sios

I wouldn't think that's right. Mine is a Impreza "Outback" Sport but with same engine, transmission and mileage. Not a turbo, but you didn't say yours is. MPG is still working out to be around 24 to 27, average. I believe the weight difference in our cars is just 300 pounds, and I almost always drive alone and I weigh 170 lbs. not pulling or hauling anything either. Difficult to say why you'd get so low a mpg, unless A/C is on a lot still and you drive mainly in city-like traffic. I'm mostly a freeway/highway driver. However, the engine being relatively new still it takes time for that to loosen up (hopefully correctly). I'm anticipating 30 mpg someday next year. If not, I'll begin to worry a little. Those 22/28 mpg numbers are averages themselves. If I recall this right, the real min/max is more like 17/33, or thereabouts.

Mine's an Impreza Outback Sport but, yeah, I know what you're saying about the righthand wiper intruding into driverside space. Maybe it's better for rightside steering wheel cars, unless they switch the wipers around.I thought it a case of being about a small car, since I drove a small (though larger) truck before. Using Rain'X, too, and it definitely helps with the intermittent setting, except there are times it must be continuous (night, heavy rain, traffic in front). Just hasn't been something that bothers me, actually, only that I had noticed the difference from my old truck.

Yep, except I don't see how the stars are supposed to be portrayed in the emblem/logo since Alcyone is obviously brightest. Also, Subaru used six stars for the partners/companies involved yet that star cluster is well-known as the Seven Sisters. I made my own Subaru version of the Pleiades from a picture by adding an extra large, very bright, star. Curious thing I found out recently is that, although I thought Subaru to be a Japanese-only name, there was a family in France with that name. A girl that became Saint Bernadette in the mid-19th century because of a "healing spring" she was told of after having a 'vision' there. http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/news/Jan2002/LourdesManwMSCuredWasItAMiracle.html Well, now I've also seen it spelled Soubirous so maybe Subaru was a sounds-like spelling for that.

Um, maybe only when the covers are removed. I know I've seen a fuel filter glass bowl at one time; a modern box-shaped pump had a panel off of it, I suppose for maintenance or repair. I don't think the general public (mostly everyone) cares to see what the gasoline going into their vehicles looks like. I've heard many stories about bad gas, locally and elsewhere. Cars that broke down before or immediately after leaving the station. I purposely try to get gas at places on hills, not flat or low areas, because I'm afraid of ground water contamination.

Any pictures exist of this thing? Got me curious, hearing about it before and again here. TIA to anyone who has one or knows where I can see it.

Maybe recommend something for the human, too? Car could survive but useless without a driver. One of those space blankets might be good, looks like foil.Bbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!

Sorry, I shouldn't have presumed anything about all Subaru's. I hadn't thought any of them were on their side, just figured most engines were similar to mine. It mounts up/down not sideways.

Well, according to info I read, it can also open when the oil is cold and thick. A worst case scenario, then, since the sediment would be settled where that valve is at and then draw it in first thing when started. Also noticed it mentioned that some don't seal very well even when closed. This is what new cars do to me. I start checking into every little thing.

I've checked into how the Purolator PureOne filter works and its bypass valve is on the bottom where large particles might collect, whereas others have that at the top. I still don't know if Subaru's OEM filter has the bottom bypass, if so I don't like that. I've thought of getting a Mobil1 filter which has the top bypass valve but I can't seem to locate a part number for it yet. Seems a bad design to let dirty oil pass through unfiltered from the bottom. Any opinions or remarks about this would be appreciated, especially if the Subaru OEM filter is same as Purolator. Here's one of the web pages I saw about the insides of oil filters: http://minimopar.knizefamily.net/oilfilterstudy.html

Needs to be on the outer circumference so that the incoming particles get trapped on their way into the filter, since the center (*bottom too, I think) is where it returns. I'm not sure if it should be nearer the bottom or the top. *I've checked into how the Purolator PureOne filter works and its bypass valve is on the bottom where large particles might collect, whereas others have that at the top. I still don't know if Subaru's OEM filter has the bottom bypass, if so I don't like that. I've thought of getting a Mobil1 filter which has the top bypass valve but I can't seem to locate a part number for it yet.

I already changed my Impreza Outback Sport's to Lexor blades from Walmart, since it seemed the originals were needing a change from being on there since early 2003, only bought the car as "new" this September. Didn't cost much to replace the whole blade, versus more expensive refills I looked at. Not sure about those Legacy's but mine just unclip at the arm end. And the main reason I went with the blade change is because I had gone into the store and came out with refills that were too different from the originals. I, too, used their selector thing. The Lexor refills are going to work okay from now on and they are real cheap. I don't mind changing them every half year, if I must.

Congratulations. Forester was a real consideration for me before going with the Impreza Outback Sport. More of a car vs. SUV, in the end. Hmmmm, if you can be fairly certain the timing belt wasn't replaced you should get it done, as well as the water pump at the same time. Even if it could last another 20 or 30 thousand miles, every day you take a big risk. And yes, it'll mess things up. I don't know much about these Subaru's (yet) but people claim the head gasket trouble is not real common... at least, not as much so as might seem. Plus, it was the pre-99's I believe, which were the worst about failing. Apparently if the engine is never allowed to overheat you would probably be okay, far as head gasket goes. Therein lies the problem, can you possibly know it never overheated before? And would not do so soon anyway, for some reason, namely thermostat or water pump trouble. But I'll let others speak.

Yep, mine are the 'wedge' type. Nothing extra needed to be done, as opposed to turn signals which usually require resistance applied to make them blink. I didn't need to realign or anything, just popped the headlamp assembly out and back in afterward. However, you're going to need someone with that model/year to speak up here. Checked on this now and see that yours are type 1157, not wedges(??), whereas mine are the small 194 type. Anyway, the replacement LED's you find online are most likely to fit, since they fill about the same exact space a globe bulb does. Without any heat from them they can be very close to the plastic, too. The Impreza OBS parking light connector goes in sideways, pointed out toward the side of the car but the lens is still forward-facing. Yours could be totally different. You'd want to know that before getting the LED since if they need sideways direction you should use a kind like: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7928678768&category=33713&sspagename=WDVW Check around for prices of these things, really varies a lot. BTW, this is also my first car that I had to pull the lamp assembly out in order to change a bulb but it wasn't always easy to do when left in, which is why I think it's about the same amount of difficulty.

Oh-oh. This has turned into another debate about lights on or off! The 'lights on when raining' thing, yeah. Good law, really. If there's ever a variable it's the clarity of peoples glass, and rain changes that extremely. Icey cold weather should be mandatory for using lights, too. I was hit by a teenager while driving home from a nighttime job, one frozen morning, as he pulled out from a sidestreet right into my front driverside fender, apparently frosted windshield and windows. Even though I had my lights on his weren't so I didn't notice him. I think the idea of parking lights while driving might be from lack of having DRL... maybe. Fog lights always on? That I don't get, unless the idea is added visibility. Can see a car with those on anytime of day or night from many miles farther than usual. Not that I'd need to. Heh-heh. Hey mattocs, you need to get that fixed! You'd want those working in fog-- like they are meant to be.

Although my Subaru is an Impreza Outback Sport somehow I doubt there'd be another way. Seems the placement of the connector is behind the fender or front frame of the engine compartment. Maybe there's another way, if so I don't know it, sorry. I just didn't even try after looking it over, the removal of the assembly wasn't terribly difficult. Grille unclips, then some clips holding the upper part of bumper and a single bolt then some pulling in the right way (on Impreza). You might consider using amber* LED's instead, when you do change the bulb(s), which is what I did (along with red LED for tail lights), so I could leave the parking lights on longer without worrying about battery drain. Ones I got are called inverted cone to help with shining sideways. Also, each tail light is a red LED, 15 total with 6 of those around side edges, plenty bright. * Not white behind the colored lens, because white LED's are inherently bluish and would produce a greenish color.

Or symbol... Not sure if you are talking about the same one but I have seen some "i" emblems at ebay.com. That's the only 'stick' symbol I know of. Look at: http://search.ebay.com/subaru-emblem_W0QQsokeywordredirectZ1QQfromZR8 Maybe you were wanting the one with lines between the stars? See: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7927481063&category=33643

I'll play devils advocate. Here's a mod over at scoobymods.com: http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2876&highlight=forester+drl I agree with the others, especially since I've wanted driving lights for several years and my new OBS is the first for me. I don't care if they're on all the time. My only complaint is that at night if I forget to switch on the headlights I'll tend to think they are on and yet I realize the tail lights are not when only driving lights are. It's been taking some getting used to. That and the parking lights switch, I've learned that having the parking lights on at night works to help with the mistake of driving off without lights all around. But then they (parking lights) have to be used more and I'm not so sure that's a great idea.

I don't know anything (much) about these Subaru's. That said... You'd no doubt see any contaminating stuff at the filler hole if the kids messed around with that, aside from water or such. Besides, I'd expect the engine would sputter or something and not just stop firing the cylinders altogether. Sounds indicative of lack of spark. I suppose by "checked plugs and wires" you meant you pulled a wire or plug and looked for the spark? Should be a simple matter to pull a fuel line and check it for flow that way, being extremely cautious of course. Could also be flooding at the carburator.

Oh? Did I say anything besides tire pressure stuff? LOL "speeds of fury", eh? You're obviously someone that absolutely must have a clear human to gear interaction. Was thinking I saw your car pic at subaruoutback.org before so I went to find it, not that I looked very long. I'm the overtalkative noob with a soob called roo over there. Heck, I'm almost a newbie everywhere I go anymore.

Well there's another variety of answers again. Funny. If you think about this, the official Subaru way is simply to drive with varying RPMs versus being too steady for long periods of time, at least for that first 1000 miles. Then there's everyones opinion or definition of a break-in period. Ok, mine is to do as Subaru (or any other car manufacturer) says to do... plus gradually increase highest attained RPM, until finally reaching the limit. Meaning, my OBS with AT chooses to go to the redline on its own when I press the accelerator to the floor before it upshifts. It won't go beyond that point regardless, unless I stupidly were to rev in neutral or park, which is a nice feature of the AT. And I did this redlining stuff at around that one thousand mile mark. Have done so occasionally ever since. Reason: to not allow it to wear in without doing so until someday it might happen to reach the redline and hear it say OUCH! in some mechanical grinding/popping/shearing sort of way. You see, I worry about the internal parts being used to easy driving and then wham! full acceleration for jumping onto a freeway occurs without the engine/tranny being accustomed to it. This way I won't worry about a sudden change zapping the thing after a year or more of 5000 RPM easy-going acceleration (OBS is redlined beyond 6100 RPM or so). None of this is for the faint of heart though, if you ask me, because whatever method you choose will be the way the car will get broken in no matter what anyone thinks. Some ways must be worse and others better, but I still don't know what is truly best overall and its probably because there's always more to it than that simplistic 'vary RPM's for 1000 miles' thing. Got to blame people for making it more complicated than that. Heh-heh. Hmmm, speaking of high revs of accelerations with the automatic transmission... mine makes a momentary shriek sound (for lack of a better description) at the upshift, that brief time as it reaches about 6100 rpm then suddenly jumps back down. I'm guessing it'll tone down later on. Anyone else observe the same? No need to go out and try it if that's not how you drive already! Just curious about that sound I keep hearing. My truck was so broken in when I bought it used I don't think it ever made a shriek at full acceleration+upshift, or at least it would be described as a muted, low tone one if any.

Wow, already doing the rotation? Well, I for one feel lucky now, having that same 3500 miles put on my '04 OBS without any problems at the moment. Although, there was some bad gas trouble (or so I believe) from the car being manufactured a whole year and one-half before I bought it and it had 228 miles on the odometer (first full tank of gas could not have been used up within that time). If I had been experiencing as much trouble as Pugelly was I think I'd be trying to get them to take the car back. My OBS does real fine, far as handling goes. Have had the speed over 100 MPH on a deserted stretch of resurfaced freeway in the middle of the night. A smooth ride. Likewise at all speeds below that, except for the usual "feeling" the road. Real nice on winding roads (at moderate speeds), gravel roads, too. The automatic transmission is another matter, with its revved downshift into 2nd and sloppy cruising speed change hesitations; hoping it's a matter of learning or AT break-in, but not so sure anymore. Back to the subject of wheels, or tires... My fault, probably, for not checking tire pressure after getting the car home. Expected the dealership would have done that during "detailing" (ok, ok. Yeah, never expect anything!). All tires were about 6 to 8 PSI too low a few weeks afterward, when I finally did check them. Rechecked yesterday and all were near the correct PSI of 32 for front and 29 rear*, down by 2 since 25 degrees colder now than was a month ago. So maybe they lost only half pound in that time, but too close to call. Point being, apparently low tire pressure doesn't cause obvious poor handling or whatever else. I'd think it would be, if very unequal side to side, though. So that came to mind when I read this message thread here. Perhaps if I were accustomed to this car that would be easier to notice. Right now I'm still never sure if a tire could be flat and I'd realize it or not. *{editing note: I keep remembering rear tires as being 30 psi, in case I load it down with something in the back! sorry, changed it to say 29 now. And yes, I'm probably being too much of a perfectionist here.}

carfax.com says: Year/Make/Model: 1983 SUBARU GL 4WD Body Style: Station Wagon Engine Type: 1.8L L4 2BBL Manufactured In: JAPAN Search Results: 21 records found in our database Seems that the way VIN Code worked was changed that year ('83) and maybe has remained the same since. I wouldn't know for sure, really. But from what other people have told me the last 5 digits are a production number and the preceeding number would be designating something about the style of car but it doesn't appear to match up with what the newer models say. Of course, J is for Japan and F is Fuji Heavy Industries. Check this web site for other info: http://www.vehicleidentificationnumber.com/ Here's one chart showing recent model years: http://www.oakos.com/wrx/vin.htm Good luck finding out about the earlier VIN Code meanings.

I think I'm going to like the 2.5 Liter in my 2004 Impreza Outback Sport. Simple design, the whole drivetrain too, if appearances count for anything. Only changed oil and filter so far but it's much easier than was the '94 GMC Sonoma, and that was relatively simple to do. Spark plugs were difficult though, one being behind the steering column. Looks like it would be easy to change those in the OBS. I thought maybe the air filter would be something made more difficult. Never had one of these flat rectangular kind before. One bolt and then those three clips... nothing to it after doing a trial run and checking it. Fuel filter is certainly a welcome thing, in the Sonoma it was done laying on my back. If I figure right I'm currently seeing about 27 MPG from mixed driving but mostly freeway, highway and county roads. Very little city stop and go stuff. 3500 on the odometer, so it's still loosening up. I suppose you've replaced or at least checked on your air filter, that would be bad for gas mileage if clogged up.

Was reading my owners manual recently, about the AT (for the 2004 Impreza RS/TS/Outback Sport). Things I found: In Drive and braking downhill it will downshift to 3rd, but fluid cannot be cold or else it might not do so, and also won't if above ~48 mph. Reaccelerating upshifts back again. 3rd (on selector) will go from 1st to 3rd (apparently no upshift into 4th), controlled by acceleration. Backing off the accelerator keeps it in the gear it was in before accelerating, e.g. currently in 2nd then speeding up downshifts to 1st, releasing accelerator pedal puts it back into 2nd again (D follows same logic). 2nd (on selector) remains in that gear, so no downshift or upshift. Good for slippery starts. 1st (on selector) also doesn't upshift. Good for very steep inclines. Max speed chart shows the 2.5L Outback Sport's to be: 0 mph < 1st < 35 mph < 2nd < 64 mph < 3rd < 101 mph (< 4th) I didn't see anything about AT locking during steady driving but I realize that's typically employed in the modern trannies. Guess that's not exactly what Setright was saying. I'd like to find out if the AT does actually use such a torque lock. Well, in my list of web page bookmarks I managed to find the answer about "torque lockup". Plus more info, so some of you might be interested in seeing it too. http://www.subaru-global.com/about/parts/07.html

Sneezing fits too, perhaps? This reminded me of what happened to my brother's RV. Discovered a cat had been trapped in it for several weeks. They figure it got in when leaving the door open a long time while unpacking stuff. They thought a very large rodent was getting in through a small opening at first, after finding odd-looking poop. Checked everyplace for any openings to the outside and was sure nothing larger than a bug could get in or out. Finally one day his wife was putting things into drawers and she heard a noise from "something big". Turned out to be the neighbors cat behind the floor level cabinets/drawers. It was near death, they said. No idea how it lived so long. Another cat story, my older sister's this time, wasn't such a happy ending. They discovered it's decayed remains behind some boxes and stuff in a room of the house, where they had been storing things for years. Was an old cat and they figure it got trapped behind there and never got back out, or went there to die since they never heard it, I guess. Far as mice and cars, mine also tend to get them on the engine. I would find partial nuts and pink insulation from the home on there. I'm watching out for that in my new Suby. In fact, one car once had a nest building going on in the air vents. I noticed a chewed fastfood ketchup packet first, then paper napkin pieces blowing out of a vent. Needless to say I don't keep anything in the car anymore. The Subaru has those underseat vents that would be perfect for mice to come and go from if one ever got inside. Wonder if one of those electronic pest control devices would work? Would need to plug into the cigarette lighter socket. I've been using a couple in the home for the past several years and I think they actually help. I used to get a lot of scorpions and other bugs, now only an occasional one. Possums, raccoons and squirrels are also terrible pests here.