Jim Davis

Sounds tempting. What about any electrical contacts etc in spray's way? Shooting a spray in there, would probably be a temp solution. I want to fix the problem. Any more noise's out there?

With an air bag installed on my steering wheel, I have little interest in finding a noise that could blow up in my face. That said, my '03 Outback VDC H6 Wagon has a sound coming from the base of the steering wheel (not shaft) that sounds like a bag full of dry dirty reciprocating bearings! The car has less than 50K miles on it and is kept reasonably clean. Before I pay someone to investigate, does anyone have some experience with this problem and what to expect? (Thanks in advance JD)

I have a '03 OBW VDC H6, and am very pleased so far. I have almost 50K on the car and have had virtually no problems summer or winter. One recall, for a clip on the cruise control. The only other complaint would be that the spedo reads about 3 mph fast. I myself prefer the 6 for it's smoothness.

Just a thought, but isn't the L.L.Bean H6 equipped with "limited slip" differentials? Has anyone checked them? Has the differential lube been changed and a friction modifier (if required) added? Snapping, banging from the rear end sounds like a differential locking up to me. Could be wrong.

If only all my problems could be this minor. My '03 VDC OBW has a very nice McIntosh stereo system that requires a push of the volume knob to provide extra light when reading the tuning band during daylight operation. Long story short...., the "brighten" feature doesn't work anymore, leaving the dial setting dark durring daytime operation. Very annoying. Simple problem I suspect, that will cost $$$ to fix. (cars outa warranty). Any McIntosh owner had this problem, and tell me what to expect to pay to fix it? Thanks.

Jumping back in the fray: One of my other vehicles is a Dodge Viper GTS. Dodge sold the GTS/ GT-2 V10 with K&N filters stock from the factory. Now, I doubt Dodge would have compromised reliability of their largest and most expensive engine ever built by them. You can bet the engines run hard. Frankly, I would be more worried about sub-standard oil filters and oil out there. Paper filters work fine and are relatively inexpensive, but start to loose flow with every mile you drive. How important is this? In everyday driving, the flow loss would be negligible. Remember, K&N is a "performance" filter. It is not the end all of performance upgrades, but works well under severe use.

For what it is worth, I think most off road racing teams seem to prefer the K&N to deal with impossible dirty conditions. They seem to flow better than paper when dirty. It would probably take a lot miles to break even on the cost of paper vs the reusable units.

"With a look only a mother could love". Glad to see new enginering. I might even swallow Subaru entering the overcrouded SUV segment, but the front end is not going to win much of this guys market. I'll keep my Outback thank you very much!

Don't feel bad. This stupid switch has fooled practically every new owner, and is easily bumped when re-setting the trip & clock.

My '03 H6 Outback Wagon does it. Normal I think.

Yikes. I guess my dyslexia got me again. Thank you for the reply. I now stand corrected. Question answered.

I just had a 30,000 mile service done on my '03 H6 Outback. I noticed that the shop did not change plugs. My owners manual states that plugs should be replaced at 30K miles. Service manager claims that my car is equipped with "Platinum" plugs that subsiquently do not require changing at this time. I should be grateful I saved some money here, or did the mechanic just get lazy? Any comment?

My Subaru dealer uses Quaker State products. If you are interested, the Quaker State part number for the H6 filter is QS3593A.

Thank you all for your replys. My 2003 H6 has been absolutely silk smooth and very dependible even in sub zero temps. I am taking my Outback to a Authorized Dealer because my warranty & extended warranty are still in effect. Not that I expect problems, but I would not want to void my coverage. I am still looking for a dealer recommendation for Minnesota. There are several dealers in the aria I am moving to, but a owners recommendation based on their experiance is what I am looking for. (JD)

Can someone tell me the aproximate cost for a routine 30,000 mile "autherized dealer" service on a 2003 H6 Outback? This is the first major service called for in the service book other than oil changes. I expect I need to brace myself! I am moving to the Rogers, Elk River, Minnesota aria soon and could use a dealer recommendation. Anyone? Thanks (JD)

Odd that all four tires would loose air. My 03 Outback has never had a problem, and I dismount and remount snow tires every season. As said before, you need to determine if the problem is tires, rims, or valve stems. I would start by over inflating the mounted tires, then giving them a good dunk in a water tub and watch for bubbles. If there is nothing obvious, have the rim beads checked, cleaned and the rims sealed. This would be the most common problem aria. The next possibility would be porous tires, not likely though. You wouldnt happen to have a two year old boy would you? lol.

Seals? I doubt it. One of the shortcomings of gas engines fitted with turbos is that the engine can be shut down before the turbo has settled down thus killing the oil pressure that the turbin shaft rides on. The result is a scored shaft that bleeds engine oil into the exhaust side of the turbo, and hence the smoke. Don't even try to fix a turbo unit yourself or it will probably granade on you. Not pritty. Get a factory rebuilt unit warranty or not.

Thanks all for your help. The moldings are still good. Taking your advice, I shopped around and went with "SafeLite" auto glass. they charged me $160 installed with a guarantee. Again, thank you all for your help. (JD)

My friend can only afford liability. The rest of his pay goes for gas, so there is no coverage for the glass.

Thanks Sydfloyd44. Actuly, this Subi is pretty well run down. It is designated as basic transportation. Unfortunately a cop stopped him for a defective windshield and he is having trouble finding one used. I thought I would help him out with a new one.

I believe that it is never as simple as just bolting on a turbo. Turboed engines run a unique cam profile and low compression pistons. Timing and ignition advance are different, and reinforced crankshaft mains are used to handle the additional thrust put on them. Even the exhaust system is diffrent. This all adds up to lots of $$$$ (Just my 2 cents)

I would like to by my friend a new windshield for his birthday. His vehicle is a 1988 Subaru DL Wagon. Can someone approximate the cost of a replacement for me? Thanks.

I suspect the most logical solution would be to drive the new 2005 H6 Outback which offers approximately 40 more hp and a 5 speed auto, then decide. This is arguably a lot more car than the '03.

Hi. I Had a OEM Subaru hitch and harness put on my '03 H6 wagon. Very good quality. Clean installation, tow's well. I would recommend one.

First of all, let me introduce myself, and let you know I am new to this site, and this is my first post. I have been searching the web for a Subi site that would be informative and have settled here. My post concerns my 2003 Outback H6 VDC Wagon. After 18K miles of trouble free driving, I have finally found somthing to gripe about. Ever since I started driving my Outback, people have been riding my ***** and constantly passing. I thought I was traveling the posted limit. At first I attributed this to good old lead foot Montana driving habits, then noticed that it got worse out of state. Finally one day, my son inlaw commented on the possible inaccuracy of the spedo. This past Christmas I received a Garman StreetPilot GPS III and after learning to use the thing decided to check the spedo against the GPS readings. Sure enough the spedo was reading 3.5 MPH fast. Better "fast" than "slow" when it comes to the law, but obviously irritating to those who follow. I might add that I was using the OEM tires. To double check my GPS vs spedo, I checked the GPS unit in a Mercedes and Dodge Viper and both showed within .03 MPH of the indicated speed. Thus this leads my to think my spedo is wacked. Sure I could drive a little faster to compansate, but heck, this is a new, top of the line Subaru, with low miles. Not the biggest problem to ever hit this site for sure, but worthy of asking about. My question: Has anyone else out there had similar experiances with their spedo. What would be considered acceptable error. Do you think this is a warrantable issue? Anyone ever tried? Thanks in advance. I will be interested in what you think.