knelson

It covered my 99 Forester. Grrrrr...

Check out this thread... http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=55211 You may just really and truly have a speedometer issue. Seems to be common on all 99 platforms. Need to replace entire speedo head, and NOT the sensor in the tranny.

I'm on my 3rd Subaru. Love them for the most part. But SOA seems to be getting pretty bad at responding to customer complaints. My speedo head (99 Forester) went at about 72,000 miles. That's just wrong. I just had it replaced earlier this year. No response from SOA. I had my A/C compressor go on that same Forester right around 60,000 miles. And I just had two front wheel bearings go out on my NEW 06 Outback at 2900 miles! While I did get an initial response from SOA on my wheel bearing inquiry, additional questions have gone into a black hole. I bought my 06 Outback without even blinking an eye at other cars. This latest round of quality/customer service may cause me to look at other brands when it comes time to replace the 99 Forester. I hate to do it, but I'm just not too happy about cars that need dumb things (speedo, AC compressors, wheel bearings) replaced that in the past have been designed to last waaaaaaay longer. It's not like these cars are cheap to start with, so why do they seem to be cutting corners?

Yes, and that's the reason they put the big, glowing orange sticker in the driver's side door jamb that states when the odometer was changed, and what the mileage on the original was. You can't miss it!

Those buttons do NOT light up on mine. (Same model as yours). Think that's normal. Not sure what exactly you mean, but mine are fine. However, I did notice the first time I washed it that the edge of the plastic liner that's inside the wheel well in the front wasn't seated UNDER the lip of the metal fender. I just pushed it back in place like the rest of the plastic panel. Maybe that's what you're referring to. Gaps between front doors and front quarterpanels are 3/16" to 1/4" on mine. Looks fine to me.

Not true. Or at least if it is, my dealership didn't know about it. (It's an LCD odometer folks.) You have to live with the new mileage and a sticker on the car stating the mileage that the odometer was replaced. Don't know if the sticker in the door jamb is a State or Federal requirement, but here in WA that's what they do if there's a discrepancy in the odometer reading. I had also heard that the odometer could be reprogrammed (on this board, I believe!), but only by someone with the equipment to do so. That's why I took it to the dealership. When I went to drive it away from the dealership and saw the odometer that said 000002, I was a little miffed. I went back in and asked why it wasn't reprogrammed and just got a blank stare. After explaining what I *thought* was going to happen, they just shook their head and said it couldn't be done.

Is the odometer working fine when the speedometer needle is stuck? I'm guessing the answer is 'yes.' The sensor wasn't bad - it's the speedometer head (inside the dash - what the needle is attached to) that's bad. As noted here already, seems to be a common problem on late 90's models. Just had it replaced on my 99 Forester - same design as the Outback. I'd lived with it for years and finally got tired of it. Works like a champ now.

Hmm... axles don't leak. Maybe what they did was replace your CV joint/boot at the end of the axle? The boots protect the CV (constant velocity) joint, and the boots can get tears in them exposing the CV joint and flinging grease all around. Either way, good thing on the alignment. Might have them check your rotors. I suppose if your wheels were causing that much chatter, it couldv'e made your brakes wear uneven. Now even though your tires are running true, your rotors might not be. If they haven't been turned down already, they can probably just resurface the rotors without having to replace them. But that's just my armchair diagnoses... wait for the real gurus here to chime in before you do anything!

Brake rotors warped? But then you would've felt that before, unless your shaking from the tires was masking it. I'm assuming you got a 4-wheel alignment when you got new tires? (And an axle? Huh?) If not, you probably should.

One of these days, Subaru will figure out how to do wheel bearings. Just had BOTH my front hubs replaced. Left front was growling bad, right front was starting to go. The kicker is, this was on an 06 Outback with 2900 miles. Even though they were replaced under warranty, I'm still not a happy camper. For the life of me, I can not understand why Subaru chose to try and reinvent something as basic as this - and managed to screw it up.

Officially through Subaru, you have to replace the switch. But if it's like my 99 Forester, you just need to replace the bulb. Pull the switch out and disassemble it... carefully. You'll find the bulb that you can remove and take to Radio Shack. Find the closest match and stuff it back in. Worked great for me. There's a thread somewhere on this board about this - I'll see if I can find it for you. -Kurt

Actually... the only person that told me to put them on was myself, as I was trying to extracate myself from an icy rutted Forest Service road. ...and that's the reason I'm posting! Anyone know of anything that will actually fit on these 06 Outbacks and allow me to still turn my wheel?

OK... I'm not looking for a rehash of the stuff here... http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=46240 (which was "you don't NEED chains", "get studs", blah blah blah), but was wondering if anyone has found "just in case" chains for the 225/55 R17 tires that come with the 06 Outbacks? I live in WA state which actually does require ALL vehicles (yes... even AWD) to carry chains into the mountains, and I have had one occassion long ago, where I momentarily chained up my Legacy. BUT, I was surprised to read in the owner's manual for our new 06 Outback that chains could not be used due to clearance issues with the wheel well. I'm not interested in getting studs and chewing up the roads just to comply with a law that I might run into 5% of the time I'm up in the mountains, but AM interested in having a set of chains "just in case." Anyone with personal experience? -Kurt

Safety? Hmmm... I think you'd be hard pressed to get any regulating agency on board with you on that one. Granted, you don't really know how fast you're going when it's on the fritz, but I drove with mine like that for over a year, probably close to two years. And I can't say that I never knew *about* how fast I was going. Plus if I pounded on the dash just above the instrument cluster, it'd usually pop back to life. (However, this usually seemed to concern the folks driving in the car next to me!) -Kurt

I'd heard it was a common problem also, but I can't remember where. I just had the speedo head in my 99 Forester changed out by a dealer. (Needle stuck at 42 mph from time to time, funky fluctuations between 60-70 mph) I commented that it seems like a lot of these were going out, and he seemed genuinely surprised - no reason for him to lie. Maybe it's just a rumor. -Kurt

If the noise sounds like it's coming more from the hatch, check the little spring-loaded plunger things on the side of the hatch opening - near the gas springs. (Sorry - don't have the car in front of me to give you a better description.) Don't know if the newer Foresters have these, but my 99 does. These plungers span the gap between hatch and frame and when the hatch wants to move a little relative to the frame (like going over bumps or around corners) the ends of the plungers have to slide against the hatch. If the surface is too clean, the plunger grabs and doesn't slide freely. When it finally does break free you can hear a little pop or squeak. To fix, just rub a little lube on the mating surface and the end of the plunger. It also goes away as dirt/dust builds up on the surface. Don't know if this is the noise you're hearing, but it was definitely an annoying noise on my Forester. -kurt

Been there, done that - but at the time I was too frazzled to think about pulling the FWD fuse. Slid into a ditch on the side of a snow-covered logging road. (Won't go into the embarassing story of how I ended up there to start with!) Couldn't drive out of ditch - I could steer a little ways out of it, but then the back tires would staighten me out and pull me back in. Finally just shoveled out a trench and drove out. Later realized that the AWD was actually working against me in that case, and made a mental note to remember to pull the FWD fuse if ever in that situation again. Just something to keep in mind if you end up in that situation. On topic, I've used chains on the front end of my 94 Legacy Automatic and didn't pull the fuse. No issues, no problems. -Kurt

So I've been living with a cracked headlight (99 Forester) for a while and am finally thinking about doing something about it. Question for all you gurus... The crack is in the glass lense itself - the rest of the headlight assy is AOK. Looking at the assembly on the car, it appears that the glass lense is held to the "body" of the headlight by some little black clips. Looks like one could just replace the lense without replacing the whole headlight unit itself. BUT... when I look at the service manual drawings and the part breakdowns on the web, it appears that the only thing I can buy NEW is the whole headlight assembly itself. Seems like a waste of parts (and money!) Have folks found the same thing, or have you been able to replace just the lense? Thanks! Kurt

Uhh... just so you know - that site is run by a Subaru salesman at a dealership in Seattle. -kurt

I've got a 94 Legacy with same issue. It'll whistle just as I let off the gas and coast. Put a little gas to it and whistle goes away. Before a run in with my local dealer and I stopped going to him (different story), he diagnosed it (after several test rides) as the IAC valve itself. He said that this model Legacy's IAC valve used a plastic piece in there that shouldn't have been plastic, and caused the whistle. Newer designs didn't have the issue. He replaced the IAC valve, and the whistle went away. (This was while it was under warranty still, so no problemo.) After about 30k miles or so, the whistle came back. New IAC valve... whistle went away. It's whistling again, and now after other wonderful experiences with said dealer, I'm wondering if it wasn't just the gasket UNDER the IAC that was at fault, and the IAC was good all the time. Since the problem went away when the IAC was changed, I'm pretty sure that's the component where the whistling is coming from. You might just try replacing that gasket and seeing if it doesn't fix the problem. It's a quick and cheap fix. When I get some spare time, that's what I'm going to do. -kurt

I guess I was assuming the 99 Forester used the same design as the 99 Legacy and Outback. I've got a 99 Forester and have a fussy speedometer. However, when the speedometer is stuck/not working, my odometer still works. Go figure. -kurt

99obw is correct - common failure, it seems on 99 Legacy/Forester/Outback. Search for "speedometer" or "speedometer head" and you see what's been said previously. BUT, having committed all those previous posts to memory, your problem seems a bit different in that the odometer stops working when the speedometer goes dead. To me, that says that your sensor in the transmission case is bad, or there's a short in that line, and it's not necessarily the speedometer head in the instrument cluster. Basic "how it works" for the electronic system, as I understand it: Sensor in transmission case counts how fast the shaft it spinning and sends that signal to your speedometer and your odometer. I *believe* that the speedometer and odometer process the signal in parallel, in other words they don't rely on each other for their information... the odometer uses the raw signal of how many counts per second to determine miles - the speedometer head converts the signal to a voltage and then drives the coil of the speedometer needle to reflect whatever speed that voltage corresponds to. The fact that the speedo and odometer circuits (I believe) are separate leads me to believe your problem is not in the speedometer itself, but from where the signal originates. Quick check is to pound on your dash when the speedo doesn't work. Does it magically start working? Then its probably in the speedo head. If not, then probably somewhere else. -kurt PS - Forgot to add... if you have cruise control, try it out when the speedometer is dead. If it doesn't work when the speedometer is dead, most likely it's the transmission sensor. Otherwise, it points to the speedo head.

Have you tried holding down the unlock button until you hear them unlock twice? Not two pushes - but one continuous long push. 99 Forester requires this to unlock ALL locks. One push/click only gets you the drivers side door. Sometimes its a little fussy. -kurt

Bob, The flashing lights are telling you that you need to "reintroduce" your keyfob door lock transmitter to the transceiver in the car. Press the "unlock" button on the keyfob (while the lights on the car are flashing - battery hooked up) and they'll stop flashing. [i'm 99% sure it's the unlock button - if it doesn't work, then try the "lock" button.] -kurt

rodsherrill, OK... just so you don't feel bad, I'll share my recent (2 weeks ago) experience. And I'll admit right up front, I've owned Subarus for 10+ years now... have a 94 Legacy and 99 Forester... I was working on the 99 Forester up in the dash and around the instrument cluster. I disconnected the battery so as not to upset the omnipotent airbag god. I did my work, which included futzing around by the steering column. I finished my work and reconnected the battery. I have the keyfob transmitter for the door locks, and whenever you disconnect the battery you have to reset the door lock transceiver. The car tells you this by flashing the parking lights... like the hazard lights are on. Well... when I reconnected the battery, the parking lights starting flashing - except they didn't go OFF between flashes. They just sorta flashed between bright and dim. I'd disconnected the battery numerous times before, but had never seen this before. GREAT - I thought to myself - what have I buggered up now? I still hadn't hit the "unlock" button on the transmitter to reset the transceiver, so the lights were still flashing away. I was just standing there dumbfounded, trying to figure out what could be wrong. In disgust, I finally hit the transmitter button to reset the transceiver, and the parking lights stopped flashing - and the car was sitting their with the parking lights on with the keys in my hand. It was only about 5 seconds after this that I firmly whapped myself upside the head and went and turned off the switch on the top of my steering column that I'd bumped while messing around in the instrument cluster. Welcome to the ranks! -kurt