Steves72

The heated front windshield in my 2000 obw is not functioning. I would like to determine if the element is an open circuit which would mean that the windshield would have to replaced to repair the problem. The connections are obviously at the base of the windshield on the drivers side. Is there an easy to reach diagnostic spot that can be accessed without tearing the dash apart? The owners manual does not show this circuit on either fuse panel. Does it have an inline fuse or relay? If so, any idea where that inline fuse or relay is located? Is there any indication of the wire color and diameter of the leads to the heating element? I would have to guess that the wiring for this circuit is heavier than other wiring under the dash. Steve

Thanks for the preliminary information. I did not want to just plug the harness together to determine what would happen. Steve

I have a green connector just above the gas pedal in a 2000 obw w/auto trans that I discovered was not plugged together. If memory serves, there is a purple and blue wire that runs into one side of this green plug. The other connector has a purple and orange wire. I would not swear to the wire colors as I tried to determine the colors using a flashlight in the dark, but the connector is very green. Can anyone tell me what is the purpose of this connection? Steve

My 2000 obw started showing the same problems last year shortly after I purchased it. I was fortunate that the car carried a four year / 60,000 mile warranty on the transmission and I was covered. Over time the problem only got worse with time. Steve

Thanks for the confirmation. My wife's 99 Grand Prix auto locks, as did an older 92 Chrysler. A 91 Camaro that the OBW replaced did not. Steve

This question is related to my a 2000 OBW. I have been surprised by quite a few things on this, my first Subaru. But, the one that was the most surprising was the fact that the doors do not lock automatically once the car is put into gear or taken out of park. Should the doors auto lock? If not, in what model year did Subaru put in this feature? Steve

Autozone: $34.99 a side.

I am the 2nd owner of a 2000 OBW. Six weeks after purchasing the vehicle, I was stopped at a light, took my foot off the brake, stepped on the gas and it momentarily felt like the trans had slipped into neutral. Several more incidents like that convinced me to have a dealer look at it. When I called to make the appointment, I was informed that the transmission was covered by the factory for 5 years / 60,000 miles. My car had been off the lot for 4 1/2 years and had just under 51,000 miles at that time. The dealership confirmed that I needed a transmission and installed it at no charge. Steve

Sorry to burst the bubble, but Optimas are not dry cell batteries. They have a fiberglass weave mesh between the plates. Water is absorbed into the mesh leaving nothing to spill. But, they will freeze. So do not discard the battery heater. Steve

I did my front brakes two weekends back. My front rotors were warped and I knew that from the pulsing coming back through the pedal. Went to Autozone and purchased new rotors for $34.99 each and pads for 27.99. With tax it was just over $103 out the door. Time to do both sides was about 1 hour and 15 minutes using simple hand tools and a big C clamp to press the pistons back into the calipers. If you decide to do the job yourself you need to do three additional things. First with the wheels off and the brakes still on the car have someone step on the brake pedal hard and inspect the brake lines coming from the calipers. Make sure that they do not bulge from the pressure inside the line. If they do bulge, replace the brake line. Second, after completing the brake job and before moving the car, step on the brake pedal several times. The first time or two the pedal will bottom out. Repeat pumping the brake pedal until the pedal does not bottom out. Third, try the brakes once or twice in your driveway and make certain that they are working properly before driving down the street. Steve

Well, the dealership is ordering a transmission for it today. It's getting replaced under factory warranty. Steve

Well, the service manager told me that this is likely to be a transmission issue. But, the good news was that the transmission is still under warranty. Apparently, the factory covers it for 5yr / 60K miles and the car was originally purchased on May 27, 2000. With just over 50,300 on the odometer, I am covered under warranty. Steve

I am not certain how to approach this but I will call and talk to the service manager at two local (and long time) Subaru dealerships local to me. Maybe they will have some idea on this problem. I am hoping that my case may be related to how the car controls the transmission. Perhaps the computer believes the car has been shifted into neutral due to a bad sensor or other control device? If I hear something from the dealer I will let you know. Steve

I have owned my 2000 Legacy obw for a little over 2 months and I have one remaining mechanical issue to correct. Every once in a while, after coming to a stop, no power is transmitted from the engine to the wheels. It feels as though the car has been shifted into neutral. Typically what happens is I take my foor off the brake, step on the gas and the engine revs up and the car does not move. When this occurs, I simply take my foot back off the gas pedal, wait a second or two for the transmission to reengauge (I feel it go back in), and step back on the gas. Yesterday, this happened to me as I was on a busy road sitting in a line of traffic and it made me uncorfortable not being able to move for those couple of seconds. This seems to happen once every 2 to 3 days and is going to make diagnosis rather difficult unless someone here (or at the dealership) has heard of this problem. This never happens while moving and the transmission shifts fine otherwise. Any words of wisdom would be appreciated. Steve

Greetings to all. I am new to both this board and being a Subaru owner. I purchased a 2000 Legacy Outback at the end of August (just shy of 50K on the odometer) and have slowly discovering several issues why the car was on the lot. The first problem I ran into were the front brakes. The rotors are warped and the pads shot. I will do this job myself but discovered from reading this board that the front brakes were increased in size from the 2000 to the 2001 model year. Now, here is the interesting question. I obtained a set of 2001 calibers, backing plates and other parts necessary to put 2001 brakes on my 2000. When I went to Autozone and NAPA online both sites list the same rotor for the 2000 OBW and the 2001 OBW. Are the brakes really different or do the auto replacement stores simply selling a one size fits many model years rotor? I will post seperate messages for the other issues if I require assistence or advice. For now stopping properly is the number one problem. Steve