mikem

I can empathize with your plight. I too had a Subaru, 2003 H6, that had a seemingly urnresolvable problem at the local level. The TPS would stick open and the car would not deccelerate. I got SOA involved per the instructions in the owners manual. It is a very detailed and excruiating process. Make no mistake about it though, Customer Service is advocating for SOA, not you. Took me a while to figure that out. Took several months of aggravation and lots of attention to detail, but in the end SOA did agree to take possesion of the car and we came to an amicable settlement. They do not like to take possesion under the lemon law provision because they then must disclose that to the next buyer of the car. If they just "buy it back" under some other settlment form then they can put the car back on the lot "as is" and have no "legal obligation" to the next buyer to disclose the prior history. I was dismayed at the attitude of SOA and it required me to be very aggressive in my dealings with them in order to get a result that I felt was fair to me and SOA. Several times I swore it would be easier to just sell it and walk away to spend my time on more valuable concerns. The advice from those who have not gone through the fight that you should have stuck it out and persisted should be taken with a large grain of salt. Their ability to seek advice on this forum and then fix their cars, or offer advice to others is an awsome resource, but I believe it might be easier to communicate with other forum members than the staff of SOA in New Jersey. The settlement I forged with SAO replaced the 03 H6 with an 05 3.0R, essentialy the same car. I am very pleased with this SOA product and have had no problems of any consequence with it. I realize the prior product had a problem and was able to resolve that issue with more effort than I thought would be required to do right for a customer on the part of SOA. I think you made the right choice for you. That is the most important outcome you can hope for in an automobile.

Slide rule. The one that got us to the moon. And back. Safely. First automobile fatality, 1899 in New York. 1913 saw 14,000 auto fatalities. 1940 about 30,000 fatalities.

Seems like back in the early 1900's when I took drivers ed we were given a rule of thumb that the onset of hydroplaning speed was approximately nine times the square root of the tire pressure. Hence, 36psi would yield an onset speed of 54mph. Of course, tread depth, water depth, day of the week and currency of your insurance all play an important part in this equation.

Was in Milan Italy the middle of the week and saw an Outback wagon that had a BiFuel metal plate on the rear wagon hatch. Anyone know what that is about? I don't drive over there but look at the prices as we pass gas stations so I am not familiar with what products are offered at the pump.

I have an 05 H3.0 Outback wagon. Last week I drove it about six hundred miles on vacation. First thirty or so were rural roads, then about 100 miles of interstate at 65mph, then 100 miles of interstate at 70mph. Averaged 28mph with the tires set to factory specs, 32 front, 30 rear. The tires are Michelin Hydroedge with a tread wear of 800. I then drove on the sandy beaches of the Outer banks for about twenty miles then repeated outbound trip on the way home. Overall mileage was 24.5 all on 87 octane winterized fuel. I think the two most important factors in mileage are brain and foot.

I keep hearing about how European cars of the same make and model are towing more weight and are capable of doing the same in the US market. I just looked up the British law for towing. If the trailer weighs more than 750kg, about 1500 lbs or weighs more than 50% of the curb weight of the vehicle, then the trailer requires brakes. So, yes I guess the vehicle is capable of moving the weight but probably not capable of stopping the weight in the same proportional distance for the total weight involved. Twice the weight at the same speed is four times the engery to be dissapated in order to get stopped. Physics is very similiar worldwide. Be very careful.

I've owned two H6s. An 04 and now an 06. Very happy with the quality of the car and the ride. The 04 did have the fwd fuse, the 06 does not. The spare must be mounted on the rear, so if you are having a bad day and its the front tire, then add thirty minutes to the experience so you can move a good rear tire to the front and put the spare on the rear axle. I did have a continuing problem with the TPS on the 04 that varied from very rough running to "stuck throttle" incidents" that got reported to NHTSA. Much to their credit Subaru "repurchased" the car since they were unable to analyse and correct the problem in a timely manner. They replaced it with the 06R. It has been trouble free for 18 months except for replacement of the CD player unit and the Elapsed Time clock not working but about half the time. Mileage is about 25 in town, slightly better out of town but you must be rather gentle to achieve either. Expect about 20 on the highway at 75+. Subaru reccomends premium and says you can use regular. Lots of good info about that on this forum. I am in the midst of a "long term" test of other grades and so far have noticed no significant difference. I do tow a small boat and trailer with it, less than 1000# total and it does fine. I think the LL Bean has the VDC, neither of mine had it so no comment on that system. The 04 did have the NOAA weather radio channels but the 06R does not. At least mine doesn't . Overall very impressed with the car.

I have had an 04 3.0H6 and now operate an 06 3.0R with the H6. We also experienced the slight hesitation when using regular fuel. I found the problem was more an irritation than a performance issue but it was something that I did not want out of a new car. Subaru had a problem with the TPS in our 04 that somewhat mimicked a slight hesitation but would progress into a full blown jerking and bucking. At the first sign of the skipping in the 06 I quit using regular and went back to the higher octanes. The slight knocking stopped. Yes, it is thirty cents a gallon more and that means about three hundred dollars a year for the miles we drive. But weighing that againist the time, trouble, and aggravation of several dealer trips to have them give me their guess and, basically that would be to use premium, I decided $300 was more than worth the exchange for the peace of mind, lack of knocking and hesitation. I would try five or ten tanks of premium and if it goes away then at least you know the source of the symptoms. Then you can go back to the lower octane and you will still be way ahead of the dealer visit costs.

anybody in a position to do a carfax for me? Would certainly appreciate it. WDB1070421A024777 Obviously not a Subie but I'll use my OB wagon to haul parts for it. pls PM if you are able to do this favor. Thanks.

. We have also found the corrective action: On first failure, replace the wheel sensor for whichever wheel throws the fault code. If the failure occurs again with the same fault code, replace the BCM. Not sure what part of the system on a Subaru takes the part of the BCM. ECU maybe? unless there's a separate systems computer. Hope this helps. Yea, it will help to have a plan. Long gone are the days when I give the dealer or anyone the car and await the call "that your car is ready". Not necessarily fixed, just ready! I describe what symptoms I have seen, what problems I think exist and what results I expect from the visit. I also have the service manager write down what they think the problem might be, how they are going to check for that problem, and the results they expect from that procedure. I document these on the work order, sign it, have the service manager sign it to acknowledge what we have discussed, and then I get a copy of the signed sheet. There is a written maintenance procedure for every item on these cars that greatly increases the probability the correct result will occur if the checklist is used and followed. Paying with my time and money for a "poke and hope" to get a car fixed is no longer part of the routine. Thanks for the suggestions.

Just the one occurrence with the lite coming on. Nothing else in the last several days. I don't want to "disable" it with the tape because the system does work. Now, about that loose power outlet. I have a persistent rattle under the dash in the vicinity of the steering wheel that sounds like an extra screw or clip moving around when on slightly rough roads. Any problem with yours in that area? Thanks.

'06 Outback 3.0r with the tire pressure monitoring system. Had a flat a month ago and system detected the low pressure and reset itself after the new tire was installed and the car went above 20mph. Worked as advertised and no problems since that time. Yesterday, one hour into a four hour drive, the TPMS lite starts to flash (rather than a steady lite for low pressure)supposedly because the self monitoring system has a fault within. Today I check tire pressure to eliminate that variable and they are all good. System lite was on for two seconds on start up and went out indicating a good system check. Cranked and drove above the 20mph activation speed up to 60mph for about five minutes. No TPMS lite. Questions are these: Does it have an event memory to store fault codes or is it tied into the OBD system for the car and store them there? Anyone have any similar experience with this system? The receptor box is under the drivers seat and I made sure there were no items under there that could have interfered with a signal. And whatever caused the fault lite to apprear is probably intermittent since it went away once electrical power was removed from the system and did not reappear when power was applied again. I have already had the radio system replaced for electrical failure. The computer trip display replaced for electrical failure. The car behind me in the service lane was in for a display failure and radio replacement. Anyone in the dealerships working on these seeing a trend with these type of electrical faults ? Three trips to the dealer for warranty electrical work in fifteen months and 23k miles is not a good trend.

It is going to the dealer. However, it is my observation that the more knowledgeable you are when you walk in the door, the better prepared you are to deal with the problem. And what greater resource of information about Subaru is there than this board? And it is free! Thanks for your thoughts.

My 06 3.0R wagon has suffered an illumination failure on the radio and environmental panels. Radio showed no digits or information, environmental showed very dim digits and information then went black. Both radio and environmental systems seem to work ok. I checked the one fuse labeled "illumination" in the fuse panel. It was good. Had earlier, six months ago, seen the erratic mpg,distance, computer display. All the other lights and systems seem to working normally. Any body seen this or know the cause/fix for it? Thanks.

Sure, go ahead and spray the grandson with LPS. I forget whether LPS 3 or LPS 4 is best. Twice daily should do just fine.

I have an 06 3.0r wagon. I do tow with it, albeit a small boat. Total weight around one thousand lbs. and a fairly low wind profile(a boston whaler 13'). Car tows nicely and last weekend I went about 450 miles with it averaging about 14mpg with the AC on and running in fourth gear(in sport shift mode ) at 75 to 80 mph on the interstate. It would not hold this high speed in auto without shifting down at the slightest incline. The mileage suprised me somewhat but I was going fast and there is a price to pay for that choice. Had an 04 3.0 wagon and it was nice but I never towed with it. I actually liked that radio better because it had the weather band on it. All in all a good value for the money I believe.

Welcome to the board. You will probably keep coming back. I can't speak to the price with any authority but any price a dealer wants is open to negoiation. It can't be rare if it was made in an automotive plant and is sitting on a used car lot after coming off a lease. I have owned two 3.0 outback wagons, an 04 and 06. Both were of superior quality for the money paid. No minor problems with either and the one major problem with the 04 was resolved to my satisfaction eventually. I get 25mpg in town on regular. Same on the highway at about 70mph. If it was a lease I would want to see all the maintenance records. No ifs, ands, or buts accepted. Just as a note on the price. Subaru offered me only 61% of the original cost of my 04 3.0 Outback wagon when we swapped cars. It was less than two years old and had less than 25k on it. That was their assessment of their own products value. Not a very high opinion of their car but just the reality of the market system. I suspect that 03 you are looking at is probably worth about 12k to them plus or minus a few. You just need to decide what it is worth to you. Good luck with the hunt.

Thanks! I'll start thinking and scheming on this project. Not towing very far, less than three hundred miles one way generally and the terrain is Eastern North Carolina so its basically flat.

Boat,motor, and trailer total weight is less than 1000# so I don't have any trailer brakes. Wouldn't last long being backed into salt water regularly. I don't mind installing another cooler if needed but don't want to if not necessary. And their directive in the manual to leave it in Drive leads me to believe heat is not much of an issue with the transmission. Thanks for the input. Do you have a wagon or sedan?

Just installed an draw tite hitch from etrailer.com. Awesome experience. Ordered last Wed. morn and hitch was in my garage a little more than 48 hours later and shipping was 99 cents. Easy installation, especially with the recent advice on this forum of removing the mufflers rather than just unhooking the hangers. Now for using it to tow. The owners manual suggest leaving the transmission in Drive rather than using the "Sportmatic" mode. I don't quite understand that thinking. Anybody know why that is the case? Second question. Does the Outback 3.0 wagon already have a transmission cooler installed or is that a part of their towing package? Dealer did not mention it as part of the installation at purchase. Just the hitch and wiring. If it is not a part of the Subaru package any thoughts or suggestions on installing one on the car. I am towing a small boat on trailer,total weight less than a thousand pounds for both.

Welcome to the board. Sounds like you are enjoying the car. I've had two 3.0 Outbacks in the last two years. An 04 and now an 06 3.0R base model. We've got about 15k on the current one and i am still impressed with the quality. Took a while to find a seat position that was comfortable on long rides but finally managed to tweak the controls to fit for the long haul. Mileage is about 25 in town and about 25 on the highway if I drive 70 to 80 on the interstates. Premium is required so get used to it, though I figure that is only about $100 per year for the amout we drive. Nothing about the car has me aggravated and there is plenty I like about it. Lots of info here. Take advantage of it.

Sounds like you found one flea then started itching all over. Not supposed to find that much wrong or irritating with a new car. I got an 06 Outback 3.0R wagon and nothing except the trip clock has been a problem. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I've got a pretty good idea of how long I've been in the car and really don't need something electronic to remind me of that fact. But, I did pay for it and it will be replaced under warranty. I've got an automatic so I don't see the high idle linger that you are experiencing. Sounds annoying. Brakes work excellent, got about 8k on them. We have the automatic climate control and much milder weather so I don't have any concerns with that system. Overall quality of the car is very high and very pleased with it. I have only owned subes for two years and for the money it has been a great purchase. Hope your ownership gets better once the dealer gets the kinks worked out.

I noticed a big difference between our 04 Outback wagon and the new 06 Outback wagon. The 04 felt very comfortable. My wife says the 06 doesn't have a comfortable combination of seat positions for her. I really have to tweak all the controls to finally get it comfortable. Must be an age thing. Of course, I'm speaking only for me!