controls and seat heaters) are related - they both started at the same time. The only issue with getting the seat heater fixed, is that under the dealer's little scam, if he says he can't find the seat heating problem when he works on the car, he can charge a diagnostic fee that he won't allow to be covered under the deductible, which he's not allowed to do under the policy. Since he had to fix the HVAC controls because the problem was obvious, and the fuse is likely shared, perhaps that will do it.

RallyKeith, I agree with you in general about the speaker, but keep in mind that another Subaru dealership said to the previous owner they could not repair or replace the OEM Subaru radio, and recommended replacing it. I still have it. I believe it can be repaird, but it was probably something that dealership didn't want to do. The radio is a minor issue - the sound is fine - it's only a matter of one speaker once in a while cutting out for a split second. I'm much more concerned with the way One thing that's very interesting - it seems that the only role of the service representative at the dealership is to be a fast-talking service salesman and to find ways to extract more $ from the customer. He's clearly hit a brick wall with me and he knows it, but it's amazing that he's willing to fight at the SOA level and push around SOA representatives. Prior to this car I've always worked with good independent garages I knew and could trust. I'm only using the dealership because of our Subaru New Gold Plus coverage plan. I've got this under control and when I have the time next week I'll have all the info and backing I need from SOA. Note that in a situation like this you have to try to get the information without using your VIN number, because they maintain a file with all your recent contacts and that's how the dealer was able to trace the SOA rep I dealt with and push him around.

Not a concern in this situation because it's SOA's responsibility as the party which granted the policy. It's SOA's responsibility to cover the cost of the repair and to enforce their policy with the dealer. I'll find out more soon. I'd be interested in any USMB members with any information on similar attempts by dealers and ways in which they handled this. Something to give you hope in dealing with similar consumer rights situations - We once had a serious problem with our Verizon landlines. We called Verizon with documentation - we went through over 30 Verizon people in over one year, calmly documenting a few lines here and there and sure that we would prevail. It's too long to recount all the details, but the Public Services Commission (a body in every state charged with making sure that monopolies don't take advantage of customers) forced them to pay us $5000 and fined them $50,000 and the regional manager had to apologize to us. Also, a large nearby business which Verizon had crossed our lines with investigated and found out that Verizon double-sold lines to them and then to us and other people in the neighborhood, and extracted brefunds from Verizon. Needless to say, Verizon treated us much better after that and any problem or concern was dealt with right away by an intelligent manager. That kind of justice is rare, but satisfying.

If that etching scam had taken place, you could have easily beaten them in small claims court, unfortunately at the cost of your time and aggravation. Forget about the BBB - a scam like that is a matter for court - also something you should post on Subaru and consumer forums like Yelp. In this case, because the Subaru Gold Plus protection plan is a legal document, it's possible that I can hold Subaru responsible for any charges - I'd have to go after SOA (Subaru of America) and not the dealership, because the policy is from SOA. It would ideally be done as a class action suit because there are so many Subaru policy holders who have probably been scammed this way. The threat of a costly class action suit might be enough for them to follow through on their obligations. There are tons of lawyers who love to pick up on class action suits which affect hundreds of thousands of people.

FYI The H6 3.0 Liter engine is far less problematic than the 4 cylinder models in those model years, with none of the dreaded head gasket issues that seem to plague 4 cylinder models from 02-whenever the issue was improved (perhaps around 04-05, though not sure if fully addressed). Every mechanic I've spoken with says that the H6 is a far higher quality design with a far superior track record. Every 4 cylinder I inspected (whether in service records or in full garage inspection) when looking for our Outback inspected poorly, whereas the H6 we bought only a little before its 90K servicing (which means 30K since last major service) needed only a serpentine belt replacement. Also, the mileage his is very small, according to a poster here only about 1 mpg. You do have to use premium gas, not sure if that's the case with the 4 cylinder cars as well. I have a 2003 H6 3.0 VDC model, runs great. Only had to replace serpentine belt when I bought it about 6 months ago and no breakdowns. Only issues I have are minor and being repaired during 90K servicing now. After everything I read on USBM when researching the cars, I'd only buy the H6.

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up on a scam Subaru dealership try to pull to charge you more for covered repairs/parts when you are limited to only a small deductible ($50 in the case of the New Subaru Gold Plus plan, the highest coverage plan). I’ve carefully reviewed the policy language line by line, and there’s no language to support what they are trying to do to get more money out of you. I’m following up with Subaru national and will let you know what I find out. I’ve already got an electronic voice recording of a Subaru customer care person saying that the dealerships can’t do this (of course the very same day the dealership tracked who I spoke with and yelled at that rep to squelch him). This week I brought our 2003 Subaru Outback H6 VDC to one of the local dealerships for the 90K servicing, power steering flush and fuel injector clean and flush and replacement of the windshield because of pitting over time. The only reason I chose to do this at the dealership was because the dealership agreed to lower the cost to match a top local garage, AND while the car is running beautifully, there are a few problems to address, and with only a $50 deductible per visit no matter how many repairs/replacement parts, this was a good time to get those problems addressed. I was able to demonstrate the first 2 problems to the dealer service people on the spot –1) the VDC and ABS lights coming on at highway speed and staying on until parked and ignition off (the lights would be off next time you start the car). 2) the HVAC system was doing some strange things, with the A/C coming on when the fan speed is adjusted, and the fan speed changing by itself when the temperature control dial is turned up and down. I had 3 other problems that are inconsistent and thus difficult to always demonstrate, though those issues are very real: 3) This third issue is the most serious – and I wrote about it earlier on these forums – at times, when stopping at a light after highway speed or faster local road speed, the idle speed would drop too low, to about 500-600, and on about 4 occasions over about a 6 month period the car stalled right after it did this. Turning the ignition key brought it right back up. I cleaned the throttle box to address this problem, but it happened once even after I cleaned the throttle box. I haven’t seen the problem since the beginning of December, so it’s not a consistent problem. 4) Inconsistent seat heaters - the seat heaters always worked fine and consistently up until a few weeks ago. On our model year, you can press the toggle switch either forward or backward for different levels of heat. A few weeks back on a few occasions the seat heaters barely worked. On others they worked but were of inconsistent temperature – lukewarm or hot, without any connection to the position of the toggle switch. 5) Stereo jumping – least serious issue - the stereo occasionally will play music from one of the side front speakers but not the other, for just a split second. Could be a loose wire. The stereo speakers are OEM – the OEM Macintosh radio/CD player was pulled out and replaced by an aftermarket radio/CD/MP3 player after the previous owner of the vehicle said her local Subaru place could not repair the original Macintosh radio (which I still have). The dealer service rep, deeply disappointed that their mechanics will have to do real work diagnosing and repairing the ABS/VDC system and HVAC system for only a $50 deductible, proceeds to tell me to be aware that if they look into a covered system/part that is malfunctioning but say they can’t replicate the problem, that he’ll charge me a around a $150 diagnostic fee. I point out that exclusion is NOWHERE in the Subaru policy language, which I’ve read line by line. In other words, the dealership is saying – “if you are having a problem with a covered part/system that is malfunctioning, and you’ve seen it malfunction on many occasions, if we look into it, and we SAY we can’t replicate it, we’ll charge you a $150 diagnostic fee.” I rechecked the language of the policy line by line and there is NO EXCLUSION OF ANY KIND granted to allow the dealership to charge you beyond the $50 deductible for diagnosing/repair/replacing parts for a failing system/part. I called Subaru’s Customer Care line and got a Subaru rep on electronic voice recording agreeing that the dealership could not charge you a diagnostic fee in such a case. Later the dealer service rep tells me on the phone that he spoke with the same guy I did (he searched by my vehicle VIN# to pull up the rep I spoke with) and says the rep is wrong and didn’t say that (even though I have him recorded saying exactly that). The dealer service rep yelled at the Customer Care guy to back off. I had an attorney buddy take a look at the policy as well, and he agreed that there’s no exception for Subaru to allow the dealer to charge a fee for looking into a problem and saying they can’t replicate it. Be aware that this is doubly absurd, as this means that all the dealership has to say is that they couldn’t replicate the problem, and they can extract $100-200 from you per issue. It’s a great way for them to get back some of the value for the service they have to give you under the policy, for items that you can prove on the spot they need to work on. Now for the OEM stereo speakers, their claim is that since the radio itself has been replaced, and the radio controls the speakers, we don’t have to touch them. Not good service by any standard, but at least in this case it’s something to cover their butts. Note that the only reason the OEM radio was replaced was that a dealership told the previous owner they were unable to repair it. Since I still have the OEM radio, I should make them repair it under the policy... This is some of the worst customer service and support I’ve ever seen, and I’m following up all the way up the chain and if the situation warrants will start a public online campaign to force Subaru to force their dealerships to comply with their policies. The last customer care person I spoke with recommended I speak with the Added Security Sales people, because he could not prove to me under the policy that the dealership can charge for this. Has anyone experienced this nonsense? Have you ever heard of something so inane? This would cause owners and policy holders to not bring in their vehicles for service for fear that the dealerships claims they cannot replicate the problem, leaving you with an unrepaired part/system, a $100-200 bill and lost time.

Within the past few weeks my wife and I noticed 2 minor electronic/control issues on our 2003 Outback VDC H6 - 1) the HVAC controls were doing some strange things, with the fan speed changing as you turn the interior temperature dial higher and lower, and with the A/C coming on by itself when just adjusting the fan speed. Since we just brought in our for its 90K servicing, and I was able to demonstrate this problem on the spot, the dealership is diagnosing and repairing it. What could cause such errors? I'm thinking it could only be a hardware issue (controller chip). 2) the seat heaters always worked fine and consistently. On our model year, you can press the toggle switch either forward or backward for different levels of heat. A few weeks back on a few occasions the seat heaters barely worked. On others they worked but were of inconsistent temperature. What could be causing 2? How could I prove to the dealership that 2 is happening, if it doesn't happen consistently? I'm thinking the only option would be to videotape the results on 2 thermometers temporarily taped to the seat bottoms and backs, to show the different temperature readings at different times. The only reason it matters to show this, is that I have caught the dealerships trying to get out of their obligations under Subaru added security plans by saying that if they look into a problem you are having and can't see it, they will charge you a $$$ diagnostic fee ($100-200 range). They will only honor your $50 Subaru Gold Plus deductible if you can duplicate the problem for them on a covered system on the spot, and only then will they spend the time repairing/replacing parts for only the cost of your $50 deductible. I'll go into this issue in a separate post - it's a ridiculous attempt by the dealerships to get out of having to work on problems covered by your Subaru policy, and we all need to be aware of it. I have carefully reviewed Subaru's policy line by line, and there is no language releasing Subaru dealerships from the obligation to diagnose/repair a covered failed system/part, whether observable at the time or not, and no provision to allow them to charge you a diagnostic fee if they say they can't replicate the problem. It is simply a scam to get more money out of you when they have to do a bunch of repairs/parts on the same $50 deductible.

The windshield on our 2003 Subaru H6 VDC seems to show more starbursting at night (long arms of light across the windshield emanating from bright lights), and my guess is that it's due to micro scratches on the windshield caused by sand/debris hitting at highway speeds over the years. After cleaning the windshield you can still see the small marks across the whole windshield that almost look like a very thin layer of clear gunk but are actually part of the windshield. Have any of you noticed this on older windshields? If this is a wear and tear issue, the only thing to do is to replace with an aftermarket PPG or Pinkelstone windshield for about $200-250 parts and labor.

The windshield on our 2003 Subaru Outback H6 VDC seems to show more starbursting at night (long arms of light across the windshield emanating from bright lights), and my guess is it's due to micro scratches on the windshield from being hit with sand/debris at highway speeds over the years. After cleaning the windshield you can still see these small scratches across the whole windshield. Is this a problem any of you have noticed on older windshields? I'm thinking the only way to improve the night visibility is to replace the windshield for about $200-250 parts and labor (that's for an aftermarket, not Subaru windshield).

So I took the car into the same mechanic who replaced the serprentine belt, along with the list of possible causes put forth here in the forum. He said he could find nothing wrong, but cleaned out the Throttle Box, which had some gunk in it, thinking that would help. The car ran with higher cold and warm idle speed and less vibration for about 5 days after. Then the car started AGAIN running 50% of the time with lower warm idle speed of about 500-550, but not all the time. No idea what's causing this, but now that the previous owner's Gold Plus Subaru coverage plan transferred into my name, which covers all parts and service, I'm taking it to the best Subaru dealer in the area to run a diagnostic and fix the problem. The car drives beautifully other than this which pops up occasionally.

Having the same mechanic who worked on the car the day before the issue started take a look at it tomorrow morning, after the the weak idle while stopped was a tiny drop weaker (almost stalled once today at a light). Car driving beautifully otherwise, I'm pretty sure it's just a hose or a sensor. I'd have to say hose - almost seems like not enough air/suction getting to where it needs to be. Any other possibilities you can think of besides these: 1) Rougher idle might have been caused by the mechanic knocking a vacuum hose loose or knocking a sensor slightly off. Check around the air cleaner, especially under it. Look for any disconnected hoses. 2) If the altitude has changed dramatically, the ECU might need a hard reset – disconnect the battery for ½ hour and then do a hard reseat of the ECU. 3) Check the PCV valve. That little valve surprisingly with super lean burning modern engines can cause some running issues. Thanks again for helping troubleshoot.

A poster on CarTalk suggested that the rougher idle might have been caused by the mechanic knocking a vacuum hose loose or knocking a sensor slightly off. The poster also asked if the CEL is on. What’s the CEL? What’s the role of the vac hose? Could a loose vac hose cause the rougher idle? Also, what’s the correct idle speed of a 2003 Subaru Outback H6 after the car is warm, and what’s the correct idle speed in the first 2 minutes after starting the car?

The car was well maintained, but we just picked up the car about 6-7 weeks ago, so we'd like to the do the 90K service now, just to bring the car up to a fresh maintenance starting point. From asking around I think we'll be better off in this area with conventional oil. Any specific recommendations for the 2003 H6 Outback?

Hi Nipper, We didn't drive the car here from the E Coast, but we bought it from a seller in the mountains of the Lake Tahoe area, which is higher altitude, and the car is now mostly close to sea level. What I don't get is that before the serpentine belt was changed 2 weeks ago, I didn't experience these issues for over a month driving at the same near-sea level altitude. The car is in excellent mechanical and cosmetic condition. I paid close attention today when starting, and I'd say the car was more like 1100-1200 RPM right after start - not as high as what I wrote before, but higher, a bit louder and more vibration than before the serpentine belt change. What is the ECU? Is there anything else that needs to be done for the hard reset? What is the PC valve? Please excuse my ignorance - it's been many years since I owned a car, living in a big city with lots of public transport and within walking distance of 3 car rental places, and I haven't had a chance to read the Outback manual yet. I'll look those up tonight.

We just picked up our 2003 Subaru Outback H6 VDC and while we're at 85K, we might as well do the 90K servicing. Mechanic says we're good for now but that a few fluids are showing the dirt from all the mileage and could use replacement. What should we make sure is done in the 90K servicing? Should we use synthetic or regular oil?

Hi guys, finally getting settled in on W Coast and just wanted to say thanks again for all your help in finding our Subaru. The 2003 Subaru Outback H6 VDC we bought in N California before moving our here from the E Coast a) drove very smoothly has been a huge help in picking up all the light office furniture and supplies we had to buy for our office and home (I found the extra interior length of a wagon/crossover more helpful than the extra interior height of a small-mid SUV) . We were able to pick up every single thing we needed locally except for a couch set. It’s unbelievable what we were able to move with this car. I’ll post pictures shortly. The car only needed the Serpentine belt replaced and wheel alignment and I also picked up a new set of tires. At 85K miles, we’ll probably also do the 90K servicing soon. Twice while driving at faster highway speeds +75mph (the car is smooth enough on smooth highway that you really don’t feel the speed and everyone drives +70 here to begin with), I saw the VDC and ABS indicator lights switch on on the dash. Both times there were some cracks/bumps in the highway which jarred the car and may have triggered the lights. The lights stayed on after coming off the highway, but next time car was started, the indicator lights stayed off after start. Why did the lights come on? Did the systems switch off because of the higher speed or because of a bump/crack in the road jarring the car? Does this mean that the VDC and ABS systems were temporarily disabled? If so, did they need to be switched back on? I’m going to check out the owner’s manual as well, just haven’t had time working crazy hours and getting settled.

Hi guys, finally getting settled in on W Coast and just wanted to say thanks again for all your help in finding our Subaru. The 2003 Subaru Outback H6 VDC we bought in N California before moving our here from the E Coast a) drove very smoothly has been a huge help in picking up all the light office furniture and supplies we had to buy for our office and home (I found the extra interior length of a wagon/crossover more helpful than the extra interior height of a small-mid SUV) . We were able to pick up every single thing we needed locally except for a couch set. It’s unbelievable what we were able to move with this car. I’ll post pictures shortly. The car only needed the Serpentine belt replaced and wheel alignment and I also picked up a new set of tires. At 85K miles, we’ll probably also do the 90K servicing soon. Though the car was driving very smoothly for weeks, the pre-purchase inspection garage said that the serpentine belt needed replacement - so after a few weeks, as soon as I could give up the car for a day, I had a local garage with good reviews replace the belt, and I noticed the following afterwards: 1) Higher revs upon start and lower revs later upon idle - I recall the engine used to be at about 1000 RPMs after start and very quiet with low vibration. Now, upon starting the car, the car seems to be revving at a higher RPM than it did before the belt replacement – about 1500 RPM – and stays there for a bit before coming down to 750 RPMs, and it’s noisier and vibrates more than before. It’s not VERY noisy and shaky, just noticeably more so than before, when it was super quiet with low vibration. 2) Twice right after coming off the highway to local streets, the car stalled at a red light. It started right back up, but I have no idea what caused the stall. It only happened 2 times, and only happened when the gas tank was lower - both times below 1/4 tank, one time when very low. One of those times the car was also on a hill. It never happened any other time. A) Any idea what could be causing the higher revving, higher noise and vibration upon start? What could the mechanic have done to cause this? Is the timing off ? What RPM should the car be at upon start, and what should it be at after warmed up when still? Any idea what caused the 2 stalls? It only happened those two times, under the same conditions – coming off highway to streets, upon the first or second red light, with the gas tank below 1/4 tank.